• Getting started
    7 replies, posted
Yo, I've been itching to start making my own music via computer but I haven't got a clue where to get started. I searched the last couple of pages and used the search button, which gave me the "Sorry, this type of search is disabled until we get a nice fast slave database up and running." routine, so I had no choice to ask myself. All I've got is an elctric guitar and a acoustic guitar...umm, no microphone. So would it even be possible for me to make music only on computer and which programm would be the right one and maybe a little introductory to how it works... If there has been a thread on this then I 'd appreciate it if you'd link it here. thanks in beforehand <3!
Well.. it greatly depends on what you have in mind. I take it you want to make songs using real instruments, like rock songs perhaps? Maybe you could post a link to a typical song you would like to be able to produce, and I'll push you in the right direction.
What kind of computer do you have? If you've a Mac, it probably has Garageband on it, then all you need is an interface for the guitar (I use Line 6 Toneport), and maybe a cheap USB MIDI controller to put in other (MIDI) instruments.
[QUOTE=AlmondMirage;22888287]What kind of computer do you have? If you've a Mac, it probably has Garageband on it, then all you need is an interface for the guitar (I use Line 6 Toneport), and maybe a cheap USB MIDI controller to put in other (MIDI) instruments.[/QUOTE] Real mac users use Logic 9
If you have no experience in making songs, try just getting some free mid composer and coming up with some songs there. If you just want to jump to recording from your guitar, you may want to look into getting and multi effects pedal. Most of them now have a usb interface that allows you to easily hook it up to your computer and record. Some people may tell you that this is bad for this and that reason, but you're just starting out, you don't need to pay a bucket full of money to start some basic recording. Some simple programs can be used for recording, I use Mixcraft because it is cheap and pretty easy to use, but you should do a bit of research, use some free trials, and find what software you like best. Also, don't post the first couple of songs you make. Seriously, get some experience with making songs first before posting the first thing you do. It's annoying when people post their first songs and expect people to say "well it's good for a first song".
[QUOTE=Nonikai;22888380]Real mac users use Logic 9[/QUOTE] You have to pay for Logic. I'm trying to get him a cheap and simple setup. Me, I use Pro Tools LE 8.
I have a windows XP. I'd like to try making 8/16-bit-ish/MIDI(but also with some bass, not only the high pitched sounds) music at the moment, maybe later mix it up with more realistic insturments.
That's a good idea, to start with MIDI. That way you don't have to worry about mixing as much and you can focus more on the composition itself. I would recommend [url="http://www.tabit.net/"][B]TabIt[/B][/url]. It is, by [I]far[/I], the best program I've ever used in terms of midi. You work with tabs, like in [B]GuitarPro[/B], but it's much more user friendly and reliant. For 8-bit/16-bit chip-tune-style, then I would recommend [url="http://milkytracker.org/"][B]MilkyTracker[/B][/url]. However, it's not very user friendly graphical wise. So if you are completely new to making music, I would start out with TabIt and make the mold there. You can always import the midi-file into various programs to "upgrade" the sound later on anyway. If you want to make strictly electronic music with high quality (like trance/techno) then there's a program called [B]Reason[/B]. It's supposed to be the best! Then you have [B]ProTools[/B] and [B]FL Studio[/B], universal programs which can do all of the above. But since they are so vast in capabilites, you really need to know what you're doing in order to get satisfactory results. You should probably wait a [I]little[/I] while before diving into here. Anyway.. like Pepin said, you want to write and gain alot of experience. Composing takes time to get the hang of. But it's not impossible. My first songs sucked ass. But now a few years later I'm very comfortable in my music writing. So don't get discouraged if your stuff sounds shit. You [I]will[/I] get better. While "natural talent" might help some, it will never outshine raw experience. PS. If you don't know how to use the programs, then there are YouTube-tutorials for pretty much all of them.
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