Starting with music. What do I need to know in order to make music?
75 replies, posted
As the title follows. I've always wanted to make music but I lack the experience.
I do have some experience with FL studio, but I have no idea how to start, who to ask and what to ask. Basically, I have no idea how music works. Countless of times I have just started up FL studio, tried to make a song but I have no idea how to proceed. I just end up staring at all the knobs and black out. Hell, I even have an acoustic guitar.
Here are some questions.
How do you make a melody? Do you have to follow certain rules or just have fun placing notes on a sheet and edit it so it sounds good?
Why do BPM matter?
What plugins should I look for?
What kind of music do you want to make?
[b]How do you make a melody? Do you have to follow certain rules or just have fun placing notes on a sheet and edit it so it sounds good?[/b]
There are no rules at all! Well, of course it has to sound good, but other than that there are no rules. Play around with notes until you get something you like.
[b]Why do BPM matter?[/b]
BPM is short for beats per minute. The higher the BPM, the faster your song is and vice versa.
You can look up the BPM for the genre you wanna make on Google.
[b]What plugins should I look for?[/b]
It depends what kind of music you want to make really, but I suggest you learn the basics of synth programming before using any advanced plugins. Watch a few tutorials on synth programming and play around with the default VSTis.
[QUOTE=Chekko;31699453]As the title follows. I've always wanted to make music but I lack the experience.
I do have some experience with FL studio, but I have no idea how to start, who to ask and what to ask. Basically, I have no idea how music works. Countless of times I have just started up FL studio, tried to make a song but I have no idea how to proceed. I just end up staring at all the knobs and black out. Hell, I even have an acoustic guitar.
Here are some questions.
How do you make a melody? Do you have to follow certain rules or just have fun placing notes on a sheet and edit it so it sounds good?
Why do BPM matter?
What plugins should I look for?[/QUOTE]
First off, I suggest you read up on some music theory.
1. When making a simple melody, stick to around 2-4 different chords in a sequence that you think
sound good (for example, Am-C-G-F or Dm-C-Am-G. Try different things and experiment with it) And
then write a melody that follows the scale of the chords you've used. (As I said, read up on music
theory. It'll help you understand what I'm talking about.) Typically, you would use two different sets of
chords in a song. One for the verses, and one for the choruses. Optionally one for the bridges.
2. BPM is an acronym of Beats per minute. Basically, the speed of the song. A standard pop song would
be at 120 BPM while old-skool hip hop would be at 100 BPM. At 140 BPM we're talking more upbeat
stuff, like electro. When you come up to the 170-180 BPM mark, that's the speed of an average drum n'
bass song. When you go under 100 BPM, you've got some slow stuff, like classical music.
3. [url=http://togeostudios.com/ts-blog/free-resources/oatmeal-free-vsti-synth/]Oatmeal[/url] is a fantastic synth.
It's easy to learn if you know a thing or two about subractive synthesizers. I use it for almost everything.
You can find a whole bunch of VST instruments here: [url]http://www.vstplanet.com/[/url]
There are also "soundfonts", which are plugins with sounds from real instruments. You can download soundfonts here: [url]http://www.hammersound.net/cgi-bin/soundlink.pl[/url]
Depending on what genre of music you make, you might also want some samples. You can find loads of free samples here: [url]http://www.freesound.org/index.php[/url]
Don't stick to chords or a specific amount of chords when making a melody though. Just make a melody, put the chords you thought about on it and perhaps tweak a little (make a chord a 7 or put a 'transfer' chord between 2 chords) to make it fit the melody.
Try making cover songs (as accurate as possible).
You will learn alot about structure and how songs "work" - which you later can apply to your own material.
Remember to have fun while doing music, don't stress it :smile:
[QUOTE=hikula;31699818]
[b]How do you make a melody? Do you have to follow certain rules or just have fun placing notes on a sheet and edit it so it sounds good?[/b]
There are no rules at all! Well, of course it has to sound good, but other than that there are no rules. Play around with notes until you get something you like.
[/QUOTE]
i think this is bad advice for a beginner, it will lead to frustration and lack of direction.
its fine advice for someone who is knowledgable in music theory or otherwise musically capable, because they can apply their own rules and creativity subconsciously. however for a beginner they need some direction and structure to practice with. they need rules that they can eventually break with practice.
Read music theory, watch tutorials
IGNORE BPM - just go with what sounds good. Enough dnb songs go at 180 bpm, theres no variation. same goes for dubstep at 140 and other genres, just do your own thing and dont stick to ideas of what is right for each genre. In fact as a general rule dont set out to create a certain genre of music, it might help at first to decide 'I shall make a house tune' but it is far better to go with what sounds good and is original.
I find it funny when people claim a song is at 200bpm and it's actually only at 100.
[QUOTE=CheeserCrice;31731530]IGNORE BPM - just go with what sounds good. Enough dnb songs go at 180 bpm, theres no variation. same goes for dubstep at 140 and other genres, just do your own thing and dont stick to ideas of what is right for each genre. In fact as a general rule dont set out to create a certain genre of music, it might help at first to decide 'I shall make a house tune' but it is far better to go with what sounds good and is original.[/QUOTE]
It always helps to at least take some guidelines from genres. Telling a newbie to experiment is probably not the best idea
For melodies, a really helpful tool FL provides is their "riff machine". It kind of always produces crazy trance lines, but what I do is find one I kind of like then play around with it until it sounds good.
Another good way to get started on songs is to follow a youtube tutorial video (like copy what they do) then play around with it and turn it into something unique. This video for instance, gives you a great starting point for a nice progressive house song: [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lJM3GT5Sak[/url]
Some good, easy to use plugins to start with are: Sytrus, Toxic Biohazard, Z3ta, and Harmless. None of them are free but its not too hard to find ways around that kind of thing.
Also, definitely check out this plugin called "Gross Beat". Its an audio filter that can do amazing things to your music.
[QUOTE=Cbas;31733424]For melodies, a really helpful tool FL provides is their "riff machine". It kind of always produces crazy trance lines, but what I do is find one I kind of like then play around with it until it sounds good. [/QUOTE]
Sounds rather uncreative.
[QUOTE=Pepin;31733891]Sounds rather uncreative.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I think any kind of generators should be used as a last resort when feeling particularly uninspired.
[QUOTE=Mr._N;31733922]Yeah, I think any kind of generators should be used as a last resort when feeling particularly uninspired.[/QUOTE]
Well I say do whatever works - especially if your a beginner with no hardware. Writing melodies on FL requires a basic knowledge of music theory (or just a lot of trial and error) so using a computer generated algorithm to give you a starting point of where notes should go on the scale and how far apart they should be separated can be extremely beneficial. I never keep anything the riff machine spits out. I just use it to get some ideas flowing
[QUOTE=Cbas;31734264]Well I say do whatever works - especially if your a beginner with no hardware. Writing melodies on FL requires a basic knowledge of music theory (or just a lot of trial and error) so using a computer generated algorithm to give you a starting point of where notes should go on the scale and how far apart they should be separated can be extremely beneficial. I never keep anything the riff machine spits out. I just use it to get some ideas flowing[/QUOTE]
writing the melody is the best bit! D:
[QUOTE=Pepin;31733891]Sounds rather uncreative.[/QUOTE]
if it is original, good sounding music then it doesnt matter how he thought it up.
You gotta feellll it mannnn from your hair to your dick
I tend to experiment with the riff machine too, however I often place about 4-6 really long note/chord progressions that I like, then cut it, chop it, apply VSTis to it, whatever. It's whatever works for you.
[QUOTE=yawmwen;31736389]if it is original, good sounding music then it doesnt matter how he thought it up.[/QUOTE]
If you have the will to dedicate a song to something you didn't come up with, assuming that the part plays a big role. Maybe that's just me, I feel like doing that would feel so pointless. I have to admit that I am quite obsessive about coming up with all the parts by myself and having these part have be more than just noise (sometimes with the exceptions of drums).
[QUOTE=Pepin;31774057]If you have the will to dedicate a song to something you didn't come up with, assuming that the part plays a big role. Maybe that's just me, I feel like doing that would feel so pointless. I have to admit that I am quite obsessive about coming up with all the parts by myself and having these part have be more than just noise (sometimes with the exceptions of drums).[/QUOTE]
i do that too. but i can see why someone would use a generator to help create a melody, it can give you an idea to go off of. someone who simply plugs in a generator and uses whatever the machine spits out is just lazy and won't make original music, but there is nothing wrong with simply getting some ideas flowing.
Forget the rules. There are no instructions. Just do something.
[QUOTE=xiohexia;31777431]Forget the rules. There are no instructions. Just do something.[/QUOTE]
This.
[QUOTE=Nlogax;31777628]This.[/QUOTE]
yea follow that advice if you want to be overwhelmed and frustrated
you have to know what type of music your making .. hip-hop, rnb, pop, country?
listen to a lot of songs in that genre and kinda' study them.. and understand the structure etc.
it's best to do that naturally over a long period of time though
[QUOTE=Nlogax;31777628]This.[/QUOTE]
No. NONONONONONONONONONONOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Read music theory. Please for the love of God read music theory. I already said it, I know. But seriously. Scales, keys, chords, they are fucking amazing. Learn them.
Important thing to remember is though, that music theory is just guidelines. They are rules to be broken. BUt you ahve to know the rules so you can break them
I recommend these two books to get you started:
[url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Theory-Computer-Musicians-Michael-Hewitt/dp/1598635034/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313611098&sr=1-1[/url]
[url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Composition-Computer-Musicians-Michael-Hewitt/dp/1598638610/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b[/url]
[QUOTE=ElRobb;31789643]I recommend these two books to get you started:
[url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Theory-Computer-Musicians-Michael-Hewitt/dp/1598635034/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313611098&sr=1-1[/url]
[url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Composition-Computer-Musicians-Michael-Hewitt/dp/1598638610/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b[/url][/QUOTE]
I'm pretty sure he'd do fine just by reading tutorials online. That's how I learned and it worked pretty well.
you shouldn't have to read anything in order to express yourself. if you have trouble being creative fine but it's very easy to make music without knowing a single thing about it and going in with a fresh mind.
Yeah I never read up on theory when i started out. Even now I can hardly tell you anything about music theory. If you listen to enough music it's easy to tell when something sounds right and when it doesn't, and honestly I think it's much much much more beneficial to teach yourself to tell if something is right with your ear than it is to know if something is right because a book told you it is.
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