Ok so im desperate, not so desperate im going on the hunt for a hooker(theres a few whores on here ), to start learnign how to make my own track. Ive bought ableton live and its kinda confusing me as i dont really know where to start even with the guide it has. I have a good ear for my trance music but when it comes to actually making a track, its very daunting as i have no idea where to begin.

Ive looked through the production bit in here and thijse said not to post stupid questions in the thread so ive started my own and im sure its not the first but i wont know or be able to try unless i ask for help. I have no musical knowledge as regards playing an instrument or reading music or understanding all the jargon but i know my passion for my trance and would like to have a shot at letting it out in a track.

I need to know how to create my own sounds and maniipulate sounds into what i want ie take a noise and change it.

One thing thats always puzzled me is how producers/artists/remixers make certain sounds and what they use to make them. I dont know anything hardly about how this is done. Take for example making a bassline, how are they made? Riffs, how are they made? I understand them once they been put together to make a tune that sounds good but its the general part of making these i dont understand and i need to to be able to contemplate making a track.

Maybe im jumping too far ahead of myself and would like to be told so if so, i take constructive criticism well, but i understand the structure of a tune but not how to make the parts of the structure that make it individual and thats what i want to do most as any producer does.

Ableton has its own samples but they arent really what im after but then they could be if i knew how to manipulate the sounds into something i liked.

Im going to stop here with this and ask for people to reply and maybe give me some info and ask me questions if they dont fully understand where im coming from so i can give them a better idea.

Thanks for reading

Ian

have to say it's pretty tough to get started....

and it will stay tough to make the real thing you really want

also top of the notch artists spent years on educating, learning how to play guitar or produce a song.
but if you do it because you like it then you can become far



what i would do is download a bunch of drumsamples, there are millions free drums on the net..... however the paid ones are better
and mess with it. also get a tutorial, i didn't get ableton until i watched some tutorials but never used ableton

know how the program works roughly, then get a few free VSTi's to play with.

VSTi = Virtual STudio Instrument, a software synthesizer
play with it and try to make melodies with it

I have recently got Ableton aswell, but not really had the time to use it yet, i might start having a play around with it at some point see if i can get back into it myself so i would also like some tips etc, but i think this is definiteltly the best starting point for you, just go through the tutorials which come with the programme practicing the basic techniques which are available. Might seem boring at first, but its a good idea to learn the basics.

I did a music production course at university (although in the end opted more down the promotion/a&r side on my course, but thats a different story) and before letting us lose with the software and hardware available they made sure we understood the theory behind it so I reccomened reading up on some music production theory (like sound, sequecing, EQing etc) because it well help you in the long run by knowing the termanology which is used.

I know i shouldn't really be posting a link to another forum like this, but this thread has a lot of great links to some great tutorials from starting out to advanced tips which will be worth checking:

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/showthr...mp;pagenumber=1

personally can't say anything about ableton other than it was my least favorite program to try (just below reason)...

as thij said, get a few basic things so you can at least begin learning something...

drums - the drum samples i use are from a cd that came free with a magazine, sure 95% of producers wouldn't be caught dead using um...but guess what...they're free...and if you have a mic...you can always record self made percussion such as the sound of tapping on your desk with a pen

soft synths - z3ta+, vanguard, pentagon, rapture, blue, albino, absynth...google and see which make the sound you're interested in...because starting off...you wont be able to manipulate the synths to make the sounds you want right away

fx - everyone talks about having the newest synths, but a good fx pack is IMO the most important weapon in your arsenal

few things posted by others i would like to expand on...

starting is hard...and you'll want to give up many times...you're gonna suck for a decent amount of time...and you have to realize that when asking others to listen...it is a CHORE for them...not a pleasure

"I recommend reading up on some music production theory (like sound, sequencing, EQing etc) because it well help you in the long run by knowing the terminology which is used."

not saying don't read up....but I have never read a manual, let alone books on theory...maybe this sounds like an ignorant point of view...but i don't want to learn when i do music...people still send me long ass articles from time to time about music hints/tips/tutorials...that's very nice of you, but please don't waste your time...i delete it or ignore it...my main point here...make music...and you'll learn stuff...dont get stressed over terms and theory...just enjoy it

I will tell you my tale of things :,

I have been into trance since i was about 11 in about 1993 when it all started and was mesmerised by the sound and trawled record shops in search of tapes with this music.And i have been into it ever since , but one night last year around this time i was having a large party and bangin out the tunes and something popped into my head that i thought was brilliant, I wondered what it would be like for them to dance to a tune that i did . This played on my mind for about a fortnight and i started researching on the net on how to produce and came across a mate who recommened FL studio and give me his boxed copy of fl7 xxl , he was in a band and didnt want it.
i installed it , and played with it using various guides on the net and got the hang but i thought it was crap and didnt touch it for a month.
I was looking through youtube and heard a good tune and on the discription said made on FL 6 and thought ,f**k me and i started to use it again.But one piece of info stuck in my head ,which was to use good vst,vsti and other softsynth generators. So again more net searching i picked up vanguard and nexus , and once they were running ,off i went.i have also downloaded many a pack of FX ,hihats , other percs and leads.
But since july last year i have been learning more and more stuff and spending all ,yes all my free time on this (exept social life , im not a complete geek you know) but it has been a large part of my recent life so far and my god do i like doing it. Its hard to belive for me that i have done what i have done.

But in a nutshell , use the net all the info is there you will need
Use forums like this one , i like the comments people give here , not like tranceaddict who just dont say anything lol
Any sequencer in your case albeton , will do but search for good VSTi's
Be prepared to spend cash , works out better than bootleg stuff

And the ultimate test is paitence ,was for me anyway.

I have also posted my productions on many forums and unfortunatly i have had little feedback through this.
If you tell your listeners about this tune you like or jus play it anyway not saying anything ,you get a better response , not sure if this is me being paranoid but it works for me

hope any of that helped
cheers

Start reading books

http://www.abletonlivedj.com/.... has some good threads on producing with live.

also check out the tutorials on http://www.abletonguru.com/

do a you tube search also... I've found some helpful "how to" videos on there as well

good luck

I don't know anything about Ableton but since I also wanted to create my own tracks, I decided to use REASON (Propellerhead software)... The reason... is that I'm not a musician and needed a tool that would allow me to create a track from scratch just using... a PC! No instruments needed, no midi interfaces, no Steinberg's stuff, no physical sampler... Just me and my PC. Actually, for the story, I started using REASON when I heard that Alexander Kowalski (tech-house producer) used it to create an album called Reasons... duh! Mylo used it too I think for his destroy rock-n-roll album.... And the result was great. So I said to myself, they did it, why not me?

My bulls**t here may not help you at all so, going back to REASON, I just wanted to say that the tool is pretty complete and that you might be interested too... For more info: http://www.propellerheads.se/

Cheers and good luck!

my 2 cents on this discussion:

it doesn't matter what you buy: better do something with what you buy...
if GOD uses a Virus Polar doesn't that fact say you have to buy that Virus, you can also make cool sounds with other gear.
Usually the thing why tracks sound SO good is when they have a good finish.... are mixed and mastered by engineers that cost you a fortune to hire an hour and are mixed in studios you might be happy of when you can afford 5% of it.

Better don't start producing if you do it for the money or when you want to be M.I.K.E. #2 as more than 99% of us may not even touch his shadow being a producer like him.

The big heroes get and stay there because they do their own thing, do what they like... money and fame are a welcome thing but not the thing they do it for

The hardest thing is to have a balance between DJing and Producing. Producing is a different ball game. For producing you need time, you need to be focused. It’s not something that comes overnight; basically it means that you need to lock yourself up for 2 weeks or 3 weeks.

If you really want to be a professional DJ right now, is to make your own records. If you’re not making records today, you’re not a DJ, you are a Record Player, your someone who goes and plays records.

And frankly speaking, there are no excuses these days, cause 5 years ago you could say “well, I can’t afford 50,000$ to buy myself a sampler or this and that to start producing”, now today, you don’t really need that. All you need is a PC, buy yourself some softwares, and if you’re good at what you do and you’re committed and you’ll learn how to use that software, and you will learn to make records, and you will make your own records and people around the world will hear your music then you’ll be on the right lane of becoming a professional DJ.

A lot of DJs asks us “what we should do to get gigs??” the easiest answer that I could give them and the only answer that will work is, they need to produce music, they need to do Remixes, they need to make sure that they’re doing good enough job, so that people take notice, fans take notice, promoters take notice.

If you buy 10 pcs of gear then you need to learn that 10 pcs of gear, and its likely that you’re not gonna be able in mastering that 10 pcs of gear than having 1 gear at a time and mastering 1 gear at a time.
Just spend a time on it. I really get frustrated on people saying “well how you do it, I don’t know how to do it”, well; you need to spend time on it.

Even me, I’m working my ass off just to do something special, I’m trying to be creative and optimistic.

Producing is more like a patient being thing, it’s not like and innsgraphication, you need to wait months until it comes out.
It’s easier now than it’s ever been; you just need to be committed to the cause. If you’re committed, you’ll get there. But don’t pretend that you’re DJing if you’re not making recorders, cause you’re only pretending. There are million and one DJs out there, and every day there are another million showing up, and if you’re not in producing then you are just an amateur wasting your time.

Remember, Fortune Favors The Brave.

These information are so valuable information that I learned throughout my past years, and today I’m giving it to you for free, tomorrow you have to pay for it Joke

I agree with what somebody said earlier in the thread regarding don't let it become a obsession to the point your slowed down with page upon page of tutorials and stuff because for me this just bores the s**t out of me!! and for one its pointing you in a direction of whoever created that tutorial as to say, their way is right way! their is no right way or wrong way, or righ sound or wrong sound, only your sound and production!!

Some of the things i learnt to do in production so far have jst came from merely f**king up a track previous to that and then learning where you could have done better and putting it in place for the next one, its a learning process, which can take years to perfect depending on what you wanting to create and reasons for!!

My best advice and it mght get up some peoples noses but i dont care tbh lol

(1) Do it because you love production and even IF they never got signed you would be doing it anyway, tooo many people flood forums wanting to create music not because they love it or enjoy creating their own track but because they are obsessed with the celebrity of top djs and thats something you need to get to grips with str8 away, if you havint already of course XD
(2) Ears, listen to a track and the breakdowns and etc, and try and best copy that tune, it wont be anywhere near the same but its a building block and as your confidence and skills grow you will drift away from that song and develop your own sound and building structure to a song, i really can only say listen as much as you can and experiment!!

sorry if thats basic stuff but its what i find best

Interesting post, but i have to disagree personally on what you said about dont pretend your a dj if you havint a release to your name, your wasting your time, its a very narrow approach to the whole scene, judge jules didint produce till nearly 8 yrs after first pro gig, and what about those who do major gigs and dont produce records and others who do it for fun, not wasting time at all to me, their is no failure in not being a superstar if it has to be called that, but thats my own thought

AAAA!!! Thats best advice i think their is tbh!!

Sorry for not being clear enough.

What I mean is that these days producing became much easier than it used to be, so the word DJ has shifted from Playing Records or Mixing Records into Producing Your Own Records/Tracks.

You and I just like anyone of us “DJs” we all started in playing the music that we like then moved on to the next level where we tried to improve our skills in mixing and to be more creative. But when we used to reach to a certain point where we have our own ideas in composing our own records, we used to face a big concrete wall where we couldn’t go more.

Now a day’s it’s possible to express our thoughts and we are able somehow to compose or to create our own tracks, thanks to the latest technologies.

All of us Trance “Electronic” DJs are walking on the same path but each one of us are fighting our own war.

For example you are in Europe or the States, already Electronic music is popular and having its own listeners and we can notice that tones of people every day shift in their listening from other genres to Electronic music.

Your war is much different than mine.

I’m from Europe and I’m stationed in Kuwait “Arabian Gulf” because my family chose to be here for work so I too work here. Anyways people here are mostly into Hip-Hop, RNB, Rock, and Metal. Very few people listen to Electronic music here.

Don’t get me wrong, I just don’t have anything against other genres but my war is to Revolutionize Electronic music in here to get people notice this music. I believe in it that’s why I’m doing it with big confidence.

I’m giving away CDs for free, I’m even doing my own gigs for free, just to get people come to the event and listen to all types of Electronic music.

So basically I try to do several gigs with different styles of Electronic music. Once I’ll do a gig of House music, once Progressive Trance, once Underground Electro, once Hard Trance. This way people will know which style they like and get to know the artist well.
I’m even building my own website www.soundsoftheunderworld.com which will have massive information about the different genres of Electronic music and anything/everything that someone needs to know about Electronic music.
So I just want to wish each and every one of us a big success and prosperity. Good luck

Sorry sorry i misunderstood your comments etc ...Im sorry about that!! yeah i do understand that from your perspective its same equally as me, i also do it free and have bookings by doing that as the music genres are same up here in north east england, majority of clubs is hip hop/rock/house lol, i dont mind either but am feeling same as you are their dude!!
Sorry for the misunderstanding bro

Its ok mate, looks like we are all on the same ship

Well, keep up the good work and wish you the best of success

good assets to start producing:

Patience.
Good mood.
Honest passion for music.
At least $500 to start.
A few VSTs or softsynths, with a HARDWARE Controller. A hardware controller allows yoy to bring to real touchable controllers, parameters that are shown on the PC screen. Ableton live, Reason, FRUITY LOOPS (the first tool that most of the producers use to start to produce) are just some of them.
A good controller could be EDIROL MIDI controllers.

You must learn basics of the electronic music elements like:

sampling.
manipulation audio formats, as .wav
analog synth programmation
digital synth programmation
types of sound resources.
basics of tuning, basics of music.
MIDI basics.

Learning MIDI connections, buying a PC MIDI interface, are a MUST.


Honestly, I do not use software for producing. I have 15 years using only hardware, and have owned more than 30 different synths during my career.

I live from this, I recommend you software since you are starting, and getting a big synth since the beggining could result on frustration. I give electronic music production lessons, and I've seen a lot of people abandoning their lessons in the middle of the way when facing obstacles. Normally, these persons also abandon their jiu jitsu lessons, their cooking lessons, etc. So that's an attitude problem.

I kept on my way, never stopped from learning, always with a newbie and enthusiastic attitude. and I have get many " psychological rewards" from the music I produce, but not many $$$ rewards... that's an illusion. I love to make my own music.

Any further question about how to start, and I'll be please to help you


I posted some of the tracks I produce on the DJ SECTION if you wanna listen....

BALMA

To produce music in my opinion an understanding of the basic elements of music is needed i.e. melody, harmony, chords, chord progressions, timbre, key signatures etc. Without these or not fully understanding these elements the music produced will be weak, poorly structured and will probably be frowned upon by musicians if they were to listen to it. Whenever I listen to dance music I get ideas myself, how I would remix certain tracks or an idea pops into my head for a track but without a proper understanding of music theory I have not felt confident enough to produce these remixes/tracks.

Try out these sites, both detailed but helpful, also youtube is a good place for practical tutorials.

http://cnx.org/content/col10218/latest/
http://historyofmusic.tripod.com/id6.html

Ableton live is a great music production package so check that out.

Hope all this provides answers for you.