How to Produce Music: From Beginner to Expert With These Simple Steps…and Persistence

1) COMPUTER

You Need a Computer for Modern Music Production

If we’re going to talk about modern music production, that means having a computer. Everything is digital now. Analog is no longer the industry standard, and many up-and-coming musicians aren’t even familiar with it. Those days are behind us, and unless you are an enthusiast who is purposely producing on retro technology, odds are good that you will run most of your work through a computer.

You need a place to mix, edit, and store your audio files. It’s just that simple. If you don’t own a personal computer, this is the place to start.

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You Can Make Great Music With a Mac or a PC

So, do you choose a Mac or a PC? Sometimes, Windows machines have dominated the landscape. With Apple’s resurgence in the late 90s, Macs became the “creative person’s computer.” Now, we live in an age where much of the best software will run on both platforms. DAWs (digital audio workstations) that only used to run on one OS have now become available on either system.

Many people are so committed to one computer model that they will completely trash anything else. I’m not going to do that. I happen to prefer Macs myself, but you can make fantastic songs on a PC too. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You can make quality music on either system. The key is finding a computer that you’re comfortable with, so you can stay in that creative zone.

Mac or PC Though?

If you want my opinion—I prefer using a Macbook Pro, and have for years. I find that my workflow on MacOS is better than with Windows. I enjoy the ultimate portability. That said, I do think they’re a bit overpriced. But a good investment nonetheless.

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Check Your Software Requirements

That being said, you will need certain computers for certain systems. Logic Pro X and Garageband only run on Macs. Some systems will need a minimum amount of RAM, storage, or processing power to work properly. If you have your software picked out, get a computer that can handle it.

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Get a Robust Computer System That Can Handle Music Production Software

If you’re going to make music, you need a computer that can run a variety of programs, and store your files when you’re not using them. I have a more detailed analysis of this elsewhere, but your computing requirements will require at least 16GB of RAM, 500GB of storage, and processing power that is preferably 3.0GHz or better.

Yes, you can get by with a little less than these, but not for long. As software gets more advanced, computers that can’t handle them will become obsolete.

2) SOFTWARE: DAWs & VSTs

What Is a DAW?

Your digital audio workstation is something that you’ll be working with a lot—especially if you mix and master your own music. You will be staring at that screen for hours. The great thing is, if you have the right DAW for you, then those hours will be a joy, even if there are occasionally frustrating moments.

Perhaps you are just starting out and don’t know what a DAW is. Your DAW is the piece of software that lets you record, edit, and alter your audio files. Rough recordings and music ideas go in, brilliantly polished tracks come out. That’s the idea, anyway.

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Find a DAW That Works for You

Some are DAWs are better at recording, some are better at editing. Some have tons of extra files or plugins that have been designed to go with them, like virtual instruments. These libraries of sounds and instruments can give you an impressive array of options for creating your music, and the DAW itself lets you shape and arrange those sounds even further.

What I Prefer: Ableton Live 10

The DAW I use is Ableton Live 10. It’s one of the more popular daws on the market, and it has a ton of support and dedicated fans. People who use it often are pretty devoted to it, which is why there are multiple MIDI controllers that have been built just for Ableton. Ableton was developed for live performance AND production.

Your Other Options

There are other DAWs that have a lot of users, including FL Studio, Pro Tools, Cubase, Studio One, and Logic Pro X. Whatever you choose, you want a DAW that makes you comfortable when you use it and is capable of producing the results you imagine.

One thing you can do is try a trial or demo versions of various DAWs as a way of testing them out ahead of time. This will give you an idea of what it can do. Personally, I think Ableton’s fantastic, but Pro Tools is very widely used on the professional side.

Studio One is another good choice for beginners. If you have a Mac, you can learn some basics on Garageband and then graduate to Logic Pro X for a pretty low price. Finding the right DAW is a little like finding the right car. Everyone has an opinion, but the important pieces are that you feel like you can control it, and it gets you where you need to go.

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What Are VSTs?

While DAWs are stand-alone software, VSTs are not. What does VST stand for, you ask?

VST is for “Virtual Studio Technology.” A VST is designed to run inside a DAW, and it can give you more options as a producer. There are two main kinds of VSTs: instrument/synthesizer VSTs and Effect VSTs.

Instrument/Synthesizer VSTs are for loading and/or creating sounds. You’ll put this VST on a MIDI channel in your DAW and it will use the MIDI to play a melody using the sound(s) from the VST.

Effect VSTs are VSTs that you’ll add to Audio Channels, or after an instrument/synthesizer VST on a MIDI channel. These VSTs apply effects to the sound that is already coming from the channel.

Some VSTs help you alter the pitch and shape of your sounds, while others give you extra sounds or instruments to pull from. Instruments and synths provide you with more pre-made sounds, while “audio effects” like reverb provide you with ways of changing these sounds so that they are unique.

Some VSTs are specifically designed for certain genres of music, and there are VSTs that can do it all. There are VSTs for hip hop, VSTs for trap, and tons of great VSTs for electronic music or EDM. There are countless VSTs to choose from, so you’ll never run out of options.

3) AUDIO INTERFACE

What Is an Audio Interface?

Your audio interface is essentially an external soundcard. This external hardware helps give your computer a wider range of capabilities by creating more audio inputs and outputs, as well as MIDI inputs and outputs.

They can connect to real-world instruments or microphones, in order to boost your recording options. They can also send signals out, in the case that you need to send signal to speakers, studio monitors, or headphones. The audio interface gives you a greater degree of accuracy than hooking everything up to your computer directly.

These devices can sometimes come as part of a set or by themselves

These are especially true if you are recording vocals or live instruments, and not just relying on electronic sounds for all your creations. But even if you’re not recording external sounds, interfaces take the audio-processing workload off of your computer and put them on the interface—not to say that it’ll decrease your need for a performing computer.

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An Audio Interface Is Absolutely Worth the Low Price It Costs

Focusrite makes some great devices at a variety of price points and levels. The Audient iD4 is also a solid pick, as is Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6.

Whatever you choose, you should at least have something here. The quality of your recording is going to have a huge impact on your ability to get the best sound out of your DAW. Not to mention, many laptops these days, aside from a mediocre built-in microphone, don’t have any built-in inputs for recording.

4) STUDIO MONITORS & HEADPHONES

What Are Studio Monitors Used for?

If you’re going to produce music, you’re going to want to be able to hear the track you’re working on. When you’re mixing and mastering, using a pair of earbuds isn’t going to cut it. Neither is using a cheap or tiny set of desktop or laptop computer speakers. They just don’t have the frequency range or depth you need.

When it comes to listening for mixing and mastering, you need to be able to hear the details and the flaws in your recordings. In order to do this, you need a couple of better tools than what is normally available. You are going to want to look at two pieces of equipment. The first is studio monitors, which are highly accurate loudspeakers. The second is reference headphones.

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You Need to Hear a Faithful Representation of Your Music

Both of these devices aim to accomplish similar goals. Studio monitors and reference headphones both attempt to present a faithful representation of the track you’re listening to—no boosted frequencies to attempt to make your music sound “better.” You hear it exactly as it sounds.

Speakers work differently in the world of consumer electronics. Hi-def and other mainstream loudspeakers tend to color the music they play. They accentuate the higher and lower frequencies. This results in a punchier and crisper sound that minimizes the flaws that tend to pop up in the middle frequencies.

For many music listeners, that’s exactly what they want. But producers need to be able to hear the “flat” sound, so they can make sure it sounds its best on even the most mundane of speakers.

That’s why you see studio monitors and reference headphones advertise themselves having a “flat frequency response.” It means that the frequencies are represented evenly. High, low, and in between.

This honest version of your music will help you spot the flaws and fix them. Reference headphones and studio monitors may not be necessary for the casual listener. But for a music producer, it’s essential to own at least one of them.

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Studio Monitors Are More Important

If I had to save as much money as possible and had to pick between studio monitors or headphones, I’d still choose a pair of monitors. Headphones are great—I love using both for production and mixing and mastering.

But because you’re wearing them on both ears, headphones tend to exaggerate the stereo field, and you might not be getting the “truest” sound possible. A pair of studio monitors can keep you in check (and not to mention, save your ears).

During production and mixing and mastering, you’ll be exhausting your ears with headphones. Switching back and forth between headphones and monitors is a great way to keep yourself in check

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Pro Tip: While we’re on the subject of “keeping yourself (and your mix) in check, here’s a tip. TAKE BREAKS.

If you’ve been working on getting your mix right for hours, just stop. Come back to it in the morning. The power of listening with fresh ears is underrated. You’ll save yourself time, and avoid “ruining” your mix because you’ve burned yourself (and probably your ears) out.

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Now back to monitors…KRK, JBL, Alesis, and Presonus all make great studio monitors. Presonus even sometimes groups their monitors with an audio interface and the Studio One DAW.

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Subwoofers Can Add an Extra Layer of Sound

While they’re most definitely not a priority, subwoofers can boost the low-end that your monitors might be lacking. While I know how fun it can be to crank the bass line on the right song, the goal here is (just like with your studio monitors) to MONITOR the bass. When used properly, subwoofers can add a huge boost to your studio monitors’ effectiveness when you add them to the mix.

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It Matters How You Set Up Your Monitors

You Need 2

Studio monitors work best when you get a pair of them. Don’t be fooled—although they are usually sold separately, two monitors are necessary for stereo playback.

Placement

The physical layout and arrangement of your room will have a big impact on the way your studio monitors sound. You should typically avoid putting them too far in the corners, and keep them at least a foot from the wall.

In addition, monitor stands will make it possible to lift the monitors to your ear level. When the monitors are up high or on the floor, a lot of the sound gets lost. If they’re at your ear level, though, you’ll hear all the glorious detail in full.

Important placement tips:

• Both monitors should be an equal distance away from you
• The tweeters should be just about at ear level
• They should both be aimed in your direction
• They should both be 8-12″ away from the wall
• Their levels should be equal

If you really want to get things sounded good, bass traps and other acoustic panels can noise pollution from soundwaves bouncing around the room and interfering with one another.

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Reference Headphones

Reference headphones are a special design. They are often open back or semi open back headphones, specifically meant for getting a “true” sound.

People argue the merits of open back vs closed back headphones, but in the case of reference headphones, they are almost all open back or semi open back.

These studio headphones aren’t as useful in noisy or crowded surroundings, as they don’t completely isolate you from the outside world. But in the quiet of your home studio, they do the same thing that a studio monitor does. They give you an accurate version of your track, without any coloration on the frequency.

But if You’re Recording

That said, if you are recording you should get closed back headphones. This is because they don’t leak sound. Open back headphones leak sound, and that sound can actually be picked up by your microphone.

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Do You Need Both?

Do you need both studio headphones and studio monitors? I think it’s best to have both options, but you don’t absolutely require both.

If you’re on a serious budget, a decent set of closed back, over-ear headphones is a great start.

5) MIDI CONTROLLER

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What Is a MIDI Controller?

MIDI controllers have been around for a while now. The most common way to use them in the modern day is to hook them up to your DAW, open up a VST, and there you go—you’re playing an instrument.

In the most general sense, I’d say MIDI controllers fall into two broad categories: MIDI keyboard controllers, and everything else.

MIDI Keyboards

MIDI keyboard controllers look like little pianos, but they send MIDI signals. Most don’t come with their own built-in soundbank or audio output—they’re MIDI-only.

They may also have some other knobs and buttons that you don’t typically see on a normal keyboard. MIDI keyboard controllers can be as large as a regular keyboard. Others can be extremely compact and portable, containing only 25-keys and fitting into a backpack.

Non-Keyboard MIDI Controllers

Non-keyboard controllers come in all shapes and sizes. Some look like an 8×8 grid pattern, with a responsive keypad for sending MIDI signals to your DAW. If you’re creating electronic music or beats and you want to focus on drums, clip-launching, sampling, or more, these can be a great choice.

Controllers Can Help With Creativity

In either case, you’re going to want some form of controller for your DAW. Yes, you can load information manually, but it is a totally different experience working with a controller. I almost always start by playing my keyboard. Since mine is also a synth (it has its own soundbank and audio output), sometimes my computer isn’t even on yet. For me, it activates the musical part of my brain, and it feels much more intuitive and creative.

Hooking Them Up

MIDI controllers can hook up to your computer directly via USB, or you can use MIDI cables and connect them directly to your audio interface (depending on the interface you have). If you have multiple controllers and/or MIDI synthesizers, you can even route the MIDI through all of your controllers, and play a synth with a different MIDI controller. Your options are endless

There are plenty of MIDI controllers to choose from. Some are even built to work with a specific DAW. Ableton has a host of MIDI controllers that work well with it, and a few of them were specifically designed for Ableton.

6) MICROPHONE (Optional)

This one is actually optional and dependent on what you’re getting into music for. Obviously if you plan to record your voice or an instrument that needs a mic (such as an acoustic guitar), you’ll need a microphone.

But maybe you’re focused solely on electronic music. Maybe you only ever use your DAW and MIDI controller. You can go years without ever needing a mic.
Most audio interfaces will allow for hookups to instruments and microphones at the same time. If you’re using a guitar or a MIDI controller, you can have those going or a microphone in order to record sound directly onto your computer.

What kind of microphone do you need for music production? There are any of a number of models, ranging from the $100 range on up into the thousands of dollars. If you’re looking for something affordable but professional, the Audio-Technica AT202 is a popular condenser mic that clocks in just under $100. If you want to spend more, you can, but for the beginner, I’d say that this is a good place to start.

7) LEARN BASIC MUSIC THEORY AND YOUR SOFTWARE

So here I’m getting into something that money alone can’t buy. Whatever your genre, whether you want to start with songwriting or just creating beats, you should try to learn as much as you can. Learning music theory will help you no matter what your focus is going to be. Good music doesn’t come just from equipment. It comes from you, your mind, your talent, and your awareness of how all the pieces work together.

Aside from music theory, you need to learn your DAW and go-to VSTs like the back of your hand. To do this, you don’t have to enroll in an expensive online class or sign up for tutoring. You can potentially learn the basics from YouTube videos—there are so many free tutorials out there. Find a music producer that you like. Look for one until you find one that posts YouTube tutorials (Mr. Bill is a favorite of mine).

See what they say about the basic topics, tips and tricks, and maybe even some core concepts of music theory. You should know something about time signatures, key signatures, and how the different notes and scales work. These things will only help you learn the rest faster.

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The Desire to Grow

If you already know those basics, you can learn a little more by studying your personal genre. The key is to keep growing your mental skill set.

At the outset, this might seem like a waste of time. But it actually saves time, and will pay off in the long run. The more you understand about the basic building blocks of music, the less work you’ll have to do when you’re actually editing. It will become second nature.

You don’t need to become an expert on classical music or obscure musicians from the past, but having a solid grasp of the fundamentals will make your music stronger and better. And as long as you have the desire to keep improving, you will.