As a new and ambitious developer I hope to one day be able to make music, but am not able to find effective ways to create music, so here, I come to the community, how do you make music? And what would you recommend to someone looking to join in this field.
For me personally, ive tried musecore but have been unable to create sound effects or create loops.
I think what im looking for is a synthesizer, but not even sure about the technical terms.
also looking to make “epic” music.
Music creation is not just a simple thing one cab do, atleast if it is to sound good. You need to understand the very basics of music and music composition. Then you get a mic and instrument. Or preferably some music production software. As for learning the stuff, just go on Youtube and seach.
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i understad basic cords and frequency stuff, but part of the learning is jumping right in.
beisdes, would you rather know everything but have no capabillity to use it, or have that capabillity, being able to learn and improve.
its irrelevant if you dont know for what to do, the how is where to start.
allthough if you have any suggestions, i one day hope to do stuff very similar (in style) to this
having layers, masks, epic orchestral stuff, a felling of complexity and grandness.
Like you can imagine an epic battle happening the background.
This was almost undoubtedly made with software.
I merely ask for the keys to begin.
You could start playing around with ableton 10/ protools/ fl studio/ logic (any DAW you like…).
Start with a basic melody with a piano, 4 chords (4 or 8 bar loop, your choice). Loop it. Layer it another counter melody, this time you can use synths. After this, layer with another accent tone ( maybe higher octave, same scale with the chords). Lastly you can add the bass chord. After that you can add percs, hi-hats etc (I suggest you put these last because Precs can make your composition bias if you start playing with them first. Thus hinders creativity. Building the melody first is more important.) You can arrange them like a song or whatever. With a minimal start then all out at the chorus, then bridge and chorus, etc. You can practice more afterwards then you get better at judgement with music theory, naturally.
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In the beginning of a piece I make, there are three ways to begin:
- Setting up instruments
- Starting with a melody
- Conceptual design - hard
The first part of arranging instruments requires you to know what a typical song consists of. If you know your EQ and the instruments, it usually consists of bass, mids, treble. To texture it, add subtle arpeggiators and SFX. A lot can me made.
Starting with a melody is tricky, start with the piano as the basic method to create it. Otherwise, try making the melody using a synthesizer, preferably with lead, pads and plucks in my opinion. Chords is optional to add up with to change the setting of the music.
Conceptual design is difficult. Instead of following by ear, it takes an additional step of experimenting where it becomes more symbolic rather than actual feel.
The latest piece I made started with ambient beds instead of melody, which took a while before could grasp an idea of what melody I should follow through with the beats.
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Music production takes music theory to understand. Music theory is basically a teaching to better understand music. Learn more here.
You’ll need an understanding of chords, rhythm, melodies, and notes. For the kind of music I specialize in (EDM), I have to use those, but also have to learn to program synths. Though, you never specified what genre you’d like to make. Genres are like rock, pop, classical, etc. They’re types of music.
Next, you have the programs (aka DAWs). For this, I’d recommend reading my post .
Music is mainly trial and error if you think about it. I write different melodies, drum patterns, chords, and even different sections in all my songs. When I first started, I rushed through my production and it came out sounding horrible. 4 years later, I take even longer because I want to perfect it.
I don’t only do music production. I’m a student at an art school where I study music and music theory everyday. I’m able to play piano, guitar, and drums pretty well. I write songs, I sing them, and I perform with a band. Music production is something I picked up out of interest.
For your question of if I’d recommend getting into it, 100%. Music itself has helped me through the hardest times. When my mom has cancer and needed to be treated, I expressed my feelings in songs. When I’m happy, I write. Even when I’m about to go to sleep, I get ideas for lyrics. This is my way to cope with anything, and everything.
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In terms of programs and what tools you need, it depends greatly on what kind of music you’re looking to make.
A lot of people specialize in electronic forms of music, and thats great! Look to everyone elses posts above for what you need to create that kind of music. I can’t say much on electronically based music because I’m far too old-fashioned.
If you’re looking to create pieces that are based in actual instrumentation and such, you are going to need to understand a lot more theory than I have the time to explain in this reply. I work almost exclusively in jazz, swing, blues, gospel, and classical styles of music. It hurts sometimes, the amount of theory you really need to understand whats going on.
I like this quote about music: “You can do whatever you want so long as you understand why.” Stick with that and you really can’t go wrong.
Happy Trails,
CaptLincoln
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Hey!
Some small tips here for you as a newbie to the composing side of music.
The key points in creating music is to understand:
The structure
Melodies
Harmonies
Sonic elements of sounds and what goes with what.
Chords
Scales
Types of songs (ambience, chiptune and EDM and etc.)
A start to all of this is mostly music theory. Now I know you may be thinking “oh my god that will take forever to learn”, but there are a lot of different online courses to run you through this quickly. Some paid ones include the popular Udemy courses, with plenty also being free. Music theory will give you a strong base to allow your songs to have a good structure and sound.
DAW recommendations:
Logic Pro X (MAC ONLY)
Ableton
Protools
Reaper for it’s trial.
Plugins:
Waves
Fabfilter
Ozone
Libraries:
Kontakt
Nexus
Omnisphere
Synths:
Sylenth
Spire
Massive (good for bass)
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