There’s a lot of choices in hardware and software, countless of ways to do things in production wise and as many arguments and differing opinions as there are producers. In this article, I try to point you in the right direction in electronic music production, mostly based on my own experience. A little info about myself is that electronic music production has been my longtime hobby for years and I’ve been creating music on such genres as trance, downtempo, ambient and experimental.

Home Downloads Company Contact us Press Room EULA Privacy Policy Terms Of Use. Microsoft is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Jul 21, 2017. MAGIX Music Maker comes in two versions: Standard and Premium. While the Standard version offers a huge amount of features, the Premium version comes with even more: 96 audio tracks, wider range of effects and instruments, enhanced drum machine, analog compressor and a complete synthesizer.

Some of my songs have been released commercially through record labels and have also been used in a film project. Excuse my English, it’s my second language and not so perfect, but I hope you understand and find these guidelines useful and get your answer on how to make electronic music. Also, if you have any questions, opinions or improvements, feel free to leave a comment!

UPDATE ON AUGUST 16th, 2015: Even though I wrote this article back in 2011, I’ll update it regularly so it should still contain valid information. So, without further ado, let’s begin! Computer and OS The computer is naturally a must have hardware if you want to make electronic music. You can actually produce good music with any kind of modern computer (I mean anything made in the past 5 years), including a laptop. You also have a choice: PC or Mac. Both systems are widely used in many professional and home studios.

You can make excellent music with both platforms and most of the music making software are available for both (except FL Studio, though the MAC version is coming). The thing is, you should pick a platform you’re already familiar with.

If you’ve been using PC, stay with the PC. And vice versa. In that way, you don’t have to put time and effort on learning a completely new computer system and you can concentrate more on learning how to make the electronic music. However, like I already mentioned, even though you CAN make music with any kind of modern computer, it will help a LOT to have decent specs.

The more CPU power and RAM you have under the hood, the smoother your music software will run and you’re able to build much more complex projects without choking your computer. Also, choosing the right kind of hard drive makes difference as well. You might even consider getting a solid-state drive (known as SSD).

The computer I’m using has Intel Core i7 950 processor, ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 motherboard, 12GB RAM and 27″ widescreen Full HD display and it’s been a very good computer setup for electronic music production for five years now. If I’m going to upgrade this at some point, I probably get the SSD. That will speed up things even more. If you’re on the edge of buying a new computer solely for music production and don’t have a clue what kind of specs it should have, look at some of the.

Check what kind of specs and components they have and start from there. Few words about the OS: if you stick with the PC, I can recommend Windows 10. Best Microsoft OS so far – it seems to be really stable and working good with my FL Studio 12 music software! Check these online shops for audio computer systems: 2. Sound Card (Audio Interface) These days every modern computer has some kind of on-board sound chip so basically, you can start off making electronic music without spending money on an external soundcard or audio interface.

If you want to be able to use low latency with your sound chip/audio card and it doesn’t have native ASIO support (ASIO stands for Audio Stream Input/Output and it’s a soundcard driver protocol for digital audio specified by Steinberg, providing a low-latency and high fidelity interface between a software application and a computer’s sound card), you can use driver. It works with most sound cards (even with those on-board chips) making it possible to use lower latency settings. However, if you’re looking for a higher performance and/or planning to do a lot of recording from external sources, then the decent quality sound card or audio interface is recommended. At this point, I recommend checking out the ProducerSpot’s article. Also, check the Image-Line’s knowledge-base. I myself have an M-Audio Audiophile Delta 2496 and even though it’s not a high-end sound card, it has been enough for me for all these years.

But there are tons of alternatives too in a decent price range. For example, check out. Or some of the Focusrite audio interfaces such as. Studio Monitors Speakers and Studio-grade Headphones. Although I created one of my Dutch dance charts hit songs using only cheap Sony headphones I bought from a local supermarket, decent studio monitors (near-field monitors) are highly recommended. Because studio monitors are specifically made for audio production and they give an accurate reproduction of the tonal qualities of the source audio.

In other words, they tell you the truth what’s REALLY going on in your music in terms of frequencies. The sound is uncolored so there will be no bass or high-frequency boosts or anything like that like the normal hi-fi speakers or headphones tend to have. This will help you to create music where every sound is in balance (depending on your mixing skills of course) and this will increase the probability that your music sounds good on different sound systems like car stereos, portable mp3 players with earbuds and so on. Studio headphones are also recommended, for tracking purposes. There’s a wide range of studio monitors and headphones in the market on all price ranges. The truth is, the more money you put into these the more quality you will get and be aware that many low-cost studio monitors actually DO color the sound or artificially boost frequencies even if they label themselves as “studio monitors” with flat frequency response.

A lot of audio professionals vouch for, or monitors. They are in the higher price range, but the quality is the best. In a few hundred dollars price range, I recommend checking out the and. Here are some specific models you may want to check out: &. As for the studio headphones, check out these: &.

Also see: (ProducerSpot.com) If you don’t have the possibility to use studio-quality monitoring systems, use the equipment you have – whether it’s headphones or normal loudspeakers. Don’t let that stop you from start making music. However, before releasing your musical production to the public, I recommend that you listen to it through as many different sound systems as possible (like normal home and car stereos, etc.) and tweak your music until it sounds good and balanced on all of those systems. (Actually, this is recommended to do even if you DO have a studio quality monitors).

Also, remember to position your studio monitors right. That makes a huge difference how they sound. I personally have Behringer Truth B2031A’s studio monitors. A lot of professional say they are not very good, or that they completely suck, but so far I’ve been doing ok with them. And after all, I think one of the most important things with your studio monitors is to learn to listen to them. Then you know how your music translates to other audio systems.

I’m also using AKG K271 Studio headphones occasionally and I must say I like them. I have to say that studio monitor is one of the most important hardware in your home studio, so before choosing your monitors (or headphones), try to listen to as many different models as possible and ask around and chat with the audio professionals and people who work in the audio production field. Here are some articles I recommend checking out: Studio Monitors Buying Guide Studio Headphones 4. MIDI keyboard controller MIDI keyboard is not a necessity though. Personally, I’ve created many songs just by using a mouse and regular computer keyboard.

Many computer music software like FL Studio and Ableton Live lets you play music using your computer keyboard. It’s like having a virtual piano keyboard. But on the other hand, you get a totally different feel for playing melodies and controlling your audio software with a MIDI keyboard controller.

I use (the first-generation model) and I’m still happy with it. Here are more helpful articles: 5.

Sofware – DAW Get the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). The DAW is a software environment where you actually create and compose the music and it is one of the most important components in your electronic music studio. To put it simply, it’s a music making software.

There are lots of DAW software choices in the market, but the following four are the most popular, especially amongst electronic music producers: (for Mac only),, and (other well known DAW’s are,,, and to name a few. There are some free alternatives too such as and ).

If you ask me what DAW I would recommend, I’d say FL Studio hands down! Why? I’m strongly biased of course as I’ve been personally using it over a decade now.

It’s very powerful, easy to use music making software and you can produce just about any type of music with it. IMHO FL Studio is MADE for electronic music. The sequencing features and workflow are outstanding and that counts a lot because it goes hand in hand with how well you are able to put your musical ideas into action. But in the end, choosing the DAW is something you have to do yourself You need to download the demo versions, test them thoroughly and pick the one you feel most comfortable working with. And learn it inside-out!

Software Synths and Audio Plugins (Check ) VST synthesizers and effects are MUST if you’re going to start making music digitally with the computer. VSTi’s (VST instruments) are virtual synthesizers that produce a different kind of sounds. You can use them just like you would use real hardware synths – only difference is that they’re software and you install them as plugins (some work as stand-alone too) to your DAW which acts as a host to these synths and you use them to produce sounds which you can use to compose melodies and make music.

There’s a lot of VST effect units as well such as reverb, eq, compressor, delay, chorus, phaser, some special fx, etc. You can find tons of free VST plugins in the net.

Just Google for “free vst plugins”, “free vsti” or “free soft synths”. Or check out ProducerSpot’s.

If you have money, I highly recommend to visit one of the biggest plugin store on the Internet: Check out the demos of synths like,,,. These are suitable for almost any kind of electronic music style. Also, has some quality synths like Nexus 2 for example which is their flagship. It’s awesome sounding all around rompler. It has sounds for practically any kind of musical style from trance to house to hip hop to ambient to film music.

One of my personal favorite virtual synths are made by: for example, check out,. Also, check out.

All of these virtual synths are very good for electronic music. But are there any free virtual synths or effects? Yes, tons of them! Actually, there’s just too many of freebies to list them one by one so here’s a links for places where you can browse and download whatever you want: 7. Software – audio editor Even though most of the DAWs does have a basic set of tools for such audio editing tasks as cutting, fading and encoding to MP3, you may prefer a separate audio editor. If that’s the case, I recommend.

It’s cheap, yet versatile. There are free alternatives as well like. Samples You need a bunch of good quality samples as well. Usually, samples are used for drums, percussion, effects, etc. I recommend you to check. There are THOUSANDS of commercial sample packs costing anywhere from $10-$200 or more. Sample packs are mostly genre-specific meaning they contain samples that are suitable for a certain musical genre, but you can use whatever samples in whatever genre you want – it’s up to you and your imagination.

Sample packs consist usually of single drum hits like kick drums, snares, hi-hats, hand claps, crash cymbals, percussion sounds, synth hits, bass sounds and so on which you can use to build your own beats and grooves. Most of the sample packs include loops as well well: drum loops, top loops, bass loops, synth loops, fx loops (loops are ready made grooves or melodic compositions which you can use in your own music). I personally use drum- and top loops quite a lot to enhance the rhythmic sections of my songs. When you buy a commercial sample pack, you buy the license to use the samples and most (if not all) are royalty free meaning, if you create a song which uses samples from these sample packs, you don’t have to pay any additional fees to the sample manufacturer.

Here’s more links to some well known sample manufacturers and online shops: (my personal favorite, I’m a regular customer!) (Love the Trap & 808 Kits) (A favorite!) (A favorite!) There’s also TONS of free samples available in the net. Here’s links to some of the free sample resources: Okay, so now that you have your hardware, software and sample collections in place, you ask: how do I make that electronic music then? Listen electronic music and learn Let me tell you how I learned to make electronic music in a first place: I listened what other artists do and started to do the same. Just like many painters have learned to paint by studying and copying other peoples work, same goes for electronic music. I don’t mean that you should copy the song melodies and ideas.

Songs and ideas are copyrighted and there are legal consequences if you take an eg. A melody from another song, and use it as your own without permission from the original author.

So before I was able to make my own song in trance genre, I listened to a lot of other producers trance songs, analyzed them (especially the song structure) and finally got a hang of how they were put together. So, in order to learn how to make electronic music, I would recommend taking these steps: • Decide the musical style or genre you want to make music in. Get some songs from that genre.

For example, go to – it’s the most popular electronic music online shop and you can find all the most popular songs from every electronic music genre there. • Listen HOW the song is built. Take a song you like, listen to it carefully – over and over again and pay attention. Learn the song structure first. Every song (in almost whatever genre) follows some sort of common and logical structure – including the different styles of electronic music.

Try to get a hang of what the structure is your favorite song: how does it progress, how long are the intro and breakdown In other words, WHAT happens and WHEN. If we think of a popular radio song (in rock, pop genre) they’re typically 3-4 minutes long and many of them follow this kind of structure: [intro]->[verse]->[chorus]->[verse]->[chorus]->[bridge]->[chorus]->[outro] OR chorus can also work as the intro. Then the song structure would go like this: [chorus(intro)]->[verse]->[chorus]->[verse]->[chorus]->[bridge]->[chorus]->[outro] There are few other variations as well, but I think these are the most common ones. Just check out or for example. Or any other popular radio pop song. They all follow pretty much the same structure.

Check out these articles for more info about popular song structures. Yeah, they’re about pop, but it helps you to get a hang of the idea of song structures and you can apply the same principles to electronic music as well. However, in EDM (electronic dance music) such as uplifting trance or dance music that is generally aimed for club’s, the structure is a bit different than in radio pop songs. Different parts are longer and usually, the intro is like one big build up to the breakdown. If you’re into trance music, you might want to check out my tutorial about and how it progresses. It’s a bit old, but it should give you the idea though.

Here’s one common structure in EDM, such as uplifting trance: [intro]->[breakdown and buildup]->[section after the breakdown and buildup. It’s usually called drop, release or climax]->[outro] Or a little longer version: [intro]->[breakdown and build-up]->[drop]->[another breakdown and buildup]->[drop again]->[outro] And here’s explanation to those terms: [intro] This is the part where you slowly build up your song towards the breakdown from the beginning.

Usually, you build up the intro by adding a new element after eight or sixteen. So it could go like this: first eight bars contains just the kick. After that you add in maybe hi-hats and claps or some percussion loop. After sixteen bars comes the bass. [breakdown and build-up] This is where the musical elements introduced in the intro usually disappears completely for a while and you introduce your big musical idea which could be a nice, emotional and uplifting melody for example (let’s just call it a “hook”). In here you also start to build tension towards the drop which comes after the build-up.

[drop, release or climax] This is the best part of your song! Usually, this is where drums, bass (and maybe the “hook” melody) start to play together and everything kind of explodes. This is very typical in EDM. At this point, people will typically go NUTS on the dance floor and dance like crazy! [outro] Things are starting to fade out towards to the end. That’s it basically. When you start to create your own song, I suggest you pick up your favorite song and load it into your DAW and – no, do not copy the song itself, to see what happens and when.

Also, while listening to your favorite song: • Pay attention to the sounds Make notes what kind of sounds it has. Saw lead synth sounds, square wave bass sounds, huge pads, weird effected sounds are all the basic musical elements in electronic music.

Try to hear what kind of sounds your favorite song has and try to replicate these sounds with your virtual synths. Or use ready-made presets. Many virtual synths have readily programmed preset sounds for various electronic music styles. Use them to your advantage. Next, try to get a hang of the: • Melodies What kind of melodies your favorite song has? Some certain chords and chord progressions are commonly used in trance for example, but there’s definitely room for fresh melodic ideas so don’t be afraid to depart from them.

And one last thing: • Sound effects Pay attention to what kind of sound effects you can hear in your favorite song. Swooshes, risers, uplifters, down lifters, white noise sweeps and fx hits are some commonly used effects in electronic music. You can find these in many commercial or free sample packs. Here are some helpful guides on various electronic music styles: Also, go to and do a search on “how to make EDM”, “how to make trance” or “how to make hip-hop” and you’ll find tons of tutorial videos there. Seriously, I really think the best way to learn how to make electronic music is listening tons of other producers work and then try to do the same. But remember, keep it original and don’t be afraid to try something completely new. There’s a lot of room for fresh ideas!

Next, a few short words about the production itself. Start with the drums and bass Personally, I’ve found it’s best to first build the drum groove. At this point, the sample packs I mentioned earlier comes in very handy.

You can also use the ready-made drum loops to help you to build your grooves. Whatever the style is going to be, with a cool drum groove, it’s much easier to start creating other musical elements such as the bass groove on top of it and other instruments as well. Remember to make drums and bass work together. They’re one of the most important elements in any kind of electronic music that has a drum beat. Seriously, I recommend putting a GREAT effort on these two. And add the synth melodies Again, this is where the VST synths come in handy.

Start building a melody on top of the drums and bass groove. Like mentioned earlier, many VSTi’s have several ready made quality preset sounds to start with. These will help you to get going. However, I also recommend to experiment and tweak the knobs, sliders, and buttons and see what happens.

You can come up with some really original and wild stuff just by experimenting with the different synth parameters. Next, few words about mixing. Mixing – give a power to the beat When I mix my songs (if it’s an electronic dance music aka EDM), I give most power to the drums. Kick drum to be exact. In most electronic music, drums are the elements that should be heard clearly. Especially the kick drum. Then, I balance the bass and other instruments against the drums.

Mostly with the kick. I always use drums as the foundation on how I mix other instruments in my song. Underground Vibes Rarity.

I try to make sure that the drums are punchy and loud enough and if some other instrument is trying to compete with my drums too much in frequency wise (or bass in this matter), I use an equalizer to cut the low frequencies off from that sound. I use my drums to measure how to mix other instruments in my song. Mixing – hear how pro’s mix and to try to do the same Again, listen to your favorite songs in the same genre you’re trying to make music in and notice how they’re mixed. What kind of sounds stand out and why? How does your song sound compared to your favorite, professionally mixed songs? Here’s a tip: try to listen to your mixes through as many different sound systems as possible: car stereos, home stereos, through iPod with those little earplugs – basically everywhere and try to make it sound as good as possible on all of these systems. Try to find the balance.

I have to say that trying to make your mix sound good is probably one of the hardest part in music making. And it’s something you won’t learn overnight. Yes, it takes quite a lot of practice (through trial and error) to make mixes sound decent, but don’t worry, it’s NOT an impossible task. You will learn it. It just takes some time.

14. Beware of ear fatigue. Take a break or continue producing in the next day It has happened to me several 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 sound levels and EQ settings are out of balance or there are elements that don’t seem to fit into the mix at all. At that point, I usually get frustrated, give up and forget the whole song. This can happen if you produce music for several hours non-stop: your ears get tired and in the end of the day you, can’t hear things as balanced anymore as with fresh ears. So, my advice is this: try not to finish a whole song in one day, spare your ears and leave something for the next day. Links to forums you should start reading Here’s a bunch of forums where I have learned quite a lot. A lot of audio professionals are hanging there.

Read the threads and ask questions. Hopefully, this gave you a rough idea on how to make electronic music.

While its good info for starters, i can personally say from experience there are some improvement you could give to you overall kit, example are the monitors, i had behringer and they dont tell the TRUTH!! They are not very good for a neutral frequency output. At work i have BX8a m-audios and for their price they rock, hard.

At home i have genelec and they rock harder, but are a bit steeper in the price range. As for soundcard, also used to be a m-audio user and quality wasbest put it bad. Switched over to apogee, got the one and duet and they are quality. As for DAWs, i think FL is pretty damn simple, really simple, missing out on key options simple. I know producers though who dont just use one DAW but switch between two, maybe even more.

I guess what i would say is don’t stick to just one. Just make sure u know your standard DAW well, and i mean really really really really really well before starting another, there are loads of little tricks in DAW programs you dont find at first, luckily there are forums and youtube to help increase your knowledge of your DAW. Finally a little song structure amendment, not an amendment really just a tip, the “release / climax” should be split up a little, i work, as a hobby, on producing minimal and techno, and there after the intro there is simple stripped down melody, bare to the bone for minimal, before dropping all the percussive elements, ie drums, anything which is not essential to the mix, building up to the climax of the track, where everything together explodes. Obviously it doesn’t have to literally explode in sounds, it can still remain minimal, just as long as it ties in together, before heading off into the outro. Whenever i talk about music production with friends i always say there is never one way to do something. So i always try through experience, and every producer should as well.

I have bought countless monitors and talked to countless people about them before finally finding a set that i like. As well with producing, watched way to many youtube videos, took online courses via pointblank and just talked to friends about it, information is key. Boni M, I highly appreciate your valuable comment, thank you! I may actually add some of your gear recommendations to my article. Anything that is valuable to the readers. About monitors: While I agree your opinion about the Truth’s that they’re not the best in the market, I’ve been quite happy with them and been able to produce ok sounding music.

I haven’t heard the Genelecs in action, but people are saying they’re really good. But so is the price. 🙂 Also, positioning is very important to get the most out of whatever monitors you have. About soundcard: Referring to your comment about m-audio, what model specifically and by bad quality do you mean the overall sound, recording from external sources, driver problems or something else? I have to say I haven’t had any major issues with Delta 2496. But then again, I don’t record anything from external sources, I just use it with VST plugins and FL Studio and so far it has been doing ok.

About DAWs: can you please elaborate what key points FL Studio is actually missing? 🙂 As a longtime FL Studio user I think it’s a VERY versatile DAW and capable of amazing things if you know how to use it.

But I agree with you fully about knowing your DAW inside out. That’s essential.

However, I personally like to stick with just one software. I used to use three different DAWs, but I found it’s just too much hassle switching over from one DAW to another. I like to keep things simple and to consolidate my audio work inside one environment.

About song structure: thanks for the tip 🙂 Thanks again for your comment, Boni, I appreciate it. Hi Timbo, Thanks for checking out the article, I’m glad you found it useful!

I must say that you have stepped into a very diverse and interesting genre 🙂 I’ve been dealing with electronic music well over 10 years now and it’s just getting more and more interesting and the fact that the technology has brought the possiblity for anyone to try make professional music at home with a relatively low cost makes it even more attracting. Btw, have you heard Deadmau5? He’s genius in the EDM scene and I recommend to check out his work as well. Anyway, welcome to this scene and to my website, Cheers, Petri. Hi, I have not yet started making any form of electronic music yet, but I think that this has given me a great starting point. Now I am in a remote part of Australia and have found that computers and hardware are VERY expensive.

Because of this I would like to know some minimum specs. At the moment I am using a crappy laptop with 2GB DDR3 RAM, a 320GB HDD, only 2.3Ghz Pentium Processor, and to be honest I wouldn’t have a clue as to sound card details. Is this, combined with some of the cheaper options in the list, a viable setup for beggining music production? Also, how hard is it to make a Drum base without using preset loops.

When i begin, I want to try keep away from preset loops and conventional music production. I am looking at making sounds that are not the ‘norm’, so like not just 16 beats before a change and have kicks in odd places, similar to what deadmau5 uses. Thanks again. Awesome post Petri!! This is a loaded question, but here goes I’m wanting to build my own computer for music and assemble a decent recording setup. I’d greatly appreciate comments, ideas, feedback on anything below. Thanks for the quick reply Petri!

I’m still learning about all this, haven’t looked into M-Audio much. I had thought the MIDI Controller was a part of the PCI converter. So I need 3 pieces, PCI, MIDI, and pre-amp? I haven’t looked into those much; what do you suggest? I’m curious why you recommend Windows 7 over OS X isn’t Apple less virus prone? And do you know if all my computer bits will be OK together? I’ve read compatibility can be a problem, want to make sure I get all the parts right before buying them.

Thanks so much for your help? Luke, MIDI controller is an external device you plug-in to your computer via USB. It sends a MIDI data to your computer and you can use it to control your music software and virtual instruments. There are different types of MIDI controllers, but most commonly used external MIDI device in nomal home studio is MIDI keyboard. () So basically you need just a soundcard OR if you need to have a pre-amp, firewire or USB audio interface with pre-amp built-in might be something to consider.

Maybe something like. I personally don’t have much experience dealing with USB/firewire audio interfaces (other than Zoom H4 and Zoom R16), so can’t recommend much based on my own experience, but if you’re planning to record via external sources like guitar and microphone that FastTrackPro might be something to check out. So basically, to be able to make music with computer, you need these: – computer (Mac or PC) – soundcard or audio interface (you can even start with the built-in soundcards that every computer has these days, but if you wan’t a better performance or plan to record from external sources, then something like FastTrackPro might be something to consider) – MIDI keyboard controller (not necessity though, but recommended) – studio monitors/headphones (even studio monitors aren’t necessity, but highly recommended though) – music software About OS: let me explain a little. I was recommending Windows 7 as the operating system for PC machine. I wasn’t comparing it to OS X as OS X is only for Macintosh machines.

For PC you can choose from Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or maybe Linux. From these operating systems I am recommending Windows 7.

But if you are going to choose Mac as your computer, then OS X is your choice. About the computer parts: this is something you have to ask for your vendor. Hope this helps 🙂. Hey Stephanie, I would recommend you to check out Reason: or Ableton Live Suite:. Both have tons of sounds and features. Ableton let’s you use natively your computer keyboard as a virtual piano keyboard, but I’m not sure if Reason supports that.

However, it’s not an issue as you can always download a third party application for that. Check out VMPK: As for the learning curve, well, either one of those isn’t impossible to learn, but I think you may wan’t to check out the Reason first. Try the demo versions or both software and choose the one you feel most comfortable with. Hope this helps! Hello, Great article- it’s been an incredibly helpful learning tool as I begin to try my hand at making music.

I’ve gotten to the point now where I need a MIDI keyboard to help make things easier on me. What do you think of this keyboard? It is obviously a low-end keyboard, but that’s what I’m looking for (I’ve been using the DAW Zynewave Podium, so I’m obviously doing this on the cheap for now). Reviews say that it also works fine with Windows, even though it says it’s for Mac. Do you know of any other cheap but effective beginner keyboards? Thanks for your time.

Well, as a long-time FL Studo user, I’m heavily biased towards it so if you ask me I would say FL is the best lol 🙂 Anyway, if we think objectively, no daw is superior to it’s competitors. You can make professional music just about any daw you choose: whether its Logic, Pro Tools, Cubase, Reason, Ableton Live, Sonar, Reaper, FL Studio, etc. It’s all about what daw you find to be comfortable working with. About the sound quality differencies between daw’s: afaik, there’s none. Every modern daw is able to produce high quality sound. The quality is mostly dependant of the samples and VST plugins you’re using and your mixing skills.

Hope this helps! Who is this guy saying m audio cards sound bad!? I have 2 delta 1010’s (the top card in that range) for my hardware synths and guitar and once set up I hope the sound to be professional quality.

But its comments like that which make me nervous about my choice. Hope it goes smoothly for me and Im happy with the sound. Also do you think making use of spdif digital connections for one or two hardware synths is worth the bother, if all the rest of the hardware can only use the analog outputs in the delta’s? Good articles here glad I found it! I saw an post somewhere about cracks and glitches with M-audio, when using win7. I had the same problem with my M-audio fireface410. But be Awere you can have the same trouble when runing with other brands.

I now use an focusrite soundcard a pro40 wich have an lot of in and outputs. I use this for external gear like my Tla tube compressor, for the people who wants to plug their gituir or synth to it its realy great cause you dont need any di boxes or something like that. The already grade A preamps in it. And its cheap. But to come back to the point.

There are several reason for glitches and even dropouts. First thing to check is your latency.

Is it set to fast for your system? Second thing, when runing firewire soundcards is this: MOST onboard firewire 1394 chips/connectors just suck. A good tip is: look for an aftermarkt 1394 card fitted with an TI (Texas Instruments) chip and run it with an old driver 1394 ohci driver, wich is selectable in your windows config screen. This will work for almost all other brands to0 (not for M-audio at my system ), and works for people having troubles with there (video cam also) Theres an article about this on the Focusrite website. Hi,I’ve just started to learn to make music using computerized equipment,I haven’t a clue what I am doin with all the stabalisers,reverts and all the other 100 gadgets but your information has been so much help specially the song building techniques,I’m sure o will learn the gadgets over time! All exciting:) I love trance so this woll be my type Ill make! So its my first time didn’t have a clue what program I would nees but I found one called music maker designed by a company called magix!

Wondering if you have heard of thete programs and are they any good! It seems to have all the gadgets you have mentioned! Glad you’re finding this site helpful, Craig! 🙂 Here’s my honest opinion about Magix Music Maker (and remember this is just my personal opinion): it may be a decent first step into the world of making music with computers, but you MAY find it kind of limited when you get to the point where you want to start compose something original because the Music Maker relys pretty much on ready made audio clips (loops) and as far as I know the features to sequence and create something of your own are kind of limited compared to other DAWs like Ableton Live, Cubase, FL Studio, Reason and so on. Hi,so I’ve made my 1st song on my beginners daw magix music maker,I’ve used soundpools and a MIDI that was on the program would appreciate it If you pro’s could have a listen and give me some pointers etc.personally I think its ok,it hasn’t a video I dont know how and maybe equalisers could b better so I recommend listning to It thro studio head phones or a decent stereo.ok Its on you tube If you type In magix music maker dreamy it will show.my name is craigj17 I appreciate your time and hopefully feedback:). I’ve been using FL since the 9 beta and it can be a beast to learn.

Wait til you get to Pro Tools (the next step up IMO) =P As for the extraction of vocals from a CD, I wouldn’t recommend it. You might be able to isolate out some of it, but it won’t sound clean. Remembercrap in equals crap out. Also, you run the risk of getting sued if you don’t have legal right to whatever you are dubbing. I’d suggest contacting the producer of the vocals you want, explain what you are doing, and get the original tracks. Just as a warning, there is usually money involved at this point since you are using somebody elses completed work. Sir,i am using fl studio since 6 month but i havenot got the bass they use like in genre electro.

I should tell you truth that i don’t have internet.I visit cyber to download project files and vst plugin. I made some drum sample and bass and when i choose a plugin like sound goodizer,reeverb,compresser that is added to master volume.I want to add reeverb in bass but i didn’t find the way.Instead it is added to master again.And also could you,tell me how to add more than 1 plugin to 1 pattern like bass.

And also is there any plugin or preset available which would produce same music like that of song lyrics?Eg i want my music to say with you. Hope you will give a best reply.

Hi Siddharta, If you want to add reverb just to bass instrument, you need to first assign the bass instrument/sample to a mixer track and add the reverb to the bass mixer track effect slot. I cover the instrument assigning on sevaral of my tutorials, check for example. To second question: do you mean you want to use several instruments to play the same melody? If so, I would suggest you to use layering. I cover this as well. Check my tutorial on.

To your third question: there’s a speech synthesizer in FL Sudio where you type the words and it will then render them as spoken words. Check out my tutorial on. Hope these help! Petri, finally I have found a website that can explain very effectively and easy to understand of how to create your own music. Thank you so much on your tips.

This is amazing. I can’t wait to start learning FL Studio. I wanted to ask you if there is any problem because I am 24 and I am starting now learning FL Studio? I have years of experience in DJ-ing but I actually never worked with FL Studio or Ableton Live. Do you think that is disadvantage? I mean, I am eager to learn, and I just love House Music.

Do you have any tips on how long will it take to feel comfortable to actually be able to create a good remix or a song in FL Studio? Thank you again. I was using FL Studio demo and it sounded nice and I liked its gadgets but there was one problem I couldn’t get. I found how to loop finally while attempting to record; I was also playing a part that I was playing while the beats and tones looped. But it started to loop part of what I played. Besides that, I couldn’t figure out how to record at all!

I even tried to direct the sound through my computer’s audio output, into my speaker, then through that into my mixer board then back into my computer’s audio input but no sound came through. To be in truth, this is all new to me I only recently started to think of electronic style music.

Help a newbie out? I will soon get my keyboard through which I have a MIDI access to things which can also open up to electronic music which is why I’m here.

I can understand the concepts of electronic music its just hardware/software is not my strong point. If FL Studio isn’t right for me right now could you suggest a different program and walk me through? Hey man great stuff.

Thinking about starting up doing this sort of thing. Was wondering what you thought about the Novation Launchpad, as used with Albeton Live. I think most of my interest would be sampling from songs that i already have and like. Was thinking about getting Albeton as well as the Novation Launchpad as my first purchases, and just using my PC, to see what I can come up with.

With the launchpad my guess would be that the only other things I might need are a usb keyboard, and possibly a midi dj mixer controller Suggestions? Hello, great article, very informative. I have been a serious electronica enthusiast since the early 90’s – but i have never quite understood how the music is made! I still don’t quite understand a few things and i am a techie. For instance, what music does a deep house dj like mark farina or kevin yost or miguel migs actually make themselves? Is it just a matter of excellent track selection and then adding some funky elements and blending it all together? What type of hardware/software do you reckon they use?

And how about someone new like alexandra stan – do you reckon she produced the song ‘move like a freak’ herself or did someone else do it for her and she just added the vocals? And what software/hardware do you reckon was used for this killer hit song. (yes i like some electro pop too) i am actively looking for a dive off point to get more immersed – i am not sure whether i want to produce or dj or do something else. I am even considering a move to berlin germany. All i know is i need to get more immersed in this world.

Thanks, drew. Hey Drew, Not at all – It’s very approprate. I’ve just been uber busy maintaining this site. Now, to your question: As far as I know, Mark Farina makes Chicago House and Downtempo -style music, but I’m not sure about Kevin Yost or Miguel Migs as I haven’t listened their music. I’m not sure how Mark Farina produces his track as every producer has a slightly different approach on music making, but mostly it goes like this: 1.

First, create an interesting drum sequence. You need single hit drum samples such as kick drum, snare, claps, closed hihats, open hihats and some percussion sounds and maybe some drumloops and you use these elements to create the drum sequence. Compose a bassline that goes hand-in-hand with the drum sequence. You need a bass sample or synth (virtual or real hardware) to be able to create the bassline. Then comes the melodies. And you need synths (or samples) for these as well.

You need to compose chords and melodies that works with the bassline. So basically it’s all about (like you said) composing and then blending different elements together which then forms a complete song. I’m not sure what kind of gear Mark Farina (or the other guys use). Probably a computer (MAC or PC), soundcard/audio interface, DAW (Digital Audio Workstation, that is the music making program where you make the music, such as Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro, Cubase, etc etc), good quality studio monitor speakers, and most likely bunch of software synths aka VSTi’s (or maybe even some hardware synths). About Alexandra Stan: I’m not sure about her either. She seems to be a songwriter from what I checked, but I really can’t say for sure whether she produces her music by herself or use a “third party” producer.

Lot of pop -stars do that though, but there’s lot of stars that produce their own music. I tried to google what kind of gear & software she uses, but couldn’t find anything Anyway, I really encourage you to get into this world of electronic music making. I’ve been hooked into this for over a decade now and I feel I’ve just been scratching the surface lol!

This is a ‘flexible’ hobby which leaves a TONS of room for experimentation and imagination. Sorry I couldn’t be more help, mate 🙂 Cheers! Ok thank you. I have since learned these famous dj’s use other people’s work and combine it into one seamless club experience or album – this is what i assumed originally. This is amazing to me because i am sure 95% of the listeners give credit to the dj for originating (producing) the music, when in fact they are riding on the shoulders of other artists and earning a lot of money from it. Originally i had this antiquated notion that these musicians would come together in a studio-like environment to make an album.

Must dj’s pay royalties or gain usage permission on each song? With alexandra stan, this is an original creation that was obviously produced on someone’s computer vs having a band. My dismay is that i have not enjoyed using any daw or standard dj gear thusfar. I have experimented with quite a few in the past. None of it feels intuitive to me. I will keep looking.

Yeah, that’s what DJ’s do 🙂 However, DJing is not an easy job. It’s an art form and takes time to learn the skills: use the equipment to learn such things as beat matching, crossfading, EQing, etc.(whether it’s real turntables or Ableton Live type of software), to build a right kind of set to keep up the atmosphere, etc. About the royalties: I’m not quite sure how it works for DJ’s. I think it’s the responsibility of the club to pay somekind of yearly fee to the publisher and the publisher in turn gives the club the rights to broadcast the music. What DAW’s have you tested out so far? I recommend checking out Ableton Live or FL Studio latest versions if you haven’t already 🙂. Hi petri, im trying to find your tutorial for FL Studio and i can’t find it, i just downloaded the demo version and im really a newbie and it’s so much things, i get confused because it’s such an advanced DAW, i remember longtime ago i used djay and it was quite simple making songs lol.

Ive been listening to EDM quite long since i was 15 now im 19, but not been doing anything like remixing songs or producing, so im kind of new to this 🙂, i bought behringer BCD 3000 recently, so been doing some “djing” cause it seems easier than making the music right now, since i dont know how & where. Hello everybody. First of all i’d like to thank the OP for taking his time to give everyone a nice basic starting point. Now, to everybody considering buying a Mac, it comes with Garageband which is probably THE best DAW for starters looking to get some sounds out (quality sounds i might add).although it’s a bit of a RAM hog, it supports some fantastic third party Audio units (the Mac version of VST) it’s even great for experienced users just because getting thoughts out of your head before it disappears is priceless. I’ve been using it for a quite a few years now and it still gives me the creative edge i need.

Propellerhead Reason 6 was recently released however i’m still using Reason 5 which is also fantastic which brings me to my next point. Rewire syncs reason with any rewire capable host DAW such as Garageband, Cubase etc.

All you have to do is open your host DAW first, then open reason once your host DAW has opened. You are now in rewire mode. This allows you to for example have a drum sequence playing in reason whilst the melody or bass line is playing in sync in your host DAW (Garageband etc), so when you bounce your project (creating an mp3 etc for distribution) it bounces everything in both DAWs to a single mp3 etc.

And last but not least LOGIC STUDIO 9 although i’m still fairly new to it, it is THE best DAW in the world. The mastering suite that comes with it is phenomenal and the best part about it is, for new comers who find creating songs quickly and easy using Garageband, can at any point import their Garageband project into Logic with everything as was saved in Garageband so you can continue to build your song from there and start applying effects such as compression, maximisers etc. And the stereo imaging plugins are second to non.

It can give you spacial imaging that words cannot describe. Oh did i mention that Logic is rewire capable too. Reason, Garageband and logic studio 9 is the NASA space control centre of Macintosh music production. Happy producing.

Not a bad song from a melodic point of view 🙂 However, I would suggest paying attention to the mixing. It sounds a bit ‘muddy’ if you know what I mean.

I think there’s too much bass in sounds that doesn’t need to have it so much – that ‘background saw wave pad’ for example. For a quick fix I would say, try to play with the eq: maybe cut the low frequencies from that pad sounds for starters. Also, I would suggest you to use a punchier kick if you can find one in your sample collection. Btw, have you checked my? It may help you 🙂. Name is Peter and im from Denmark, so ofcourse english is my second laungage to, so im sorry for any errors ive might have made.

I have to say this is the best tutorial sites ive ever visited, and there are alot out there. So please be proud of this info and comments you provided. Im 101% sure you helped alot more than you would ever know. I was actually looking for help on the Music maker part. But i was given so much more info’s than i would ever have thought i could get. I really like you are explaining all the terms of words like DAW, VST, ASIO etc etc.

Normally when visiting a site you get hit with words you have no idea what means. Also the fact that you give yourself time to explain to all us newbs what your thoughts and ideas are, keep it up m8. Now as stated on top, i work mith music maker.

And i don’t recall you mentioning it as a possible audio program, why is that? Or does it lack something? On my personal experience it seems like a good program, but since i havent tried anything else its hard to compare with the quality. Recently ive made 2 tunes. But ive noticed a problem you also mentioned in your tutorial. I used my creative headset when making it, however when switching to my speakers it lacks some quality for some reason?

I was told it sounded great, but in my ears it didnt. Is there some way i can share the tunes with you and get your opinion? I dont wanna share it to everyone yet. Hope you can and want to help Petri 🙂 Thanks again. Mysql Driver Not Loaded Windows 7 here.

Thanks for your comment and I’m glad you’re finding this site useful! To your question about Music Maker: I think it’s pretty good introduction to the computer music, but as far as I know (correct me if I’m wrong though) it relys quite a lot on the ready made musical loops (?) and the actual sequencing features for composing your own melodies aren’t at same level as in FL Studio, Ableton Live, Reason, etc. Anyway, you can send me a demo to info @ howtomakeelectronicmusic.com and I’ll check it out! Great of you to take time out to help others. And many thanks for the various links. After 20 years of DJing, I decided to pack it in. Not wanting to stray away from music, I started to learn how to make it.

Although a noob, I have friends who produce / remix music and all of them are verse in most DAW packages & all have their preferences. I am learning to use FL10 and Reason. There are a few things I prefer in Reason though. One is the sound quality. I gotta say, one has to spend time on paramatic EQ’s to liven the sounds up in FL. Make no mistake, I like FL, besides, one can rewire Reason or any other DAW into FL allowing one a wider ability to create the sounds you are looking for. However FL are making a mistake by their planned removal of the “Legacy pattern blocks” in future versions.

Although using the “Track” layout to lay your patterns allows for a little more versatility, it uses alot more memory than when using the “legacy pattern blocks” (Not sure why though). But I have received an “out of memory” warning a good few times when I have layed out everything using the “Tracks”. Never have I got a memory warning when using the “Legacy pattern blocks”.I only have 4Gigs of RAM. After upgarding to 10.8.9, I had to reactivate the “Legacy Blocks” and got the nasty pop-up that they would be made redundant in future versions! I have been using a C-Media sound card and Labtec 5.1 speaker setup for the past few months and it has done me just fine. But I gotta say, upgrading has has been Fantatsic.

Not the best, but what I could afford, my Lexicon Omega and KRK RP8G2 monitors & KRK10SE Sub has really made a huge difference. (and annoys my neighbours alot moreLOL).Thanks again for the links and keep things going.

There are many many people who will get to appreciate the info you put out there. Hey Dave and thanks for your comment!

There’s lot of good in Reason: all the effects and synths it has built-in are good quality and the re-wiring possibility gives the possibility to use it with other DAWs which is awesome. About FL and the blocks: I agree it was a MAJOR change in the FLS workflow, but as a longtime FL user (and ‘blocks user’ as well) I found (IMHO) building everything on tracks actually simplifies the usage of FLS workflow, albeit it takes some time to get used to it. —– I’ve heard good things on the Rokit monitors been looking into thems myself too – might ‘upgrade’ to those when I have enough the dough 🙂 —– Thanks for your comment Dave, appreciate that! After reading your article, I am still confused on how to get started. What I would like to do is find a freeware program that will allow me to play notes and chords on the PC keyboard with guitar, drums, bass and vocals, then combine them to create songs.

Does Ardour and Zynewave allow the use of a PC keyboard to create music? I dont understand the relationship between the terms VST, VSTi, synth and plug ins. Which software would be the core of music production that you would wish to add plug-ins for my specific music creation strategy? Thanks in advance!

Hey Glenn, I’m not sure if Ardour or Zynewave Podium natively support the use of PC keyboard for playing notes, but its not a problem as you can always use a Virtual Midi Keyboard like to do that. It’s a piece of software which acts like a link between your computer keyboard and music making software converting keystrokes to MIDI notes letting you to play the instruments. Anyway, here’s a some tips (and exaplanation to the terms you mentioned) what you need to be able to make music you described: – Music making software (try, even though it’s not free, people say you can use the newest versions for as long as you want without restrictions, though it’s definetely worth buying) – Virtual instruments = VSTi’s. VST is abbreviation from Virtual Studio Technology and it’s a software standard in digtal music making. VSTi means simply “VST instrument” and they are plug ins which you can – well – plug in to your music making software (if it supports VST technology – majority will do). They are also called VST synths, software synthesizers or soft synths. There’s also VST effects such as reverb, chorus, eq, compression, etc.

These are not synths. Just effects.You plug in them to your music making software like VST synths. – Now to be able to make music you mentioned, you need a VSTi that is able to produce guitar like sounds.Check some of these: – For drums you need drum samples (gooogle them) or a drum VST plugin. Check here: for some free stuff. – For bass you need some VSTi as well (actually, majority of soft synths can produce bass sounds). – For vocals you need a vocalist and microphone.

There’s thousands of VST instruments and effects available, free and commercial for all kinds of music making. Hope this helps! Petri, Thank you for taking the time to reply. After I posted, I went to try LMMS for windows. I spent a few days with video tutorials, reading and experimenting, but I now understand the foundation of digital music production. Looks like I’ll be getter a midi keyboard as the PC keys are limited.

It takes a lot of effort to produce a few chords using the PC method. I also found a few guitar VSTs. I chose to DL a few midi files, import them, and enhance the default instruments to create some new versions of the songs. This helped alot in understanding how the program (LMMS) works. I’ll probably try the other suggestions and see how they work. Since I dont have drums, I’ll probably work on music with digital drums and bass, then work in the midi and add my own guitar. Thanks again and Happy Holidays!

I wish i read something like this 7 years ago.lol very informative. I have a question on the computer i should get. I have always worked on reason on my laptop but im in the market for a desktop. Im looking for something not to expensive but not to cheap.

I am planning on getting the newest reason (6) and maschine from native instruments. I currently have a fast track pro and im looking to upgrade my midi controller which is the axiom 25,but im waiting for nektar to launch the panarama which is a dedicated controller for reason 6.so im not sure what i need to look for, keep in mind i plan on getting the komplete 8 ultimate which takes up alot of space, or should i get a external harddrive for all my sounds or both? Any information or knowledge whould help me out big time.

Getting a nice return this year so im gonna splurge on the computer and music gear. Please help thanks.

Hey Chemis, I’m not good at recommending computer specs, but check some of these: I would say powerful CPU (i5 quadcore or i7/quad/hexacore processors) and decent amount of RAM (I recommend 8GB at least) is essential. As for hard drive, SSD would probably be the best for OS, and then something like 1TB HD (7200RPM) or more for your audio stuff (internal and/or external). Yeah, Komplete 8 Ultimate is a big package (240GB of content) so I think you cant have too much of HD space Btw, how are you planning to use Komplete with Reason as Reason doesn’t support VST’s (just curious)?

Hope this helps! Pietri, I would like to ask you for your help.

If you go to this link: it is a paradise remix by fedde le grand if you go to 3:18/3:19 there is a sound that is made, i don’t know how to say it in english but I hope you understand what i want to tell you. My question is how to make that sound?

It sounds like it goes a little bit reverse (or drops for a second). 🙂 I am so sorry but I just don’t know how to express myself in English 🙂 Your help would be much appreciated.

THank you Pietri and keep up the good work. AMAZING stuff. Hello Pietri, Thank you very much for this guide and putting toether such a nice website, I`m just starting to discover all the useful information you have here 🙂 On advice I would apreciate from you: I`m trying to put a nice production system together to be able to create some house music but I have a somewhat limited budget. Currently my list would be: Desktop Computer- around 1000 €( a AMD eight core with 12 GB RAM) and FL Studio 10 Speakers- pair of m audio bx 8 around 270 € midi keyboard. M audio 61 around 175€ audio interface- m audio fast track pro 145€ However this would be at around 1500 € like 300 exceeding my budget, what would you recommend I downgrade from this list without compromising too much the whole process to keep it affordable for me? Thank you in advance for all your held. Greetings from Lisbon, David.

Dear Petri, could you please tell me what should i buy, when i have the next problems: 1. When I use VST Plugins to my mixer and they occupied almost 50-60 channels, the computer slows down, once it even shut down, i guess because of CPU usage, although I have 12 GB RAM, 2 GB Grafics with Intel i7 chip on my PC, not MAC, i heard that it is very workable for music production 🙂 but with MAC i will have to forget about some AiR – ed plugins. Here is the question, which equipment (hardware or USB) to buy to let the hardware to take part of that memory usage and control the mixer?

So that it could carry the pressure from PC to itself, a kinda mixer hardware, gear or smth. At the end I want my work to sound more louder, although I use Ozone 5, Brainworx bundle and some other Vstz to mix the overall project, at the end it is not that loud as professional mixes. So, it means I have to buy a hardware like Limiter or Compressor or Summing mixer or may be Synchronizers / Clock Generators or may be Digital Converters. I can not differ all of them, how each of them affecting the mix??? May be you could suggest a blog or make a tutorial for this, i couldn’t find any on youtube, searched for a week, they are just scratching the surface and showing off. Please help me, for solving the problem and buying equipment i have just 1200 euros.

No much and therefore i need ya advice how to spend them appropriately to solve the 2 problems. Thx for ya awesome FL blog!!! Appreciate it.

Hey there, Some answers to your question: 1. To my knowledge I dont think such hardware exist (?). All the VST plugins you use in your DAW use the CPU and I don’t think theres a way to transfer the stress to an external hardware.

You need to either use lesser VST plugins per project, or “freeze” some of the tracks or upgrade your CPU. To make your music sound louder is all about creating a well balanced mix, proper use of EQ and compression/limiter. Maybe this article will help: I cant actually recommend you to buy anything as the loudness start from a well balanced mix and for finalizing you can find the necessary tools in FL itself (like Fruity Limiter for example). Sorry I couldnt be of more help! Pietri, I really want to start producing electronic music and I just have no idea where to start at all.

I have no experience in music, except for some piano lessons I took ten years ago that I forgot anyways, and I’m not exactly a master at computers, I just know my way around most things. Any tips for where to start? I’ve downloaded FL Studio for my PC, but I’m completely lost, I have no idea where to start with it, or how to use it or what to do. Also, I’ve heard piano lessons could really come in handy for this sort of thing, is that true? Hello peter,thanks for a great advices and your will to share your experience,i am using reason for few years,well for now i can use it only on laptop and good headphones,but i cant reach nice sound quality with integrated sound card,i want to buy external sound card but many people say that if card is not firewire powered most probably i i will not reach desire quality,my laptop doesnt have firewire port,i am interested about your opinion connected with usb extern sound card,thank u in advance,keep on with great work:).

Hey, I’ve been interested in music for a long time, especially the electronic category. I’ve been considering to learn how to use FL, but when I read a part of the License Agreement (Yes. I am the kind of guy who will read all of that,) it tells you, “you may not use the Software for the purpose of conducting, or in connection with, any commercial purposes or business purposes, whether ‘profit’ or ‘not-for-profit’.” I’m not the biggest legal person; I am not sure to what extent this abides to. But what would this mean, for someone who may be considering producing/composing music for profit? Thanks for posting so much info. I was an electronica fan I guess before I knew there was a name for it listening to Vangelis Antarctica, Switched on Bach, P.F. Wish you were here and Kitaro when I was a little kid.

Now in middle age, I would like to play some sort of ambient/chill type music myself, are 88 keys a smarter choice for learning and what is the downside of learning with less keys on a “keyboard” as opposed to a “electric piano”? What would be a good future ready 88 key beginner synth if such a thing exists? Sorry for the dumb questions and thanks in advance, CP. Hello again, maybe I should clarify a couple things. I have no music background and when learning from the ground up so to speak, I would prefer to “learn piano” rather than what appears to be the shortcut of learning on a keyboard with less than 88 keys and very light key pressures (shortchanging myself long term).

Also, my son will be needing a piano to learn/ practice on in a couple years so I want something in the house that works for his piano learning experience. We only have room for one, buying an additional piano is not an option. I also want this 88 key keyboard to be future ready enough to handle what my true interest is (ambient/ chill) when my skill level reaches that point. Is the M-Audio Key Graded Hammer-Action USB MIDI Controller a proper piano for my son and I to learn to play traditional piano on? And would anything about this machine be missing with regard to creating the atmospheric ethereal soundscapes you hear in alot of the electronica that I prefer?

Thanks again, CS. Great article. Very informative and inspiring. Have a quick question, if you have a moment. Do you know of any synths (hard or soft) for producing low level clicks, pops, and ticks (not quite sure how to describe it other than the kind of sounds most people are trying to remove. I wish I could point you to a sample. I’ll try and find one and post back.

Also for those trying to decide on a midi controller I just picked up an m-audio axiom pro 61 and so far am loving it. Feels very solid nice semi-weighted keys not too hard or soft.

Little on the pricey side but worth the investment IMHO. Best advice someone gave me was to go down to my local music store and actually try them all before buying. Made all the difference. Could tell right away what felt right and not.

Greetings, Petri. If possible, if you heard, or heard sounds like: Noise Control, Master Program, Robotiko Rejector among others that can show you, the sounds of the era of the 90s, could do a tutorial with those styles of music. I started listening to them, only that in their time, it was amazing how they did those songs with as little technology, and today we can do this in a heartbeat, but I would in his opinion today, as you would a style as those may be? Though the beats are similar to those of today Like parents of electronic music as KRAFTWERK.

Hugs George (Dj Phobos) Batista da Silva. I have a problem with my music and I dont know what Im doing wrong.My music sounds tinny or distorted in the upper register. I use Noteworthycompose,,FL Studiio 10 and Gold Wave Sound Editor.I wish I coulld let you hear what Im talking about This problem is very frustrating I suspect that maybe I am useing too many Instuments or the samples I am useing are of of poor quality. I have samples from websites that are available for free only now am i buying samples from Catooh but they are not the type I am looking for. They consist of musical phases and I am looking for steady tones.which I cant find any where. What should I do to ressolve this problem.?

Hey man, thanks a lot for the article! I’ve been creating a lot of songs lately and i’m really getting in to it. Just got a question for you guys: suppose i buy a sample pack, for example Vengeance. I use a lot of samples in a song.

If i eventually (probably not gonna happen:P) want to make money with the song (suppose it gets popular), do I need to pay Vengeance anything? Because this is stated on their website: “All soundsets, samples and audiodemos are copyrighted by Vengeance Sound. Reselling of any Vengeance Sound product purchased, also partially (e. Single sounds), is prohibited.Any violation of this will be legally pursued.

When ordering a Vengeance Sound product, you accept this agreement.” In your article you said its usually royalty free. I think that this saysotherwise.

What do you guys think? Cheers, Joeri. Hey Joeri, Answer to your question: no, you don’t have to pay anything for Vengeance after you have bought the sample pack. The thing is, when you buy a sample pack (from Vengeance for example) you buy the license to use the samples in your commercial/non-commercial songs.

This means you don’t have to pay any roaylties or anything to the sample manufacturer for using the samples in your musical productions. That statement you quoted from the Vengeance website means that they hold the copyrights of the samples (when you buy a sample pack from a sample manufacturer you’re buying only the LICENSE to use the samples, but NOT the copyrights as copyrights can’t be sold) and you can’t resell the samples as is as a package or single sounds to another person, but you’re safe to use them as a part of your musical production. Hope this answered to your question 😎. I recently got into the idea of making my own electronics music, after listening to artists/bands like skrillex, dead mau5, anamanaguchi ( 8 bit ftw:3 ), and zedd. I’m more of a pencil-and-paper artist, but I’ve always had a knack for beats and such getting lodged in my head, to the point where I’ll start drumming it on the nearest object.

This guide will help me get started properly, and that makes it alot better for me. 🙂 Your guide already made me notice something I hadn’t before, the drumbeats hidden within most songs.

Hopefully sometime soon I’ll have a song or two on YouTube. Once I get one, I might post it up for some opinions. Speak your mindwise words; well, I dont mean to rain on your parade, BUT so steely, and sterile, and robotic, and so many of those things that resemble horrible little somethings called RULES Great work in explaining how to make music.

The kind that sucks the living daylights out of creativity and murders all hope of individualism. SO much will be missed, so much world changing music wont get to be made and heard if the chosen ones ever read this, and dont notice what a game changer this is, in all the bad ways. Why I even take the time to write this is beyond me, hopefully it will counteract the actual article to some degree. Kelly, I felt particularly the desire to respond to your post regards dance music (no its not EDM!) and it’s production.

Firstly, if a musician is talented enough, whether vocally or in playing an instrument, they will succeed. I’m sure their are stories of wonderfully talented musicians who never made it but that mirrors life in general and in all professions. To say that dance music is void of any creativity is both ignorant and false. The “robotic” sounds you hear are often samples of people actually playing an instrument but are manipulated and arranged in a different way, some might say being very creative in fact. I have been listening to dance music since the early 90’s and there has been much change within that time. Although I can appreciate the talents of vocalists such as Adele, no other music moves me more emotionally than dance music. You suggest that all these computers and processed music will destroy all other forms, really??

I live in England and dance music is not heard that often on mainstream radio, there are probably only a handful of producers who have a degree of chart success. Therefore, it is mainly an underground movement and has been for 20 years!! Obviously this is part of the appeal for some, myself included although I would still love it if it was far more widely recognised. Similar to going out and buying a Ferrari F40 and finding out everyone else in your street has one, its still a great car but just not quite the same! I pity you for not getting it, for not understanding how amazing dance music is. Many pretentious, mis-guided individuals have had their ‘ten pence worth’ when trying to devalue and degrade this type of music but ultimately change nothing. Music can move you, take you on a journey and inspire you more than any other form of art, even music made by robots on computers, trust me!

Hey SirCharles, That was such a great response to Kelly. There’s a part of me that understands where she is coming from, however she’s just made dozens of assumptions about what she thinks the creation of electronic music via the techniques Petri has put forward is and in the process just negated a whole form of art and individual expression.

What has piqued my interest is your incredible passion for dance music. I’m virtually completely ignorant of dance music (although have heard it in clubs a few times and can recognise it) but you talk about it with such appreciation. This is off topic to Petri’s fantastic article (thanks Petri; it’s really great) but if you read this can you post some links on here to great dance music; the type you’ve spoken of that moves you.

I’m wanting an ‘intro’ in the manner someone passionate and knowledgeable like you might offer. This looks like a decent post, with some real planning having been put into it. All I want is to have fun producing Uplifting Trance and Chillstep music tracks. Will this be able to help me accomplish this? It’s my dream to be able to be good with this; to enjoy making GOOD Trance and make AWESOME Chillstep songs when I am in the mood. As good as the following: Trance: Chillstep: I know it won’t happen overnight, but I want to know if this start will help me reach my dream. I’ve been learning Fl Studio for 5 years now and I still can’t make a good song when I want to.

It only happens once every few months. Really, really frustrating. Yours truly, Kelvin.

Hey, Petri First of the all I wanted to thank you for the great information you put on this useful website. I’m just beginning to produce a dub-step and chill-out song with Albeton Live 8.2.2 almost with no experience to make such a stuff but I’ve already listened to dub-step and chill-out for years. You suggested FL Studio all over this page that somehow I lost my interest in Albeton. Will it be easy to work with Albeton for such a beginner like me? How can i learn to work pretty well with this music software? Thanks again. Question there’s one feature that i think would be very useful and wondering if it’s in any DAWs.

There’s probably a name for it but as i dont know it, bear with me while i verbalize what i’m talkin bout:) basically the type of thing where you hear a track, take a five second (or whatever length) sample from wherever in it, and the DAW (or other software?) will break down all the beats being played in that sample. You could then manipulate it as you see fit (deeper bass drum, add a violin, whatever!) make sense? Is there a name for that (like copy and edit 🙂 and what software am i referring to here? This article was so helpful!

I do have a few questions though. Im trying to start making my own music, but i don’t really know where to start.

I have taken basic electronic music using adobe audition, but I have a mac. Is garageband sufficient for producing music? I know how to play guitar, piano, and sing. However I don’t have a synthesizer, what one would you suggest I get that is preferably under 300? Also for mics, I’m not sure what ones would be good.

Thanks so much for posting and hope you can answer some of my questions! Hey man, this is very cool stuff. Thanks a lot for such a awesome post on this great website. I don’t have any knowledge about music but i am always attracted to this. I think or u can say compose music just in my mind and i am actually pretty good in it but now i want to do it for real. So please suggest me software that can help me to create music and sound and be simple as i am not a computer freak.

I know you must be busy but i would be really greatful if u reply to me, so that i can ask my other queries accordingly. Hello Petri Thanks sooo much for the explanations relating to the production of computer & electronic music, I hope one day to make some music, that will please your ears, but taking into consideration – musical tastes perhaps I will not achieve this, no doubt any music I am able to produce will please someone if not only myself & perhaps someone else’s contribution will serve to please you I am not a massive fan of trance music although progressive trance on the other hand I find really quite interesting & mind expanding.

By the way your English is very good, strangely enough probably at the expense of some or other of the thousands of languages spoken worldwide which are apparently disappearing on an almost daily basis. I am personally inspired by old school drum & base, house, R’n’B & many world musical styles.

Thanks for producing music, it clearly makes people happy! Hi, thanks for this site and all your commitment.

This is all very new to me, but I after 5 years as an engineer decided to start creating music as a new profession. One of my major idols is Calvin Harris, I wonder often what the system these world renowned music producers use? What do I need at this stage for gear & software to get started? I love songs with voice in them, I had even thought to sing, how do I add my voice in the music. Any other advice are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for all.

Am new to your site. I am very happy to find this site.its very useful. I am not a musician nd i dont no to play any music instruments.

My knowledge on music is below zero.but i love music, i love singing but am just a bathroom singeri use to write lyrics nd make tune it on my own style.nd i found a friend with a similer intrest in my city But our problem is we both didnt studied music. So my question is is it is necessary to learn music for electronic music production? So where should i start?

Can you help us if we need help? How to remove vocal from music tracks? I have pc nd even i downloded fl srudio but i am not understanding anything Its like a hard puzzle for me.

My problem is i dont even know is the meaning of midi,loops.nd lot more So sir please tell me from where should i start.? First of all thank you very much for taking time to post this information. I love Trance music,Ive been listening to it for a long time, and now I want to learn how to produce it, I don’t know anything about it, and you blog was very helpful. I have a Sony desktop computer that five years old, I bought a pair of Truth B2013 A studio reference monitors a year ago, just for listening to trance, I don’t have a DAW, or a sound card yet,after reading your blog im thinking of purchasing FL.studio. I went to guitar center and told the i wanted to learn how to produce trance music and they said i should really consider buying a MASCHINE to produce beats.

My question is, do you think that’s something i need to produce trance. It seemed like a cool machine, but is it necessary?

Also i wasn’t really looking into buying a mixer just yet i really want to learn how to produce, but they had a Numark N4 on clearance $200.00 off So i went a head and bought it, So im trying to learn how to use it. Hi Petri and everybody else! Love trance (I’m a OAP! ) and I’ve been dabbling with electronic music for a few years but gave up a while back.I was getting nowhere fast and my initial naive creativity vanished as I learned to be more critical. Early on I had uploaded a few tracks to SoundCloud and they are sooo embarrassing now.

But here I am coming back for another try Petri, Thanks for your trance song structure article, just what I needed and how I came to this page. But the other reason I’m posting this is that my music setup is so similar to yours that it is eerieand I’ve never seen your stuff before. I have an have Intel Core i7 processor, ASUS P7P55 motherboard, 12GB RAM and 24? Widescreen display running W7 x64 Ultimate. Monitors are Truth B2031As and my MIDI controller is an Oxygen II 61! How’s that for convergent thinking 🙂 Oh, and I recently moved to SSD on drive C: Headphones are Sennheiser HD 280 Pro and I’m using a Edirol UA-25 for audio I/O driven by ASIO4All.

Using Reaper and a mix of free/paid vst plugins.current favorites are Synthmaster (vast feature array is bit overwhelming and still learning how to drive it) and Alchemy (emphasis on samples, lots of inspiring sounding presets to tweak and adjust) I’m still reading your advice on this page and hope it will get me out of my ‘creative rut’ and producing stuff again. At the moment I tend to sit here enjoying the great sounds from synth presets and zillions of samples but not getting down to actually constructing anything. Your song structure advice will, hopefully, give me some templates.a starting point to write some songs again.

Thanks so much Tony. Hi Petri, I’d like to thank you for this valueable information on electro music, i really found it very helpful as i’ve decided to indulge my passion for music and needed to a direction to start. The reason i wrote this comment though is that i’m looking for something related but haven’t found it yet, maybe you can help me by pointing to a certain direction. I’m looking for a software similar to DAW but with a little feature, this feature should allow me to write music on a music sheet, like a scratch paper if you like, and then the software should be able to play what i just wrote, and of course editing should be possible.

Based on your experience in this field, have you ever come across something like this, if yes please tell me where? 🙂 Thanks a lot once again and hope to hear from you soon.

Hi Petri, I really liked the way u posted this article explaining every single bit of informationAfter reading the article ( and listening to some epic electronic music) I am completely into producing electronic music. But, I’m kind of in a dilemma I have an HP All-in-One PC with 2 GB RAM.Do u think it will workI’m only 14 yrs old so I can’t buy own hardware and stuff like the MiDi Controller etc. And also my Knowledge in tech is like 2%???? So pls help by recommending few starter music making softwares And about my knowledge quotient it’s kinda okkkk.I have played the guitar for an year so i kind of understand the basics. Another help pls For me to understand and learn about this new stuff.it’s gonna take time and experience.so can u help me out by giving links of few songs u personally have produced As for listeners.I would to recommend music of a producer called FRACTAL Check out his songs in Youtube. THNX AGAIN FOR THIS EPIC ARTICLE. Good and good.

Petri, I am considering setting up a small home studio to produce electronic music but to be completely honest I had no idea where to begin until I came across this page. Well, even now, I am still completely lost except for the grooves I come up with in my head and while listening to electronic music. As a very young child I was always beating/drumming on something, adding my take on songs, making mix tapes of various sounds and trying to see how to get them to go together and sound neat. Teaming up with other talent and playing around with beat boxing and weird new sounds. I guess my only judge was to watch the reaction of peoples faces. If they smiled, or it brought laughter about, I knew I had succeeded a bit at my dream – help making people dance, feel happy, come together as one and so on.

If I got yelled at and told to stop by the family, or got the odd look I knew I must be the only one hearing it which I have come to find that I had ear fatigue or whatever and I needed a break. The latter happened a lot but that was okay with me as I knew one day I would be in the company of persons that enjoyed music as much as I do. It just seemed I needed to get older or maybe around more free willed and open minded individuals. Well I have rambled and probably given you ear fatigue by now, or would this be eye fatigue? Doesn’t matter. Like most probably, I want in the industry. Probably for way different reasons than the average person however for the true music enthusiast, the true people lover, happiness promoter, we are identical.

I love to see people happy/dance/smile-just real emotion you know- and if it is me who makes that happen, whatever. If it’s the next Man/Woman, whatever it’s all good across the board. I thought it may never come to produce fruit, it still may never but after coming across your page here I have a lot more hope for this dream of mine. I am on a limited budget to start but I do have the funds for a few of the items mentioned above but have been a bit concerned on pulling the trigger on purchases because of all the unknown language, compatibility, revolving cost like new sounds or outdated equipment and the list goes on. I just want to do this as a hobby and have fun. Not clear the bank account while getting sold some stuff I do not need or unable to use because the salesman doesn’t know crap except what is written on the same package I can read and only concerned about making a sale.

And with a lot of this equipment I am finding that once it is purchased that is it, good luck and if it’s not right or the wrong thing I am left with selling it on my own. This has only happened once and I made the money back but what a waste of time. If you have the time I would really like to get in touch with you. I have seen on here that some of these are answered and a lot are not so I am not sure what to do. I recently moved to a very small town in Montana, United States yet came from a very large city in Nevada with a lot more culture and availability to talk to people.

I suppose the move is a good thing all around because there was a lot of distractions there and now I can get busy on this dream of mine and collaborate with others with the same dream and make it happen. I would love to hear back from you if you got the time Best wishes and with all the love, Joshua Thanks again for the great page. It has made things a little more clear but some one on one would be great. I come from an era of making music on the commodore amiga’s in the late 80’s and 90s. I used a program called protracker, and one called soundtracker which were both essentially the same. I used my amigas keyboard to produce the sounds and used samples loaded from floppy disks 😀 but i lost touch with it all through my teenage years and through my 20s. I’ve forgotten a lot, and my inner frustration to make music suddenly exploded and i NEEDED a damn keyboard.

I want to remix video game tracks, make my own original 80’s tracks. So i got myself a tyros 2. It’s weird, because im a beginner, and yet.i’m not. Does that make sense? Basically, i am well and truly ready to get back into making music. I am very much a techhead so will understand pretty much anything thats required, but i learn differently to others because of a learning disability.

My question is, 20 odd years ago, i had a yamaha psr 230, a midi cable and no compatible computer. Today, i have a beast of a machine and a beast of a keyboard and no effing clue what to do! It’s like all my knowledge has dribbled away, waiting to be unovered again lol. So i would need either a one to one sort of lesson on how to connect everything up, what softwares to use, how to get everything ready etc, then another one on how to start up. Then i can learn as i go.

Is there anywhere i can find stupidly simple tutorials, or anyone who’d be willijng to teach me what i need to know?:3 im so happy i can play again, and im already learning several melody’s each day as the memories come flooding back. But as for how to set everything up? My brain totally folded in on itself XD.

Sorry for the huge post, but i am a terribly frustrated musician just itching to jump back into it, all i need is that kickstart! I recently got into 3D rendering, which is super complicated.all i needed was a couple of short lessons and i worked it out for myself thereafter. If you like video games i would happily make something with favourite characters etc in exchange ^-^ (i never like just taking. I like giving something back). I really hope you can help! 😀 your article really really interested me!

And thanks for taking time to write your comment! I started making music with trackers at 90’s as well (I’ve always been a PC guy so I was using Fast Tracker and Scream tracker).

Some of my schoolmates used Amiga’s and Pro Tracker. A question for you: have you tried any of the popular music making softwares (they are called DAW) such as Ableton Live, FL Studio, Cubase, etc yet? If not, please do so! Personally, I recommend either FL Studio or Ableton Live (thoug I am biased because I’ve been using FL Studio for a long long time). So basically, all you need is a computer and DAW to make music. (Keyboard is a big plus, but not necessity though as you can use your computer keyboard to play the sounds inside your music making software). Inside the DAW, you have (usually built-in) few software based synths and effects which you can use to produce sounds (basses, leads, pads, etc).

And of course, you can use samples as well (same way as with trackers). Inside your DAW, you can create “patterns” for your melodic and drum sequences. These are like building blocks which you can combine to create a full song. With keyboard, you can play and record the melodies live to MIDI note data using any synth you choose (if you have a piano synth inside your DAW, you can use your keyboard to control/play it just like a real piano and record it to MIDI data which you can then edit with your mouse any way you like). Then you can mixdown your song to.WAV or.MP3 and share it with the rest of the world through internet! I don’t know whether this makes any sense.

Let me know 😎. Greetings, As far I have reached reading this article, I have noticed that speakers are Really Really important in making sounds. I have come with plenty of questions related to the above. But First, I am currently owning a pair of Hi Fi Speakers (Don’t really sure if the term High-End Stands true), Nordmende LB 500, 60Watts Philharmonic speakers.

However, What’s your opinion related to them? Are they good enough to Reproduce quality sounds? Have you ever used or seen them in public or private places? Shall i keep using them as sound output? In addition, I do not have negative opinions, or thoughts, even I have made several tracks using them using my newbie skills To conclude, I am seeking and collecting personal opinions related to my speakers. I’d be grateful to hear from you in the near future, Regards, Steff. I’m a producer of electronic music.

I started out when i was 15, now 16. Been doing this for over a year and i gotta say its the shit man. Don’t go and buy any softwares yet.

You have to be sure you can do it. Experiment with garageband on a mac or any freeware should do. Start out by just playing with loops, drops etc, remember that there is no set way to do things, its all about expression. And yes if your keyboard says midi it will work. There are hundreds of guides on how to use them.

Another key aspect is to listen to a nice big variety music. Soul, jazz, hip hop, whatever man just keep it broad so you have alot of inspiration. Keen to see how you go.

Thank you so much for your advice! I am a former member of a dreampop/rock band (with a similar sound to Evanescence). I am a lyricist/songwriter with at least forty melodies with lyrics but no background music added.

I think if I found a good program I could make music from home but have no idea where to start or what program is best investing in for the kind of music I want to make. I am interested mostly in creating music that is a mixture of chillstep/electronic and Celtic (like Enya). Where would you suggest I start? Hello Kallista, And thanks for your comment!

To your question: firstly, you need a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation, that’s what music making programs are called). Actually, any modern DAW is capable for the genre you described. I’m using and in my home studio and I like both of them and I’ve been using both of them for all kinds of music, including chill-out.

Do you have a PC or MAC btw? Both are available for PC (Ableton Live is for MAC as well). So based on my own experience, I suggest to download the demo versions and check them out. Both DAWs are very popular amongst electronic music producers. But there are lot others: for example which is considered as “industry standard” in many big studios.

Then there’s Logic Pro X, Cubase, Studio One, Reaper, Reason. Too much to list them all here. Secondly, you need sounds for the kind of music you’re into. If you’re keen to learn synth programming, you can create practically any sound by yourself, but there’s a learning curve. The DAW you choose (depending on the package) usually comes bundled with good set of synthesizers and effect processors to process the sound even further. FL Studio has Harmor and Sytrus (both are synths) and they’re great for all kinds of sounds.

They also have ready made patches to get you started and you can find more in the net. Ableton Live Suite pack has even more ready-made sounds to get you started, 50 gigabytes if I recall right.

There’s also thousand of 3rd party free and commercial virtual synths and romplers available which you can plug-in to your DAW. Check out for example and their and to get you started. Absynth has a good quality preset collection which works great in ambient/chill style music. There’s also Nexus. It’s widely used on all kinds of electronic music. Mostly in EDM. But works in the chill genre as well.

It has some really nice lush pad sounds. For pure and realistic orchestral sounds, check out some of the. Or maybe some of the 8dio products for some ethnic stuff.

Hope this helps to get you started! Everybody has their own style of doing things etc. There’s a lot more to listening to music and trying to analyze. You gotta find your own sound and be original. From my personal point of view as a record producer and remixer, I would say that less is better than buying the most fancy equipment. I got some cheap headphones, speakers, an HP laptop, midi keyboard, and so many DAWs. Impossible to count.

It all depends on personal preference. I’m a broke dj/record producer so I make my music in the best way I know how.

I appreciate this article but there’s a lot more to it.

Free Download:, which is a HUGE report that reviews the #1 way to learn guitar this year. What to Know About Guitar Instruction Methods Every beginner guitarist is looking for a way to improve his or her skills quickly, and that’s the promise Keith Urban makes with this set. If you’re a complete beginner—someone without a guitar or any knowledge of how to use it—you’ll probably learn a lot. But if you know anything about playing guitar or already own one, this isn’t for you. Go ahead and skip down to the better alternatives below.

Keith Urban promotes the set as focusing purely on songs and ignoring most other guitar techniques. Before buying it, make sure you’re happy with this method of instruction. What The Keith Urban Player Guitar Set Has to Offer The kit is advertised as being 50 pieces! That’s an enormous number for a “guitar learning kit”. So let’s break down exactly what you get.

The first three pieces are a guitar, strap, and case. The guitar is said to be hand-designed by Keith. While it looks nice, most reviews online complain about the quality of the instrument (we’ll talk more about reviews in a minute). It isn’t a bad choice for a beginner, but if you’re going to be playing for years, you’ll need to upgrade. It also comes with 17 accessories like a cleaning cloth, adjustment allen wrench, eight picks, six strings (one full set), and a chord chart. Some versions also include a capo. These aren’t the highest quality accessories you can find, but again—they’ll do the job if you’re just starting.

The last 30 pieces are the instructional DVDs, called 30 Songs in 30 Days. Each lesson teaches a new song (15 by Keith Urban and 15 classics). What You Can Get Out of the Keith Urban Set If you’re just starting, the Keith Urban Player Guitar Set has a few nice benefits I’ll list here.

But if you’re not starting from scratch with your guitar knowledge, you’re best served looking at the alternatives below. It’s a Great Starting Place for Your Gear The kit comes with a lot of accessories you’ll eventually need as you develop your guitar chops. And let’s be honest—it’s a lot easier to buy the gear all at once than piece by piece.

If you’re a complete beginner, this can be handy if you aren’t sure which brands and type of guitar accessories would be best for you yet. As you continue to learn and improve, you’ll probably want to upgrade most of the gear, but it’s an excellent starting place. This is a Guitar Set with Lots of Star Power Let’s face it: If you’re a Keith Urban fan, there’s nothing cooler than playing the guitar he designed while he teaches you how to play it.

The guitar is heavily branded with Keith Urban—it says Urban on the headstock near the tuning pegs, and has the logo between frets. If Keith Urban is your thing, this is your guitar. You’ll Quickly Learn Classic Guitar Songs If your goal with the guitar is only to learn songs, the instructional DVDs in this kit are perfect for you.

Keith has stated himself that the kit doesn’t touch on theory, reading music, or anything other than songs. So if you’re just looking to know a few classic songs by memory, this can be a great place to start. Make Exciting and Fast Progress Every guitarist wants to make quick progress, and this set is designed exactly for that purpose. Each lesson teaches the most basic chords you need to know. Guitarists the world over know that a handful of chords give you the ability to play dozens of songs, and the instructional program takes advantage of that effect. After just a few hours of learning, you’ll be able to play a lot of songs. If you’re just starting, this can be exciting and keep your motivation high.

It’s Recommended for Beginners If you’re intimidated by complicated music, this can work perfectly for you. It’s also a good solution if you’re buying it for someone else (especially a child).

The program is designed to make guitar playing easy, and it skips over anything that’s too complicated or difficult. If you’re just looking for an introduction to the instrument without needing to read music, you can get the basics of guitar with this set. Where Can You Buy It? This is available on the official website, however it’s usually listed at a cheaper price on Amazon. Mixed Reviews: A Mediocre Guitar with Helpful Beginner Instruction The reviews online are mixed. Most of the positive reviews are short and written by beginners who bought this as their first guitar (or as a gift for someone else). The most critical reviews focus on the poor quality of the guitar, noting that it just is a low-grade instrument and requires a lot of adjustment to get it to sound great.

Most of the expert guitar players who purchased the set were disappointed with the quality of the guitar. Overall, this isn’t surprising. The fact is that a professional will be disappointed with any guitar at this price point, but it still might work for an absolute beginner.

Just remember that as you progress, you will eventually need to upgrade the instrument. Reviews on the instruction are generally of two sorts: • This was an excellent way to learn the basics! • Learning the guitar is hard, you can’t learn 30 songs in 30 days The truth is, the instruction won’t allow you to play the songs like a pro, but you’ll get the basic gist of the chords. Better Alternatives to Take You Further in Your Guitar Playing Giving an alternative to the Keith Urban Player Guitar Set is hard because it encompasses so much. I'll break it down into guitar alternatives and instruction alternatives. Get a Better-Reviewed Guitar At the low price point ($200-400) of the Keith Urban Guitar, you're not going to find a perfect instrument.

However, some guitars have better reviews than the Keith Urban Guitar. If you're a beginner, you're going to find these instruments easier to play and learn with. The first is the, which has five stars on Amazon.

Most of the reviews praise the higher-quality materials used to make the guitar. Another option for those who don't want to spend a lot is the, which also has five stars on Amazon.

Reviewers praised the instrument for strings that are easy for beginners to use. These are clearly much better options for the guitar side of things. Learn Keith Urban Songs in Print Form The guitar set only has videos—no print music—so it's almost impossible to review the song without skipping through the DVD again. If you want to learn Keith Urban songs using easy chords, buy his book! Keith Urban already wrote a songbook, teaching beginners how to play 26 of his hits. The book, called, is just a few dollars on Amazon.

If you want to learn songs not by Keith Urban (including some of the pieces included in 30 Songs in 30 Days), Try Online Guitar Lessons (My Recommendation) If there's one thing this set got right, it's that video guitar lessons can be a powerful way to learn. The problem with the method Keith Urban teaches is that you'll only learn chords, which means you're limited to playing backup on a few songs. If you want to take your guitar playing further—including soloing, writing your own music, or playing lead in a band, you need to understand other aspects of guitar playing. Thankfully, online guitar lessons have evolved to a point where you can learn all of that and much more. Even if you're a beginner, you can quickly progress to soloing over basic songs with the right type of online lesson.

If you're looking to take your playing to the next level, Give Your Guitar Skills Room to Grow If you're a complete beginner, the Keith Urban Player Guitar Set can be a way to get started with the basics quickly. It's usually on sale: But if you're looking to develop your skills further, this will limit you. In short: If your goal is to progress beyond the basics, look elsewhere. You can start with a better guitar for the same price, and online lessons that will teach you much more than just 30 songs. This all-in-one package can only take you so far. Final recommendation: which is my top recommendation for learning the guitar.