Necrox Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 I received FL Studio as a gift last Christmas, but I've hardly made anything on it because I don't know what to write and I'm intimidated by the interface. It was the program I wanted (I had the mobile version on my phone), but oftentimes I just write nothing or some crappy beat. How did you guys start actually making decent music? I also dead-end quickly on remixes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrypnyk Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 If you keep throwing darts at a dartboard, eventually you'll hit the bullseye. Just. Keep. Throwing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexstyle Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 What Skryp said, although I should elaborate and say that one of the best ways to grow as an artist here on OCR's forums is to take part in some of the competitions. You'll get a lot of feedback, become part of the community, and that way you'll have people who WANT to help you improve as an artist. Also, the Workshop forums are a great place to get feedback, too. But yeah, basically just keep doing it and trying to find ways to improve. It's taken me 7 years to get to where I'm at, and I already had a technical AND a musical background to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC2151 Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Don't be afraid to ask questions in the help forum. And the biggest thing for me was to start simple, and build from that. My first tracks were nothing more than figuring out how to load a soundfont and input notes on the piano role. It took at least two months before I figured out how to do stuff like note velocity and volume changing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argle Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Maybe music making isn't for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonectric Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 And the biggest thing for me was to start simple, and build from that. My first tracks were nothing more than figuring out how to load a soundfont and input notes on the piano role. It took at least two months before I figured out how to do stuff like note velocity and volume changing! Exactly. You don't need to know everything right away. I made a few 7-second-long remixes with FL before I found the piano roll. If you're stuck not knowing what to write, don't be afraid to write simple dumb shit. You won't be getting any music awards, but it'll help you figure out the basics, at the very least. (I like to pull out the earliest example of my music on record at times like this.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelCityOutlaw Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 I received FL Studio as a gift last Christmas, but I've hardly made anything on it because I don't know what to write and I'm intimidated by the interface. It was the program I wanted (I had the mobile version on my phone), but oftentimes I just write nothing or some crappy beat. How did you guys start actually making decent music? I also dead-end quickly on remixes. I'll make a controversial statement as always: I started with the forgotten art of sheet music. For me, it was far easier to study music theory and analyze existing works note for note if you can see it all in notation. Any serious composer who really wants to learn how to write music will know how to read sheet music and learn as much theory as possible in my opinion. Notation and tab is how I did it for years, and only in 2010 I got into the whole DAW and virtual instruments thing. I can honestly say that this made me go back to square one in a lot of ways. Because the process was so alien to me and I'm not a keyboardist. So for sure a lot of the stuff I had made for quite some time was much weaker than what I felt my usual standard for composing music was. I've gotten around this by writing everything on my guitar instead of trying to be a keyboardist and mouse clicking data into the piano roll. It's a more time consuming process to actually write music with a DAW than with notation for me, but you definitely have a more impressive end result than just a bunch of notes on paper or software. Virtual instruments are also inspiring. Now, the biggest intimidation for me is the whole mixing thing. I'm not good at it, and I don't particularly like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Necrox Posted June 11, 2013 Author Share Posted June 11, 2013 Thanks for the advice, guys! Exactly. You don't need to know everything right away. I made a few 7-second-long remixes with FL before I found the piano roll. If you're stuck not knowing what to write, don't be afraid to write simple dumb shit. You won't be getting any music awards, but it'll help you figure out the basics, at the very least. (I like to pull out the earliest example of my music on record at times like this.) This made my day; can I download it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonectric Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 This made my day; can I download it? Download it, play it at your wedding, hang it on the living room wall, whatever you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Eskimo Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I'm a bit in the same boat. One of my first rules for things like this has been to learn the hotkeys and practice switching between menus and things like that quickly. Saving time on things that aren't writing music frees you up to write music. I only just bought the basic version of FL so I'm not the best person to ask about stuff, but I AM having fun and I'm starting to see the value/power of its interface. I'm a little intimidated by the prospect of going over everything to add dynamics and nuance once my first whole song is complete though. I'm only used to writing simple stuff for keyboard, multi-instrument writing is a bigger endeavor with a lot of choices to make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPRTNovice Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Watching youtube videos of people creating music really helped me, as well as watching videos of people explaining the DAW and some neat features. Zircon's youtube channel has at least 2 live mixes, where he walks you through it from start to finish, and he uses FL studio. I know there are more people around here who do that sort of thing (and I love to watch them so if anyone knows any please post) but it's a great way to see masters work for free in the comfort of your own home. You can even replicate what he's doing step by step on FL as you go, learning by osmosis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypnotikid Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 (edited) I don't like to throw money at any big-wig software, because they just make you spend more on the "package deals, membership, plug-ins, vsts, etc". Right now I try to stray from the big-wig software (FL Studio, Garageband, and various DJ kits) and just stick with limited resources and free trial versions of software... Sure they are limited, but using a variety of them really helps on my projects. I am no musician, but I love creating samples and beats. But yeah, I was intimidated for sure on the big-wig software, but if you find a software you like, then by all means, use it to its full potential. Back to your first post: My suggestion is start off with a baseline. (one beat to rule them all), then create sound loops (one beat that binds them), then layer them and see how they sound together. Starting with this will help immensely in your projects, because you will start experimenting with a lot more sounds creating a whole new effect. Edited June 13, 2013 by underworld_imp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cash Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 My suggestion for learning FL is to finish as many remixes as possible. No matter how shitty, complete remixes from start to finish. You'll start to get familiar with the program and develop your own workflow. Stick with what you know first, then expand from there, less intimidating that way. This is what worked for me. I still have a lot to learn, I've been at it for about a year and a half. Watching tutorials and checking out the help feature are good resources as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mediaeaters Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 Really great advice here. Everyone has felt (or still feels) exactly what you are describing, and you've gotten some good suggestions on what to do next. One other thought I had is that while lots of people use FL Studio due to its low barrier to entry and popularity on this site, that doesn't mean it's the one you HAVE to use. As has been mentioned, there are plenty of free/trial versions out there to try and find what works for YOU. I met some AAA-guys/gals at GDC earlier this year and was surprised at the amount of people still using Digital Performer, and increasingly hear of people moving over to Cubase. Lots of stuff to try on for size! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salluz Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Have no pride and use the help option. Always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.