Hello everyone! My name is Darius and I am pretty anxious to get into my creative side . I have a few questions that I would really want answered…please help forum!
Can a midi controller be used for real deal song composition? I ask because I have a Novation Launchpad (really neat little device so far) and want to get into that sort of stuff.
Will a tight budget be a problem if I want to get into this hobby?
Final question XD. About how long will it take to master…say Ableton? I ask this because I really want to know this software inside and out so I don’t have any problems if I ever get a really good idea or something.
I hope you guys in the forums can help me out on this one…would mean tons!
Welcome friend, I hope you enjoy the forums as much as I have the past few years
I’ll do my best to answer what I can, but people (including me) are very opinionated here so take advise with that in mind.
First, I’m going to tell you this before you hear it from someone else → Always search the forums/internet before posting a question 9 times of 10 the question has already been answered else-wear. With that said, here goes
Yes. plain and simple.
Not really. It is easy to get sucked into being a gear slut, but cool flashy gear is not what makes a good DJ/Producer. If you have a decent computer and software the possibilities are limitless. (The launchpad is a good start slight_smile:
I am not a producer, though I have used ableton (more for djing/remixing purposes). I do know it is a hell of a program that tons people have taken many years to master. My friend produced with ableton for about a year before going to Dubspot to take a 6 week course on it in NYC. He is good and very knowledgeable with ableton, but even I wouldn’t consider him a master just yet. Maybe in another year or so. Also learning actual music theory gives you a huge learning curve when producing.
Keep in mind I am a DJ not a producer. Hope this helps!
edit - look at youtube videos/tutorials on ableton, this will give you a good start. If you really enjoy it, consider going to Dubspot.com and signing up for online classes
Welcome! You seem to already have done some research which is really great for the new guys. As the person said above, the search function is a really great tool and this forum has threads about everything - seriously. For your launchpad, you can have a lot of fun pretty easily by using clip launches with it (as Madeon has famously done). I assume there must be some tutorials out there on how to do this, and that might be a good way to start getting into Ableton. You’ve got to start somewhere!
Thanks a lot guys. Knowing that I can produce with my Launchpad is sick! Also, thanks for telling me about Dubspot. Will give that place a look! Hope to see you guys around the forums from time to time .
yes, but it may be awkward to play chords and the like. personally i cannot work that way and prefer to use a midi keyboard for composing melody structures. it just depends on how you like to work though.
yes and no. you can create music with a coffee can if you really want to, but a severely limited budget will make things more difficult for most people. truly dedicated and creative people will always find a way to overcome this.
a lifetime. if you ever get to the point where you think you’ve mastered something, then you have generally stopped trying to improve yourself in that area. when you stop trying to learn, you are doing yourself a disservice. as far as getting to a level of acceptable comprehension, there is no one who can really tell you that. it’s highly dependent many factors that are personal to only you. some people may pick it up in a month, others take years, and even more still will give up before they really even get started.
. I have a few questions that I would really want answered…please help forum!
slight_smile: