How to make Dubstep Music?

[C0DEW0LF]

Hey Everyone!
I heard this was the go-to place if I want to learn about making PONY MUSIC!
And by the looks of things I wasn't told wrongly. Anyways, I really want to be able to make Dubstep. I've got FL studio (producer edition) and yeah.. I'm confused. But from what I've heard that's to be expected. I suppose I just need to learn more about the program, where everything is, what everything is, and how to use it. I've tried making drum patterns and can't find anything that sounds right. Maybe I should use different drum sounds? I gave up and tried starting with the baseline but can't figure out how to make one. So.. In short.. I really would like to be able to make Pony Dubstep but can't figure out how to make a decent sounding... anything. And I don't understand about 94% of the program. Could somebody maybe help me out? It'd be much appreciated! Thanks guys!

[Friv]

>read the manual

[SticktheFigure]

Youtube.
Youtube.
Youtube.
It's pretty good for the more popular genres of EDM.
Beyond that, yeah, read the manual. Also, learning what classifies each genre into it's category is helpful.
Music theory is more-or-less a must know thing.

P.S. 50/50 chance of incoming shitstorm.

[Nine Volt]

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

Look, I know you're new, but you can't just make a thread saying "hurr durr how do i dubstep" and expect step by step instructions on how to sound like a mediocre knockoff of Skrillex or Knife Party or whatever. Try checking out the multitude of guides available in the stickied "How to Make Music (Look here before asking questions!)" thread, or do a search of the forum to see if other threads of this nature have been made.

Do you have any specific questions about the genre? And no, "how should I make the bassline?" isn't specific.

[froggy]

Seriously though start reading up on synthesizers, sound design, and music production in general. You've got a long way to go.

[C0DEW0LF]

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

Look, I know you're new, but you can't just make a thread saying "hurr durr how do i dubstep" and expect step by step instructions on how to sound like a mediocre knockoff of Skrillex or Knife Party or whatever. Try checking out the multitude of guides available in the stickied "How to Make Music (Look here before asking questions!)" thread, or do a search of the forum to see if other threads of this nature have been made.

Do you have any specific questions about the genre? And no, "how should I make the bassline?" isn't specific.

Woah woah! I didn't expect "step-by-step instructions on how to sound like a mediocre knockoff of Skrillex or Knife Party or whatever", I was asking for some help about using the program and maybe some directions to somewhere I can learn to make something that sounds good and original (Not a "mediocre ripoff"). I came to the site just a few minutes ago and at first glance I don't see any "How to make music" thread, but I do see "Techniques - Discuss tips, tricks, (blah blah)... Post HELP threads here". So I need help and post my question there. Ugh.. There's no need to get angry at me over this. A simple... I don't know... "Hey there, Welcome to the forums. We already have a tutorial on how to do it here: (link). Good Luck!
Sincerely, Nine Volt" would have been great and I'd be on my way. I'm a newbie at this (not only at making music but at forums) so I'm not exactly going to be on the same level of knowledge on what's acceptable and what topics/threads already exist as you do.

Thanks for that,
Kaleb

Youtube.
Youtube.
Youtube.
It's pretty good for the more popular genres of EDM.
Beyond that, yeah, read the manual. Also, learning what classifies each genre into it's category is helpful.
Music theory is more-or-less a must know thing.

P.S. 50/50 chance of incoming shitstorm.

Youtube! Got it! (The shitstorm prediction is coming true. :/)

start reading up on synthesizers, sound design, and music production in general. You've got a long way to go.

Sure thing! Thank-You for a point in the right direction.

[Stakeout Punch]

OH MY GOD WHY HAVENT I SEEN THIS

[Motivfs]

Just to note, if you look at the top of this "Technique" forum, there is the "Getting started with Music Guide" which has alot more then you think in terms of threads/links that could help you.

[Makkon]

9V, seriously chill man. It's not easy being completely new to something, sometimes you don't know the right question to ask when you start out. The more he learns, the more specific his questions will become. We don't want to foster a hostile community to new-comers.

[froggy]

I think I'm gonna put together a big zip file of free resources (samples, plugins, PDFs, etc) for anyone who comes around asking how to make music in the future.

Yes/no?

[Motivfs]

I think I'm gonna put together a big zip file of free resources (samples, plugins, PDFs, etc) for anyone who comes around asking how to make music in the future.

Yes/no?

Absolutely, dump them in the "Getting Started with Music Guide" thread afterwords, Navy will put them on the front page I'm sure, and I bet everyone can appreciate that.

Anyways, OP, other than the thread I said twice now.

It really is Youtube for more popular genres if you want to learn. Give me five minutes and I'll link a few.

http://www.youtube.com/user/K0SM0SKAT
http://www.youtube.com/user/KevWillow7
http://www.youtube.com/user/Beats4Beets
http://www.youtube.com/user/howtomakeemusic

It will take patience, but I used all these before I ever even came to a forum/anyone else for help.

[C0DEW0LF]

Just to note, if you look at the top of this "Technique" forum, there is the "Getting started with Music Guide" which has alot more then you think in terms of threads/links that could help you.

Aha, there's the guide. Thanks for the help!

[C0DEW0LF]

I think I'm gonna put together a big zip file of free resources (samples, plugins, PDFs, etc) for anyone who comes around asking how to make music in the future.

Yes/no?

That would be really helpful!

[Magnitude Zero]

Woah woah! I didn't expect "step-by-step instructions on how to sound like a mediocre knockoff of Skrillex or Knife Party or whatever", I was asking for some help about using the program and maybe some directions to somewhere I can learn to make something that sounds good and original (Not a "mediocre ripoff"). I came to the site just a few minutes ago and at first glance I don't see any "How to make music" thread, but I do see "Techniques - Discuss tips, tricks, (blah blah)... Post HELP threads here". So I need help and post my question there. Ugh.. There's no need to get angry at me over this. A simple... I don't know... "Hey there, Welcome to the forums. We already have a tutorial on how to do it here: (link). Good Luck!
Sincerely, Nine Volt" would have been great and I'd be on my way. I'm a newbie at this (not only at making music but at forums) so I'm not exactly going to be on the same level of knowledge on what's acceptable and what topics/threads already exist as you do.

Thanks for that,
Kaleb

Sorry that shitstorm had to be your welcome wagon. People are usually better at handling this sort of thing around here... sigh Seriously guys, really? Have a shred of maturity and patience for the new guys. Let's not turn into a bunch of elitist assholes like some other forums.

Yes, you're definitely going to want to learn how to use your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation - FL Studio in your case). A quick Youtube search gave me this, I don't know how good it is but it's easy enough to find others - there are tons of them for FL. Learn about the piano roll, the playlist, the mixer, effects, stuff like that. Someone mentioned music theory, which is also a fantastic place to start for melodies and basslines and stuff, even if the dubstep you want to make isn't totally melodic. http://www.musictheory.net/ is great for that, but if possible you should get a book or take a class on it. For your first couple songs you may want to consider using preset synths, but try not to make a habit out of it. Basic synth design is relatively simple, and FL Studio's 3xosc is great for learning and can be pretty powerful once you know it well. Here are some tutorials for that.

If you have any questions, feel free to add me on Skype (blindbaker49). There are also tons of other people in the Tutors thread that would be willing to give you a hand.

And one more thing:

[itroitnyah]

Yeah... sooo... Makkon, Nav, other mods. I remember in a previous thread you would modify the site so that it would be completely obvious where to find tutorials, materials and tips/facts on frequented topic posts like this. Any progress made on that by now? I still think that you should have some threads that aren't part of a subforum and can be seen at the main page of MLR and they'll be plainly labeled to make it painfully obvious. Like, a "Dubstep, House, and other electric genres Thread" or something, along with all the other constantly repeated thread topics. Puts it right there in front of the person.

Welcome to MLR CODEWOLF. We're here to demoralize you for asking stupid questions, then help you rebuild your ego.

[Motivfs]

Yeah... sooo... Makkon, Nav, other mods. I remember in a previous thread you would modify the site so that it would be completely obvious where to find tutorials, materials and tips/facts on frequented topic posts like this. Any progress made on that by now? I still think that you should have some threads that aren't part of a subforum and can be seen at the main page of MLR and they'll be plainly labeled to make it painfully obvious. Like, a "Dubstep, House, and other electric genres Thread" or something, along with all the other constantly repeated thread topics. Puts it right there in front of the person.

Welcome to MLR CODEWOLF. We're here to demoralize you for asking stupid questions, then help you rebuild your ego.

Let's not derail the thread by asking mods questions, lets focus on guiding CODEWOLF in the right direction, if you want to talk about site changes, there's always PM'ing them.

[Nine Volt]

I'm sorry guys, I really lost my cool back there. That came off as overtly dickish and rude, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean that in such a negative way, again I apologize; I tend not to suffer newbies lightly, it's nothing personal. I'd also like to personally apologize to Makkon for further lowering my image in his eyes, and to CodeWolf for coming off as a jackass and maybe driving him away.

But I stand by my later statements. You should've checked out the 'How to make music' thread, searched the forum a bit, and then posted a thread asking specific questions about dubstep. I reacted so harshly because 'How do I make dubstep music?' sounds like a typical, extremely general noob question.

My opinion on the original matter: learn your DAW first, then try to make dubstep. Despite what many people state, dubstep (or at least the modern, Skrillex styled type) is a very difficult genre to make. Just listen through any Skrillex or Knife Party track and try to identify just how many instruments are in one song. If you want to get started producing EDM, I'd recommend starting off with one of the easier genres, like house (note when I say easier it doesn't mean easy). Dubstep is a very hard genre to tackle, especially as a beginner, and it's very easy to make it bad.

[itroitnyah]

Let's not derail the thread by asking mods questions, lets focus on guiding CODEWOLF in the right direction, if you want to talk about site changes, there's always PM'ing them.

Is to on topic, it's discussing ways to prevent repetitive threads like this from popping up again, which is definitely a part of this thread.

[C0DEW0LF]

I'm sorry guys, I really lost my cool back there. That came off as overtly dickish and rude, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean that in such a negative way, again I apologize; I tend not to suffer newbies lightly, it's nothing personal. I'd also like to personally apologize to Makkon for further lowering my image in his eyes, and to CodeWolf for coming off as a jackass and maybe driving him away.

But I stand by my later statements. You should've checked out the 'How to make music' thread, searched the forum a bit, and then posted a thread asking specific questions about dubstep. I reacted so harshly because 'How do I make dubstep music?' sounds like a typical, extremely general noob question.

My opinion on the original matter: learn your DAW first, then try to make dubstep. Despite what many people state, dubstep (or at least the modern, Skrillex styled type) is a very difficult genre to make. Just listen through any Skrillex or Knife Party track and try to identify just how many instruments are in one song. If you want to get started producing EDM, I'd recommend starting off with one of the easier genres, like house (note when I say easier it doesn't mean easy). Dubstep is a very hard genre to tackle, especially as a beginner, and it's very easy to make it bad.

No worries, I understand! I suppose could have looked abit harder for a guide/tutorial before posting this anyways. Let's just forget about that introduction and start fresh. I definatley agree that I should spend some time getting less unfamiliar with my DAW. I'll probably begin with some house and work my way up if it becomes too complex since that's also a genre I like. I've got tons of links from you guys so I have something to help me figure this out. Thanks for the help!

Sorry that shitstorm had to be your welcome wagon. People are usually better at handling this sort of thing around here... sigh Seriously guys, really? Have a shred of maturity and patience for the new guys. Let's not turn into a bunch of elitist assholes like some other forums.

Yes, you're definitely going to want to learn how to use your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation - FL Studio in your case). A quick Youtube search gave me this, I don't know how good it is but it's easy enough to find others - there are tons of them for FL. Learn about the piano roll, the playlist, the mixer, effects, stuff like that. Someone mentioned music theory, which is also a fantastic place to start for melodies and basslines and stuff, even if the dubstep you want to make isn't totally melodic. http://www.musictheory.net/ is great for that, but if possible you should get a book or take a class on it. For your first couple songs you may want to consider using preset synths, but try not to make a habit out of it. Basic synth design is relatively simple, and FL Studio's 3xosc is great for learning and can be pretty powerful once you know it well. Here are some tutorials for that.

If you have any questions, feel free to add me on Skype (blindbaker49). There are also tons of other people in the Tutors thread that would be willing to give you a hand.

And one more thing:

That video is looking really good! Thanks! I'll see if I can stop by Chapters on the way out tomorrow and pick up a book about melody and beat creation.

[Stakeout Punch]

The best part about this whole thing?

C0DEW0LF is starting on a real DAW!

Never ever EVER touch nor look at LMMS. If you don't even know what that is, that's even better

Welcome to the forums! Since I'm relatively noobish myself I don't really have any tips other than what I said above. hehehe

[Nine Volt]

Heh, yeah, I'd post a bunch of links but I'm on my phone...

So I ask again, are there any specific questions you have about dubstep?

[the4thImpulse]

Youtube and google are your best friends when starting out (unless you really do have a best friend who can teach you music production). Use forums like this for specific questions like "how should I EQ my snares for dubstep?", if you don't understand that than give it time.



Also a big thing you should know:

Pirating do far more harm than good

it's not a matter of morals or lack of money or whatever excuse you make up, pirating software won't make you fully appreciate having the software which will result in you not spending time learning it, trust me.

[froggy]

I think I'm gonna put together a big zip file of free resources (samples, plugins, PDFs, etc) for anyone who comes around asking how to make music in the future.

Yes/no?

File's finished, ended up too large for MediaFire so I put it on Google Drive

Download Link

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Well, I never tried dubstep until I'd done a lot of other genres first. The best way to do well with dubstep is to wait long enough to know your way around, then the rest you can figure out relatively easily. Also, basses. Basses are nice. I recommend playing with the A.I. and Roughmath filters if you have Massive (other synths will work fine too), add some phasing and a little Ring Mod oscillation and you can end up with a decent result. And sub-bass isn't strictly necessary to a track, but I'd highly encourage using it if not to see if the track sounds better with it or not. And never make a drop entirely bass and only bass, other frequencies are there for a reason.

[Icky]

And I don't understand about 94% of the program.

Before you can make awesome music, it's probably best to get a better understanding of the program you're working in. FL studio is a very popular DAW, and there are literally thousands of tutorials for it on Youtube. I'd recommend starting there.

Welcome to the music makin', enjoy your stay and if you have any specific questions about FL studio or dubstep music feel free to PM me about it.