Weekly Blog Post

Welcome to my first actual blog!

Every Monday I plan on writing about music in some form or another. Today I am going to talk about my experiences learning how to produce music, specifically electronic music.

I am by no means a genius and I am definitely not skilled the way I wish I was. However I have noticed from the start of this year when I first picked up my consumer brand headphones and made a song using only my keyboard, mouse and DAW. That things have changed as I learnt more about producing my own music. From bouncing a track to sending effects, I have learnt a lot already and am eagerly looking forward to learning more.

When I first got the idea to make music of my own, I went straight to Google to search for "How to make music?". The answer to that question was to use a DAW, a Desktop Audio Workstation. Now I did not know what type of music I wanted to make just yet, although I was listening to a lot of electronic at the time so I knew I would be heading in that direction. I did want to make sure the DAW I chose would have everything I needed. Of course after reading several subreddits, I came to the conclusion that all DAWs are alike and will do the same thing in the end. So I went with one I have test drove in the past, Studio One 5 or 7 as it is called now. I still do not remember why I had tried it in the past but I do remember it enough that I wasn't completely lost when I opened it. I could make sounds and add virtual instruments, and I already felt like I was on my way to producing a song. So of course it felt like something was missing.

I also use real instruments as well, I play guitar and own a midi piano that I used for learning. So the next thing I wanted to know was what was the best way to get this sound inside the DAW. The MIDI piano was easy to integrate with the DAW and ended up being my main instrument. I could use it for pretty much everything I needed from drums to bass to synths. My MIDI piano completed my setup and allowed me to start making music in a fun way. My electric guitar however would need something called a USB audio interface. At this point I had not spent any money on my producing hobby, both these instruments and my DAW were free(ish). The USB audio interface was my first purchase because I really wanted to include my guitar in my potential songs(I did end up buying a Studio One 7 perpetual license as well!). Something about being able to use any amp or all the different types of pedals I would never have access to and hear what it would sound like while playing a riff really made me happy.

It has been about a year now and I still enjoy spending as much time making music as I used to gaming. I make music I enjoy listening too and don't really focus on anything else. There are so many things I am still learning, like what specific effects do what and how they do it. Or what type of instruments exist(just learnt about euroracks the other day!)

Anyways if you made it this far then thanks for listening to my rant, I wish I had useful info for you all to enjoy. Maybe next time:)