The greatest gift bestowed upon us is the ability to create. Whether it be in creating a painting, a model car, or a song that drifts in and out of your mind.
Often though, you may find getting your ideas to flourish into a realistic assemble becomes one of the most complex tasks you had to face. The point is, are you finding it impossible to get your ideas working due to the complex technical details you believe you need to know and learn?
In this discussion, I am going to guide you in how to separate the nonsense from the necessary in the very beginning, and far from being a tutorial full of jargon, I will try to give you some ideas, hints, and a framework in which to begin your creative journey. It will un-clutter your mind from what you really need to know and what you don't. It's simple.
Knowledge
Without it where would we be? Whilst undoubtedly you will need some talent, some determination, you will also need some knowledge about the tools you need to use to perform your task. A painter will study different colours, textures, canvases, types of brushes in order to evaluate the different working methods, study other Artists work, and also the effect his tools will bring to his own creations. Similarly, in producing music, we need to know the availability and variety of programmes and equipment, how they work, what they offer in value, and which pArticular ones we need.
To begin at the beginning, (as they say) is to look at the facts. You're new to the game. You will have to face the fact that you are not going to create a Rembrandt painting, or a Beatles number within your first week, ( if you do please let me know). Therefore, you only really need the most simple of tools to get you stArted. There is only so much you even need to know at first, or even that you brain will be able to digest, so walk slowly.
Hardware
In computer music making terms, you're going to need a PC or Mac, obviously. I presume you have this already? Ok, then you will need to make sure it is running efficiently and that you have a large amount of RAM (at least 512 MB, preferably 1 GB) to be able to cope with all those large music files you intend to use. Along with this you'll probably want a simple sequencer (something like a word processor for music) and a keyboard (the musical type if possible) capable of sending midi information to and from your PC. The soundcard you have installed will express the qual ity of the sounds you hear. A cheaper soundcard will likely have your basic GM soundset giving you at least 127 midi instruments to play with. The sounds from an inexpensive card may not be wonderful and you will probably want a better one. You can get this now or later on. It's up to you! It could take some time for you to research as there are hundreds of soundcards available.
Software
What you really want to be focusing on at the beginning is sequencing, i.e: composing your song with an arrangement or structure. The complexity of sound and its varying frequencies and forms you should definately not worry about at this stage. Remember, at first you need to familiarize yourself with your tools. For an idea how to get stArted with sequencers check out the 'getting stArted' music making tutorial also on this site. Read up on the various price ranges on different websites or music magazines. What do you think will work for you in the long run and what kind of music do you intend to make? There is no point buying a fully comprehensive dance music-making package if you intend to produce classical tunes in the end. Think about it. Get a software package that suits you.
The Power of Technology
Since the advancing power of technology in all areas of computer music, companies have been falling over each other to produce the 'next best thing'! There are literally thousands of software/hardware tools now available, many promising to do much the same thing, promising to be the only thing you need to create that 'killer track'! Don't be fooled by marketing strategies and tactics. Just because something looks good and costs a lot doesn't necessarily mean a smaller, less comprehensive package can't produce a similar result, and also, is it what you really need? Some things you'll just have to work out for yourself.
When I stArted producing, I was always tempted to buy top end tools (and great some of them are too), but I just didn't have a clue how to use all the complex functions at first and what if I didn't even like it? Spending all that money may have been disheArtening. Cubase vs Sonar vs Logic vs Reason, it doesn't really matter until you read up on each one and find which one appeals to you the most. Bear in mind the type of music you are hopi ng to create, the availability of future upgrades (if you ever want one). (Emagic discontinued Logic for the PC, disappointing to many logic fans, myself included).
Check the prices between the latest versions, and how it will integrate with your current system. How much technical support is offered by the company? Is it reliable? (A good place to find out how reliable a product is, is to visit forums on user groups on the internet; manufacturers seldom boast about how unreliable their software is!) Check for incompatibilities between your units, (again on the internet), and read reviews too. What have other people who bought the products thought? Don't let fantastic offers be your deciding factor. You may not like the product once you have used it.
Don't worry, this initial choosing pArt is the worst . Trust me, it's all very confusing and there is too much conflicting information available. You'll have a much better idea what you really want at a later stage, and that's when you stArt collecting the bits and pieces which you'll know will be of great use to your musical style. If all this looking up stuff sounds like a complete pain, in recommendation, download a stArter demo (for free) of any of these packages mentioned above,(and there are more), and see which one you like! Recommendations are made here for you by Wesley.
What am I doing?
You're not in a race (I hope). Do you have a deadline to produce great tracks? (hopefully not to o). You're aiming to get that stunner of a track outside your head and inside your PC. Yes, you need some basic decent tools, but only you can bring to life the energy and value of your work. So don't fuss, obsess or panic about all the technical doo-daa's thrown at you in magazines. Concentrate on the music! A lot of musicians actually lose inspiration and/or creativity by ending up collecting or reading about all the gear available; after all there really is not enough hours in the day to learn how to competently use all the different pieces of software/hardware on the market. What happens to them is they end up with tons and tons of gear, but very few quality tunes! You must get familiar with your chosen tool or package. Figure out the functions and read your manual that comes with the package. Play with it, and you'll begin to understand what it's doing and which functions may be very useful to you now or useful to you later! This time should be about getting to know you r tools.
Are you aiming for Dance? Pop? Electronica? You know how the music sounds, sure, but can you do it yourself? Yes, you can!
I hear people saying (and I myself have said this too) 'this sounds rubbish', when stArting out. Try building a house without any experience, is it going to be a palace? No. Neither is your song. Patience (lots of it), regular breaks. Do not spend hours and hours at the screen either, you will end up frustrated with tired ears and a total lack of enthusiasm. Always remember, at this stage you are learning, you're a student!
Listen to a song similar in style to what you'd like to do yourself. Take note of the structure, and try to separate the instruments in your mind, this is difficult at first but gets easier with practice. You are not expected to know exactly how everything is put together. In the beginning a lot of the 'effects' applied to instruments are indecipherable. You will learn with time how a compressor, EQ, reverb, chorus and other effects sound. Try not to worry about it all at first. Next, on your chosen song, how fast/slow does the song seem to be going at (tempo)? Does the speed change in the song itself? How many frequency ranges can you hear?
Is it mostly deep and low or high, or does it vary, what effect on you is the song trying to have? Figure out which sounds appear to be more 'up front' and which are 'pushed' further back in the song. Try to describe the sounds you hear, are they metallic, clangy, thuddy, sweet, deep? Yes, there is some learning of sound here, and you'll later be manipulating those sounds yourself, but for now you're grasping the structure, what you're actually hearing, and how it is all fitting together. What is usually very handy for understanding the structure of a song, in a very simpl istic way, is grabbing a copy of E-jay or some type of 'drop and drag' pre-made music samples into the main page.
You don't actually have to create the sounds themselves too much in this type of package, but use the ones they provide. This way you can mostly practice the arrangement and structure. Bring in a chorus where you think it should go, and the breaks or build ups etc. You may not find it to be the most serious musical production package, but it will help you later on. Try different instruments on your menu's and see what sounds good with what. What clashes with what. Play with the levels, usually strings are very nicely set panned and at a lower velocity, play with beats, bass and basically just get stuck in! Doesn't really matter what you come out with its all a learning process at first.
Music To My Ears
So! You have a PC, you have a sequencer or music package of some kind, you have sounds, and you're figuring out your first track. Excellent! At this point you may like what you are hearing or you may want to take up gardening! Fair play! Still today, after three years composing, I still threaten to take up knitting instead, but I'm not giving up without a fight! Why should you? One day it'll make you really smile and by all means, or just for now, try to keep it fun. Play, play, play!
Even though I'm not a very 'Artistic' person in terms of works of Art, paintings, sculptures etc, I do happen to very much like Michaelangelo's work and I have a couple of his paintings hanging right over my studio. I bought a book on the guy and found him to have the most remarkable will I ever heard of. (You'd need it to spend 12 years painting a ceiling). I draw some inspiration from him in the fact that I realised that even he must have had his 'off' days, or moments when he thought, 'Why oh why did I volunteer to do this?' and most interesting of all was that he never kept much of his reward but rather gave it away to family and friends.
So what inspired him to spend so long doing something so hard?
I guess it was his love of Art, his talent and the fact that he was creative. He wasn't intending to become a legendary Artist, he just was, and I believe his greatest reward remained deep inside him!
So don't let the jargon, the conf usion, the downright bothersome technology put you off your real intentions......... which is making the music you love!
If you love it that much you'll get there!
Carla Acheson is a musician, and freelance writer for a variety of subjects, mainly the independent music industry. She is the Director of Independent Record Label http://www.melodrift.com, and the Assistant Editor for news site http://www.indienewslive.com.
Author:: Carla Acheson
Keywords:: making music, music production, music production lessons, tips on music making, computer music
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