Make Music Today

If you love music and want to enter the world as an artist the internet is a fantastic resource when it comes to writing and producing tracks. You may want to write music for the fun of it or you want to make this your full time career, regardless you want to make sure you have the basic starting equipment to get going.

Making your first track

1. Choosing a DAW (Desktop Audio Workstation)

2. Choosing your main sequencer (Software to create your music)

3. Expanding your knowledge and resources

Choosing a DAW (Desktop Audio Workstation)

In simple terms your DAW is going to essentially be a PC or Mac, as all music these days is created using a computer using mainly software. You’re going to need a DAW with a reasonable specification to be able to handle all the plugins and applications you’re going to be pushing at it. Here is an example of a good specified DAW.

Operating System (In order of recommendation)
1. MacOSX Leopard or Windows XP
2. Windows 7 (Coming Soon)
3. Windows Vista

CPU: Dual Core / Quad Core (Intel or AMD)
RAM: 2GB+ DDR2 or DDR3
Audio: PCI or Firewire/USB2 interface. (M-audio, Mackie, MOTU, EDIROL)
Graphics Card: (Geforce, ATI, Intel)

These can apply when it comes to purchasing a PC or Mac. The audio interface you would need to purchase separeately as these are pretty much soundcards designed for working with audio in a production environment.

Choosing a Sequencer

When making music, your sequencer will become your best friend so its wise to choose one you feel comfortable working with from the start rather than fluctuating between different ones wasting time on adapting each time. A sequencer is the software which you use to put your track together so it’s very important to choose on that’s suited to your working style. Here are a bunch of sequencers that I would personally recommend you choose, they all offer very similar features and have the ability to create high standard tracks the choice comes down to personal preference.

1. Cubase

Cubase has been around for a good while now and is highly regarded amongst top tier artists and producers. It comes with a vast number of plug-ins straight out the box and has lots of awesome audio processing tools. It has a nice bright clean layout and very easy to follow.

Pros

• Both Mac and PC compatible

• Clean and fresh layout

• Lots of plugins and presets out of the box

• Support for VST2 and VST3 plugins.

Cons

• Expensive (£300/$500)

• USB Dongle required to use

• Still a few bugs

Version: 5 (As of  May 2009)
Website: www.steinberg.net
Compatibility: Mac & PC (Hybrid Disc)

2. Logic Studio

Logic Pro another one of the top rated sequencers which is very popular amongst Mac users. Developed and supported by Apple, you know straight away it’s going to have the “cool” look and feel to it. Logic is beautifully designed and like cubase, it comes with lots of great plugins and features. One of the standout features of Logic is that it comes with it’s own huge sample libary of loops and sounds which is great for anyone who’s just getting started.

Pros

• Very CPU effective

• Beautiful user interface and Plugin Design

• Huge Sample Library out of the box

• Automatically updated in OSX

Cons

• Only available on Mac

• Does not support VST plugins (Only Audio Units)

• Layout can get quite cluttered.

Version: 9 (As of  July 2009)
Website: http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/
Compatibility: Mac

3. Fruity Loops (FL Studio)

Fruity Loops is a very common sequencer which is used by lots of people who are just starting out in the world of music production. Why? Because it comes with everything and I mean everything”. The plug ins are even designed in such a way that even the most total noob can start using them, which is great for anyone thats just starting out.

Pros

• Very affordable

• Has everything you need if you’re just starting out

• Lots of support on the web

Cons

• Only available on Windows

• Layout is very different to other sequencers

Version: 8 (As of  Jan 2009)
Website: http://flstudio.image-line.com/
Compatibility: Windows

Expanding your knowledge and resources

As you progress in making music you will learn new things and you will never stop! The internet is an amazing resoruce for production and it’s worth checking out great websites out there like this one that offer lots of useful information on making music. It’s worth signing up to production forums and posting your work for feedback and others will happily help you improve.

Remember there are no rules when it comes to making music, try to be as creative as possible and don’t let criticism hold you back.

Have fun!

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