Metal_days Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Hi guys, a new member here. I'm a big fan of music and I've loved this site for a very long time now. Anyway, I began mixing some stuff in my early days with eJay sampling, then I gave my first shot at fruity loops but having no knowledge of music theory at that time, I quit. Then I started drumming with some metal bands which is still my passion till today. Anyway, I wanna continue creating some electric music, but I'm in pretty darn big dilemma, since as a drummer I have no knowledge about the part of music theory concerning melodies, chords etc. So should I give this a shot or am I a lost cause ? Also, if there are, feel free to post any links to guides, lessons etc. Thanks, Adam Love every note !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noTuX Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Id say, Fruity Loops is a good place to start working with music. You have to just get in there and experiment with it until you get good at it. Just don't give up. Post up your WIPs and use the feedback that you get on them to make them better. You don't really have to know all of the technical stuff about music to create music that sounds somewhat decent. Hell, I don't really know anything at all about music myself. I wouldn't know a C note if it walked up and kicked me in the balls. When making music, do what you think is right, what sounds good to you, and then use the feedback from other, more experienced, remixers to make your music sound even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DZComposer Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 The worst thing you can do is tell yourself "I don't know how." Just dive in. Music isn't about knowledge, it's about expressing your ideas. You will know when you hit the play button if what you hear sounds good to you. If it doesn't, change it. I couldn't name even a quarter of the chord structures and melodic patterns that end up in my orchestrations. It doesn't stop me. I use my ears. A good ear will do more for you as a composer/songwriter than a theory book. The only thing you really need to know to use most sequencers, music wise, is how tempo and division of beat work. By that I mean what a quarter beat, 8th beat, etc. is. As a drummer, you should already know this. Piano rolls are nice in that you do not need to know how to read music. Granted you won't sound professional overnight, but with practice you will surely improve. As said before, WIP forum is a great place to seek assistance on a piece you are working on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnappleMan Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Id say, Fruity Loops is a good place to start working with music. You have to just get in there and experiment with it until you get good at it. Just don't give up.Post up your WIPs and use the feedback that you get on them to make them better. You don't really have to know all of the technical stuff about music to create music that sounds somewhat decent. Hell, I don't really know anything at all about music myself. I wouldn't know a C note if it walked up and kicked me in the balls. When making music, do what you think is right, what sounds good to you, and then use the feedback from other, more experienced, remixers to make your music sound even better. Fruity Loops is NOT a good place to start. Stop recommending it! And Metal_days, being a drummer doesn't excuse you from not knowing any music theory. The best place to start is getting some books or using Google to find lessons on theory. Then when as you learn, you'll want to get yourself a keyboard to play around with. Your ultimate goal SHOULD be to record live drum tracks for your songs, and for that Fruity Loops will fail you. As well as theory, make it a point to learn about multi-tracking and drum recording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDRKirby(ISQ) Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Different sequencers for different people. There's lots of info on where to start, as well as "What are the advantages/disadvantages of so-and-so DAW", if you know where to look. Use google, use the search function, visit forums, read guides, look at example projects, etc. Lots of people will recommend you try out the demos of various DAWs as well. You can download free demos of major sequencers such as Cubase, Reason, FL, Ableton, etc. and play around with it to see what each one is like. It will take time to actually get the hang of each one, but if you're trying to decide between DAWs then that's probably the best thing you can do, as your own experience is infinitely more valuable than other people's recommendations. If you really want to get into this, then do your research, find a way (doesn't have to be "the best way") to get started and keep trying at it. you can't really go wrong if you're smart about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnappleMan Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 FLStudio is NOT a DAW. That's the most common misconception people here on OCR have. FLStudio is a synth/sampler with a piano roll, nothing more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 You've actually played in a band? Then you have more musical experience than half the people on this site. Give it a shot. And remember, everybody sucks at first. Just stick with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noTuX Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 Fruity Loops is NOT a good place to start. Stop recommending it!And Metal_days, being a drummer doesn't excuse you from not knowing any music theory. The best place to start is getting some books or using Google to find lessons on theory. Then when as you learn, you'll want to get yourself a keyboard to play around with. Your ultimate goal SHOULD be to record live drum tracks for your songs, and for that Fruity Loops will fail you. As well as theory, make it a point to learn about multi-tracking and drum recording. Well different strokes for different folks I guess. Since FL Studio is the program he experimented first, and it is also one of the "easier" studio programs to use, I suggested that he start with it, and build upon the knowledge he obtained in the short time he used it. Then, of course, he can move on to bigger, better programs, recording software, and whatnot if he chooses to do so. Snapple, you have to understand that not everybody takes music and remixing as seriously. And you don't have to be that musically inclined, to produce a great piece of music. Also, while I'm at it Metal, you should keep one thing in mind as you create your music, it is damn near IMPOSSIBLE to please everyone! There is always someone that will not like the lead you use, or the way you pan your instruments, or whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metal_days Posted May 18, 2007 Author Share Posted May 18, 2007 You've actually played in a band? Then you have more musical experience than half the people on this site.Give it a shot. And remember, everybody sucks at first. Just stick with it. Yes sir, I love playing with my band, music is something I'm completely passionate about, that is why I'm here. I know that by being the drummer doesn't excuse me for not understanding musical theory, the thing is, even when you study drums you don't (99% of the time) need to understand things such as melodies etc. It's mostly about precision, timing,speed and creativity IMO. Most drummers, when it comes to the song creation process don't know much about this. Anyway, thank you very much to all the posts, I pretty much got my question answered. Any good links would be appreciated but I'm gonna sit my ass now and work on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDRKirby(ISQ) Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 Well different strokes for different folks I guess. Since FL Studio is the program he experimented first, and it is also one of the "easier" studio programs to use, I suggested that he start with it, and build upon the knowledge he obtained in the short time he used it. Then, of course, he can move on to bigger, better programs, recording software, and whatnot if he chooses to do so. Snapple's saying that if you do end up wanting to move on to bigger and better programs then you'll find that FL has crippled you by teaching and training you in the "wrong" way to do things. It seems like a great majority end up sticking to whatever program they end up diving into first, just because they get used to it and because making the switch to something else feels weird after being accustomed to that (not to mention you gotta buy more). Which makes sense...hence the importance of making an informed decision when you first start out (i didn't). and yes, FL is not a "real DAW" but i dont know what the heck else to call it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverCoat Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 and yes, FL is not a "real DAW" but i dont know what the heck else to call it. Yes it is. It started being a DAW the moment you could record audio into it and manipulate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnappleMan Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 Absolutely not. Just because it can record audio and support plugins doesn't make it a true DAW. It has some DAW features, but the working environment is based on loops and sampling. This makes FL more of an instrument than a DAW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDRKirby(ISQ) Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 at this point it's essentially a matter of semantics, methinks. The important thing is that while FL shares -some- similar aspects to other "DAWs", the capabilities, and moreover the workflow, is very different (just like Reason is vastly different from other programs). Hence the need to find out whether it really is what you're looking for, or whether it's just going to end up being complete crap to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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