I decided to write down some music making tips for beginners in the field of electronic music producing. A little about myself is that I have a bit experiment in such genres as trance, ambient and downtempo. Some of my tracks has been released and also used in a film projects. Excuse my english, it’s not fluent, but I hope you understand and find these tips useful. Also, feel free to comment.
So, let’s begin.
1. Get the tools. Hardware first.
The following are just what I use and am familiar working with. You can actually produce very good music just about anykind of computer setup and even with free software.
- Computer. I still have my old Athlon XP with 1GB ram memory and 800GB hard drive space and I’m still doing fine with it. But the more power, more merrier. UPDATE: Well, here’s my latest computer system: http://petrisuhonen.com/studio-upgrade
- Sound card with ASIO driver support or any sound card. Although I recommend the ASIO support. It reduces the latency in your audio software. I have M-Audio Audiophile Delta 2496 and it has been enough for me for all these years.
- Monitor speakers or good headphones. Although I created “Turnpoint” with cheap Sony headphones I bought from a supermarket, decent headphones or monitors are highly recommended. I have Behringer Truth B2031A monitors and AKG K271 studio headphones and I’ve been very happy with them.
- MIDI keyboard, although its not necessity: I’ve created many songs just by using mouse and computer keyboard. Many computer music software lets you play music using your computer keyboard as a sort of ‘virtual keyboard’. But on the other hand you get a totally different feel for playing melodies and controlling your audio software with a MIDI keyboard. I use M-Audio Oxygen 61.
Get the software:
- Get a digital audio workstation and learn the basics of it. I really recommend Image Lines Fruity Studio. It’s a very powerful, easy to use and you can do so much with it and fast! I’ve been using it for years and all my released stuff (including the “Turnpoint” which was number one position in dutch dance charts) has been produced using Fruity. There are others like Ableton Live and Cubase and some free alternatives too although I’m not so familiar with the free ones. I must say I’ve been working with both, Ableton and Cubase, but I’ve always come back to Fruity. This is a matter of taste, but Fruity is my choice. For more info about Fruity Studio, check out: http://flstudio.image-line.com/
- Get audio editor. This is for doing final adjustments for your song before you upload them to the net. I recommend Sony Media’s Sound Forge Audio Studio. Check it out here: http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/audiostudio
- Get some soft synths aka VSTi’s. They’re virtual synths that produce different kind of sounds. There are loads of free ones in the net, just do a search through Google for free vsti or free soft synths. And if you have some money I recommend reFX Vanguard. It can produce many kind of sounds from huge basses to lush pads and sharp leads and arps. Native Instruments Absynth is one excellent synth too. In fact all stuff that comes out from Native Instruments is highly recommended! Others I recommend are H.G Fortunes synths like ProtoPlasmTSMPro, STS-33 and Artvera’s Golden ASET. These can produce some really beautiful and experimental pads and background sound. Also, check out reFX Nexus.
And now to the music making. First things first.
2. Learn song structures: listen and study other peoples work.
- Get some songs from the genre you wan’t to break into, take a song you like, listen it carefully an make a notes how it’s build: how many bars long is the intro, what kind of elements does it have, where does more elements start to come in, where’s breakdown, how many bars long breakdown is, what kind of elements are repeated and faded etc. Make a notes and write them down on a paper.
- When talking about radio-pop songs, they’re typically 3-4 minutes long and structure goes like: [intro]->[verse]->[chorus]->[verse]->[chorus]->[bridge]->[chorus]->[outro] or chorus can also work as intro so it would go like: [chorus(intro)]->[verse]->[chorus]->[verse]->[chorus]->[bridge]->[chorus]->[outro]
- If we think trance or dance music that is aimed for club’s, it goes typically like: [quite long intro with drums and other elements]->[breakdown(here's the main idea of the song, it could be a nice melody or whatever. I call it the "hook")->[the "hook" with drums(this is the climax where everything's playing together. In dance floor people will typically go nuts at this point lol)]->[the "hook" with drums fades out]->[another breakdown with the "hook" or another "hook", whatever you like]->[the "hook" with drums again(another climax)]->[fade out]
These are the structures I typically like to use with my own songs. Of course, it can be anything you like. There’s no boundaries. I’ve also used many different kind of variations. But some sort of logical progression is recommended if you wan’t to produce music for the ‘masses’ and wan’t it to be easy to listen and catchy.
3. Start with the drums and bass.
- I’ve found it’s best to first build the drums and get the groove going. With a cool drumgroove it’s much easier to start build a bass groove on top of it and other instruments as well. And remember drums & bass should work together, not overlap each other. If you have heavy drums, find a little bit lighter bass instrument or do some EQ’ing. Or vice versa. Or if you have harsh sounding drums, dont’ use harsh sounding bass sound. And vice versa. I think the most hardest part in music producing is to make drums & bass work together and IMO it’s also the most important thing. When you build a solid drum groove and bass, you’ve come a long way in your song. I really recommend to put a great effort on these two.
4. Fire up the synths.
- Many soft synths has several quality ready made preset sounds to start with. These will help to get you going. But I recommend to experiment and twiddle and fiddle with the knobs and sliders and buttons and see what happens. You can find some really original and wild stuff by experimenting.
5. Use sample cd’s. Sparingly.
- I use sample cd’s. You can find all kinds of song elements there: drumloops, synthloops, bassloops, single drum hits, fx etc. They speed up the producing process. So many times I have found a perfect fill, fx or drumloop that fits perfectly to my song so I don’t have to start building it from scratch. You can find some really cool stuff from these cd’s which you can then recycle and chop-up to get you started. I recommend checking out samples from Peaceandloveproductions, Big Fish Audio, Zero-G, Mutekki Media and Best Service. These guys produce some pretty awesome stuff for many different genres. But remember, don’t build your songs based on ready made samples, use them as a helping aid instead. You have to have something original and something you have created by yourself. In fact most of the song should be YOUR idea. Of course you can turn ready made samples into something completely original by reversing, twisting, cutting, pitching and running them through various effects. Just use your imagination.
I use help of sample cd’s like a spice or glue to help me achieve my goal in my music which is to present my original ideas to the people.
6. Mixing: give a power to the rhythm
- When I mix my songs (if it’s a rhythmic music), I give most power to the drums. Drums are element that should be heard of clearly. Then, “according to drums”, I level the bass and other instruments. I use drums as the basis for how I mix other instruments in my song. I just make sure drums are punchy and loud enough and if some other instrument is trying to compete with drums (or bass in this matter), I EQ the low out a bit or simply drop down the level of that instrument. Use the drums like a “yardstick” to make other instruments fit in your mix.
7. Mixing: hear how pros do it and learn from examples.
- Again, listen to your favourite songs in a same genre and notice how they’re mixed. What kind of elements stand out and why? How does your song sounds compared to your favourite songs?
8. Plan to use vocals?
- Well, I don’t have much experience working with vocals, but if you’re building a song which main idea are based on vocals, make sure you make them stand out CLEARLY in the mix.
9. Your ears get tired so take a break or continue producing in the next day.
- It has happened to me many times that I thought I’ve made a killer song in a day and then in the next day when I listen to the song again, it sounds like garbage: all the instrument levels and EQ settings are out of balance or there are elements that doesn’t seem to fit in the mix at all. And then I either dump it or get depressed and forget it. That’s because if you produce music for several hours nonstop your ears get sort of tired and you can’t hear things in as balanced as with “fresh” ears. So it’s not better try to finish a song in a day (I’m not saying you can’t, I’ve finished songs from start to end in a day, but in my case, this is the way it usually goes), leave something for a next day, maybe the mixing and EQ’ing part.
That’s about it. Later I’ll write down some more tips and maybe a few words about the promotion through internet.
Related posts:
Can you show us some of your work? Derooie2(Quote)
sure thing!
Check out here: http://petrisuhonen.com/music Petri Suhonen(Quote)
Hey.
Great write up! I want to take a shot at making some tracks. It sounds like it could be a fun hobby.
Thanks for taking the time to put this out there. john(Quote)
Glad you liked it, John!
Yeah, music making is indeed a fun hobby. I’ve been doing it for 10 years now and I just can’t get enough of it lol! Petri Suhonen(Quote)
hey Elias!
I’m from Finland and been producing electronic music for 10 years now.
What kind of project are you planning to start? Petri Suhonen(Quote)
hey great write up , really helpfull , whr are u from tell more about ur self . are you interested in producing music with others , iam planning to start a new project. elias(Quote)
thanks for the read much appreciated. i’ve been wanting to start producing but never been shown how. i dj at the weekends so i’ve got a good ear for mixing.
thank you again Dan(Quote)
Thank you Dan! Glad you found it useful. If you need any further assistance, let me know.
Petri Suhonen(Quote)
thanks, ive been wanting to make my own music for a visual novel im making but i dont know what you meen by “breakdown,bars or how long are the bars” and i dont know much about music notes or stuff with making music but id like to get started Kevin(Quote)
Kevin,
I’m starting to write an article about basic song structure and I’m trying to show visually how a basic song is built. Also, I try to cover subjects such as breakdown and bars.
Pete Petri Suhonen(Quote)
For everyone who are sort of lost what is bar or breakdown, check out my latest tutorial on “Trance Song Structure: How Is A Typical Trance Song Built ? How Does It Progress ?”
cheers! Petri Suhonen(Quote)
yes! that will appreciated Carlos(Quote)
thank you so much, i see in your picture you have a piano, do i need one? Kevin(Quote)
Kevin,
It’s actually a MIDI keyboard. It’s connected to my computer and doesn’t contain any sounds itself. The basic idea of MIDI keyboard is that it sends MIDI signals and commands to other devices it’s connected to.. in this case my computer. Inside my computer I have music making software and virtual synth’s (VSTi’s) which will produce the actual sound. So I can play and control those synth’s with the keyboard. Cool isn’t it?
But you don’t actually need a keyboard to get started. I have produced many of my songs (including “Turnpoint” which was in number one position in dutch dance charts back in to year 2004) just by using computer keyboard and mouse
But, I really recommend you to get a MIDI keyboard. It’s a totally different feel to play stuff using real keyboard than mouse and computer keyboard. Petri Suhonen(Quote)
Is it possible to use a Casio keyboard with a USB connector as a MIDI controller? If so, is it then possible to actually use the sounds that come included with the keyboard?
I understand MIDI doesn’t make a sound but rather sends instructions to instruments of what to do. But I’d like to feed in music I create on the keyboard into a program and then add beats, cuts and effects. Any suggestions? Keith(Quote)
Hey Keith,
Yea, it’s possible. In fact, I’m using my own Casio as a MIDI keyboard alongside with my Oxygen 61. But if you wan’t to use the Casio’s onboard sounds, you have to connect it to your soundcards audio-in and record your playings as audio data (.wav). Work’s good that way too. Then you can cut it, add effects and do anything you wan’t with it. Most (if not all) of the audio workstations like FL Studio has the option to record straight to audio from your soundcard’s audio-in. It will be recorded as audio track and you can add these audio tracks as much as you wan’t.
Only downside is that if you record straight to audio and wan’t to make corrections afterwards (like fix timing or remove notes) its a way more harder than with midi data.
Hope this helps!
Petri Suhonen(Quote)
Hey Petri, this entry is full of a lot of great information that I plan on using in the near future. I have no idea where to start with electronic music, but knowing that I can do most if not all of the work with just my laptop makes the whole thing seem a little less intimidating. Danny(Quote)
Thanks Danny!
I can only recommend electronic music production! It’s full of endless possiblities to express yourself once you get the hang of it
And yes, you can do pretty much everything with laptop
Petri Suhonen(Quote)
Thanks for the break down and suggestions. I’m just learning how to use Reaper to make original music. My focus is mainly on recording live vocals and piano, but need some beats and simple bass in the background to get started. aam(Quote)
Cool! Reaper is good sequencer too
Petri Suhonen(Quote)
Hello Petri! I been making music for many years.I came acros your site I think its great help.Man music learning will go on a lifetime you cant learn every thing in music a life time but you do learn the tools you need.There great info on this site that i thought was helpful.you see
music can be any thing that sounds balince it dosnt matter what but how blance it sounds.I donot blieve in strucer laws.like a certain way.if you break the the thereie laws and so on you can make music types that no one knows about like Clown Core.man I never heard of it till you tube.Its new and one man came up with it.you have to get used to it its like you like it or not but the point is that he took some thing diffrent andmade a whole new stule of dance music.I use all the programs ablton fl studios and so on but Fl studio great program.I use ablton live as main bard and wire fl studio as a aeq into ablton and reason 4 as drums and ablton as synths so on.i use acid 7 as a editor for voice sample so i can chop easier and throw it in fl studio Grizlizer thing it easier and rec into ablton.alot of throwing around on my side lol.Thanks petri great stuff. Joshua(Quote)
Joshua,
I agree. I also wan’t to ‘break the boundaries’ and try not to care too much about the structures and laws, but still I always tend to go with the basic structures
I gotta check out the Clown Core, I may get some inspirations of his music
Pete Petri Suhonen(Quote)
I am not trying to get famouse or sell but the free best way to test your stuff out is youtube man thats powerful learning tool and great to see how man hits you get to see if you need to do some treaking in your music.Who nows a prouducer might come along and want to see what you have it happends on you tube alot of peopel who had alot of views com on there became famouse. Joshua(Quote)
Joshua,
yeah, Youtube is indeed a great place for promotion! I cover that in my how to promote music -article I wrote couple of weeks ago. Petri Suhonen(Quote)
Question; what was your feel on using cubase? What did you like and/or dislike about it ?
greetz Gertjan(Quote)
Gertjan:
Well, I tested Cubase few years ago(I think it was version 3 or 4 or something) and I found out it’s not a tool for me. It’s a PRO tool, no questions asked, but I just feel much much more comfortable with FL Studio. In FL I can do things WAY more easier and faster than Cubase and the user interface suits for me perfectly. I don’t know Cubase’s latest features, but be that as it may, I’m staying with FL.
Pete Petri Suhonen(Quote)
Hey again,
What about reason?
Gertjan(Quote)
Gertjan:
Reason is nice! I think if I wasn’t so strongly into FL, Reason would be my toy
Only downside is that it doesn’t support VST, but still ther’s some very nice synth’s and fx already built-in. So I would say not a bad choice for electronic musician 
Petri Suhonen(Quote)
Petri – sent a separate email, but others may find your answer to my question helpful.
What is a good resource/training book or document for FL Studio?
This would be something simple for non-music pros who want to learn the software more quickly than a “trial and error” method can offer.
Great site.
Thanks,
Chad Chad(Quote)
Hey Chad,
got your email thanks!
And to all other readers as well:
If you choose to start learning FL studio I really recommend checking this online guide:
http://flstudio.image-line.com/help/
And from there, very first thing is to learn the basics of FL interface:
* Main Menu, Panels & Toolbars
* Channel Window & Step Sequencer
* Piano Roll
* Playlist
* Mixer
When you learn these, you’re half a way
And feel free to ask me any questions, I’ll do my best to help you out!
Petri Petri Suhonen(Quote)
To everyone,
I’m starting to record a video tutorial on how to build a very basic dance-song with FL Studio.
Keep an eye on this blog..
Petri Petri Suhonen(Quote)
Do you need any musical background to be able to do this? Such as knowing notes and what a bar is and all that? Alex(Quote)
Alex,
No you don’t
It helps of course, but I, for example, didn’t have any kind of musical education: I didn’t know the notes, music theory or anything when I started (and I still don’t do!) but that hasn’t stopped me for producing music. Of course, I’ve learned quite a lot in all these years through experimenting, but mostly I just trust my ears: what sounds good to my ears I’ll leave it and what don’t I’ll drop it.
So I would say go ahead and try; start composing and you’ll learn in time.
Petri Suhonen(Quote)
I am new to this, I can not read music, & do not know how to tell(identify) what key (notes) are playing, I want to download a free software that will be able to identify musical note
(like abcdef)of a CD playing on my computer, so that I can learn to play the sound on my Casio keyboard Lk-30us.
can you help? hope to hear from you soon,
AL. Allington(Quote)
Hey AL,
I’m sorry, but I don’t know if there is such tool… sorry man. Petri Suhonen(Quote)
i really appreiacte your worh this is awesome tiesto element of life(Quote)
The soft synths sliders and knobs you are talking about, are those something you can physically hold and move up and down or are they on the computer screen? Alex(Quote)
Wow! I’ve been looking for a nice article like this for ages. Thank you so much. =D Thursday(Quote)
Thanks a million for this, I am greatful for the info Topsoil(Quote)
Terve Petri,
Haluaisin päästä kikkailemaan ja kokeilemaan elektronisen musan tekemistä, ihan vaan omaksi ilokseni. Omistan vanhan ja tehottoman läppärin enkä köyhänä haluaisi softaankaan hirveästi sijoittaa. Netistä imuroin FL Studion Demon mutta se ei anna nauhoittaa ja lieneekö niin hyväkään? Ilmaisia vaihtoehtoja on joka paikassa mutta onko maksulliset käytännössä ainoita vaihtoehtoja?
Eli, miten alkuun juuri minun tapauksessa? Mitä suosittelet? Jos mahd niin vastaile emailiin kun henk koht asia!
Kiitos vaivannäöstä jo näin etukäteen! Mike(Quote)
Morjens Mikko,
Laitoin vastauksia meilitse
Petri Suhonen(Quote)
I’ve been interested in EDM Production, I have FL Studio but I find it hard to produce.
Any software recomendations? or should I just keep practicing.
Also why does a MIDI keyboard make things easier?
and last but not least, I can’t play keyboard or piano, does this affect my ability to produce music with a MIDI keyboard?
Thanks so much, loved the article.
sincerely, Joey joeyp(Quote)
Hi Joey,
My advice to you is: keep on practicing, you’ll get there
Seriously, in my experience best way to succeed is to learn the tools you already have. That way the technical problems isn’t slowing down your musical creativity and production process.
About MIDI keyboard: you can play and control all your VSTi synth’s (sliders, knobs, etc.) with it which IMO is a lot more fun (faster also) than doing it with computer keyboard and mouse. Also, when you play riffs and melodies with real keyboard keys, you get a whole new touch and feel for your music and music making overall. I’m not saying it’s a mandatory for one to be able to make music: I made “Turnpoint” and several other songs just with computer keyboard and mouse. But I recommend getting one.
To your last question: don’t worry, I can’t play piano or keyboard either, yet I use it for music making
The way I do it is I play (or try to play) melodies with it, record them to FL and after that I adjust the notes via mouse (quantize etc.) to make ‘em sync and sound right. So the keyboard works like a shortcut for getting your ideas to FL and then finetuning them with mouse. Petri Suhonen(Quote)
Hey! Thanks for the great article. I’ve been looking for something like this for awhile. I’m looking to create music similar to Owl City. I’m a really big fan! haha. I understand music theory and play several instruments, including drums, piano and ukulele and write my own music. I’m just looking to translate it all into electronic music. I have all the hardware and a midi keyboard controller. I also have Mixcraft and have been trying out synths on that but am thinking about trying out Frooty Loops. Nick(Quote)
Hi Nick,
glad you enjoyed the article!
Owl City is cool, though I’ve only heard one song from them (Fireflies), but I actually liked it; sounds intelligent, interesting chorus and almost perfect production
I really recommend FL Studio. Check out the demo on imagelines site. Petri Suhonen(Quote)
Hey mate thanks for putting this up, you really helped shed a lot of light on how to go about making music like this. The fact that you gave us links to websites and info about gear is also much appreciated, as normally people just talk in jargon to you about equipment and I’m left sitting there not sure what just happened.
Much appreciated! Dante(Quote)
Dante,
no problem, glad you found it helpful. Stay tuned for more tutorials coming soon
Petri Suhonen(Quote)
Hi Petri, great article. I’ve been DJ’ing now for a number of years and music production seems to be the next logical step. I found your website as I have no idea where to even begin, and your tips have aimed me in the right direction.
Thanks again, and a great blog post! DreamensioN(Quote)
Hey,
Glad you found it useful
Petri Suhonen(Quote)
hey man thanks for this article. i’m a multimedia student and i’m hoping to make soundtracks for games and start a band with my brother. this sure helped me. Emil A.(Quote)
That’s nice to hear, good luck to you!
Petri Suhonen(Quote)
This is a great article for getting started petri. I have just went out and bought my MIDI and software and have learnt lots already just from reading this. Cheers, Schmidty Schmidty – Man Vs. Style(Quote)
That’s awesome!
Petri Suhonen(Quote)
WOW!! this is just the stuff i’ve been looking for… Fascinated by music like that from lemongrass etc.. And there’s a new artist on the go named Laszlo..
Kester(Quote)
I’m tired of listening and I want to try some stuff of my own… Thanks alot for this post man.
Aso soon as my computer gets back, I’m going to try my luck!!
Hey Kester,
Good for you!
Good luck to your production and if you have any questions, feel free to drop a question
Petri Suhonen(Quote)