Where to start

[MP201]

Hi, I'm new to the remixing business, and I was wondering where I should start. I have Audacity and a composition program called Finale, but I don't know where to begin remixing. If you could point me in the right direction, I'd be very appreciative.

(If this is in the wrong place, please move it)

[Nabeel Ansari]

Have you ever wanted to have YOUR video game remix on the front page of OCR, or wanted to make computer music for small or big films and video games? Getting started as a musician isn't easy, but if your interest is as big as your imagination, then this guide is for you.

I. Overview

If you weren't born a musician, you can still make yourself into one. There are 4 important tasks in doing so.

1. Practice Being Creative

2. Get a sequencer/DAW

3. Learn Music Composition Theory

4. Learn Music Production Theory

II. Practice Being Creative

The first one you can do by grabbing an instrument you can play or know your way around. If you don't have at least have or can afford a keyboard or a cheaper instrument that can play from C to the next C, skip this step. Even if you can't play the instrument well, keyboards are especially good for figuring out the notes of the music that's in your head. Whenever I have a melody in my head, I usually go to my keyboard to try and figure out the notes, and then apply their timings in my sequencer.

III. Get Some Software (A DAW, or Digital Audio Workstation)

This is the absolute most important if you wanna get anywhere in the world of computer music. You need a good software. Here's a list of software I know of that people like:

-FL Studio (I personally recommend it, good for electronic music. This one is used by Zircon)

-Reason (It comes packed with great sounds)

-Logic Studio (for Mac, talking to some of my friends tells me this is one heck of a DAW for Mac)

-Cubase (This one's really popular, and is used by bLiNd himself)

-Sonar

-Ableton Live

-Finale (this one is in standard sheet music notation)

-Reaper

-Audiotool (Audiotool is a very limited online sequencer that runs on flash. www.audiotool.com runs right in your browser)

There are lots more out there, but these are the most frequently used (by OCRemixers and by professionals catalogs.) Try the demo's for each one and use the one you like most. (Having a DAW you're comfortable with is important.)

What the software is for is to write down stuff and hear it at the same time on instruments/synths of your choice. No one has high quality stuff at the start, but if you have money, I recommend buying stuff like:

-KOMPLETE by Native Instruments (Includes complex synthesizers and humongous sample sets)

-KORE 2 by Native Instruments

-East West Composer's Collection- The high quality all-around sample set. You can customize it on www.soundsonline.com; choices include eastern instruments, orchestral samples, choir programming, drum samples, rich piano samples, and even gypsy themed instruments (like violins and accordions).

If this stuff puts a dent in your budget, don't bother with it. Stick with the free/cheap stuff. It won't be good quality, but practicing for yourself is more important. Save up for this stuff and it'll be worth the effort.

After you find your software, it's good to have some good hardware. I don't know much about good hardware, but if you check the "Guides and Tutorials" forum in the Workshop section, it's overloaded with helpful info.

IV. Learn Music Theory

After you've found some mediums for outputting your imagination to an audible form, this is the next most important step of being a computer musician. Whether it's formal or informal, knowing what you're writing down helps a lot. Learn how chords, scales, notes, melodies, rhythms, and arrangements work. You can do this by taking classes, or if you have a sequencer with MIDI import capabilities you can look at MIDI's of video game music to see what it's made of. (Or if you can, read lots of sheet music of giant expansive orchestral symphonies. ) I also see tons of music theory books at the local book store. Playing with "rules" that music theory teaches you can also break you out of writer's block or just help you make stuff you never thought of before. Also, it's always good to develop a vocabulary for this stuff in case you want to offer helpful advice and lessons to other musicians in need of critique and/or assistance.

V. Learn and Practice Good Production Values

This one is very tricky. This is more technical where you start learning about compression, EQ, mastering, balancing, and general soundscape. This definitely isn't something easy to learn on your own, because it's very difficult to pick out your own mistakes when you start out. I suggest reading this guy's guide. It's a great place to start to learn how to make good drum lines, work with acoustic instruments on software, and practice general production values.

VI. ReMixing For OCR Standards

What's done here at OCR is taking a VGM source tune and expanding on it; just putting it in different instruments doesn't really cut it. It has to be something that shows a lot of effort was put into it to make it stand on its own as a good arrangement. What you can do is compare OCRemixes to their source tunes, and then try to make your own interpretations. Good ways to do this are imagining source tunes in totally different styles/genre's. Sometimes for me, adding a simple swing rhythm to an otherwise upbeat techno VGM tune gives birth to some great latin jazz rendition in my head.

However, maybe you just don't want to deviate all that much from source material or expand in unexpected (and sometimes ridiculous) genre choices. That's perfectly fine, all you have to do is listen to the source music. Learn what each instrument is doing, what its place is in the song, and what it contributes to the music. After that, pull up your software and just start recreating it. That's how a lot of ReMixers start- by just remaking the source.

VII. Final Thoughts

Keep practicing! Nothing will ever sound awesome when you start out. I've heard lots of people say they were absolutely horrible in their first few years. In fact, there's a whole thread dedicated to these stories here.

This whole thing might sound super intimidating, but you should realize music isn't something to be taken lightly or learned quickly. Some people still can't get it after years of practice. It takes talent, but that's not to say a lot of people don't have talent. If you like OCRemixes and want to do them, work for it and the practice/experience helps you show your talent.

I hope that helps.

10character

[Corpsecrank]

Very informative. I came to the forum just to find out the names of some good software. I have acid pro but I feel like it just doesn't suit this very well even though I am sure it is quite capable. I suppose that is like comparing vegas to after effects but it all depends on the work space in the app for me.

[Skyline Drop]

Acid Pro is actually very workable for making music so long as you get yourself out of the 3,000 or so included loops and into some actual instruments or sample sets from other companies. The only issue I can really see with Acid Pro is that some of the higher end VSTs don't really run with the best stability in the world, so you'd probably have to save/render down parts a lot. It's got some decent included plugins from Izotope (among the best in the effects business, from what I know), so if you get some good sounds to use with them, you'd likely be fine.

[Nabeel Ansari]

Acid Pro is actually very workable for making music so long as you get yourself out of the 3,000 or so included loops and into some actual instruments or sample sets from other companies. The only issue I can really see with Acid Pro is that some of the higher end VSTs don't really run with the best stability in the world, so you'd probably have to save/render down parts a lot. It's got some decent included plugins from Izotope (among the best in the effects business, from what I know), so if you get some good sounds to use with them, you'd likely be fine.

*cough* and Acid Pro is ugly *cough*

[Skyline Drop]

*cough* and Acid Pro is ugly *cough*

...

Okay, so this is true, too. Acid Pro is quite the eyesore to look at. So much, in fact, that I actually considered it an upgrade to transition to the black and grey, spreadsheet-like interface I have Renoise default to

[Strike911]

Download FL Studio's demo. It's free and pretty easy to jump in. If it's not your bag there's a zillion other things you can try.