Calling all music producers: question

Kevski

Kevski

Active member
For everyone on NS who makes music, like actually produces it, how long did it take you to come up with something that you were satisfied with? And what kind of production do you do?

I just started up about a month ago and though it's tons of fun to learn stuff and try things out, nothing I'm making right now meets any kind of standards I'd have for putting out to the world. I'm using Ableton Live 8 Suite, and I'm trying to design all my own sounds rather than use samples. I feel like it could be a couple years before I make something I'm proud of, and part of the motivation to learn is the hope that eventually my music could get people as stoked as I get when I listen to something good. I wanna be able to spread that feeling.
 
The key is trial and error. just keep on expermenting with new sounds, constantly tweak new parameters and just experiment with everything you can see. Also it would help if you grasped a basic understanding of sound waves (like sin, saw, square ect.)

the Operator in ableton live is an incredible softsynth. it is for the musicians who rather enjoy designing their own sound. i respect how you dont want to use premades, i feel ya on that one. but get an operator going and just work one oscilator at a time and mess with the waves of each oscilator. add some FX and just keep on expermenting. Message me if you need some more indepth help.

Good luck mang
 
^Thanks man. Yeah probably a good idea working one oscillator at a time rather than trying all 4 plus the LFO right off the bat... If I get stuck I'll ask you.
So it sounds like you're right into it. How long did the learning process take? Well I know it's a never-ending learning process, but how long did it take before you were making music that you were happy with?
 
as far as ableton is concerned, i really started to dig into it like june of 2009 and just about a month ago is when i really started to get sounds i liked. i finally have a soft synth made in operator that has this nice heavy compressed that sounds similar to maybe mstrkrfts, boyz noise, or the bloody beetroots. its quite rewarding and worth every hour of work put in.

however, i use reason from time to time and you can do some really neat stuff with that program. it has proven to be incredible in making dubstep and that dirty electro music in general.
 
I have been playing piano for 12 years and have written one song that I was (somewhat) proud of. It took me about 4 months, and it was a piece for a concert band.
I honestly think the key is to stick with it. You have to just write songs. If you can't write good songs, then write crappy songs. But keep writing.
A song writer writes a song every day, a performer plays their instrument every day. Right now I fit into the latter, because I don't have the time to practise (hour to an hour and a half a day) and write music. In the summer I'm going to change that, but it really takes time.
I would also recommend some basic piano lessons if you don't have a bit of a background in it already. It will help a lot with knowing your keys and stuff.
If you have any questions about music theory or piano technique feel free to shoot me a pm, I like to think I'm somewhat knowledgeable about it.
 
Yeah I took piano lessons for 6 years or so, and then bass guitar for another 4. So I'm definitely glad to have the music theory behind me and some knowledge of how pianos work.

Sounds like it'll be a long road. But definitely a fun process. This is the only thing that I'm actually motivated to do research on and learn for hours after a tough day. Thanks so far guys.
 
Getting a midi controller as soon as I get my next paycheque. Thinking of the M-Audio Axiom 25-key. It'll be portable and fun.
I honestly know nothing about VST's, but hear them mentioned all the time. Are they like plugins for extra synths or effects that can be put into Ableton?

And for genres, mainly electro, some dubstep elements (mostly the wobbles), maybe some glitchy stuff. I mean I'll find out what I like making once I make more, but that's my basic idea.
 
The axiom 25 seems like a good choice, semi-weighted keys will make a huge difference. You might want to spend the extra money to get some more keys though, I find that even with a 49 key its really limiting.
Also, learn how to trigger samples using your software. Its sooooo useful for what you're doing.
And try to find some user forums for ableton (if thats the software you're using), they can really help.
And check outhttp://forums.musicplayer.com/
Its a great site, the people there REALLY know their stuff about their instruments. Not so much for producing, but if you have a question about a keyboard or something, they're the people to ask. But expect to be laughed at if you're asking about the quality of the Axiom 25. These are the people who drop $3000 on their gear.
 
ableton is really good, especially if you can get really good at using it. but for the whole question of how long it takes is really inconsistant. but ive learned that staying away from mainstream, sell out sounds as far as possible can do wonders. if you want to be successful (which im assuming is what you want) then stay away from technology for awhile and use acoustics and various instruments only. this helped me get out some songs that i made 100% by myself and enjoy listening to..which is not cocky at all. after you find your sound/techniques of writing, go back and edit it to perfection..but dont let it fall into everyother song today. good luck with your work..oh and recycle is another great program
 
I play in a band with 3 of my best friends, we all started out quite poor at our instruments and it has taken us about 3.5 years to get to the point where we are proud of what we write. It is a very rewarding feeling to write something you can look back on and be proud of. I dabble in synth and eltronic myself as well, just keep playing with everything and learning what each piece/function does.
 
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