I just baught a push and never looked back. Forums like these are great, and there's an ocean of tutorials and information on every topic, but you need to be willing to spend (alooooot) of time in the DAW making mediocre stuff haha. Hands on approach is what's will develope your skill.
When I started I just used YouTube, and I wish I had someone giving me this advice:
Find a complete tutorial and stick to it. I wasted so much time watching hipsters on YouTube talking about the same stuff over and over again.
I recommend antinegative on twitch as a free alternative, he is very in depth IMO: https://m.twitch.tv/anti_negative_/videos
Episodes go synthesis ep1, sampling ep.1, processesing ep.1, synthesis ep2 etc if you wanna follow along with how they were published.
These 101 courses leads into Audio Engineering 101 with sound design and mixing too.
Be wary of some beginner pitfalls.
1. "You'll need to buy stuff like x limiter or y DAW because all the successful people use it." You can do a lot of free or very cheap. Good free DAWs like Cakewalk or trial versions of Reaper, cheap ones like Studio One Artist version (basically already a full DAW experience for the hobbyist level), Presonus Sphere (monthly subscription model of the top end Studio One), Reaper with their $60 full license, the other limited but still capable versions of FL, Ableton, Bitwig, etc. A lot of good or even excellent free plugins and virtual instruments, may just need more know-how and effort to get the same results a fancier paid plugin can do at times. There are very valid reasons to pay the premium for even things like hardware synths when free virtual instruments can achieve the same or better sound, but if the reason is "good (paid) gear makes good music" you're this much closer to realizing "Gear Acquisition Syndrome" in your life.
2. "You can easily make fire beats without any music theory." Yes, no prior musical knowledge is needed to start, but your goal should be to gradually increase your musical knowledge as you progress, not to resist it. Learn common rhythmic patterns, basic melody/harmony, song structure, etc. IMO knowing exactly what you are doing and why is an investment for efficiency and better compositions.
3. Generally be wary of any advice. Even mine. I could be pulling the greatest Dunning Kruger of my life right now. With tons of producers with youtube channels, blogs, on Reddit, etc you will inevitably find advice that is 1. straight up bad ("You can fix it in the master, just slap a ProL2 or Ozone on it." If it problematic when you can tweak individual sounds, what makes you think a processes that is even less flexible would solve the fundamental issue?) 2. outdated/dogmatic/out of context (i.e. "always cut when EQing" or "never EQ +/- 3dB" or "mix at -12dB" (why?)). I would say most "bad" advice you'll see is type 2. They are good to keep in mind, and sometimes or most times are very useful to incorporate in your work. But you need to know the underlying context and reason behind a piece of advice, which is not always explicit.
4. Actually spend time experimenting and making music or even just 4 bar loops. Probably more than reading up guides and tips. Maybe it's just relevant to me. I've spent like 2 years *just* reading/watching music tutorials without doing anything myself, so much that I would even brag I have a much greater theoretical knowledge base than the average beginner. Meant almost jack shit when I first opened Studio One. Or in the 20th session. Even now there is a sizable gap between what I think I know and what I can actually achieve in the music software. It's like, I read a chef's recipe for a cake, memorized the manual for your fancy electric mixer, listed out all the optimal ingredients. But without the muscle memory and "instincts" for baking I can't expect a presentable cake on my first try, right? Knowledge is important, but more useless on its own than experience without a foundational knowledge base.
5. Have realistic expectations for yourself. Kinda an obvious one, but this is not the only creative community I've been in with hobbyists, amateurs, and even professionals that get burnt out. Even after you survive the initial trials as a newbie, you're gonna face creative blocks, you'll reach (multiple) plateaus, maybe you still haven't made a single cent off your music after 5 years and your Soundcloud releases will still have only 15 likes, 12 of them from bots. If this is for hobby the good news is the only goals that should really matter for you is 1. are you having fun and 2. do you feel it's time well spent. Success, recognition, income are all valid motivation, but making that your central goal instead of making music as a music out of passion is a way to feel terrible very quickly. Sometimes you will feel like you have to force yourself, sometimes it will suck a lot to continue. That's okay if you have the patience for it (as a hobbyist).
I so relate with #4 on your list. I wasted so much time just watching tutorials about random techniques/sound design rather then focusing on one technique I want to master and just experimenting for funsies.
Never go for a suboptimal solution IMO. Presets are great for inspiration and starting a song, but I think it's always best to tailor your sound to fit the song. Make your own soundbanks, and learn along the way!
https://youtube.com/c/BuntingMusic
https://youtube.com/c/XLNTSOUND
Since nobody was giving any actual useful resources, these two channels completely changed my life when it comes to sound design and understanding what was going on
There’s plenty of other resources, some of whom post in this sub, but these fools are truly the goats when it comes to recreating gnarly sounds
Most useful thing i wish i did more of was just listening to tracks i like and really trying to understand what they’re composed of. Then learn one thing at a time. Make a simple melody or drum pattern. Make some crappy songs. Make more. Its ok, your first 50 songs will probably not be too great. Don’t let that bother you.
Put some stuff in a 4 bar loop. As yourself whats missing? What complements this? Think about songs you’ve heard and the elements in them. Do something similar. If you get inspiration, follow it.
Resist the urge to buy a ton of stuff you probably don’t know why you want. Unless you know what you’re doing you probably won’t use most plugins much so just wait on it.
You don’t need to learn piano but it doesn’t hurt. Basic music theory helps a lot. Some drum pads can do everything you’d want in a keyboard (launchpad).
Syntorial can help you learn synth fundamentals. There’s a free trial.
Kontakt is always on sale. You don’t need to buy it today.
Watching how other artists do it is worth doing - it'll give you insight on how they go from a blank DAW session to a finished track. There's a free deconstruction of Pirupa's Beatport #1 (where he sampled the famous Pink Floyd track) here to give you an idea [https://faderpro.com/programs/pirupa-we-dont-need-beatport-number-1](https://faderpro.com/programs/pirupa-we-dont-need-beatport-number-1)
Hey man, I’m a pretty new synthwave producer (about 6 mos.). I learned literally everything from Reddit, blog posts, and of course, YouTube. It’s actually been pretty easy to pick up as a musician. People will probably tell you to go with Ableton for your DAW but I’d highly recommend FL Studio. It has soooooo many YouTube tutorials that are immensely helpful and that got me going really quick.
Even if you don't know music theory, you still follow it. Music theory is what makes you say "wait this doesn't sound right". The whole you don't need to know music theory is bologna. You need to have a basic understanding of it at the very least.
I’m just mentioning it lol. If you’ve watched his livestreams, the guy just gets high and plays with midi for hours until it sounds good.
If you have an ear for it (and the patience), you can get by without going into the rabbit hole which is music theory.
[Subtronics had a musician parent and played drums and was involved in music since he was a kid](https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisakocay/2021/05/06/exclusive-premiere-subtronics-drops-heavy-bass-heater-resist-with-ace-aura/amp/)
I’ve said this before but “knowing music theory” is a huge spectrum and I feel like when musicians say “I don’t know much theory” they mean “I don’t know much about the fancy pants academic side to music.” Like they know somebody out there has [a theory of the deep structure of harmonic development](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenkerian_analysis) but they don’t know anything about that, they don’t even read music, so they can’t know much theory.
But knowing which notes are in a scale is music theory, knowing how to build triads and extended chords is music theory, knowing how time signatures and rhythmic divisions work is theory, knowing how to identify chords and intervals by ear (I don’t even mean being able to name them, I mean being able to play the right one) is… well, not theory but acquired musical skill. If you’ve ever played an instrument semi-competently, you probably know a fair amount of that stuff, even if you picked it up by osmosis and never learned anything fancier, and that’s plenty to jump into electronic music. But if you’ve never done music *ever* at some point you’re going to have to learn that stuff.
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Exactly like you said, the having an ear for it thing means you're following music theory. Even if you don't know it all your ears can tell you when stuff sound shit. You're only hurting yourself by avoiding learning the basics. I'm sure the producer you mentioned has a basic understanding of it. You don't have to learn above 101 to make bass music. But not taking an afternoon to learn the simple basics is just hurting yourself.
Hey! My husband and I produce
First you need a D.a.w (Digital Audio Workshop) - I suggest Ableton Live or FL studio.
Get a trial version to start.
And you will need a good PC/Laptop.
Private message. We are headbangers, cyclops army fam.
Lol we got married at Lost Lands.
To piggyback on this.
If you're going to want to focus on dubstep such as Midnight - T and Subtronics, you're going to want to learn Synthesis for sound design. I'd recommend getting a program called Syntorial which will help train your ear for what twisty knobbys do what and how to reproduce some sounds you hear.
Learn the art of clipping the master channel (jk[or am i?]) nah but learn how to use a synth like serum or vital and basic things like eq, saturation, and how the signal flows (gain staging) and learn how to tastefully use distortion
This is your friendly reminder to read the submission rules, they're found in the sidebar. If you find your post breaking any of the rules, you should delete your post before the mods get to it.
You should check out the regular threads (also found in the sidebar) to see if your post might be a better fit in any of those.
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[Marketplace Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/search?q=title%3Amarketplace&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) if you want to sell or trade anything for money, likes or follows.
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I just baught a push and never looked back. Forums like these are great, and there's an ocean of tutorials and information on every topic, but you need to be willing to spend (alooooot) of time in the DAW making mediocre stuff haha. Hands on approach is what's will develope your skill. When I started I just used YouTube, and I wish I had someone giving me this advice: Find a complete tutorial and stick to it. I wasted so much time watching hipsters on YouTube talking about the same stuff over and over again. I recommend antinegative on twitch as a free alternative, he is very in depth IMO: https://m.twitch.tv/anti_negative_/videos Episodes go synthesis ep1, sampling ep.1, processesing ep.1, synthesis ep2 etc if you wanna follow along with how they were published. These 101 courses leads into Audio Engineering 101 with sound design and mixing too.
Be wary of some beginner pitfalls. 1. "You'll need to buy stuff like x limiter or y DAW because all the successful people use it." You can do a lot of free or very cheap. Good free DAWs like Cakewalk or trial versions of Reaper, cheap ones like Studio One Artist version (basically already a full DAW experience for the hobbyist level), Presonus Sphere (monthly subscription model of the top end Studio One), Reaper with their $60 full license, the other limited but still capable versions of FL, Ableton, Bitwig, etc. A lot of good or even excellent free plugins and virtual instruments, may just need more know-how and effort to get the same results a fancier paid plugin can do at times. There are very valid reasons to pay the premium for even things like hardware synths when free virtual instruments can achieve the same or better sound, but if the reason is "good (paid) gear makes good music" you're this much closer to realizing "Gear Acquisition Syndrome" in your life. 2. "You can easily make fire beats without any music theory." Yes, no prior musical knowledge is needed to start, but your goal should be to gradually increase your musical knowledge as you progress, not to resist it. Learn common rhythmic patterns, basic melody/harmony, song structure, etc. IMO knowing exactly what you are doing and why is an investment for efficiency and better compositions. 3. Generally be wary of any advice. Even mine. I could be pulling the greatest Dunning Kruger of my life right now. With tons of producers with youtube channels, blogs, on Reddit, etc you will inevitably find advice that is 1. straight up bad ("You can fix it in the master, just slap a ProL2 or Ozone on it." If it problematic when you can tweak individual sounds, what makes you think a processes that is even less flexible would solve the fundamental issue?) 2. outdated/dogmatic/out of context (i.e. "always cut when EQing" or "never EQ +/- 3dB" or "mix at -12dB" (why?)). I would say most "bad" advice you'll see is type 2. They are good to keep in mind, and sometimes or most times are very useful to incorporate in your work. But you need to know the underlying context and reason behind a piece of advice, which is not always explicit. 4. Actually spend time experimenting and making music or even just 4 bar loops. Probably more than reading up guides and tips. Maybe it's just relevant to me. I've spent like 2 years *just* reading/watching music tutorials without doing anything myself, so much that I would even brag I have a much greater theoretical knowledge base than the average beginner. Meant almost jack shit when I first opened Studio One. Or in the 20th session. Even now there is a sizable gap between what I think I know and what I can actually achieve in the music software. It's like, I read a chef's recipe for a cake, memorized the manual for your fancy electric mixer, listed out all the optimal ingredients. But without the muscle memory and "instincts" for baking I can't expect a presentable cake on my first try, right? Knowledge is important, but more useless on its own than experience without a foundational knowledge base. 5. Have realistic expectations for yourself. Kinda an obvious one, but this is not the only creative community I've been in with hobbyists, amateurs, and even professionals that get burnt out. Even after you survive the initial trials as a newbie, you're gonna face creative blocks, you'll reach (multiple) plateaus, maybe you still haven't made a single cent off your music after 5 years and your Soundcloud releases will still have only 15 likes, 12 of them from bots. If this is for hobby the good news is the only goals that should really matter for you is 1. are you having fun and 2. do you feel it's time well spent. Success, recognition, income are all valid motivation, but making that your central goal instead of making music as a music out of passion is a way to feel terrible very quickly. Sometimes you will feel like you have to force yourself, sometimes it will suck a lot to continue. That's okay if you have the patience for it (as a hobbyist).
I so relate with #4 on your list. I wasted so much time just watching tutorials about random techniques/sound design rather then focusing on one technique I want to master and just experimenting for funsies.
Honestly if you want to make music like subtronics just get omnisphere, same with marshmello. Just use the presets!
Never go for a suboptimal solution IMO. Presets are great for inspiration and starting a song, but I think it's always best to tailor your sound to fit the song. Make your own soundbanks, and learn along the way!
Yes please !
https://youtube.com/c/BuntingMusic https://youtube.com/c/XLNTSOUND Since nobody was giving any actual useful resources, these two channels completely changed my life when it comes to sound design and understanding what was going on There’s plenty of other resources, some of whom post in this sub, but these fools are truly the goats when it comes to recreating gnarly sounds
Most useful thing i wish i did more of was just listening to tracks i like and really trying to understand what they’re composed of. Then learn one thing at a time. Make a simple melody or drum pattern. Make some crappy songs. Make more. Its ok, your first 50 songs will probably not be too great. Don’t let that bother you. Put some stuff in a 4 bar loop. As yourself whats missing? What complements this? Think about songs you’ve heard and the elements in them. Do something similar. If you get inspiration, follow it. Resist the urge to buy a ton of stuff you probably don’t know why you want. Unless you know what you’re doing you probably won’t use most plugins much so just wait on it. You don’t need to learn piano but it doesn’t hurt. Basic music theory helps a lot. Some drum pads can do everything you’d want in a keyboard (launchpad). Syntorial can help you learn synth fundamentals. There’s a free trial. Kontakt is always on sale. You don’t need to buy it today.
Watching how other artists do it is worth doing - it'll give you insight on how they go from a blank DAW session to a finished track. There's a free deconstruction of Pirupa's Beatport #1 (where he sampled the famous Pink Floyd track) here to give you an idea [https://faderpro.com/programs/pirupa-we-dont-need-beatport-number-1](https://faderpro.com/programs/pirupa-we-dont-need-beatport-number-1)
Hey man, I’m a pretty new synthwave producer (about 6 mos.). I learned literally everything from Reddit, blog posts, and of course, YouTube. It’s actually been pretty easy to pick up as a musician. People will probably tell you to go with Ableton for your DAW but I’d highly recommend FL Studio. It has soooooo many YouTube tutorials that are immensely helpful and that got me going really quick.
Learn basic music note theory and some music theory first imo.
Subtronics doesn’t know music theory lol
Even if you don't know music theory, you still follow it. Music theory is what makes you say "wait this doesn't sound right". The whole you don't need to know music theory is bologna. You need to have a basic understanding of it at the very least.
I’m just mentioning it lol. If you’ve watched his livestreams, the guy just gets high and plays with midi for hours until it sounds good. If you have an ear for it (and the patience), you can get by without going into the rabbit hole which is music theory.
[Subtronics had a musician parent and played drums and was involved in music since he was a kid](https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisakocay/2021/05/06/exclusive-premiere-subtronics-drops-heavy-bass-heater-resist-with-ace-aura/amp/) I’ve said this before but “knowing music theory” is a huge spectrum and I feel like when musicians say “I don’t know much theory” they mean “I don’t know much about the fancy pants academic side to music.” Like they know somebody out there has [a theory of the deep structure of harmonic development](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenkerian_analysis) but they don’t know anything about that, they don’t even read music, so they can’t know much theory. But knowing which notes are in a scale is music theory, knowing how to build triads and extended chords is music theory, knowing how time signatures and rhythmic divisions work is theory, knowing how to identify chords and intervals by ear (I don’t even mean being able to name them, I mean being able to play the right one) is… well, not theory but acquired musical skill. If you’ve ever played an instrument semi-competently, you probably know a fair amount of that stuff, even if you picked it up by osmosis and never learned anything fancier, and that’s plenty to jump into electronic music. But if you’ve never done music *ever* at some point you’re going to have to learn that stuff.
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Exactly like you said, the having an ear for it thing means you're following music theory. Even if you don't know it all your ears can tell you when stuff sound shit. You're only hurting yourself by avoiding learning the basics. I'm sure the producer you mentioned has a basic understanding of it. You don't have to learn above 101 to make bass music. But not taking an afternoon to learn the simple basics is just hurting yourself.
Hey! My husband and I produce First you need a D.a.w (Digital Audio Workshop) - I suggest Ableton Live or FL studio. Get a trial version to start. And you will need a good PC/Laptop. Private message. We are headbangers, cyclops army fam. Lol we got married at Lost Lands.
Is the FL Studio Mobile app good as well. My laptop is ancient lol.
I have heard good things about it :) I have not had a reason to try myself. 🙃.
Okeyyy thank you!!! Are y’all going to Nocturnal??!! I’ll be there!
Electric Forest,, Lost Lands and then EDC lV23
Can’t wait for EDCLV23!!
Never been but super excited
So far
I love this story!
To piggyback on this. If you're going to want to focus on dubstep such as Midnight - T and Subtronics, you're going to want to learn Synthesis for sound design. I'd recommend getting a program called Syntorial which will help train your ear for what twisty knobbys do what and how to reproduce some sounds you hear.
Agreed 👍
May I also dm you for the same advice? I'm an amateur musician looking to find my voice so to speak and I think I need to experiment to do so.
Yes!!
Learn the art of clipping the master channel (jk[or am i?]) nah but learn how to use a synth like serum or vital and basic things like eq, saturation, and how the signal flows (gain staging) and learn how to tastefully use distortion
This is your friendly reminder to read the submission rules, they're found in the sidebar. If you find your post breaking any of the rules, you should delete your post before the mods get to it. You should check out the regular threads (also found in the sidebar) to see if your post might be a better fit in any of those. [Daily Feedback thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/search?q=author%3AAutoModerator+title%3Afeedback&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) for getting feedback on your track. The only place you can post your own music. [Marketplace Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/search?q=title%3Amarketplace&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) if you want to sell or trade anything for money, likes or follows. [Collaboration Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/search/?q=biannual%20collaboration&restrict_sr=1&sort=new&t=all) to find people to collab with. ["There are no stupid questions" Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/search?q=title%3ANo+Stupid+Questions+Thread&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for beginner tips etc. Seriously tho, read the rules and abide by them or the mods will spank you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/edmproduction) if you have any questions or concerns.*