Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Making Music with iPad
I came across this video not too long and was pretty impressed with how much you can do with iPad. What do you guys think?
Monday, April 11, 2011
Build your home studio part 2 (Equipments)
Equipment.
To start producing your own tracks the first thing your going to need to think about is the equipment your going to need. Each musician is going to have a different set of equipment that they use, obviously a guitar player is going to have his guitar, amplifier and cables for example (which are not on this list). But this equipment list below is what I think is a minimum for anyone wanting to start to record and write music at home, no matter what instrument you play or genre of music you are going to be creating. You may find that you already own some of these items (for example the computer as you must be using one to read this) and you may be surprised at how small the list actually is to get started.
Hardware and Software.
Music can be produced using both hardware and software. At one time music was produced solely using hardware but due to advancements in computer speeds, all music production tasks can now be achieved using software. Hardware is still used a lot in music production (Music producers love their mixing desks, hardware effects units and especially their hardware synthesizers) but as computer software can now compete extremely well with hardware and because you are new to music production I would suggest you stick mainly with software for the moment.
Computer
This is obvious, but yes your going to need a computer and obviously you are using one to read this, but is your computer going to be fast enough to run any music software your going to be using.
Basically the faster the computer you have the better experience you are going to have producing your music. Music software can take up a lot of system resources due to it’s complexity and whilst it may be written on the software box or web site that the recommended requirements are low, you may find that once you start using the software and have lots of different channels all playing together that the computer just isn’t going to cope with it. A fast processor and lots of RAM are needed to allow your computer to cope better.
Soundcard
The most important component of your computer if you’re a musician. The main thing to watch out for is going to be latency which needs to be as low as possible.
Monitors/Speakers
If you are serious about music production you should spend a good amount of money on some near-field studio monitors as your tracks will benefit a great deal in sound quality and should sound great no matter where they are played.
MIDI Controller
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a data system that is used between different instruments (and your computer) to send note and time information. No audio recording (sound) is contained within MIDI, it is only computer bits and bytes (digital data). A MIDI controller is typically a musical keyboard with other various controls such as faders and pads that are used to play notes into your tracks. If you are only going to be recording traditional instruments with microphones such as guitars and drums then you may not need one, but they aren’t expensive and owning one will open many new avenues for your music. If you are going to be producing electronic based music then a MIDI controller is an essential piece of kit.
Microphone(s)
If you plan on recording full drum kits then you are going to need quite a few microphones to get a studio produced sound. If you are going to be using drum samples then you shouldn’t need to have as many, in fact you may get by with only having one. Even if you are producing synthesizer and sample based only music, I can’t stress enough how you should still have a good basic microphone to hand for recording your own samples.
Conclusion
This list is to help people get started, obviously there is loads more kit a musician could own, but hopefully this has given you an insight into the basic equipment needed for you to start producing your own tracks. This list will change slightly for each person, but once you have all the equipment above you shouldn’t need much more apart from the software and any instruments you might play to get started.
To start producing your own tracks the first thing your going to need to think about is the equipment your going to need. Each musician is going to have a different set of equipment that they use, obviously a guitar player is going to have his guitar, amplifier and cables for example (which are not on this list). But this equipment list below is what I think is a minimum for anyone wanting to start to record and write music at home, no matter what instrument you play or genre of music you are going to be creating. You may find that you already own some of these items (for example the computer as you must be using one to read this) and you may be surprised at how small the list actually is to get started.
Hardware and Software.
Music can be produced using both hardware and software. At one time music was produced solely using hardware but due to advancements in computer speeds, all music production tasks can now be achieved using software. Hardware is still used a lot in music production (Music producers love their mixing desks, hardware effects units and especially their hardware synthesizers) but as computer software can now compete extremely well with hardware and because you are new to music production I would suggest you stick mainly with software for the moment.
Computer
This is obvious, but yes your going to need a computer and obviously you are using one to read this, but is your computer going to be fast enough to run any music software your going to be using.
Basically the faster the computer you have the better experience you are going to have producing your music. Music software can take up a lot of system resources due to it’s complexity and whilst it may be written on the software box or web site that the recommended requirements are low, you may find that once you start using the software and have lots of different channels all playing together that the computer just isn’t going to cope with it. A fast processor and lots of RAM are needed to allow your computer to cope better.
Soundcard
The most important component of your computer if you’re a musician. The main thing to watch out for is going to be latency which needs to be as low as possible.
Monitors/Speakers
If you are serious about music production you should spend a good amount of money on some near-field studio monitors as your tracks will benefit a great deal in sound quality and should sound great no matter where they are played.
MIDI Controller
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a data system that is used between different instruments (and your computer) to send note and time information. No audio recording (sound) is contained within MIDI, it is only computer bits and bytes (digital data). A MIDI controller is typically a musical keyboard with other various controls such as faders and pads that are used to play notes into your tracks. If you are only going to be recording traditional instruments with microphones such as guitars and drums then you may not need one, but they aren’t expensive and owning one will open many new avenues for your music. If you are going to be producing electronic based music then a MIDI controller is an essential piece of kit.
Microphone(s)
If you plan on recording full drum kits then you are going to need quite a few microphones to get a studio produced sound. If you are going to be using drum samples then you shouldn’t need to have as many, in fact you may get by with only having one. Even if you are producing synthesizer and sample based only music, I can’t stress enough how you should still have a good basic microphone to hand for recording your own samples.
Conclusion
This list is to help people get started, obviously there is loads more kit a musician could own, but hopefully this has given you an insight into the basic equipment needed for you to start producing your own tracks. This list will change slightly for each person, but once you have all the equipment above you shouldn’t need much more apart from the software and any instruments you might play to get started.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Reason 5: Step by Step Dubstep Tutorial
You've seen what you can do with FL Studio (If you haven't check out my previous posts). Now lets talk about another software that is quite popular today in music industry, introducing Reason 5. I made a quick review about this software (refer to my DAW page) and now I want to show you how a video giving you in depth step by step tutorial on how to make dubstep on Reason 5
The "Reason" why i chose dubstep is because, who doesn't like dubstep these days?
I have a poll up on what genre of music tutorial I should do for my tutorial page?
cast your vote and enjoy the video!
The "Reason" why i chose dubstep is because, who doesn't like dubstep these days?
I have a poll up on what genre of music tutorial I should do for my tutorial page?
cast your vote and enjoy the video!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Building Your Home Studio Part 1
Making and recording music is a fun and rewarding experience. The only prerequisites to this tutorial are having a computer and being musically inclined.
Step 1 Write a plan of what you want to do. Do you want to build a recording studio? Is it a singing booth? Is it an engineering booth? Is it for computer based music production? Knowing what you want before you start can help you decide which equipment you will need.
Step 2 Acquire the appropriate equipment, such as: amplifiers, microphones, mixers, electric instruments, cables for connecting it all together. A modern computer built or purchased within the past 3 years should be sufficient. If possible, acquire a working high-quality soundcard.
Step 3 Buy or download music-editing software for your PC. The following are recommended Reason, Cakewalk Sonar, Pro Tools (comes with Mbox 2 Mini), Cubase, FL Studio, Adobe Audition, LMMS or Audacity. If you have a fairly new Mac, it will already have GarageBand preinstalled. This will work well, although if you want to be more professional you can also buy Logic. Play with it, learn the keyboard shortcuts.
Step 4 Connect everything up. This is where most of the genius (and perspiration!) comes in. In general, keep it as simple as possible. For best playback quality run from the sound card into a mixer or amplifier and then to your monitor speakers. For best recording quality, run instruments/mics into a mixer(make sure you are getting a clean, clear, undistorted signal) then run from the mixer into the sound card.
Step 5 Learn how to record a sound from an input line and how to arrange pre-recorded sounds. Also learn how to turn an arrangement into a .wav or .mp3 file. (After all, eventually we want to make a CD with all this awesome music!)
Step 6 Select a room in your house. Sound-proof it if possible. If not, try to use special carpet or insulation that can at least reduce external noise.
Step 7 If you have trouble with any of the above, pick up a Mixing / Studio Book. It will help you understand the underlying concepts needed to keep you going for a lifetime.
That was only part 1 of the whole tutorial, on part 2 I will explain more in depth about gears and such. Stay tuned!
Step 1 Write a plan of what you want to do. Do you want to build a recording studio? Is it a singing booth? Is it an engineering booth? Is it for computer based music production? Knowing what you want before you start can help you decide which equipment you will need.
Step 2 Acquire the appropriate equipment, such as: amplifiers, microphones, mixers, electric instruments, cables for connecting it all together. A modern computer built or purchased within the past 3 years should be sufficient. If possible, acquire a working high-quality soundcard.
Step 3 Buy or download music-editing software for your PC. The following are recommended Reason, Cakewalk Sonar, Pro Tools (comes with Mbox 2 Mini), Cubase, FL Studio, Adobe Audition, LMMS or Audacity. If you have a fairly new Mac, it will already have GarageBand preinstalled. This will work well, although if you want to be more professional you can also buy Logic. Play with it, learn the keyboard shortcuts.
Step 4 Connect everything up. This is where most of the genius (and perspiration!) comes in. In general, keep it as simple as possible. For best playback quality run from the sound card into a mixer or amplifier and then to your monitor speakers. For best recording quality, run instruments/mics into a mixer(make sure you are getting a clean, clear, undistorted signal) then run from the mixer into the sound card.
Step 5 Learn how to record a sound from an input line and how to arrange pre-recorded sounds. Also learn how to turn an arrangement into a .wav or .mp3 file. (After all, eventually we want to make a CD with all this awesome music!)
Step 6 Select a room in your house. Sound-proof it if possible. If not, try to use special carpet or insulation that can at least reduce external noise.
Step 7 If you have trouble with any of the above, pick up a Mixing / Studio Book. It will help you understand the underlying concepts needed to keep you going for a lifetime.
That was only part 1 of the whole tutorial, on part 2 I will explain more in depth about gears and such. Stay tuned!
Friday, April 8, 2011
FL Studio 10 has been released!
FL Studio might just be the most popular recording software out there and they just posted a new version has been released. 100′s of improvements, additions & bug-fixes.
Key new features include:
64 Bit plugin wrapper – FL Studio now hosts 64 Bit VST plugins for access to unlimited memory.
Autosave / Autobackup – Don’t lose a project or data again.
Revised Playlist – Individually resizable tracks. Lock tracks to Clips. Live performance time Marker options (Jump to, Loop, Pause & Skip)
Revised Mixer – Fully Automatic Plugin Delay Compensation (A-PDC). New waveform meter view.
Revised Piano roll – Export as sheet music option. Vertical zoom with not properties view. Magic lasso selection & note-handle stretch. Edit ghost notes by double Right-click. Waveform view.
Pattern Picker - opens from the Playlist, Piano roll or Stepsequencer. Select Patterns & Channels.
Patcher (free) – chain instruments & effects for easy saving of complete instrument & effect chains.
ZGameEditor Visualizer (free) – visualization effect with movie render capability.
Pitcher (demo) – real-time correction/harmonization plugin responds to Piano roll note control.
Newtone (demo) – pitch correction editor for precise control, pristine quality stretching, re-pitching and correction.
Keep on disk & 32 Bit Bridge – now give each Audio Clip / Sampler Channel / Plugin access to at least 2 GB memory and up to 4 for VST Plugins.
Fruity Edition - gains access to Pattern Clips.
here's the video
what do you guys think?
Key new features include:
64 Bit plugin wrapper – FL Studio now hosts 64 Bit VST plugins for access to unlimited memory.
Autosave / Autobackup – Don’t lose a project or data again.
Revised Playlist – Individually resizable tracks. Lock tracks to Clips. Live performance time Marker options (Jump to, Loop, Pause & Skip)
Revised Mixer – Fully Automatic Plugin Delay Compensation (A-PDC). New waveform meter view.
Revised Piano roll – Export as sheet music option. Vertical zoom with not properties view. Magic lasso selection & note-handle stretch. Edit ghost notes by double Right-click. Waveform view.
Pattern Picker - opens from the Playlist, Piano roll or Stepsequencer. Select Patterns & Channels.
Patcher (free) – chain instruments & effects for easy saving of complete instrument & effect chains.
ZGameEditor Visualizer (free) – visualization effect with movie render capability.
Pitcher (demo) – real-time correction/harmonization plugin responds to Piano roll note control.
Newtone (demo) – pitch correction editor for precise control, pristine quality stretching, re-pitching and correction.
Keep on disk & 32 Bit Bridge – now give each Audio Clip / Sampler Channel / Plugin access to at least 2 GB memory and up to 4 for VST Plugins.
Fruity Edition - gains access to Pattern Clips.
here's the video
what do you guys think?
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Weekly Tutorial Post: Electronic Music for Beginner
Title and this video explains all, this person uses FL Studio to achieve this sound (Refer to my DAW page if you don't know what FL Studio is)
Weekly Gear Review: Yamaha Motif XF7
I had a chance to play around with this at Guitar Center the other day. If you're looking for top-notch keyboard/sequencer, then look no further this is the real deal.
Here is the review, check it out.
Here is the review, check it out.
Weekly Producer Video Upload: Diplo
This video generally shows you the behind the scene of how the music is made and how producers work in studio.
From my favorite producer Diplo. Check it out.
From my favorite producer Diplo. Check it out.
Welcome!
So why did I create a blog about Music Production? Simple. Because I love music, I love making music and I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else. Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and it’s given me so much.
This blog is for those who like to make beats/produce or are just a general music fan, hopefully there is something for everyone here and all are welcome.
Benny's Music Production is my opportunity to give something back – namely video tutorials and articles designed to enhance your creativity, musicality and technicality – no matter what your starting point.
I hope you enjoy browsing the site and get as much out of the tutorials as so many others things that I will be uploading in future. Of course, I’m always keen to hear your suggestions for future tutorials, so any time and I’ll promise to get back to you as soon as I can.
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