I decided to write down some guidelines on how to make electronic music (although some of the following tips may apply to other musical genres as well, not just electronic music) covering such things as what hardware is required or recommended, what kind of music making software is needed, how to get a hang of different kind of electronic music styles, etc.
There’s a lot of choices in hardware and software, countless of ways to do things in production wise and as many arguments and differing opinions as there are producers.
In this article, I try to point you in the right direction in electronic music production, mostly based on my own experience.
A little info about myself is that electronic music production has been my longtime hobby for years and I’ve been creating music on such genres as trance, downtempo, ambient and experimental.
Some of my songs have been released commercially through record labels and have also been used in a film project.
Excuse my English, it’s my second language and not so perfect, but I hope you understand and find these guidelines useful and get your answer on how to make electronic music. Also, if you have any questions, opinions or improvements, feel free to leave a comment!
UPDATE ON AUGUST 16th, 2015: Even though I wrote this article back in 2011, I’ll update it regularly so it should still contain valid information.
So, without further ado, let’s begin!
1. Computer and OS
The computer is naturally a must have hardware if you want to make electronic music.
You can actually produce good music with any kind of modern computer (I mean anything made in the past 5 years), including a laptop.
You also have a choice: PC or Mac. Both systems are widely used in many professional and home studios.
You can make excellent music with both platforms and most of the music making software are available for both (except FL Studio, though the MAC version is coming).
The thing is, you should pick a platform you’re already familiar with. If you’ve been using PC, stay with the PC. And vice versa. In that way, you don’t have to put time and effort on learning a completely new computer system and you can concentrate more on learning how to make the electronic music.
However, like I already mentioned, even though you CAN make music with any kind of modern computer, it will help a LOT to have decent specs.
The more CPU power and RAM you have under the hood, the smoother your music software will run and you’re able to build much more complex projects without choking your computer.
Also, choosing the right kind of hard drive makes difference as well. You might even consider getting a solid-state drive (known as SSD).
The computer I’m using has Intel Core i7 950 processor, ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 motherboard, 12GB RAM and 27″ widescreen Full HD display and it’s been a very good computer setup for electronic music production for five years now. If I’m going to upgrade this at some point, I probably get the SSD. That will speed up things even more.
If you’re on the edge of buying a new computer solely for music production and don’t have a clue what kind of specs it should have, look at some of the custom built computers that are made for audio production.
Check what kind of specs and components they have and start from there.
Few words about the OS: if you stick with the PC, I can recommend Windows 10. Best Microsoft OS so far – it seems to be really stable and working good with my FL Studio 12 music software!
Check these online shops for audio computer systems:
2. Sound Card (Audio Interface)
These days every modern computer has some kind of on-board sound chip so basically, you can start off making electronic music without spending money on an external soundcard or audio interface.
If you want to be able to use low latency with your sound chip/audio card and it doesn’t have native ASIO support (ASIO stands for Audio Stream Input/Output and it’s a soundcard driver protocol for digital audio specified by Steinberg, providing a low-latency and high fidelity interface between a software application and a computer’s sound card), you can use ASIO4ALL driver.
It works with most sound cards (even with those on-board chips) making it possible to use lower latency settings.
However, if you’re looking for a higher performance and/or planning to do a lot of recording from external sources, then the decent quality sound card or audio interface is recommended.
At this point, I recommend checking out the ProducerSpot’s article The “Best Audio Interface for your Home Studio.
Also, check the Image-Line’s knowledge-base Help choosing a soundcard.
I myself have an M-Audio Audiophile Delta 2496 and even though it’s not a high-end sound card, it has been enough for me for all these years.
But there are tons of alternatives too in a decent price range. For example, check out Sound Blaster Z PCIe. Or some of the Focusrite audio interfaces such as Scarlett 2i2.
3. Studio Monitors Speakers and Studio-grade Headphones.
Although I created one of my Dutch dance charts hit songs using only cheap Sony headphones I bought from a local supermarket, decent studio monitors (near-field monitors) are highly recommended.
Why? Because studio monitors are specifically made for audio production and they give an accurate reproduction of the tonal qualities of the source audio.
In other words, they tell you the truth what’s REALLY going on in your music in terms of frequencies. The sound is uncolored so there will be no bass or high-frequency boosts or anything like that like the normal hi-fi speakers or headphones tend to have.
This will help you to create music where every sound is in balance (depending on your mixing skills of course) and this will increase the probability that your music sounds good on different sound systems like car stereos, portable mp3 players with earbuds and so on.
Studio headphones are also recommended, for tracking purposes.
There’s a wide range of studio monitors and headphones in the market on all price ranges. The truth is, the more money you put into these the more quality you will get and be aware that many low-cost studio monitors actually DO color the sound or artificially boost frequencies even if they label themselves as “studio monitors” with flat frequency response.
A lot of audio professionals vouch for Genelec, Focal or Mackie monitors. They are in the higher price range, but the quality is the best.
In a few hundred dollars price range, I recommend checking out the M-Audio and KRK Systems. Here are some specific models you may want to check out: M-Audio BX5a & KRK Rokit RP5G3.
As for the studio headphones, check out these: Beyerdynamic DT 880 & Sennheiser HD 380.
If you don’t have the possibility to use studio-quality monitoring systems, use the equipment you have – whether it’s headphones or normal loudspeakers. Don’t let that stop you from start making music.
However, before releasing your musical production to the public, I recommend that you listen to it through as many different sound systems as possible (like normal home and car stereos, etc.) and tweak your music until it sounds good and balanced on all of those systems. (Actually, this is recommended to do even if you DO have a studio-quality monitors).
Also, remember to position your studio monitors right. That makes a huge difference how they sound.
I personally have Behringer Truth B2031A’s studio monitors. A lot of professionals say they are not very good, or that they completely suck, but so far I’ve been doing ok with them.
And after all, I think one of the most important things with your studio monitors is to learn to listen to them. Then you know how your music translates to other audio systems.
I’m also using AKG K271 Studio headphones occasionally and I must say I like them.
I have to say that studio monitor is one of the most important hardware in your home studio, so before choosing your monitors (or headphones), try to listen to as many different models as possible and ask around and chat with the audio professionals and people who work in the audio production field.
Here are some articles I recommend checking out:
Studio Monitors Buying Guide
Studio Headphones
4. MIDI keyboard controller
MIDI keyboard is not a necessity though. Personally, I’ve created many songs just by using a mouse and regular computer keyboard.
Many computer music software like FL Studio and Ableton Live lets you play music using your computer keyboard. It’s like having a virtual piano keyboard.
But on the other hand, you get a totally different feel for playing melodies and controlling your audio software with a MIDI keyboard controller. I use M-Audio Oxygen 61 (the first-generation model) and I’m still happy with it.
Here are more helpful articles:
What is a MIDI Keyboard Controller and Do I Need One?
Best MIDI Keyboards for Home Studio
Tips on Buying a MIDI Keyboard
5. Sofware – DAW
Get the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). The DAW is a software environment where you actually create and compose the music and it is one of the most important components in your electronic music studio. To put it simply, it’s a music making software.
There are lots of DAW software choices in the market, but the following four are the most popular, especially amongst electronic music producers: Logic Pro X (for Mac only), Ableton Live, FL Studio and Reason (other well known DAW’s are Cubase, Cakewalk Sonar, Reaper, Bitwig Studio and PreSonus Studio One to name a few.
There are some free alternatives too such as Ardour and Zynewave Podium).
If you ask me what DAW I would recommend, I’d say FL Studio hands down! Why? I’m strongly biased of course as I’ve been personally using it over a decade now.
It’s very powerful, easy to use music making software and you can produce just about any type of music with it.
IMHO FL Studio is MADE for electronic music. The sequencing features and workflow are outstanding and that counts a lot because it goes hand in hand with how well you are able to put your musical ideas into action.
But in the end, choosing the DAW is something you have to do yourself… You need to download the demo versions, test them thoroughly and pick the one you feel most comfortable working with.
And learn it inside-out!
6. Software Synths and Audio Plugins
(Check Virtual Studio Technology) VST synthesizers and effects are MUST if you’re going to start making music digitally with the computer.
VSTi’s (VST instruments) are virtual synthesizers that produce a different kind of sounds. You can use them just like you would use real hardware synths – only difference is that they’re software and you install them as plugins (some work as stand-alone too) to your DAW which acts as a host to these synths and you use them to produce sounds which you can use to compose melodies and make music.
There’s a lot of VST effect units as well such as reverb, eq, compressor, delay, chorus, phaser, some special fx, etc.
You can find tons of free VST plugins in the net. Just Google for “free vst plugins”, “free vsti” or “free soft synths”. Or check out ProducerSpot’s VST Free Download.
If you have money, I highly recommend visiting one of the biggest plugin stores on the Internet: PluginBoutique
Check out the demos of synths like Absynth, FM8, Massive, Reaktor.
These are suitable for almost any kind of electronic music style. Also, reFX has some quality synths like Nexus 2 for example which is their flagship. It’s awesome sounding all around rompler. It has sounds for practically any kind of musical style from trance to house to hip hop to ambient to film music.
One of my personal favorite virtual synths are made by U-He: for example, check out Diva, Hive or Zebra2.
Also, check out Reveal Sound Spire.
All of these virtual synths are very good for electronic music.
But are there any free virtual synths or effects?
Yes, tons of them!
Actually, there’s just too many of freebies to list them one by one so here’s a links for places where you can browse and download whatever you want:
7. Software – audio editor
Even though most of the DAWs does have a basic set of tools for such audio editing tasks as cutting, fading and encoding to MP3, you may prefer a separate audio editor.
If that’s the case, I recommend Sound Forge Audio Studio. It’s cheap, yet versatile.
There are free alternatives as well like Audacity.
8. Samples
You need a bunch of good quality samples as well. Usually, samples are used for drums, percussion, effects, etc.
I recommend you to check Loopmasters. There are THOUSANDS of commercial sample packs costing anywhere from $10-$200 or more.
Sample packs are mostly genre-specific meaning they contain samples that are suitable for a certain musical genre, but you can use whatever samples in whatever genre you want – it’s up to you and your imagination.
Sample packs consist usually of single drum hits like kick drums, snares, hi-hats, hand claps, crash cymbals, percussion sounds, synth hits, bass sounds and so on which you can use to build your own beats and grooves.
Most of the sample packs include loops as well well: drum loops, top loops, bass loops, synth loops, fx loops… (loops are ready-made grooves or melodic compositions which you can use in your own music). I personally use drum- and top loops quite a lot to enhance the rhythmic sections of my songs.
When you buy a commercial sample pack, you buy the license to use the samples, and most (if not all) are royalty-free meaning, if you create a song which uses samples from these sample packs, you don’t have to pay any additional fees to the sample manufacturer.
Here’s more links to some well-known sample manufacturers and online shops:
Loopmasters (my personal favorite, I’m a regular customer!)
Modern Samples (Love the Trap & 808 Kits)
Sample Magic (A favorite!)
Wave Alchemy (A favorite!)
Big Fish Audio
Primeloops
Vengeance
Ueberschall
Producerloops
Hex Loops
There’s also TONS of free samples available on the net. Here are links to some of the free sample resources:
BedRoomProducerBlog
Linklist for tons of free samples
Looperman
Okay, so now that you have your hardware, software and sample collections in place, you ask: how do I make that electronic music then?
9. Listen to electronic music and learn
Let me tell you how I learned to make electronic music in a first place: I listened what other artists do and started to do the same.
Just like many painters have learned to paint by studying and copying other peoples work, same goes for electronic music. I don’t mean that you should copy the song melodies and ideas.
Songs and ideas are copyrighted and there are legal consequences if you take an eg. a melody from another song, and use it as your own without permission from the original author.
So before I was able to make my own song in trance genre, I listened to a lot of other producers trance songs, analyzed them (especially the song structure) and finally got a hang of how they were put together.
So, in order to learn how to make electronic music, I would recommend taking these steps:
- Decide the musical style or genre you want to make music in.
Get some songs from that genre. For example, go to Beatport.com – it’s the most popular electronic music online shop and you can find all the most popular songs from every electronic music genre there.
- Listen HOW the song is built.
Take a song you like, listen to it carefully – over and over again and pay attention. Analyze it. Learn the song structure first. Every song (in almost whatever genre) follows some sort of common and logical structure – including the different styles of electronic music. Try to get a hang of what the structure is your favorite song: how does it progress, how long are the intro and breakdown… In other words, WHAT happens and WHEN.
If we think of a popular radio song (in rock, pop genre) they’re typically 3-4 minutes long and many of them follow this kind of structure:
[intro]->[verse]->[chorus]->[verse]->[chorus]->[bridge]->[chorus]->[outro]
OR chorus can also work as the intro. Then the song structure would go like this:
[chorus(intro)]->[verse]->[chorus]->[verse]->[chorus]->[bridge]->[chorus]->[outro]
There are few other variations as well, but I think these are the most common ones. Just check out Nelly Furtado’s “Say It Right” or Katy Perrys “Hot And Cold” for example. Or any other popular radio pop song. They all follow pretty much the same structure.
Check out these articles for more info about popular song structures. Yeah, they’re about pop, but it helps you to get a hang of the idea of song structures and you can apply the same principles to electronic music as well.
Study The Hits!
How To Get Started With Songwriting
How Music Works
Songwriting Tip – Structure of a Pop Song
However, in EDM (electronic dance music) such as uplifting trance or dance music that is generally aimed for club’s, the structure is a bit different than in radio pop songs.
Different parts are longer and usually, the intro is like one big build up to the breakdown. If you’re into trance music, you might want to check out my tutorial about trance song structure and how it progresses. It’s a bit old, but it should give you the idea though.
Here’s one common structure in EDM, such as uplifting trance:
[intro]->[breakdown and buildup]->[section after the breakdown and buildup. It’s usually called drop, release or climax]->[outro]
Or a little longer version:
[intro]->[breakdown and build-up]->[drop]->[another breakdown and buildup]->[drop again]->[outro]
And here’s explanation to those terms:
[intro] This is the part where you slowly build up your song towards the breakdown from the beginning. Usually, you build up the intro by adding a new element after eight or sixteen bars. So it could go like this: first eight bars contains just the kick. After that you add in maybe hi-hats and claps or some percussion loop. After sixteen bars comes the bass. And so on.
[breakdown and build-up] This is where the musical elements introduced in the intro usually disappears completely for a while and you introduce your big musical idea which could be a nice, emotional and uplifting melody for example (let’s just call it a “hook”). In here you also start to build tension towards the drop which comes after the build-up.
[drop, release or climax] This is the best part of your song! Usually, this is where drums, bass (and maybe the “hook” melody) start to play together and everything kind of explodes. This is very typical in EDM. At this point, people will typically go NUTS on the dance floor and dance like crazy!
[outro] Things are starting to fade out towards to the end.
That’s it basically.
When you start to create your own song, I suggest you pick up your favorite song and load it into your DAW and – no, do not copy the song itself, but use the song structure as a reference to see what happens and when.
Also, while listening to your favorite song:
- Pay attention to the sounds
Make notes what kind of sounds it has. Saw lead synth sounds, square wave bass sounds, huge pads, weird effected sounds are all the basic musical elements in electronic music. Try to hear what kind of sounds your favorite song has and try to replicate these sounds with your virtual synths. Or use ready-made presets. Many virtual synths have readily programmed preset sounds for various electronic music styles. Use them to your advantage.
Next, try to get a hang of the:
- Melodies
What kind of melodies your favorite song has? Some certain chords and chord progressions are commonly used in trance for example, but there’s definitely room for fresh melodic ideas so don’t be afraid to depart from them.
And one last thing:
- Sound effects
Pay attention to what kind of sound effects you can hear in your favorite song. Swooshes, risers, uplifters, down lifters, white noise sweeps and fx hits are some commonly used effects in electronic music. You can find these in many commercial or free sample packs.
Here are some helpful guides on various electronic music styles:
Trance Song Structure
From An Idea To A Song
Hip Hop Beat Construction Made Easy
Hip Hop Beats: Song Structure
Dubstep Structure
Also, go to Youtube and do a search on “how to make EDM”, “how to make trance” or “how to make hip-hop” and you’ll find tons of tutorial videos there.
Seriously, I really think the best way to learn how to make electronic music is listening tons of other producers work and then try to do the same. But remember, keep it original and don’t be afraid to try something completely new. There’s a lot of room for fresh ideas!
Next, a few short words about the production itself.
10. Start with the drums and bass…
Personally, I’ve found it’s best to first build the drum groove. At this point, the sample packs I mentioned earlier comes in very handy. You can also use the ready-made drum loops to help you to build your grooves.
Whatever the style is going to be, with a cool drum groove, it’s much easier to start creating other musical elements such as the bass groove on top of it and other instruments as well.
Remember to make drums and bass work together. They’re one of the most important elements in any kind of electronic music that has a drum beat. Seriously, I recommend putting a GREAT effort on these two.
11. Then add the synth melodies
Again, this is where the VST synths come in handy. Start building a melody on top of the drums and bass groove. Like mentioned earlier, many VSTi’s have several ready made quality preset sounds to start with. These will help you to get going.
However, I also recommend to experiment and tweak the knobs, sliders, and buttons and see what happens. You can come up with some really original and wild stuff just by experimenting with the different synth parameters.
Next, few words about mixing.
12. Mixing – give a power to the beat
When I mix my songs (if it’s an electronic dance music aka EDM), I give most power to the drums. Kick drum to be exact. In most electronic music, drums are the elements that should be heard clearly. Especially the kick drum. Then, I balance the bass and other instruments against the drums.
Mostly with the kick. I always use drums as the foundation on how I mix other instruments in my song.
I try to make sure that the drums are punchy and loud enough and if some other instrument is trying to compete with my drums too much in frequency wise (or bass in this matter), I use an equalizer to cut the low frequencies off from that sound.
I use my drums to measure how to mix other instruments in my song.
13. Mixing – hear how pro’s mix and to try to do the same
Again, listen to your favorite songs in the same genre you’re trying to make music in and notice how they’re mixed.
What kind of sounds stand out and why? How does your song sound compared to your favorite, professionally mixed songs?
Here’s a tip: try to listen to your mixes through as many different sound systems as possible: car stereos, home stereos, through iPod with those little earplugs – basically everywhere and try to make it sound as good as possible on all of these systems. Try to find the balance.
I have to say that trying to make your mix sound good is probably one of the hardest part in music making.
And it’s something you won’t learn overnight. Yes, it takes quite a lot of practice (through trial and error) to make mixes sound decent, but don’t worry, it’s NOT an impossible task. You will learn it. It just takes some time.
14. Beware of ear fatigue. Take a break or continue producing in the next day
It has happened to me several times, that I thought I’ve made a killer song in a day and then, in the next day when I listen to the song again, it sounds like garbage: all the sound levels and EQ settings are out of balance or there are elements that don’t seem to fit into the mix at all. At that point, I usually get frustrated, give up and forget the whole song. This can happen if you produce music for several hours non-stop: your ears get tired and in the end of the day you, can’t hear things as balanced anymore as with fresh ears. So, my advice is this: try not to finish a whole song in one day, spare your ears and leave something for the next day.
15. Links to forums you should start reading
Here’s a bunch of forums where I have learned quite a lot. A lot of audio professionals are hanging there. Read the threads and ask questions.
KVRaudio
Future Producers
Gearslutz
The end. Hopefully, this gave you a rough idea on how to make electronic music. 🙂
358 Comments
awesome post!
i’d like to contribute a few links to the already great selection.
another freeware DAW: https://zynewave.com/podium/
Thank you!
Excellent links, I will add them to the article 🙂
Thank you for all your hard work putting this together. This has helped me get started in the right direction. What would you recommend for controller and software? Tracktor / Serato? Which do you think is better? Im looking at the new Newmark control w Serato or the Tracktor control w tracktor software of course. And do you think Reason is better than Fl Sudios? Which one should I buy?
Danny,
Firstly, thanks again 🙂
Secondly: unfortenately I dont have any first hand experience on either of those devices.. I’m just playing with my ‘good ol’ Oxygen 61 MIDI keyboard controller.. However, Traktor is NI and NI = only good stuff in my personal experience (at leas when talkin’ about the sotware!)! 😀
As for Reason vs FL: well, I’m biased (I’ve been playing with Reason as well) I would choose FLS! Why? VST support and the workflow! 😀
Cheers, mate!
bro richard from this site, may i kindly ask you for a scrachsss tutoriallll that would be fantastic watch it comming from you…. best regardssss broooooo from slovakia…..
I want to start producing music please suggest me how can i start.. I dnt have any experience.. I just have a computer thats all
thanx a lot man. i was tired of trying to find musicians for my song. once i make it, and i hope it isn’t the last one, i’ll put up a link here for everyone’s opinion. it could take a few weeks i guess, as i’m just starting out. thank you for all the help 🙂
Hey thanks so much for this info was very informative i have just been making loop based electronic music but am self taught and am using sony acid pro . I’ve posted one song on soundcloud under sanctum. I’m definatly still learning! Cheers
Sanctum
Nat shand
Hey Nat,
I’m glad you found it useful 🙂
While its good info for starters, i can personally say from experience there are some improvement you could give to you overall kit, example are the monitors, i had behringer and they dont tell the TRUTH!! they are not very good for a neutral frequency output. at work i have BX8a m-audios and for their price they rock, hard. At home i have genelec and they rock harder, but are a bit steeper in the price range.
As for soundcard, also used to be a m-audio user and quality was…best put it bad. Switched over to apogee, got the one and duet and they are quality.
As for DAWs, i think FL is pretty damn simple, really simple, missing out on key options simple. I know producers though who dont just use one DAW but switch between two, maybe even more. I guess what i would say is don’t stick to just one. Just make sure u know your standard DAW well, and i mean really really really really really well before starting another, there are loads of little tricks in DAW programs you dont find at first, luckily there are forums and youtube to help increase your knowledge of your DAW.
finally a little song structure amendment, not an amendment really just a tip, the “release / climax” should be split up a little, i work, as a hobby, on producing minimal and techno, and there after the intro there is simple stripped down melody, bare to the bone for minimal, before dropping all the percussive elements, ie drums, anything which is not essential to the mix, building up to the climax of the track, where everything together explodes. Obviously it doesn’t have to literally explode in sounds, it can still remain minimal, just as long as it ties in together, before heading off into the outro.
Whenever i talk about music production with friends i always say there is never one way to do something. So i always try through experience, and every producer should as well. I have bought countless monitors and talked to countless people about them before finally finding a set that i like. As well with producing, watched way to many youtube videos, took online courses via pointblank and just talked to friends about it, information is key.
Boni M,
I highly appreciate your valuable comment, thank you! I may actually add some of your gear recommendations to my article. Anything that is valuable to the readers.
About monitors: While I agree your opinion about the Truth’s that they’re not the best in the market, I’ve been quite happy with them and been able to produce ok sounding music. I haven’t heard the Genelecs in action, but people are saying they’re really good. But so is the price. 🙂 Also, positioning is very important to get the most out of whatever monitors you have.
About soundcard: Referring to your comment about m-audio, what model specifically and by bad quality do you mean the overall sound, recording from external sources, driver problems or something else? I have to say I haven’t had any major issues with Delta 2496. But then again, I don’t record anything from external sources, I just use it with VST plugins and FL Studio and so far it has been doing ok.
About DAWs: can you please elaborate what key points FL Studio is actually missing? 🙂 As a longtime FL Studio user I think it’s a VERY versatile DAW and capable of amazing things if you know how to use it. But I agree with you fully about knowing your DAW inside out. That’s essential. However, I personally like to stick with just one software. I used to use three different DAWs, but I found it’s just too much hassle switching over from one DAW to another. I like to keep things simple and to consolidate my audio work inside one environment.
About song structure: thanks for the tip 🙂
Thanks again for your comment, Boni, I appreciate it.
Well written and very detailed article.
Hello! If I already have a DAW software, do I still need to get an audio editor? Isn’t it possible to edit audio in the DAW itself? Thanks! 😀
Hi Kurvine!
Good question. 🙂
Separate audio editor isn’t actually necessity. For example in FL Studio there’s Edison which is fully featured audio editor and most of the DAWs have some sort of audio editing capabilities.
I personally like to use separate program for audio editing. I’ve been favoring Sound Forge because I can do the required precise cutting, copying and pasting with it. Audacity is also good.
Adobe Audition is great too!
Great article but I dispute one of your claims – you really don’t need an excellent sound card for audio production. Since you can render to lossless WAV it’s pretty much irrelevant to have a fancy sound card unless you’ll be delivering performances from that same machine. True?
Hey Brian,
That is true.
I personally made music for years just by using the onboard soundchip and the audio quality was as good as it’s now with a decent soundcard.
However, if you record a lot from external sources, then you should look into the more advanced soundcards/audio interfaces.
I propably should have wrote “Decent soundcard / audio interface is RECOMMENDED” rather than “MUST have”. Need to fix that a bit 🙂
Thanks for pointing this out, Brian.
Hey Petri,
thanks for this awesome “tutorial”!
after nearly an decade in the metal/rock scen with nearly a dozen bands, some cds and lots of gigs i looked out for something fresh an totally fell in love with electronic music. especially acts like justice or digitalism.
though i have some experience about how to “structure” a song and some recording stuff, this totally helped me out.
thanks a lot!
greetz
Timbo
Hi Timbo,
Thanks for checking out the article, I’m glad you found it useful!
I must say that you have stepped into a very diverse and interesting genre 🙂 I’ve been dealing with electronic music well over 10 years now and it’s just getting more and more interesting and the fact that the technology has brought the possiblity for anyone to try make professional music at home with a relatively low cost makes it even more attracting.
Btw, have you heard Deadmau5? He’s genius in the EDM scene and I recommend to check out his work as well.
Anyway, welcome to this scene and to my website,
Cheers,
Petri
Just getting into this on my MAC, I have downloaded Ardour and am tryin to install some VST’s but when i install them they dont work, what am i doing wrong?
Hi, unfortenately I dont have any experience dealing with mac, but as far as I know, you need to download the Audio Unit version of the VST plugin. I think the Audio Unit in mac is sort of equivelant to VST in pc. Many of the free VST plugins are available as Audio Units as well. For example, TAL-NoiseMaker offers the Audio Unit version in addition to VST..
Also, other possibility is to use VST to Audio Unit adapter. Hope this helps.
thanks, I’ll give it a go and be sure to let you know how it goes. Thanks for the article!
Hi,
I have not yet started making any form of electronic music yet, but I think that this has given me a great starting point. Now I am in a remote part of Australia and have found that computers and hardware are VERY expensive. Because of this I would like to know some minimum specs. At the moment I am using a crappy laptop with 2GB DDR3 RAM, a 320GB HDD, only 2.3Ghz Pentium Processor, and to be honest I wouldn’t have a clue as to sound card details. Is this, combined with some of the cheaper options in the list, a viable setup for beggining music production?
Also, how hard is it to make a Drum base without using preset loops. When i begin, I want to try keep away from preset loops and conventional music production. I am looking at making sounds that are not the ‘norm’, so like not just 16 beats before a change and have kicks in odd places, similar to what deadmau5 uses.
Thanks again.
Camm,
Hey Cameron,
Yeap, you can start with those specs. I had a 1.3Ghz AMD Athlon, 1GB of RAM and a integrated soundcard and I used it to create “Turnpoint” which was good enough to get me a record deal and all the way to the dutch dance charts. And before that I used even lower specs to create music.
Now to your second question: it’s not that hard. I have created a tutorial video where I show you how to make a house beat. It should give you an idea how the beats can be created from scratch.
Deadmau5 is genius by the way 🙂
this post is bloody awesome!
Thank u Arce, I’m very glad to hear people are finding the information useful!
don’t get too hung up on “gear”. i use fl studio because of the piano roll step sequencer and the pattern approach to assembling a tune but i also use the Nintendo Korg DS-10 to make electronica and i’ve got to say that the DS-10 is quite the “portable” DAW.
What’s the point of 12gb’s of ram if Win 7 can only use 6 gb of it?
Hi Asd,
Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate will support up to 192 GB of RAM so 12GB comes actually quite useful at times. However, the music making programs such as Ableton Live supports up to 3.2 GB of RAM and FL Studio 4 GB so the whole 12 GB isn’t actually needed in these applications.
But when I bought my computer, I choose to go with the 12GB just to make sure I will not run out of RAM in anytime soon 🙂
Awesome post Petri!!
This is a loaded question, but here goes… I’m wanting to build my own computer for music and assemble a decent recording setup. I’d greatly appreciate comments, ideas, feedback on anything below. THANKS!
Computer….
•Coolmaster HAF932 case (highest rated case on amazon)
•ASUS P7P55D-E Pro ATX Intel motherboard
•EVGA GeForce 9500 GT 01G-P3-N959-TR video card
•Intel Core i7 Processor i7-960 3.20GHz 8MB LGA1366 processor
•Kingston DDR3 8gb ram OR G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) Ripjaws X Series DDR3 1600MHz 240-Pin PC3-12800 Desktop Memory
•Intel X24M Gen 2 SSD 160gb OR OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD3-2VTX120G 3.5″ MLC SSD
•Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB 3.5″ SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive and/or fanless HIS Radeon HD 5550 512mb
Also…
•Media Card Reader: Kingston or AFT
•Firewire card
•MIDI Controller
And the external bits I’d like…
•PCI sound card/converter: M-Audio Delta 1010
•Pre-amp: haven’t decided
•Microphones: mainly piano and vocal, Rode NKT, Shure SM7
Hi Luke, looks like a pretty powerful setup 🙂 8 GB of RAM is plenty and SSD drive should be a very good choice for the OS. What kind of MIDI controller you were planning to get? I also recommend getting Windows 7 as the OS. About the soundcard: I’ve read through the M-Audio forums that lot of people have reported glitch and crackel problem when recording with the delta 1010 in Windows 7 machines. Have you checked the other products from M-Audio – such as their firewire audio interfaces?
Thanks for the quick reply Petri! I’m still learning about all this, haven’t looked into M-Audio much. I had thought the MIDI Controller was a part of the PCI converter. So I need 3 pieces, PCI, MIDI, and pre-amp? I haven’t looked into those much; what do you suggest?
I’m curious why you recommend Windows 7 over OS X… isn’t Apple less virus prone?
And do you know if all my computer bits will be OK together? I’ve read compatibility can be a problem, want to make sure I get all the parts right before buying them.
thanks so much for your help?
Luke,
MIDI controller is an external device you plug-in to your computer via USB. It sends a MIDI data to your computer and you can use it to control your music software and virtual instruments. There are different types of MIDI controllers, but most commonly used external MIDI device in nomal home studio is MIDI keyboard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI_keyboard
So basically you need just a soundcard OR if you need to have a pre-amp, firewire or USB audio interface with pre-amp built-in might be something to consider.
I personally don’t have much experience dealing with USB/firewire audio interfaces (other than Zoom H4 and Zoom R16), so can’t recommend much based on my own experience, but if you’re planning to record via external sources like guitar and microphone that FastTrackPro might be something to check out.
So basically, to be able to make music with computer, you need these:
– computer (Mac or PC)
– soundcard or audio interface (you can even start with the built-in soundcards that every computer has these days, but if you wan’t a better performance or plan to record from external sources, then something like FastTrackPro might be something to consider)
– MIDI keyboard controller (not necessity though, but recommended)
– studio monitors/headphones (even studio monitors aren’t necessity, but highly recommended though)
– music software
About OS: let me explain a little. I was recommending Windows 7 as the operating system for PC machine. I wasn’t comparing it to OS X as OS X is only for Macintosh machines.
For PC you can choose from Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or maybe Linux.. from these operating systems I am recommending Windows 7.
But if you are going to choose Mac as your computer, then OS X is your choice.
About the computer parts: this is something you have to ask for your vendor.
Hope this helps 🙂
Thanks so much! This is very helpful, will use this for sure.
Hi Petri-
As a beginner I’m wondering which DAW you would recommend for the Mac platform? I am a musician but not too savvy (okay, not at all savvy) with the technical stuff. Is there a particular software that is easiest and most simple to use and start out with, but still has a lot of built-in features and sounds? And possibly one that I could use my computer keyboard as the controller (like the FL Studio)? Thanks!
Hey Stephanie,
I would recommend you to check out Reason: https://www.reasonstudios.com/ or Ableton Live Suite: https://www.ableton.com/en/shop/. Both have tons of sounds and features. Ableton let’s you use natively your computer keyboard as a virtual piano keyboard, but I’m not sure if Reason supports that. However, it’s not an issue as you can always download a third party application for that. Check out VMPK: https://vmpk.sourceforge.io/
As for the learning curve, well, either one of those isn’t impossible to learn, but I think you may wan’t to check out the Reason first.
Try the demo versions or both software and choose the one you feel most comfortable with.
Hope this helps!
not meaning to mess up the reply but I found propellerhead rather difficult to use..I would say ejay is the most simplest software to use. But fruity loops is better as you can do more, but yes very difficult for someone with little or no music background like me.
This article opened my ears and mind. Have you heard Cutworks – Spacecraft Tools, please listen if you can, and can you recommend similar music? I was told it is Liquid Drum n Bass, but I could not find anything equally satisfying in that genre, to the extent that I tried. . . thanks again for the wonderful article and generous sharing of your experience and ideas. TC.
Hey Adil, glad you liked the article! I hadn’t heard Cutworks before I checked the song on youtube: nice drum & bass. For something similar, Simon V may come to close. Try to find his older songs such as Icebreaker or No Time To Cry.
Hey there
Ok so i want to start making music on my computer and i found this but im having a little trouble
Im using fl studio but im not all that great at “self teaching” can you recommend some tutorial’s that will help me get started
Hi! For starters, check the out image-line’s youtube channel. Also, if you’re a registered FL Studio user, check out the imageline forums as well. These should get you started 🙂
I am in the same situation but since watching the tutorials on youtube I have to say that I have gained a lot of knowledge on how to use fl. On youtube there is a guy called candlelitcrimescene which has some great tutorials with voice explanation. I would definatly look at his tutorials.
Hello,
Great article- it’s been an incredibly helpful learning tool as I begin to try my hand at making music. I’ve gotten to the point now where I need a MIDI keyboard to help make things easier on me. What do you think of this keyboard?
https://m-audio.com/products/view/m-audio-keystudio
It is obviously a low-end keyboard, but that’s what I’m looking for (I’ve been using the DAW Zynewave Podium, so I’m obviously doing this on the cheap for now). Reviews say that it also works fine with Windows, even though it says it’s for Mac. Do you know of any other cheap but effective beginner keyboards?
Thanks for your time.
Hi Michael, I recommend checking out this:
https://m-audio.com/products/view/keystation-49es1
It works for sure with PC as well and you’ll get Ableton Live Lite with it.
This article is really useful for beginners like me.I have one doubt that is [i don’t have a midi keyboard] so if i just buy one…with a sound-card …as im using fl studio can i record the notes on piano roll?
Hey Jaya! Yes, you can record the notes to the piano roll. That’s where they will be recorderd by default 🙂
Awesome stuff indeed, so as the whole web site, i will have to read a lot 🙂
Im starting to deal with FL studio more seriously, so i wanted to ask does these tutorials on your web site cover FL studio 9, or they are for FL studio 10, or could they be used for both ?
Keep up the good work 🙂
hi, there and thanks for reading the article! Yeah, 99% of the tutorials I’ve been producing so far will work with FLS 9 as well. However, some tutorials will have .flp project files that are made with FLS10, but most of them should open in FLS9 as well. 🙂
Yo thanks again for posting this.. Really is a great resource!!! Thank you!!
Thank you Jason!
Hi Petri,
Thanks for this website. I am extremely new at this and would love to just start experimenting with creating electronic music. Can you please in your reply post ‘FREE’ version links for: DAW, VST plugins and free samles please… I went to the links you provided and they were just forums or they did not provide much help.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Kind Regards
Jon
Hey Jon, For a free DAW, check out Zynewave Podium for starters.
Hope this helps!
Hey Petri, awesome post, I knew most of it already and still found out some new stuff, thanks!
Now for my question, I want to know what is the instrument used in the background as an ambiental piano of the song on this link https://web.archive.org/web/20140406214718/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBfkcdRVsYs at 5:00, is that like an ambient piano, or a pad?
Also, what vst do you think was used for the bass here? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFHa01hE-pY
Hello Thomas, and thanks for reading the post!
To your first question: that’s a pad. You can find that kind of pads from several VSTi’s. For free ones, check out Alchemy Player or Majken’s Chimera for starters.
To your second question: it can be anything actually so it’s kinda hard to say.. sounds like theres two different bass sounds used to create the bassline, a “rubber bass” type of sound and a some sort of semi-sub-bass.
cool, but Reason is superior to FL Studio.
Hey Ricky! Weeeeell I would say it’s just a matter of opinion lol 🙂
i fuckin love ua gudelines,link’s,tutrial video’s everything thank’s fa all dat……:):):):):):
thanks, mate, thanks! 🙂
‘m actually a beginer n ‘m using fl10 frm past 2 months …i still have one thing alwayz striking is ds d best daw out of dem all in d market????and is der sound quality difff bw d daw’s??
Well, as a long-time FL Studo user, I’m heavily biased towards it so if you ask me I would say FL is the best lol 🙂
Anyway, if we think objectively, no daw is superior to it’s competitors. You can make professional music just about any daw you choose: whether its Logic, Pro Tools, Cubase, Reason, Ableton Live, Sonar, Reaper, FL Studio, etc. etc. It’s all about what daw you find to be comfortable working with.
About the sound quality differencies between daw’s: afaik, there’s none. Every modern daw is able to produce high quality sound. The quality is mostly dependant of the samples and VST plugins you’re using and your mixing skills.
Hope this helps!
i was thinking to make a song
for fun
Go for it, it’s great fun 🙂
dear sir, you are great . keep it up. i am a musician coming out with my music. i need set of computer to create my beat. let me know if you can send me a set so that i will pay for it. thanks .you are terrific.
from king solomon.
Hey there and thanks for your comment!
As for getting the computer, I would suggest you to check out some online stores like: https://www.adkproaudio.com/
Hope it helps!
who is this guy saying m audio cards sound bad!? I have 2 delta 1010’s (the top card in that range) for my hardware synths and guitar and once set up I hope the sound to be professional quality. but its comments like that which make me nervous about my choice. Hope it goes smoothly for me and Im happy with the sound.
Also do you think making use of spdif digital connections for one or two hardware synths is worth the bother, if all the rest of the hardware can only use the analog outputs in the delta’s?
good articles here glad I found it!
Hi! i’m From argentina, and i speak SPANISH. I Want to know if you speak my language. Because i love electronic music, and y want to learn how to make it. I only have a PC with FL STUDIO without any pluggin adittional. I want to know what’s all i need to make it, and how to use the programs. Thanks! and Have a nice day!
Hey Gerardo! Unfortenately I dont speak Spanish, but maybe you find my tutorials useful. Lot of them have videos and they should be quite easy to follow.
Your english is better than mine and i’m from Endland!
Thank you for posting this its helped me so much, i didnt know where to begin or what to buy, i’m looking forward to giving this a go now! 🙂
Hey Louise, and thanks for reading it!
THis is a great article by the way. Some great discussion topics. I have set up a little.studó at home and after seeing discussions about about quality monitors I audioned so Genelecs. They are excellent! However these being out of my price range I looked at some yamaha HS80M. They seem really good to me what do you guys think?? Also í have an M-Audio interfaçe i”ll have to think of replacing.
Thanks peeps!!
I saw an post somewhere about cracks and glitches with M-audio, when using win7. I had the same problem with my M-audio fireface410.
But be Awere you can have the same trouble when runing with other brands.
i now use an focusrite soundcard a pro40 wich have an lot of in and outputs . i use this for external gear like my Tla tube compressor, for the people who wants to plug their gituir or synth to it its realy great cause you dont need any di boxes or something like that . The already grade A preamps in it. and its cheap.
But to come back to the point. There are several reason for glitches and even dropouts. First thing to check is your latency. Is it set to fast for your system ?
second thing , when runing firewire soundcards is this: MOST onboard firewire 1394 chips/connectors just suck.
A good tip is : look for an aftermarkt 1394 card fitted with an TI (Texas Instruments) chip and run it with an old driver 1394 ohci driver, wich is selectable in your windows config screen. This will work for almost all other brands to0 (not for M-audio at my system ) , and works for people having troubles with there (video cam also)
Theres an article about this on the Focusrite website.
Good luck.
Thanks for sharing the tip, appreciated!
Thanks petri suhonen you are amazing… this stuff is amazing thanks for sharing
keep it up the good work
Thanks mate!
Hi,I’ve just started to learn to make music using computerized equipment,I haven’t a clue what I am doin with all the stabalisers,reverts and all the other 100 gadgets but your information has been so much help specially the song building techniques,I’m sure o will learn the gadgets over time! All exciting:) I love trance so this woll be my type Ill make! So its my first time didn’t have a clue what program I would nees but I found one called music maker designed by a company called magix! Wondering if you have heard of thete programs and are they any good! It seems to have all the gadgets you have mentioned! Thanks….
Glad you’re finding this site helpful, Craig! 🙂
Here’s my honest opinion about Magix Music Maker (and remember this is just my personal opinion): it may be a decent first step into the world of making music with computers, but you MAY find it kind of limited when you get to the point where you want to start compose something original because the Music Maker relys pretty much on ready made audio clips (loops) and as far as I know the features to sequence and create something of your own are kind of limited compared to other DAWs like Ableton Live, Cubase, FL Studio, Reason and so on.
Hi Petri,
I’ve redd about half your article so far. Already i think i’ll be using it as my standard reference to get started with electronic music production. Thanx so much for the info !
No problem Gavin, glad you’re finding the article useful 🙂
Absolutely what I needed, many, many thanks for posting this – has given me a whole new lease of life!
Thanks gain buddy 😉
Hello Neil, happy to hear you’re finding the info useful! Good luck to your new hobby! 😀
ASOT listen …
inspired me to do TRANCE
Me too, and still does 🙂 Armin Van Buuren FTW!
I found a free DAW that I find very nice. LMMS. It comes with samples, synths, and it is 100% free. I reccomend.
Nice find, Dave! I think I’ll add this to the list of DAWs.
Thanks for the tip!
thanks for the heads up petri i will take note, so at my level a beginner what program would you recommend that has everything i will need…
Well, I’m a bit biased, but I would say FL Studio 🙂
Been looking at this Petri https://www.inta-audio.com/computer-music-c36/music-pcs-c37/intel-i7-sample-station-p3210 you think it is good enough to go…..??? Have the money and needed an upgrade so thought I would take a chance with this – let me know what you think please 😉
You should be fine with that, Neil! Intel i7 processors are good (I have core i7 950 myself), 12 GB of ram is good (I have 12GB myself) and 7TB of disk space is a LOT (I have only 1,5TB myself) so in my opinion you should be fine 🙂
Any one know the kind of copyright from these programs because I’ve uploaded a video to YouTube using the loops and MIDI loop that came with it. Is this ok?
Hey Craig, what program are you using?
hi petri,Im using magix music maker although I wish I got fl studio.
Hi,so I’ve made my 1st song on my beginners daw magix music maker,I’ve used soundpools and a MIDI that was on the program would appreciate it If you pro’s could have a listen and give me some pointers etc….personally I think its ok,it hasn’t a video I dont know how and maybe equalisers could b better so I recommend listning to It thro studio head phones or a decent stereo.ok Its on you tube If you type In magix music maker dreamy it will show.my name is craigj17 I appreciate your time and hopefully feedback:)
Well i’m no expert, but i can give you my opinion as a listener:
All-in-all a good first effort, really!
Now for the critique:
1) @ 2:02 there is a change accompanied by a ‘bang’. I think the bang sound can be scrapped.
2) @ approx. 3:40 some high-pitched notes are introduced. They don’t integrate well with the rest of the sounds.
3) @ approx. 6:20 there is some ‘white noise’ in the background which varies with some foreground sound. The noisy sound is a bit disturbing.
ciao
great first song mate, I really like what you did around 2:00 to 2:15, builds the anticipation in the crowd….climax it faster though, crowds don’t hang on that long. =)
Fundamentally, there are some serious delinquencies in your time and key changes. Both are fine if used properly. Just sounds a bit choppy to me from a music fundamentalists POV. Perhaps some schooling on key signature, scales and time keeping would be helpful. Google will work for any of these.
Nick, gotta appreciate the advice your’re giving for Craig & Artur.. appreciate that 🙂
hey gavin,thanks for the comment and time i appreciate it. i will look into it think i got abit xcited to get it finished lol. what do u mean by white noise?
By “white noise” i mean a sort of hissing sound, like when a TV is on but not on a channel (only ‘snow’ showing).
I see gavin thanks. for info:) I think I’m goin to re edit my song and add,out generally try and touch up on things! Do u have any tunes?
No tunes yet, craig, but many ideas. So my next step is to get the hardware (a better computer), then install the software (as a beginner, i’m leaning towards Reaper), then i must learn it, then only i can create my first song. Of course, i have to work on my day-job too, so i might only be able to share my first tune with the world in 12 months ! =):
That’s sAme day as me day job so don’t get to much time,I impatiently brought magix but I might look Into getting a different daw infact its a def. Jus which one is nxt question. I’ve been on magix.3 weeks so im a beginner myself. I’m lookin into gettin a bigger RAM for my laptop from a 2gb to a 4gd.
Wohoooo so I’ve ditched magix after a month and now a proud owner of fl:) its a maze to work! Is there a way to extract just the vocals from a song on a cd?
I’ve been using FL since the 9 beta and it can be a beast to learn. Wait til you get to Pro Tools (the next step up IMO) =P
As for the extraction of vocals from a CD, I wouldn’t recommend it. You might be able to isolate out some of it, but it won’t sound clean. Remember…crap in equals crap out. Also, you run the risk of getting sued if you don’t have legal right to whatever you are dubbing. I’d suggest contacting the producer of the vocals you want, explain what you are doing, and get the original tracks. Just as a warning, there is usually money involved at this point since you are using somebody elses completed work.
Ok man ive got a question.
How much of a musical knowledge would you need?
Ive little to zero technical knowledge, would that be a big problem?
Hey mate, just a quick comment on this. I’ve been producing a while and came in with zero technical knowledge, and a ton of musical knowledge. IMO, it can be done without either. But you will have to bump up your perseverence quite a bit. Like Petri eludes to in this article, listen, listen, listen. Know your software well. Play around with it until you know every trick in the book. But most importantly, have fun.
Great beginner article mate, hope it helps out those who are looking to join the electronic revolution.
Thank you, Nick!
Your freakin awesome man please keep up the tuts and support! im 15 and im trying to start with FL Studio! THANKS
-Sonny
thanks Sonny, keep it up man!
Sir,i am using fl studio since 6 month but i havenot got the bass they use like in genre electro .
I should tell you truth that i don’t have internet .I visit cyber to download project files and vst plugin.
I made some drum sample and bass and when i choose a plugin like sound goodizer,reeverb,compresser that is added to master volume.I want to add reeverb in bass but i didn’t find the way.Instead it is added to master again.And also could you,tell me how to add more than 1 plugin to 1 pattern like bass.
And also is there any plugin or preset available which would produce same music like that of song lyrics?Eg i want my music to say with you.
Hope you will give a best reply.
Hi Siddharta,
If you want to add reverb just to bass instrument, you need to first assign the bass instrument/sample to a mixer track and add the reverb to the bass mixer track effect slot. I cover the instrument assigning on sevaral of my tutorials, check my latest for example.
To second question: do you mean you want to use several instruments to play the same melody? If so, I would suggest you to use layering. I cover this as well. Check my tutorial on How To Use Layering To Make Your Leads Sound Huge.
To your third question: there’s a speech synthesizer in FL Sudio where you type the words and it will then render them as spoken words. Check out my tutorial on How To Create Cimputerized Vocals.
Hope these help! 🙂
Hey man, this articles very informative and helped me out alot, thanks for taking the time to put this together, cheers dude.
hi petri, ive downloaded oatmeal free vsti and i have’nt a clue how to use it with fl studio 10! could you possible let me know, thanks….
Hey Craig, first you need to unpack it to your vstplugins folder and after that, start FL Studio, go to Channels -> Add one -> More… and from the menu (at the bottom) choose Refresh (Fast Scan). After the scan is done, you should see the Oatmeal in the plugins list. Double click it to open it.
Petri,
finally I have found a website that can explain very effectively and easy to understand of how to create your own music. Thank you so much on your tips. This is amazing. I can’t wait to start learning FL Studio.
I wanted to ask you if there is any problem because I am 24 and I am starting now learning FL Studio? I have years of experience in DJ-ing but I actually never worked with FL Studio or Ableton Live. Do you think that is disadvantage? I mean, I am eager to learn, and I just love House Music.
Do you have any tips on how long will it take to feel comfortable to actually be able to create a good remix or a song in FL Studio?
Thank you again.
Ivan
Hello Ivan and thanks for checking the tutorials! I am glad to hear you’ve found them understandable 🙂
To your question: absolutely no problem! And your DJ background will most likely be to your advantage.
However, it’s impossible to give an estimation when one is able to produce good music. I would say just keep on playing with the music software & watching tutorials (AND listening a lot the music genre you want to break into)! 8)
I was using FL Studio demo and it sounded nice and I liked its gadgets but there was one problem I couldn’t get. I found how to loop finally while attempting to record; I was also playing a part that I was playing while the beats and tones looped. But it started to loop part of what I played. Besides that, I couldn’t figure out how to record at all! I even tried to direct the sound through my computer’s audio output, into my speaker, then through that into my mixer board then back into my computer’s audio input but no sound came through. To be in truth, this is all new to me I only recently started to think of electronic style music. Help a newbie out?
I will soon get my keyboard through which I have a MIDI access to things which can also open up to electronic music which is why I’m here. I can understand the concepts of electronic music its just hardware/software is not my strong point. If FL Studio isn’t right for me right now could you suggest a different program and walk me through?
Hey Vince, if you don’t wan’t to loop your recording check that the “Loop record / enable overdub” isn’t enabled in the Transport Panel (it’s that little icon with R on it).
Also, what are you trying to record? Audio or MIDI?
To your final question: have you tried out Ableton Live? It’s good software for electronic music as well though I don’t have as much experience with it as with FL Studio.
Hey man great stuff. Thinking about starting up doing this sort of thing. Was wondering what you thought about the Novation Launchpad, as used with Albeton Live. I think most of my interest would be sampling from songs that i already have and like. Easy to do? Was thinking about getting Albeton as well as the Novation Launchpad as my first purchases, and just using my PC, to see what I can come up with. With the launchpad my guess would be that the only other things I might need are a usb keyboard, and possibly a midi dj mixer controller… Suggestions?
Hey Casey!
Unfortenately I don’t have any experience on the Novation Launchpad so I can’t say much about it, sorry! (Aleton Live is good soft though – I’m personally using it too as well alongside with the FL Studio).
As for MIDI keyboard, I’ve been using M-Audio products for couple of years (Oxygen 61) and I can say I am a satisfied customer 🙂
hey petri,ive just brought the alesis q49 midi keyboard not the best but not the worst. i was wondering if you know how to assighn things and ant info you may have to help me out as i dont have a clue. also is there a way to use it in the piano roll or do you have to record them all into edison?
Hey Craig,
For starters (assuming you’re using FL Studio), check out this:
https://howtomakeelectronicmusic.com/fl-studio-quick-tip-easy-controller-linking/
To your second question: yeap! when you press the record button (in FL studio), and play something with your midi keyboard, the notes will be recorded to the Piano Roll. It’s midi data what your midi keyboard sends.
hello,
great article, very informative. i have been a serious electronica enthusiast since the early 90’s – but i have never quite understood how the music is made!
i still don’t quite understand a few things and i am a techie. for instance, what music does a deep house dj like mark farina or kevin yost or miguel migs actually make themselves? is it just a matter of excellent track selection and then adding some funky elements and blending it all together? what type of hardware/software do you reckon they use?
and how about someone new like alexandra stan – do you reckon she produced the song ‘move like a freak’ herself or did someone else do it for her and she just added the vocals? and what software/hardware do you reckon was used for this killer hit song. (yes i like some electro pop too)
i am actively looking for a dive off point to get more immersed – i am not sure whether i want to produce or dj or do something else. i am even considering a move to berlin germany. all i know is i need to get more immersed in this world.
thanks,
drew
i guess my questions must be inappropriate to this forum
Hey Drew,
Not at all – It’s very approprate. I’ve just been uber busy maintaining this site.
Now, to your question:
As far as I know, Mark Farina makes Chicago House and Downtempo -style music, but I’m not sure about Kevin Yost or Miguel Migs as I haven’t listened their music.
I’m not sure how Mark Farina produces his track as every producer has a slightly different approach on music making, but mostly it goes like this:
1. First, create an interesting drum sequence. You need single hit drum samples such as kick drum, snare, claps, closed hihats, open hihats and some percussion sounds and maybe some drumloops and you use these elements to create the drum sequence.
2. Compose a bassline that goes hand-in-hand with the drum sequence. You need a bass sample or synth (virtual or real hardware) to be able to create the bassline.
3. Then comes the melodies. And you need synths (or samples) for these as well. You need to compose chords and melodies that works with the bassline.
So basically it’s all about (like you said) composing and then blending different elements together which then forms a complete song.
I’m not sure what kind of gear Mark Farina (or the other guys use). Probably a computer (MAC or PC), soundcard/audio interface, DAW (Digital Audio Workstation, that is the music making program where you make the music, such as Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro, Cubase, etc etc), good quality studio monitor speakers, and most likely bunch of software synths aka VSTi’s (or maybe even some hardware synths).
About Alexandra Stan: I’m not sure about her either. She seems to be a songwriter from what I checked, but I really can’t say for sure whether she produces her music by herself or use a “third party” producer. Lot of pop -stars do that though, but there’s lot of stars that produce their own music. I tried to google what kind of gear & software she uses, but couldn’t find anything…
Anyway, I really encourage you to get into this world of electronic music making…. I’ve been hooked into this for over a decade now and I feel I’ve just been scratching the surface lol! This is a ‘flexible’ hobby which leaves a TONS of room for experimentation and imagination.
Sorry I couldn’t be more help, mate 🙂
Cheers!
ok thank you. i have since learned these famous dj’s use other people’s work and combine it into one seamless club experience or album – this is what i assumed originally. this is amazing to me because i am sure 95% of the listeners give credit to the dj for originating (producing) the music, when in fact they are riding on the shoulders of other artists and earning a lot of money from it. originally i had this antiquated notion that these musicians would come together in a studio-like environment to make an album.
must dj’s pay royalties or gain usage permission on each song?
with alexandra stan, this is an original creation that was obviously produced on someone’s computer vs having a band.
my dismay is that i have not enjoyed using any daw or standard dj gear thusfar. i have experimented with quite a few in the past. none of it feels intuitive to me. i will keep looking…
Yeah, that’s what DJ’s do 🙂
However, DJing is not an easy job. It’s an art form and takes time to learn the skills: use the equipment to learn such things as beat matching, crossfading, EQing, etc.(whether it’s real turntables or Ableton Live type of software), to build a right kind of set to keep up the atmosphere, etc. etc.
About the royalties: I’m not quite sure how it works for DJ’s.. I think it’s the responsibility of the club to pay somekind of yearly fee to the publisher and the publisher in turn gives the club the rights to broadcast the music.
What DAW’s have you tested out so far? I recommend checking out Ableton Live or FL Studio latest versions if you haven’t already 🙂
Hey, beautiful article, found it to be of immense help. I’m just starting out in production, psy being my genre of choice. I just had one question, for now, I’m using an IPad 2 as my midi controller, is this something you would recommend or would I be better of purchasing actual hardware?
Thank you, Shane! Interesting idea to use iPad as MIDI controller… never thought of it actually 🙂 Anyway, if you feel comfortable with it, keep using it, however (and this is just a my opinion) using a real MIDI keyboard might give you a better touch on music making and controlling your software.
Cheers to the advise, will look into the hardware, use them both, can’t hurt. 🙂
Yeah, more the merrier 🙂
hi petri , im trying to find your tutorial for FL Studio and i can’t find it , i just downloaded the demo version and im really a newbie and it’s so much things , i get confused because it’s such an advanced DAW , i remember longtime ago i used djay and it was quite simple making songs lol.
ive been listening to EDM quite long since i was 15 now im 19 , but not been doing anything like remixing songs or producing , so im kind of new to this 🙂 , i bought behringer BCD 3000 recently , so been doing some “djing” cause it seems easier than making the music right now , since i dont know how & where.
Hey there! 99% of my tutorials are for FL Studio. Look here for starters and check if you find something useful there.
Also, check out the Image-line’s official Youtube channel (the Guru stuff), there’s some awesome tips & tricks videos for FL Studio.
Thanks for posting this, it will be a huge help when i purchase my new computer.
Mat
Thanks, Mat! Good luck for your production!
Im having a hard time understanding FL right now , should i use Ableton live instead? it’s easier? i heard deadmau5 is using it aswell for producing and live playing.
Well, I wouldn’t say Ableton is easier than FL. Both have a some sort of learning curve and actually I’ve found that I’m able to do things faster in FL than in Live. I would suggest you to use what you feel comfortable. Both DAW’s are able to produce very high quality music. You just need to choose what you feel comfortable to working with.
Hello everybody. first of all i’d like to thank the OP for taking his time to give everyone a nice basic starting point. Now, to everybody considering buying a Mac, it comes with Garageband which is probably THE best DAW for starters looking to get some sounds out (quality sounds i might add).although it’s a bit of a RAM hog, it supports some fantastic third party Audio units (the Mac version of VST) it’s even great for experienced users just because getting thoughts out of your head before it disappears is priceless. i’ve been using it for a quite a few years now and it still gives me the creative edge i need. Propellerhead Reason 6 was recently released however i’m still using Reason 5 which is also fantastic… which brings me to my next point. Rewire!. Rewire syncs reason with any rewire capable host DAW such as Garageband, Cubase etc. all you have to do is open your host DAW first, then open reason once your host DAW has opened. you are now in rewire mode. This allows you to for example have a drum sequence playing in reason whilst the melody or bass line is playing in sync in your host DAW (Garageband etc), so when you bounce your project (creating an mp3 etc for distribution) it bounces everything in both DAWs to a single mp3 etc. and last but not least …LOGIC STUDIO 9 although i’m still fairly new to it, it is THE best DAW in the world. The mastering suite that comes with it is phenomenal and the best part about it is, for new comers who find creating songs quickly and easy using Garageband, can at any point import their Garageband project into Logic with everything as was saved in Garageband so you can continue to build your song from there and start applying effects such as compression, maximisers etc. and the stereo imaging plugins are second to non. it can give you spacial imaging that words cannot describe. oh did i mention that Logic is rewire capable too. Trust me. Reason, Garageband and logic studio 9 is the NASA space control centre of Macintosh music production. Happy producing.
And as for new comers… i could be producing music for a thousand years and i’d still be a new comer because you will always, yes… ALWAYS find new ways of creating sequences, sounds, tips and tricks that you never knew was possible. anyone who thinks they know all about music production simply needs to find a new hobby 🙂 music creation is literally speaking… ENDLESS.
And last but not least…. for anyone looking for an affordable midi keyboard, look no further than the M-audio keystation 49e. reliable with good quality keys, pitch bend, modulation wheel and advanced controls. it’s a bargain for the price.
Thank you, Lee for sharing your advice! Highly appreciate that 🙂
Wowwwww, thanks a lot this is exactly what I was looking for!!!! So helpful. You are the man!!!
Hello guys ! 🙂 I don’t know if it’s the right place to put this here :-S
https://web.archive.org/web/20140406211133/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYQemkEj8YA
I’m just a beginner, this is the first song that I made in fl studio, Sylenth1 sounds in there… it took me one month to make it… I’m open to any ideas/suggestions… what do u think about it ?
thx for this great website, I really appreciate it 🙂
Hey, Mishu! Not a bad song from a melodic point of view 🙂 However, I would suggest paying attention to the mixing. It sounds a bit ‘muddy’ if you know what I mean. I think there’s too much bass in sounds that doesn’t need to have it so much – that ‘background saw wave pad’ for example. For a quick fix I would say, try to play with the eq: maybe cut the low frequencies from that pad sounds for starters. Also, I would suggest you to use a punchier kick if you can find one in your sample collection. btw, have you checked my mixing guidelines? It may help you 🙂
Hi, I’ve heard about side chain in several videos,articles but nothing in detail I was wondering if anyone could help me out? Thanks 🙂
First of all thank you very your post is very helpfull…it is exactly i was looking for….
I dont know if this is write place to ask this question …please direct me to proper site if you cant answer it..
my question is as follow…
I have Casio Lk-55 Basic keyboard with midi in-out…I wish to use it as midi control keyborad in Ubuntu Studio using a USB Midi cable
I will be using Ardour as DAW under JACK…..
Will it work???????
I am noob……
Thanks once again….
Well, It may work with a cable like that, but I’m not 100% sure. You could try asking on KVRaudio forum or from Gearslutz.
Hi Petri !
Name is Peter and im from Denmark, so ofcourse english is my second laungage to, so im sorry for any errors ive might have made.
I have to say this is the best tutorial sites ive ever visited, and there are alot out there .. so please be proud of this info and comments you provided. Im 101 % sure you helped alot more than you would ever know.
I was actually looking for help on the Music maker part. But i was given so much more info’s than i would ever have thought i could get.
I really like you are explaining all the terms of words like DAW, VST, ASIO etc etc..
Normally when visiting a site you get hit with words you have no idea what means.
Also the fact that you give yourself time to explain to all us newbs what your thoughts and ideas are, keep it up m8.
Now as stated on top, i work mith music maker .. and i don’t recall you mentioning it as a possible audio program, why is that ? Is it crap ? or does it lack something ?
On my personal experience it seems like a good program, but since i havent tried anything else its hard to compare with the quality.
Recently ive made 2 tunes .. but ive noticed a problem you also mentioned in your tutorial.. i used my creative headset when making it, however when switching to my speakers it lacks some quality for some reason ? I was told it sounded great, but in my ears it didnt.
Is there some way i can share the tunes with you and get your opinion ? skype, Mail ?.. i dont wanna share it to everyone yet.
Hope you can and want to help Petri 🙂
Thanks again.
Peter.
Hey Peter! Thanks for your comment and I’m glad you’re finding this site useful!
To your question about Music Maker: I think it’s pretty good introduction to the computer music, but as far as I know (correct me if I’m wrong though) it relys quite a lot on the ready made musical loops (?) and the actual sequencing features for composing your own melodies aren’t at same level as in FL Studio, Ableton Live, Reason, etc.
Anyway, you can send me a demo to info @ howtomakeelectronicmusic.com and I’ll check it out!
Cheers! 🙂
Great of you to take time out to help others. And many thanks for the various links.
After 20 years of DJing, I decided to pack it in. Not wanting to stray away from music, I started to learn how to make it. Although a noob, I have friends who produce / remix music and all of them are verse in most DAW packages & all have their preferences. I am learning to use FL10 and Reason. There are a few things I prefer in Reason though. One is the sound quality. I gotta say, one has to spend time on paramatic EQ’s to liven the sounds up in FL. Make no mistake, I like FL, besides, one can rewire Reason or any other DAW into FL allowing one a wider ability to create the sounds you are looking for. However FL are making a mistake by their planned removal of the “Legacy pattern blocks” in future versions. Although using the “Track” layout to lay your patterns allows for a little more versatility, it uses alot more memory than when using the “legacy pattern blocks”
(Not sure why though). But I have received an “out of memory” warning a good few times when I have layed out everything using the “Tracks”. Never have I got a memory warning when using the “Legacy pattern blocks”….I only have 4Gigs of RAM. After upgarding to 10.8.9, I had to reactivate the “Legacy Blocks” and got the nasty pop-up that they would be made redundant in future versions!
I have been using a C-Media sound card and Labtec 5.1 speaker setup for the past few months and it has done me just fine. But I gotta say, upgrading has has been Fantatsic. Not the best, but what I could afford, my Lexicon Omega and KRK RP8G2 monitors & KRK10SE Sub has really made a huge difference. (and annoys my neighbours alot more…LOL)…..Thanks again for the links and keep things going. There are many many people who will get to appreciate the info you put out there.
Hey Dave and thanks for your comment!
There’s lot of good in Reason: all the effects and synths it has built-in are good quality and the re-wiring possibility gives the possibility to use it with other DAWs which is awesome.
About FL and the blocks: I agree it was a MAJOR change in the FLS workflow, but as a longtime FL user (and ‘blocks user’ as well) I found (IMHO) building everything on tracks actually simplifies the usage of FLS workflow, albeit it takes some time to get used to it.
—–
I’ve heard good things on the Rokit monitors… been looking into thems myself too – might ‘upgrade’ to those when I have enough the dough 🙂
—–
Thanks for your comment Dave, appreciate that! 8)
Can you also use FL Studio to create realistic orchestral music. That is, real samples of violins and heavy drums, etc?
And trumpets and stuff*
PS. Thanks for this bit of brain-sharing. Been wanting to create real music this way since the original eJay came on the scene.
Rob.
Hey Rob,
Absolutely!
What you need for orchestral sounds is a good ‘rompler’ such as the East West Sounds stuff, Miroslav Philharmonik, Kirk Hunter samples, Nexus or some good quality SoundFonts (google them).
Hope this helps!
please, thanx for the tremendous work. pliz, how can i ask questions and get reply / updates on my email address. thanx
This is one of the most informative things I’ve read, thank you very much! I have a few questions! So I’m getting the Akai MPK25 and some KRK rokit 5 monitors and FL Studio! Is there anything else I need to get? I have a computer with 4gb of ram! Im just confused on how to set it all up so I can hear the track through the monitors! Will I need an interface? Or a mixer to get everything to the computer? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Hey there!
What kind of soundcard you have? Basically, you just need to connect your monitors to your soundcard and your AKAI MPK25 to your computers USB and you’re all set. For connecting monitors, you need two TRS cables (or XLR) (if not included) and depending on the outs of your soundcard, you might need a 1/4″ to 1/8″ adapter in between.
Cheers!
After reading your article, I am still confused on how to get started. What I would like to do is find a freeware program that will allow me to play notes and chords on the PC keyboard with guitar, drums, bass and vocals, then combine them to create songs. Does Ardour and Zynewave allow the use of a PC keyboard to create music? I dont understand the relationship between the terms VST, VSTi, synth and plug ins. Which software would be the core of music production that you would wish to add plug-ins for my specific music creation strategy? Thanks in advance!
Hey Glenn,
I’m not sure if Ardour or Zynewave Podium natively support the use of PC keyboard for playing notes, but its not a problem as you can always use a Virtual Midi Keyboard like https://vmpk.sourceforge.io/ to do that. It’s a piece of software which acts like a link between your computer keyboard and music making software converting keystrokes to MIDI notes letting you to play the instruments.
Anyway, here’s a some tips (and exaplanation to the terms you mentioned) what you need to be able to make music you described:
– Music making software (try Reaper, even though it’s not free, people say you can use the newest versions for as long as you want without restrictions, though it’s definetely worth buying)
– Virtual instruments = VSTi’s. VST is abbreviation from Virtual Studio Technology and it’s a software standard in digtal music making. VSTi means simply “VST instrument” and they are plug ins which you can – well – plug in to your music making software (if it supports VST technology – majority will do). They are also called VST synths, software synthesizers or soft synths. There’s also VST effects such as reverb, chorus, eq, compression, etc. These are not synths. Just effects.You plug in them to your music making software like VST synths.
– Now to be able to make music you mentioned, you need a VSTi that is able to produce guitar like sounds.
– For drums you need drum samples (gooogle them) or a drum VST plugin.
– For bass you need some VSTi as well (actually, majority of soft synths can produce bass sounds).
– For vocals you need a vocalist and microphone.
There’s thousands of VST instruments and effects available, free and commercial for all kinds of music making.
Hope this helps!
Petri,
Thank you for taking the time to reply. After I posted, I went to try LMMS for windows. I spent a few days with video tutorials, reading and experimenting, but I now understand the foundation of digital music production. Looks like I’ll be getter a midi keyboard as the PC keys are limited. It takes a lot of effort to produce a few chords using the PC method. I also found a few guitar VSTs. I chose to DL a few midi files, import them, and enhance the default instruments to create some new versions of the songs. This helped alot in understanding how the program (LMMS) works. I’ll probably try the other suggestions and see how they work. Since I dont have drums, I’ll probably work on music with digital drums and bass, then work in the midi and add my own guitar. Thanks again and Happy Holidays!
Great primer for the beginners. I’ve been using “FL Studio” (we all know its fruityloops) for over 11 years! Crazy when you think about it.
Same here – over decade of FL’ing lol !
hey this is just awesome, and the link u have given r really helpful
I wish i read something like this 7 years ago ..lol very informative .. i have a question on the computer i should get . i have always worked on reason on my laptop but im in the market for a desktop. im looking for something not to expensive but not to cheap .. i am planning on getting the newest reason (6) and maschine from native instruments. i currently have a fast track pro and im looking to upgrade my midi controller which is the axiom 25 ,but im waiting for nektar to launch the panarama which is a dedicated controller for reason 6 .so im not sure what i need to look for , keep in mind i plan on getting the komplete 8 ultimate which takes up alot of space , or should i get a external harddrive for all my sounds or both ? any information or knowledge whould help me out big time .. getting a nice return this year so im gonna splurge on the computer and music gear .. please help thanks
Hey Chemis,
I’m not good at recommending computer specs, but check some of these:
https://www.scan.co.uk/3xs
https://pcaudiolabs.com/rok-box-mc-5x/
https://pcaudiolabs.com/rok-box-mc-ex/
I would say powerful CPU (i5 quadcore or i7/quad/hexacore processors) and decent amount of RAM (I recommend 8GB at least) is essential.
As for hard drive, SSD would probably be the best for OS, and then something like 1TB HD (7200RPM) or more for your audio stuff (internal and/or external).. Yeah, Komplete 8 Ultimate is a big package (240GB of content) so I think you cant have too much of HD space…
Btw, how are you planning to use Komplete with Reason as Reason doesn’t support VST’s (just curious) ?
Hope this helps!
almost forgot to add that in the future whould like to add the fruity loops as well as dual moniters if that make s a difference??
FL Studio supports multiple monitors 🙂
hey, FL Studio Fruity Version Can use Piano and make music ?
Hey Alghi, what kind of Piano do you mean? If you have MIDI keyboard, you can use it tomake music with Fruity edition. Fruity edition does also have Piano Roll where you can compose complex melodies just by using your mouse if you want.
Pietri,
I would like to ask you for your help. If you go to this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQA5gQQNkIo it is a paradise remix by fedde le grand
if you go to 3:18/3:19 there is a sound that is made, i don’t know how to say it in english but I hope you understand what i want to tell you. My question is how to make that sound? It sounds like it goes a little bit reverse (or drops for a second). 🙂 I am so sorry but I just don’t know how to express myself in English 🙂
Your help would be much appreciated.
THank you Pietri and keep up the good work. AMAZING stuff.
Ivan
Hey Ivan, that’s a tapestop -effect. You can recreate if by using dBlue’s Tapestop for example. Check this post of mine where I show you how to use it.
PS. glad you’re enjoying the website, thanks!
Hello Pietri, Thank you very much for this guide and putting toether such a nice website, I`m just starting to discover all the useful information you have here 🙂
On advice I would apreciate from you: I`m trying to put a nice production system together to be able to create some house music but I have a somewhat limited budget. Currently my list would be:
Desktop Computer- around 1000 €( a AMD eight core with 12 GB RAM) and FL Studio 10
Speakers- pair of m audio bx 8 around 270 €
midi keyboard. m audio 61 around 175€
audio interface- m audio fast track pro 145€
However this would be at around 1500 € like 300 exceeding my budget, what would you recommend I downgrade from this list without compromising too much the whole process to keep it affordable for me?
Thank you in advance for all your held.
Greetings from Lisbon,
David
Hello David,
Thanks for your feedback!
That is a tough question.. all of the components you have chosen are pretty important for making music with computer. I personally wouldn’t downgrade any of those..
Have you tried to search used gear to save a few bucks?
Dear Petri, could you please tell me what should i buy, when i have the next problems:
1. When I use VST Plugins to my mixer and they occupied almost 50-60 channels, the computer slows down, once it even shut down, i guess because of CPU usage, although I have 12 GB RAM, 2 GB Grafics with Intel i7 chip on my PC, not MAC, i heard that it is very workable for music production 🙂 but with MAC i will have to forget about some AiR – ed plugins.
Here is the question, which equipment (hardware or USB) to buy to let the hardware to take part of that memory usage and control the mixer? so that it could carry the pressure from PC to itself, a kinda mixer hardware, gear or smth.
2. At the end I want my work to sound more louder, although I use Ozone 5, Brainworx bundle and some other Vstz to mix the overall project, at the end it is not that loud as professional mixes. So, it means I have to buy a hardware like Limiter or Compressor or Summing mixer or may be Synchronizers / Clock Generators or may be Digital Converters. I can not differ all of them, how each of them affecting the mix ??? may be you could suggest a blog or make a tutorial for this, i couldn’t find any on youtube, searched for a week, they are just scratching the surface and showing off.
Please help me, for solving the problem and buying equipment i have just 1200 euros. no much and therefore i need ya advice how to spend them appropriately to solve the 2 problems. Thx for ya awesome FL blog !!! Appreciate it.
Hey there,
Some answers to your question:
1. To my knowledge I dont think such hardware exist (?). All the VST plugins you use in your DAW use the CPU and I don’t think theres a way to transfer the stress to an external hardware. You need to either use lesser VST plugins per project, or “freeze” some of the tracks or upgrade your CPU.
2. To make your music sound louder is all about creating a well balanced mix, proper use of EQ and compression/limiter. Maybe this article will help: https://productionadvice.co.uk/how-to-make-your-music-loud/
I cant actually recommend you to buy anything as the loudness start from a well balanced mix and for finalizing you can find the necessary tools in FL itself (like Fruity Limiter for example).
Sorry I couldnt be of more help!
Pietri, I really want to start producing electronic music and I just have no idea where to start at all.
I have no experience in music, except for some piano lessons I took ten years ago that I forgot anyways, and I’m not exactly a master at computers, I just know my way around most things.
Any tips for where to start? I’ve downloaded FL Studio for my PC, but I’m completely lost, I have no idea where to start with it, or how to use it or what to do. Also, I’ve heard piano lessons could really come in handy for this sort of thing, is that true?
Alex,
For starters, check this (or press F1 in FL Studio):
https://www.image-line.com/support/flstudio_online_manual/
Also, I recommend checking these videos on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ste1438
And maybe these will help:
https://howtomakeelectronicmusic.com/how-to-make-beats-with-fl-studio/
https://howtomakeelectronicmusic.com/how-to-load-vsti-into-fl-studio-and-start-making-music/
The piano lessons may help, but its not necessity. You can make music without them. 🙂
I’ve started my first project using your tutorials,my second also,my third agan watchin utube tutorial of yours and know as i read this article i realize i’m doing 90 % of the things wrong..I’ve learned sidechaining,rising,tensions,how to use eq,mixer track,the 3xosc,even to rename the paterns or the actual tracks :)) And i thought i suck and i have no talent at all,aldo i’m totaly addicted to trance and house..But when i saw how many years u’ve been doing this for …:)) over a decade,and i’ve got FL10 couple of moths ago :P:P Maybe u’ll laugh at me when i’ll say that every tune i make it’s based on what i dream about at night..and i can honestly say that if i’d had a machine that can record dream tunes i’ll be famous :)))) Thx a millliioooonnnnn time for your passion to music and havin’ the pacience to share your experience whit all of us !!Signed…ONE OF YOUR MANY FANS 🙂
Hey Catalin, its glad to hear you are finding the material useful!
I must say that even though I’ve been making music over a decade, I still have sooo much to learn so this seems to be an never ending road 🙂
That is an interesting approach on music making you got there – every producer has his own way to create ideas, so keep on makin’ it!
Cheers!
I’ve just downloaded the TAL-LEC7RO VSTi PLUGIN 🙂 BUT honeswtly i think i’m making a huge mistake by downloading tons of plugins cause i’m not sure i’ve even covered 10% of what stock FL10 Vsti’s can do!When i saw u creating that lead pad on your tutorial from scratch 3xosc i felt like i’m nothing 🙁 My problem is that each and everytime i start a project i always end up beein stuck in the middle of it 🙁 cause i know nothing ’bout oscilators,envelopes etc etc ..things that really matter when it comes to making cool sounds 🙁 anyways..i have a new project rollin in FL10 as i write this 🙂 i found a lead but when i try to use something on the op it’s sound ok but to much commercial like for my taste…!!i’ve spent the last couple of moths burried in FL10 :))) i got get better at this!!You’re one of the few people that’s worth beein’ mentined on the album covers even if it’s after 5 years since i’ve started doin’ it cause i know where i’ve learned to use eq and reverb and flanger and white noise and so on!!I speak for all here when i say thx a milion times and thank providence that brought me here in the first place!!Hats down Mr.Suhonen!! 🙂 Greets from an enthuziastic roumanian 25 year old producer wannabe :))
Yea its easy to caught up on getting all the latest plugins (happens to me all the time hehe). I think its best to focus on one or two synths to learn it inside out.
Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate that!
Hey Petri!!
first of all Thnx a lot for this awesome post…. Now i don’t Don’t have to Google every thing on Internet..spending hours…on internet…
according to me Every thing is There in this post….And it’s really helpfull…
but,
i have 1 questions…
how many $ did U spend to get these products…i mean: ur PC, monitors, headphones etc..??????
Hey Priyesh,
Thanks for your comment!
I’m not actually sure how much I have spent on all the equipment I have in my studio as I have gathered these over the past 8 years 🙂
Amazing post! Thank you so much for taking time to do this its astonishingly helpefull!
No problem, thanks for reading it!
You know, something strange happened to me. I listened to steve reichs music and suddenly i wanted to create something. then i googled and this topic helped me much more then i thinked.
Awesome 8)
HI petri , i saw your youtube channel. and i am wondering how come you aren’t producing under Primo Lux anymore?
lastly i have 1 question,
what are some good plug ins for making trance music ??
i am using logic pro 9:)
vince
Hey Vince,
I will produce under Primo Lux again at some day, its just that I’ve been busy with my other projects and my time for producing has been a kind of limited.
To your second question:
Sylenth1, Zebra2 and Nexus2. IMO those three are everything that ‘trancer’ needs 🙂
hello peter,thanks for a great advices and your will to share your experience,i am using reason for few years,well for now i can use it only on laptop and good headphones,but i cant reach nice sound quality with integrated sound card,i want to buy external sound card but many people say that if card is not firewire powered most probably i i will not reach desire quality,my laptop doesnt have firewire port,i am interested about your opinion connected with usb extern sound card,thank u in advance,keep on with great work:)
Hey Milos,
No problem, thanks for checking the article!
Now to your question: can you be more specific what do you mean by sound quality as it is a bit of a subjective matter.
Cheers!
Thx a lot. Great info for beginners.
Added to favorites!
😀
Thank you very much!
I’m from Bangladesh, I always tried to find out the better thing, technology for my home studio and today i found better info. on your website. Now I’m looking for some high tech software.
What software or plugins i should use for Real effected ” Orchestral ” & ” Indian classical ” – sound / music…..? :/
Hey Sadat,
For orchestral sounds you might wan’t to check out one of these commercial plugins: EWQL Symphonic Orchestra, VSL, Miroslav Philharmonik and Garritan Personal Orchestra to name a few.
For Indian sounds, check out the Zero-G sample library “Deepest India” for example.
Men this is really awsome, you just open my mind with all the articles u post there… Damn! really am so excited to star a new song 😀 as soon as i finish it with my partner am gonna be posting it here 😀 so then u can check it out!!
Hey Richo, glad to hear that, thanks! Good luck to your production! 8)
Your info was very informative and greatly appreciated, thanks for your effort, i now live aalborg denmark, maybe we could talk some more. I am a pro musician, and am starting my own business here,
I make my money the hard way, but want to get into writing again. Hope you respond. Karl
Hey Karl,
Thanks for checking the article!
What kind of music are you planning to start writing?
Hey,
I’ve been interested in music for a long time, especially the electronic category.
I’ve been considering to learn how to use FL, but when I read a part of the License Agreement (Yes. I am the kind of guy who will read all of that,) it tells you,
“you may not use the Software for the purpose of conducting, or in connection with, any commercial purposes or business purposes, whether ‘profit’ or ‘not-for-profit’.”
I’m not the biggest legal person; I am not sure to what extent this abides to. But what would this mean, for someone who may be considering producing/composing music for profit?
Pro Audio loops can be a great help too..
Even many of the top electronic music producers use sample packs to either inspiration or to enhance thre tracks.
Hello. Thanks for posting so much info. I was an electronica fan I guess before I knew there was a name for it listening to Vangelis Antarctica, Switched on Bach, P.F. Wish you were here and Kitaro when I was a little kid. Now in middle age, I would like to play some sort of ambient/chill type music myself, are 88 keys a smarter choice for learning and what is the downside of learning with less keys on a “keyboard” as opposed to a “electric piano”? What would be a good future ready 88 key beginner synth if such a thing exists? Sorry for the dumb questions and thanks in advance, CP
Hello again, maybe I should clarify a couple things. I have no music background and when learning from the ground up so to speak, I would prefer to “learn piano” rather than what appears to be the shortcut of learning on a keyboard with less than 88 keys and very light key pressures (shortchanging myself long term). Also, my son will be needing a piano to learn/ practice on in a couple years so I want something in the house that works for his piano learning experience. We only have room for one, buying an additional piano is not an option. I also want this 88 key keyboard to be future ready enough to handle what my true interest is (ambient/ chill) when my skill level reaches that point. Is the M-Audio Key Graded Hammer-Action USB MIDI Controller a proper piano for my son and I to learn to play traditional piano on? And would anything about this machine be missing with regard to creating the atmospheric ethereal soundscapes you hear in alot of the electronica that I prefer? Thanks again, CS
Great article! This has really inspired me up to get back into producing. Quick question, what mixer is that in your picture and do you recommend it? Sorry if I missed it but I didn’t see any mention of the mixer in the article or other comments. Cheers.
-Nick
Hey Petri, i can’t describe to you, how you’ve helped me. Before this, i was thinking i have only few steps more and than i can produce my music well. I’ve only 15 years so i hope it’s not all over yet !! Thank you, so much, i love you like my parents! :)))
This is miracle work! I’ve been searching for something like this. Thank you for all of this great work. I want to be like Mark Petrie one day. Glad i saw this 🙂 all the best.
sam
Petri,
I really, have no idea what MIDI controller I should get, but I’m making music cheap.
I have FL studio and Ableton Live, but I don’t have a MIDI CONTROLLER!!!
I was thinking of getting a MIDI controller app for my ipad… Any recommendations?
Hey Edward,
Check one of these: Oxygen 25 or Oxygen 61 (I have the older model of Oxygen 61 and I like it).
Cheers!
Thanks mate this is probably the most helpful post on the web for this type of information. Its been really helpful! I’m quite young and started making music roughly 6 months ago but until now I haven’t been able to find my way. Good to know I’m not the only one who gets ear fatigue! At the moment I’m using GarageBand I don’t know whether this is holding me back??
Thanks,
Finnsta
Hey Finnsta,
Glad you found the article useful!
The thing is, you need to stick with the software you feel most comfortable working with.Now, I’m not familiar with Garage Band, so I can’t tell for sure if its holding you back or not. The thing is, if you can make the kind of music you wan’t with it, then you should be ok.
However, since you’re on Macintosh, you MIGHT want to check out Logic Pro or Ableton Live. These two are very popular DAW’s amongst producers.
This is more than awesome , thanks for everything Petri .
Thanks for this! I have a question, what is that in the picture between your keyboard and headphones on the left side? What is its purpose?
Hey Will,
That’s a mixer and I only use it for controlling the output level from my soundcard to the speakers.
I am using FL studio and are thinking of buying a good keyboard (any advice on this please?)
I have been working on various tracks for about a year.
You can create music without no background knowledge, just takes more patience and determination. It is worth trying to learn a few cords in the process as well.
Hello Theo,
I’ve been using Oxygen 61 (by M-Audio) for a few years and so far I’ve been very happy with it so I can recommend it.
Hey man. I’ll be setting up a new desktop on the following weeks. I hope you can dish out some new articles like this soon but this time more specifically for FL. What I really want to know is if it makes any difference if you install FL on a separate drive from your Windows OS as well as your VSTs and audio samples. And if partitioning a drive for these would be of any advantage.
Hey Mac,
I’m using one HD for Windows OS and all the audio stuff (programs and sample). I have partitioned to two parts: part 1 has the Windows and part 2 all the audio stuff (FL Studio, samples and all the VST plugins) and so far it has been working pretty good.
I’m wanting to make some electronic/dubstep(ish) type songs. I like the M-Audio Venom as a synth. What do you think? Also I’m looking at using ProTools (also from M-Audio) as a DAW. Any advice would be great.
Hey DG,
Unfotenately, I don’t have any experience on Venom or Pro Tools, but if you’re familiar with them and are able to make music with them then you should be all-right!
Hi. could i use TC Helicon Voicetone Create XT as my microphone interface or do i need a normal interface????
Hey Lee,
If you want to record your microphone to a computer through that device, you will need an normal audio interface as well.
I have a MacBook pro, but want to keep that for live sets. I just made the switch to apple a few months ago. What would you recommend, pc tower (and if so, what specs am I looking for – I want to know exactly what you run) or an iMac (will a core i5 be enough?).
I’m a newbie in the production game but serious about it, so want to get the hardware right straight out the gate. Thanks for all the great info! I learned quite a bit already thanks to your article.
Majik
Hey Majik,
I dont know about iMac specs, but I am using quad core i7 950, Asus P6T Deluxe V2 mobo and 12GB ram myself and been very happy with it.
CPU and RAM are two of the most important elements in audio PC. The more the merrier. I would recommend the i7 processors (maybe even hexa core (?)). You can’t go wrong with them.
Hope this helps!
Great article. Very informative and inspiring. Very cool. Thx. Have a quick question, if you have a moment. Do you know of any synths (hard or soft) for producing low level clicks, pops, and ticks (not quite sure how to describe it… other than the kind of sounds most people are trying to remove.. haha). I wish I could point you to a sample. I’ll try and find one and post back.
Also for those trying to decide on a midi controller… I just picked up an m-audio axiom pro 61 and so far am loving it. Feels very solid… nice semi-weighted keys… not too hard or soft.. little on the pricey side but worth the investment IMHO. Best advice someone gave me was to go down to my local music store and actually try them all before buying. Made all the difference. Could tell right away what felt right and not.
Hey Douglas,
Try Izotope Vinyl: https://www.izotope.com/en/products/vinyl.html
Hey Petri, cool stuff! But I always thought you’d need much more than an MIDI controller to make electronic music. Like, for example, Daft Punk’s pyramid has lots of stuff, and deadmau5 does too. Do you have any tips for beginners? The closest I’ve ever done to it is listen to Daft Punk, Deadmau5, Skrillex, and some others.
Thx.
PS: Would you consider Daft Punk good role models in this case??
Hi,
Yeah, you don’t need that much of hardware for making electronic music. Actually, you can make good music even without MIDI controller. Computer, soundcard and music making software is all you need to get started.
IMO Daft Punk makes pretty ok music, but you might wan’t to check out other artists as well. Go to Beatport.com, pick a genre and check out the top 10 tracks for that genre for starters.
Greetings, Petri. If possible, if you heard, or heard sounds like: Noise Control, Master Program, Robotiko Rejector among others that can show you, the sounds of the era of the 90s, could do a tutorial with those styles of music. I started listening to them, only that in their time, it was amazing how they did those songs with as little technology, and today we can do this in a heartbeat, but I would in his opinion today, as you would a style as those may be? Though the beats are similar to those of today … Like parents of electronic music as KRAFTWERK.
Hugs George (Dj Phobos) Batista da Silva.
Hi Petri,
I have some deadtime at work and decided to find some more info about producing music with pc.
I’m getting started. I just bought an AKAI mpk mini and the audiophile 2496 (I heard great things about it).
I noticed that the soundcard doesn’t have a headphone jack, so my question is, will a mixer like the one on your picture (or something like that) help me connect the headphones? Will a mixer have an aplified signal to feed them?
Thanks so much!!! Great stuff you’ve written here.
Hey Mariano,
Answer to your question: yes, works good. You can also use an headphone amplifier such as this:
https://amzn.to/3fHPucE (Behringer Micromon MA400 Headphone Amplifier)
Cheer!
Hi Petri. Umm, i have a ypt-400 yamaha keyboard. Can i use that instead of a MIDI, and if not, then what is the difference?
I have a problem with my music and I dont know what Im doing wrong .My music sounds tinny
or distorted in the upper register . I use Noteworthycompose,,FL Studiio 10 and Gold Wave Sound
Editor .I wish I coulld let you hear what Im talking about This problem is very frustrating I suspect that
maybe I am useing too many Instuments or the samples I am useing are of of poor quality .
I have samples from websites that are available for free only now am i buying samples from Catooh
but they are not the type I am looking for . They consist of musical phases and I am looking for steady
tones .which I cant find any where. What should I do to ressolve this problem.?
Hey Eugene,
Sounds like a mixing problem.
Check out some of these articles, they might help you out:
https://howtomakeelectronicmusic.com/couple-of-guidelines-on-mixing-electronic-music/
https://web.archive.org/web/20130822144623/http://www.tarekith.com/assets/mixdowns.html
Hey man, thanks a lot for the article! I’ve been creating a lot of songs lately and i’m really getting in to it. Just got a question for you guys: suppose i buy a sample pack, for example Vengeance. I use a lot of samples in a song. If i eventually (probably not gonna happen :P) want to make money with the song (suppose it gets popular…), do I need to pay Vengeance anything? Because this is stated on their website:
“All soundsets, samples and audiodemos are copyrighted by Vengeance Sound. Reselling of any Vengeance Sound product purchased, also partially (e. g. single sounds), is prohibited.Any violation of this will be legally pursued. When ordering a Vengeance Sound product, you accept this agreement.”
In your article you said its usually royalty free. I think that this saysotherwise. What do you guys think?
Cheers, Joeri
Hey Joeri,
Answer to your question: no, you don’t have to pay anything for Vengeance after you have bought the sample pack. The thing is, when you buy a sample pack (from Vengeance for example) you buy the license to use the samples in your commercial/non-commercial songs. This means you don’t have to pay any roaylties or anything to the sample manufacturer for using the samples in your musical productions.
That statement you quoted from the Vengeance website means that they hold the copyrights of the samples (when you buy a sample pack from a sample manufacturer you’re buying only the LICENSE to use the samples, but NOT the copyrights as copyrights can’t be sold) and you can’t resell the samples as is as a package or single sounds to another person, but you’re safe to use them as a part of your musical production.
Hope this answered to your question 😎
`Hey Petri, Thanks a lot for the fast reply! This really helped me out a lot. Now I know I can just buy samples and that I don’t have to worry. Just to be more specific: me and my brother are working on a dvd for a magazine. I am creating the music for the dvd and it is gonna be published here and maybe in other countries, so I needed to know precisely how it all works, so I wouldn’t get a lawsuit! 😉
Anyway, thanks a lot! Bye
Hey man! just wanna say that this was very very helpful for me. Thank you very much.
If I may add, Linux is also quite the capable platform for music production. In addition to tons of high-end software under free licenses, it also gives the capability to manipulate and equalize the sound hardware at the operating system level with much ease.
Good addition. Thanks!
I recently got into the idea of making my own electronics music, after listening to artists/bands like skrillex, dead mau5, anamanaguchi ( 8 bit ftw :3 ), and zedd. I’m more of a pencil-and-paper artist, but I’ve always had a knack for beats and such getting lodged in my head, to the point where I’ll start drumming it on the nearest object. This guide will help me get started properly, and that makes it alot better for me. 🙂 Your guide already made me notice something I hadn’t before, the drumbeats hidden within most songs. Hopefully sometime soon I’ll have a song or two on YouTube. Once I get one, I might post it up for some opinions. 😀
well i just started producing music and truly this blog gives some of the basic tips and i feel it helps me lot,suggest a way that dont just stick with listen to others just try it and do what you can …
Hi I am a bit off an old hippy and have always loved electronic music it seems that today with all the technology available to us it has never been easier to DIY I was wondering is there a good book or vide o etc that you would recommend to pull it together and even tutorials on the various software
Great website and thanks
Frank
Speak your mind…wise words; well, I dont mean to rain on your parade, BUT… so steely, and sterile, and robotic, and so many of those things that resemble horrible little somethings called RULES… Great work in explaining how to make music. The kind that sucks the living daylights out of creativity and murders all hope of individualism. SO much will be missed, so much world changing music wont get to be made and heard if the chosen ones ever read this, and dont notice what a game changer this is, in all the bad ways.
Why I even take the time to write this is beyond me, hopefully it will counteract the actual article to some degree.
Kelly,
I felt particularly the desire to respond to your post regards dance music (no its not EDM!) and it’s production. Firstly, if a musician is talented enough, whether vocally or in playing an instrument, they will succeed. I’m sure their are stories of wonderfully talented musicians who never made it but that mirrors life in general and in all professions. To say that dance music is void of any creativity is both ignorant and false. The “robotic” sounds you hear are often samples of people actually playing an instrument but are manipulated and arranged in a different way, some might say being very creative in fact. I have been listening to dance music since the early 90’s and there has been much change within that time. Although I can appreciate the talents of vocalists such as Adele, no other music moves me more emotionally than dance music. You suggest that all these computers and processed music will destroy all other forms, really?? I live in England and dance music is not heard that often on mainstream radio, there are probably only a handful of producers who have a degree of chart success. Therefore, it is mainly an underground movement and has been for 20 years!! Obviously this is part of the appeal for some, myself included although I would still love it if it was far more widely recognised. Similar to going out and buying a Ferrari F40 and finding out everyone else in your street has one, its still a great car but just not quite the same! I pity you for not getting it, for not understanding how amazing dance music is. Many pretentious, mis-guided individuals have had their ‘ten pence worth’ when trying to devalue and degrade this type of music but ultimately change nothing. Music can move you, take you on a journey and inspire you more than any other form of art, even music made by robots on computers, trust me! Peace.
Hey SirCharles,
That was such a great response to Kelly. There’s a part of me that understands where she is coming from, however she’s just made dozens of assumptions about what she thinks the creation of electronic music via the techniques Petri has put forward is and in the process just negated a whole form of art and individual expression. What has piqued my interest is your incredible passion for dance music. I’m virtually completely ignorant of dance music (although have heard it in clubs a few times and can recognise it) but you talk about it with such appreciation. This is off topic to Petri’s fantastic article (thanks Petri; it’s really great) but if you read this can you post some links on here to great dance music; the type you’ve spoken of that moves you. I’m wanting an ‘intro’ in the manner someone passionate and knowledgeable like you might offer. Thanks.
Philip
Hey there,
This article is really interesting and helpful.
I had a question though.
I wanted to ask whether a person completely ignorant of music can use these or not?
What I mean is, Could a person who doesn’t know to play any real life instrument create some sensible music using all the above mentioned stuff? Or does he need some kind of separate learning?
Hi Petri,
I need to get studio speakers and studio headphones, but I don’t know what to get. My budget is around the $1000 range for both. Also, I need a good sound card, and was wondering if there were any good ones(again, max $1000). I’m considering Native Instruments Audio10.
Thanks
Hello.
This looks like a decent post, with some real planning having been put into it.
All I want is to have fun producing Uplifting Trance and Chillstep music tracks. Will this be able to help me accomplish this? It’s my dream to be able to be good with this; to enjoy making GOOD Trance and make AWESOME Chillstep songs when I am in the mood.
I know it won’t happen overnight, but I want to know if this start will help me reach my dream. I’ve been learning Fl Studio for 5 years now and I still can’t make a good song when I want to. It only happens once every few months. Really, really frustrating.
Please help!
Yours truly,
Kelvin.
I wondering what would be the best software for me because I am on a limited budget (no more than £100 ($130ish dollars)). Would you say FL Studio 10 – Fruity Edition would have enough synths, drums and have an all round capability to compose EDM – drum and bass and dubstep to a reasonable standard.
Good day,
Thank you for that informative article. I have absolutely no experience making music, I do, however have a huge interest in trying it out. I have a basic laptop, nothing else. I want to start small and simple just to see if it is something I would like to pursure any further. What do you recommend (if any) to begin creating dance/ techno music with not much more than a windows 7 laptop?
Your article has been a godsend! This is one of the best materials out there for beginners in EDM i can confidently say that as one aspiring to do something in electronic music. Thank you so much and keep such stuff coming. This is definitely way more than a rough idea!
Also i would like to know what exactly is Deckadance? I mean is it a VST or a mixing software? And if it is a VST, how would you rate it compared to the ones you have mentioned here?
Aweeesome post…… 🙂
*found it while browsing some studio pics on Google.
\m/
hey, Petri
First of the all I wanted to thank you for the great information you put on this useful website.
I’m just beginning to produce a dub-step and chill-out song with Albeton Live 8.2.2 almost with no experience to make such a stuff but I’ve already listened to dub-step and chill-out for years.
you suggested FL Studio all over this page that somehow I lost my interest in Albeton.
will it be easy to work with Albeton for such a beginner like me?
how can i learn to work pretty well with this music software?
thanks again
question … there’s one feature that i think would be very useful and wondering if it’s in any DAWs. there’s probably a name for it but as i dont know it, bear with me while i verbalize what i’m talkin bout:)
basically the type of thing where you hear a track, take a five second (or whatever length) sample from wherever in it, and the DAW (or other software?) will break down all the beats being played in that sample. you could then manipulate it as you see fit (deeper bass drum, add a violin, whatever!)
make sense? is there a name for that (like copy and edit 🙂 and what software am i referring to here?
I believe you’re describing this: http://www.sibelius.com/products/audioscore/ultimate.html
I liked this list all they way up to you telling people how to structure there music. I know that you are more experienced in making music but I find it best if a person finds out to make there music more idiosyncratically. In stead of starting with the rhythm section and/or bass line you could start with the melody. And instead picking a specific genre of music and getting pigeon holed you should just make what ever comes. Otherwise great list.
Thanks so much for your website. I’ve been a huge fan of dance music since I was a little kid. I’m now trying to make it myself with a limited budget. Your posts are incredibly helpful.
This article was so helpful! I do have a few questions though. Im trying to start making my own music, but i don’t really know where to start. I have taken basic electronic music using adobe audition, but I have a mac. Is garageband sufficient for producing music? I know how to play guitar, piano, and sing. However I don’t have a synthesizer, what one would you suggest I get that is preferably under 300? Also for mics, I’m not sure what ones would be good. Thanks so much for posting and hope you can answer some of my questions!
https://lifehacker.com/five-best-audio-editing-applications-5939740 adobe has a mac edition.
look around amazon and read reviews for a synth, but don’t buy it there as they dog their workers.
best is to buy from a musician locally. if your area is big enough, there is a craigslist type site just for musicians.. Or talk to the big music equip retailers with your questions, then get back to the local guys and gals– without looking like a newbie. there are some magazines. and get a good book. People in person is the quickest. g’luck.
Thank you for your help, im just starting out and this has been really helpful.
hi there bro!, I have a questoin.. I got one of those mixer as shown in the picture, whats the use I can give to it?
Hey Carlos,
You can use it for ie. controlling the volume level of your speakers/headphones. That’s what I use it for.
thanks alot i love the part of not finishing your song in a day …..yea thats right been telling ma friends same thing
Hey man, this is very cool stuff.
thanks a lot for such a awesome post on this great website.
i don’t have any knowledge about music but i am always attracted to this.
i think or u can say compose music just in my mind and i am actually pretty good in it but now i want to do it for real. so please suggest me software that can help me to create music and sound and be simple as i am not a computer freak. i know you must be busy but i would be really greatful if u reply to me, so that i can ask my other queries accordingly.
So i read most of the article but giving the fact im 13 years old i didnt understand most of it. Is there a way to simplify it all? If not its ok because im starting a class on Electronic things so that may give me a boost.
Man, how to make a beat drums like this https://youtu.be/WrOBeaPtixk, in 1:28 and 0:37
, and LEAD like in 0:44?
Please man, help us, this is a FEVER here in Brasil. Yours tutorial are the best on net.
🙂 !!!
First I Have to say I love the article and seems to be very helpful. I am 16 and have been listening to house/electro for awhile and would love to get into making it. My question is where should I go or do to start from complete scratch in making house music.
Hey man….
I appreciate all the information and the step by step videos you upload. Really helpful for a newbie such as myself trying to make trance.
Thanks!
I just noticed that you are from the same country… Finland I assume… Anyways nice guide, not really interested in making music, just were wondering how does Hardcore Tano*C make their songs.
The article is really helpful to all the songwriters. Your efforts are really appreciated.
Thank you so much. This gives me a great starting point. Can I email you directly down the road if I have any specific questions?
Thanks so much for this article.
Cheers,
Kelsey
Ps: you English is almost perfect
Oh God this is really one of the best points to begin creating electronic music. Thanks for sharing, I got many useful things out of that post!
Great, thanks!
for making trance is it really necessary to learn the music theory?????
Hey Jo,
No, actually. It helps of course, but it’s not mandatory.
You will definitely take advantage of some basics. But in fact you’ll more or less get better from project to project.
Hey Petri, thanks for posting this, it is very very useful.
Couple questions, I would like to know where did you get that music workstation desk?
Can you put the computer keyboard underneath it? I have a bigger music keyboard and both won’t fit.
Also, what brand are those monitor speakers that are showing in the image?
That’s it, thanks a bunch,
Alex
Hey Alex,
I am pretty sure these are Behringer TRUTH B2031A. I also used them sometimes – they are actually not very expensive and have a great sound!
That is correct!
They are budget monitors, but I’ve been quite happy with them 😎
Thanks guys!
Hello,
I would like to commend you for the huge work and passion you have put into this webpage. I often find myself in a situation where I wish to quickly know a lot about a subject of which I am a total ignorant. Your work here is a real gold mine and I cannot thank you enough for it.
Have a nice one!
Thank you, Pierre, I really appreciate that! 😎
Hello Petri
Thanks sooo much for the explanations relating to the production of computer & electronic music, I hope one day to make some music, that will please your ears, but taking into consideration – musical tastes perhaps I will not achieve this, no doubt any music I am able to produce will please someone if not only myself & perhaps someone else’s contribution will serve to please you… I am not a massive fan of trance music although progressive trance on the other hand I find really quite interesting & mind expanding.
By the way your English is very good, strangely enough probably at the expense of some or other of the thousands of languages spoken worldwide which are apparently disappearing on an almost daily basis.
I am personally inspired by old school drum & base, house, R’n’B & many world musical styles.
Thanks for producing music, it clearly makes people happy!
Adam
Hi, thanks for this site and all your commitment. This is all very new to me, but I after 5 years as an engineer decided to start creating music as a new profession. One of my major idols is Calvin Harris, I wonder often what the system these world renowned music producers use? What do I need at this stage for gear & software to get started? I love songs with voice in them, I had even thought to sing, how do I add my voice in the music. Any other advice are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for all.
U the best!
/JJ
This is a great piece on how to break into making electronic music. It was concise and to the point. I enjoyed your examples of the trance song structure, I’ll be using this soon.
Cheers
Dear sir .. Am new to your site . I am very happy to find this site .its very useful .. I am not a musician nd i dont no to play any music instruments .. My knowledge on music is below zero ..but i love music , i love singing but am just a bathroom singer…i use to write lyrics nd make tune it on my own style ..nd i found a friend with a similer intrest in my city … But our problem is we both didnt studied music .. So my question is … is it is necessary to learn music for electronic music production? … So where should i start ? Can you help us if we need help ? How to remove vocal from music tracks? … I have pc nd even i downloded fl srudio …but i am not understanding anything … Its like a hard puzzle for me.. My problem is i dont even know is the meaning of midi ,loops ..nd lot more … So sir please tell me from where should i start ….? thank you .. Aryan
First of all thank you very much for taking time to post this information. I love Trance music,Ive been listening to it for a long time, and now I want to learn how to produce it, I don’t know anything about it, and you blog was very helpful. I have a Sony desktop computer that five years old, I bought a pair of Truth B2013 A studio reference monitors a year ago, just for listening to trance, I don’t have a DAW, or a sound card yet,after reading your blog im thinking of purchasing FL.studio. I went to guitar center and told the i wanted to learn how to produce trance music and they said i should really consider buying a MASCHINE to produce beats. my question is, do you think that’s something i need to produce trance. it seemed like a cool machine, but is it necessary? also i wasn’t really looking into buying a mixer just yet i really want to learn how to produce, but they had a Numark N4 on clearance $200.00 off So i went a head and bought it, So im trying to learn how to use it. Thank you..
First of all thank you very much for this helpful artical. I am a new user of fl studio 11 and i can’t use parametric EQ 2 to equalize song bass and song quality properly. My beat does not comes clear.
What should i do with this????
And also, what effects should i use make sound clear and good????
Pls Help…
Thanks..
Nice post! I myself have been using a computer from PCAudiolabs for digital audio creation, and I’ve been really happy with it. PCaudiolabs made me a computer that was exactly what I needed, and I have never had an issue with high track counts or latency. Their support has been top notch, as well. They have even trained me on how to use my DAW more effectively which has been really useful. I’m finally almost done with my album!
I love what they do, check them out at https://pcaudiolabs.com/
Thank you so much for writing this post!!!
No problem Kraig glad you enjoyed it!
Hi I’m interested in making my own electronic music with sounds like the artist, (bassnectar–raw Charles, time stretch), (Tipper–bubble control, spunion), and (destructo-LA funky)…. What software would I need including a laptop, speakers/woofers, what program to run and what instruments are needed to make that kind of music….
Any information would be greatly appreciated
Thanks-Neal
I always wanted to make edm’s like the pro’s thank you!!!!! Petri Suhonen.
And can we make edm by ony three steps like, nowadays there is a app in ipad “KONKREET PERFORMER” so by tht and a software in my pc, can i???????
Hi Petri and everybody else!
Love trance (I’m a OAP! ) and I’ve been dabbling with electronic music for a few years but gave up a while back….I was getting nowhere fast and my initial naive creativity vanished as I learned to be more critical. Early on I had uploaded a few tracks to SoundCloud and they are sooo embarrassing now. But here I am coming back for another try…
Petri, Thanks for your trance song structure article, just what I needed and how I came to this page. But the other reason I’m posting this is that my music setup is so similar to yours that it is eerie…and I’ve never seen your stuff before. I have an have Intel Core i7 processor, ASUS P7P55 motherboard, 12GB RAM and 24? widescreen display running W7 x64 Ultimate. Monitors are Truth B2031As and my MIDI controller is an Oxygen II 61 ! How’s that for convergent thinking 🙂 Oh, and I recently moved to SSD on drive C:
Headphones are Sennheiser HD 280 Pro and I’m using a Edirol UA-25 for audio I/O driven by ASIO4All. Using Reaper and a mix of free/paid vst plugins….current favorites are Synthmaster (vast feature array is bit overwhelming and still learning how to drive it) and Alchemy (emphasis on samples, lots of inspiring sounding presets to tweak and adjust)
I’m still reading your advice on this page and hope it will get me out of my ‘creative rut’ and producing stuff again. At the moment I tend to sit here enjoying the great sounds from synth presets and zillions of samples but not getting down to actually constructing anything. Your song structure advice will, hopefully, give me some templates..a starting point to write some songs again.
Thanks so much
Tony
Hi Petri, I’d like to thank you for this valueable information on electro music, i really found it very helpful as i’ve decided to indulge my passion for music and needed to a direction to start. The reason i wrote this comment though is that i’m looking for something related but haven’t found it yet, maybe you can help me by pointing to a certain direction. I’m looking for a software similar to DAW but with a little feature, this feature should allow me to write music on a music sheet, like a scratch paper if you like, and then the software should be able to play what i just wrote, and of course editing should be possible. Based on your experience in this field, have you ever come across something like this, if yes please tell me where? 🙂
Thanks a lot once again and hope to hear from you soon.
Ahmed
Hi Petri,
I really liked the way u posted this article explaining every single bit of information…After reading the article ( and listening to some epic electronic music) I am completely into producing electronic music.
But, I’m kind of in a dilemma… I have an HP All-in-One PC with 2 GB RAM..Do u think it will work…I’m only 14 yrs old so I can’t buy own hardware and stuff like the MiDi Controller etc..
And also my Knowledge in tech is like 2% ???? so pls help by recommending few starter music making softwares… And about my knowledge quotient it’s kinda okkkk….I have played the guitar for an year so i kind of understand the basics…..
Another help pls…… For me to understand and learn about this new stuff..it’s gonna take time and experience..so can u help me out by giving links of few songs u personally have produced…
As for listeners….I would to recommend music of a producer called FRACTAL… Check out his songs in Youtube…..
THNX AGAIN FOR THIS EPIC ARTICLE……..
Pranav
good and good .. Am glad to see this after 2 or 3 years of this tutorials, i know i should pay for this but thank God is free
My are my questions is please aid me
1>what is the advantage of higer sample rate in music dose is add to recording value
2> i used Sonar 3 for recoding voice and FL studio for beat making are this two tools compatible to work together and give generally acceptable sound
3 > is focusrit scarlett 12i2 good soudcard for sonar3 and can it assist in producing perfect and industry sound music
4> what is different between expencive soundcard and the cheap one’s
5> what type of Mic do you use or do you prefer that sound good
This are my questions i will be glad to recieve your respond……
Petri,
I am considering setting up a small home studio to produce electronic music but to be completely honest I had no idea where to begin until I came across this page. Well, even now, I am still completely lost except for the grooves I come up with in my head and while listening to electronic music. As a very young child I was always beating/drumming on something, adding my take on songs, making mix tapes of various sounds and trying to see how to get them to go together and sound neat. teaming up with other talent and playing around with beat boxing and weird new sounds. I guess my only judge was to watch the reaction of peoples faces. If they smiled, or it brought laughter about, I knew I had succeeded a bit at my dream – help making people dance, feel happy, come together as one and so on. If I got yelled at and told to stop by the family, or got the odd look I knew I must be the only one hearing it which I have come to find that I had ear fatigue or whatever and I needed a break. The latter happened a lot but that was okay with me as I knew one day I would be in the company of persons that enjoyed music as much as I do. It just seemed I needed to get older or maybe around more free willed and open minded individuals.
Well I have rambled and probably given you ear fatigue by now, or would this be eye fatigue? Doesn’t matter.
Like most probably, I want in the industry. Probably for way different reasons than the average person however for the true music enthusiast, the true people lover, happiness promoter, we are identical. I love to see people happy/dance/smile-just real emotion you know- and if it is me who makes that happen, whatever. If it’s the next Man/Woman, whatever it’s all good across the board.
I thought it may never come to produce fruit, it still may never but after coming across your page here I have a lot more hope for this dream of mine. I am on a limited budget to start but I do have the funds for a few of the items mentioned above but have been a bit concerned on pulling the trigger on purchases because of all the unknown language, compatibility, revolving cost like new sounds or outdated equipment and the list goes on.
I just want to do this as a hobby and have fun. Not clear the bank account while getting sold some stuff I do not need or unable to use because the salesman doesn’t know crap except what is written on the same package I can read and only concerned about making a sale. And with a lot of this equipment I am finding that once it is purchased that is it, good luck and if it’s not right or the wrong thing I am left with selling it on my own. This has only happened once and I made the money back but what a waste of time.
If you have the time I would really like to get in touch with you. I have seen on here that some of these are answered and a lot are not so I am not sure what to do. I recently moved to a very small town in Montana, United States yet came from a very large city in Nevada with a lot more culture and availability to talk to people. I suppose the move is a good thing all around because there was a lot of distractions there and now I can get busy on this dream of mine and collaborate with others with the same dream and make it happen.
I would love to hear back from you if you got the time
Best wishes and with all the love,
Joshua
Thanks again for the great page. It has made things a little more clear but some one on one would be great
Petri,
I forgot to click that box at the bottom to be notified by email if you respond. Just doing that here.
Have a great one sir and I hope to talk to you sometime
Joshua
good article to createsome thing in my brain. thanks for ur time.
Petri,
Thank you so much for all the helpful info! My 12-year old son is naturally very musical, however he has multiple disabilities, so playing traditional musical instruments is a challenge for him. His fingers just don’t move right. He’s great with computers and is interested in producing electronic music. All this info you’ve provided will be perfect for my future Martin Garrix! …Only we’re not Dutch, and there’s not much I can do about that 😉 LOL
Thank you again!! <3
Great stuff man. This post is really helpful for all the beginners out there who are looking forward to getting started with electronic music. Pretty in depth information, keep it up man 🙂
Hey! i come from an era of making music on the commodore amiga’s in the late 80’s and 90s. i used a program called protracker, and one called soundtracker which were both essentially the same. i used my amigas keyboard to produce the sounds and used samples loaded from floppy disks 😀 but i lost touch with it all through my teenage years and through my 20s.. i’ve forgotten a lot, and my inner frustration to make music suddenly exploded and i NEEDED a damn keyboard. i want to remix video game tracks, make my own original 80’s tracks.. so i got myself a tyros 2.
it’s weird, because im a beginner, and yet..i’m not. does that make sense? hahaha.
basically, i am well and truly ready to get back into making music. i am very much a techhead so will understand pretty much anything thats required, but i learn differently to others because of a learning disability.
my question is, 20 odd years ago, i had a yamaha psr 230, a midi cable and no compatible computer. today, i have a beast of a machine and a beast of a keyboard and no effing clue what to do! it’s like all my knowledge has dribbled away, waiting to be unovered again lol.
so i would need either a one to one sort of lesson on how to connect everything up, what softwares to use, how to get everything ready etc, then another one on how to start up. then i can learn as i go.
is there anywhere i can find stupidly simple tutorials, or anyone who’d be willijng to teach me what i need to know? :3 im so happy i can play again, and im already learning several melody’s each day as the memories come flooding back. but as for how to set everything up? my brain totally folded in on itself XD. sorry for the huge post, but i am a terribly frustrated musician just itching to jump back into it, all i need is that kickstart!
i recently got into 3D rendering, which is super complicated..all i needed was a couple of short lessons and i worked it out for myself thereafter. if you like video games i would happily make something with favourite characters etc in exchange ^-^ (i never like just taking. i like giving something back).
i really hope you can help! 😀 your article really really interested me!
Hello Emmie!
And thanks for taking time to write your comment!
I started making music with trackers at 90’s as well (I’ve always been a PC guy so I was using Fast Tracker and Scream tracker). Some of my schoolmates used Amiga’s and Pro Tracker.
A question for you: have you tried any of the popular music making softwares (they are called DAW) such as Ableton Live, FL Studio, Cubase, etc yet?
If not, please do so! Personally, I recommend either FL Studio or Ableton Live (thoug I am biased because I’ve been using FL Studio for a long long time).
So basically, all you need is a computer and DAW to make music. (Keyboard is a big plus, but not necessity though as you can use your computer keyboard to play the sounds inside your music making software).
Inside the DAW, you have (usually built-in) few software based synths and effects which you can use to produce sounds (basses, leads, pads, etc). And of course, you can use samples as well (same way as with trackers).
Inside your DAW, you can create “patterns” for your melodic and drum sequences. These are like building blocks which you can combine to create a full song.
With keyboard, you can play and record the melodies live to MIDI note data using any synth you choose (if you have a piano synth inside your DAW, you can use your keyboard to control/play it just like a real piano and record it to MIDI data which you can then edit with your mouse any way you like).
Then you can mixdown your song to .WAV or .MP3 and share it with the rest of the world through internet!
I don’t know whether this makes any sense. Let me know 😎
What package of FL audio should I get? It offers fruity,studio,signature
What version of FL Studio do you use?
Greetings,
As far I have reached reading this article, I have noticed that speakers are Really Really important in making sounds.
I have come with plenty of questions related to the above. But First, I am currently owning a pair of Hi Fi Speakers (Don’t really sure if the term High-End Stands true), Nordmende LB 500, 60Watts Philharmonic speakers.
However, What’s your opinion related to them? Are they good enough to Reproduce quality sounds?
Have you ever used or seen them in public or private places?
Shall i keep using them as sound output?
In addition, I do not have negative opinions, or thoughts, even I have made several tracks using them using my newbie skills…
To conclude, I am seeking and collecting personal opinions related to my speakers.
I’d be grateful to hear from you in the near future,
Regards, Steff.
Awesome! a really complete tutorial that will clarify a lot of new minds, thank.
Great, great information. I just started researching all of this today and your website is the jackpot. My one big question is…. which version of FL Studio to get. It looks like the Signature has many of the remaining software tools your have listed, along with many Plugins and features too… Thanks
Hey bro i like ur article. Its very usefull for me..
Can u plz tell me onething? I like Yo Yo Honeys singh’s song.. He big artist in india.. I want to make music like him. U can search him on youtube or google. I want to knw which genre music, honey singh making? Bcz his songs realy differnt frm other..
M using pc, nd cracked fl studio 11. Plz bro help me i want to make music like him. Nd email me about ur answer.. Its very helpful for me if u make tutoriol of one of honey singh song.
I really want to start making my own music but I’m confused on everything I need to have I know I need a computer and a keyboard but what els do I need I want yo set up my own studio can I get a list of everything u think I should get please
Hi, Petry ! Thanks for everything you do because you so helped me too much in my beginnings. I’d like to ask you can you give me a tip about choice headphones. Which one is better for creating EDM: Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO , Beyerdynamic DT 880 PRO or perfectly approach Sennheiser HD 380 PRO ?
Thanks a lot for show me the right way to start in my favorite music type
Great Article!!
I’m just starting out on my adventure of making music, and this looks really helpful.
I’m also interested in mixing, could I create a studio that encompass both making and mixing?
Any help appreciated 🙂
Thanks a lot buddy.This was the most helpful post I have found on this topic.Keep writing.:)
Many thanks!
Tnx a lot Mr Petri…
It was so helpful :)))))))
Im from Iran…
Mr nourish I’m from Iran too can we get to know each other I want to learn
Kourosh * autocorrect !!
Heeeeeeeey… sure…
you can send your question to my mail and speak persian ;))))
My email is : sepehr.nasehi.88@gmail.com
Kourosh can i have your email address then?
Kourosh.Sereshki@gmail.com
Hi nice done article.
Lovin’ the song structure explanation and the tons of links contained within.
I would also like to contribute here with our Free Samples Library.
Enjoy!
http://www.989records.com/free-samples/
I’ve read this whole article like 5 times now. It’s so inspiring and it will 100% help me keep up the glow in my electronic music production! I can’t say thank you enough. But thank you sooooooo much! Thumbs up!!
Hey Petri….am very much grateful for the tips on your article…will definitely start working by them…plus I have a problem when it comes to mixing….how should I perfect on this if I may ask…I want to produce EDM music as well as mix them as a dj…how can I go about all this..thank you once again.
Jeffah
wow thanks bro thats the article that i definetly wanna read and it has been very helpful thank u.
GREAT ARTICLE!!!!!!
Been looking for such on the internet for quite some time.
Hey. Would it be possible for you to provide a tutorial for the REAPER DAW? I am an absolute beginner and have no idea where to get started.
Inspired.can u please tell me how to know the basics of fl studio or ableton
Hi! I would say that your best bet is to go to Youtube and search for fl studio basics.
everything’s here 🙂
iam happy i found this
Great intro to music production! Wish I had found it when you wrote it (just about the time I found my interest in EDM production)… Many of the things you wrote I’ve found out myself the “hard way”.
Wish you had added a paragraph about (self)marketing/promoting self-made tracks. I mean the point after finishing the first track and you say “Hmm… I could release it to the public (somehow) but how do I do that?”.
Maybe you know a good source for this info as well?! Thanks anyway.
Hey man,
I am trying to learn the ins and out of fruity loops, i have just started using it.
Can you link me to some good tutorials for someone totally new to it?
Thanks
Hy! I’m a beginner and don’t know much…
Please tell me the money required to invest…
Spce required… Etv
Hi petri,
I’m manan and im 14 years of age. I madly
like edm music And i want to begin my career
in that. Shud i start ryt now or grow up, do
Sound engineering.and one thing….. i have a
Piano keyboard model.Casio-ma-150 it has labelled
Midi on it….is it okay or i have to buy a new one..
..and thank you very very very much for your
Information
Pls reply
Hi manan. I’m a producer of electronic music. I started out when i was 15, now 16. been doing this for over a year and i gotta say its the shit man. don’t go and buy any softwares yet. you have to be sure you can do it. experiment with garageband on a mac or any freeware should do. start out by just playing with loops, drops etc, remember that there is no set way to do things, its all about expression.
and yes if your keyboard says midi it will work. there are hundreds of guides on how to use them. another key aspect is to listen to a nice big variety music. soul, jazz, hip hop, whatever man just keep it broad so you have alot of inspiration.
good luck. keen to see how you go.
WOW… Thanks a lot Petri,
Helped a lot .. been searching for something like this for long time.. my tracks sound way better than they used to.. !!! Waiting for more from you..
Thanks a lot. 🙂
Helloperti,
I have been very passionate about edm music from years am acutually not very rich I cant afford any of these equipments after years I just can bring a laptop home which is one of my cousin’s I have tried making edm on laptop I was half do e and I had to to give him lapy back so I couldn’t complete it ? which software should I use to start agin ill get a laptop somehow friends lapt I’
Hey! Thank you so much for your advice! I am a former member of a dreampop/rock band (with a similar sound to Evanescence). I am a lyricist/songwriter with at least forty melodies with lyrics but no background music added. I think if I found a good program I could make music from home but have no idea where to start or what program is best investing in for the kind of music I want to make. I am interested mostly in creating music that is a mixture of chillstep/electronic and Celtic (like Enya). Where would you suggest I start?
Hello Kallista,
And thanks for your comment!
To your question: firstly, you need a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation, that’s what music making programs are called). Actually, any modern DAW is capable for the genre you described.
I’m using FL Studio and Ableton Live in my home studio and I like both of them and I’ve been using both of them for all kinds of music, including chill-out. Do you have a PC or MAC btw? Both are available for PC (Ableton Live is for MAC as well). So based on my own experience, I suggest to download the demo versions and check them out. Both DAWs are very popular amongst electronic music producers. But there are lot others: Pro Tools for example which is considered as “industry standard” in many big studios. Then there’s Logic Pro X, Cubase, Studio One, Reaper, Reason. Too much to list them all here.
Secondly, you need sounds for the kind of music you’re into. If you’re keen to learn synth programming, you can create practically any sound by yourself, but there’s a learning curve. The DAW you choose (depending on the package) usually comes bundled with good set of synthesizers and effect processors to process the sound even further. FL Studio has Harmor and Sytrus (both are synths) and they’re great for all kinds of sounds. They also have ready made patches to get you started and you can find more in the net.
Ableton Live Suite pack has even more ready-made sounds to get you started, 50 gigabytes if I recall right.
There’s also thousand of 3rd party free and commercial virtual synths and romplers available which you can plug-in to your DAW. Check out Native Instruments synths for example and their Kontakt and Absynth to get you started. Absynth has a good quality preset collection which works great in ambient/chill style music.
There’s also Nexus. It’s widely used on all kinds of electronic music. Mostly in EDM. But works in the chill genre as well. It has some really nice lush pad sounds.
For pure and realistic orchestral sounds, check out some of the ProjecSAM libraries.
Or maybe some of the 8dio products for some ethnic stuff.
Hope this helps to get you started!
That is so extremely helpful!! Thank you so much! I am going to get started tonight and I will let you know in a few weeks how my music is progressing.
Just wanted to say what a great article this is and has certainly got me motivated and keen to start creating music myself, thanks.
Brilliant advice! Love your tracks under your Primo name 🙂 I am a total newbie by the way
Everybody has their own style of doing things etc. There’s a lot more to listening to music and trying to analyze. You gotta find your own sound and be original. From my personal point of view as a record producer and remixer, I would say that less is better than buying the most fancy equipment. I got some cheap headphones, speakers, an HP laptop, midi keyboard, and so many DAWs. Impossible to count. It all depends on personal preference. I’m a broke dj/record producer so I make my music in the best way I know how. I appreciate this article but there’s a lot more to it.
Oh and just so ya know, you forgot LMMS as well which is similar to Fruity Loops just letting you know. You should add that software.
hi I’m wandering if you have sudation for a app I could bye for around 90 to 150 pounds thanks
thank you this is the most detailed post i have ever read
Thank you very much for this, it covered all the questions I was looking for! Great job!
Great work!!!
I’m a newbie to all of this and want to create my own music for my shows and live streams. I can play guitar and write music so I have a general understanding of music. My question is – how long does it take? I already product two podcasts and a morning show. Is it realistic to start this as a hobby to get good enough music for interludes and livestreaming?
How long does it realistically take for a newbie to start producing music? I want to do this for my own podcasts and livestreaming channel.
ARENT THERE FREE SOFTWARES??
Hi,Let me say thanks for your kind information…
This is going to be a new experience for me. Being a guitarist I have never created any electronic music. I am playing Peter Green Tone, which itself has great tone. So I never felt the need of electronic music. After reading your post I have found this very interesting. So I am willing to do this.