So I could use a little advice here

[Agent505 661]

Caus i'm nice, if you dont want to read the wall of text, (TL;DR DH...) just read the blue text  

 

So here are the basics.

 

I'm 18 years old...and i've dont absolutely sweet F/A with my life so far.

I REALLY want to change that. The only thing I can think of to do that I would be comfy doing is probably the biggest and most challenging thing I can think of in the brony community - music. 

 

I've never had any previous experience with music making before, but I learn quick and I have some rough ideas of what I want to do. If I see something is going to be worth doing in the long run, i'll stick with it to the end - and I have all the time in the bucking world...

 

Now, here's the deal.

 

I want to get into making music for YouTube, and i'm hoping to (obviously) get quite good at it and possibly become a big name, or at least a moderate name  

Now I know what you're all thinking by this point - "Kid, just give up. It's been 18 years and you've done nothing, people have gotten a head-start on you and you're plunging in at the deep end here" 

 

I agree...I totally feel like that myself, but I REALLY want to do this for several reasons...and these are all what you've heard before. 

 

 - I like to live in a fantasy world. Of course I understand reality and all that boring crap, but I think my ability to live in my own fantasy world is probably the only thing that has kept me from snapping in the past few years. 

 

 - I want to contribute something to the community. Bronies have done so much for me in the past without realising it, I feel I should give something back. 

 

  - I like to draw MLP and anime characters, and I think creating music and using my own backgrounds would be a great way to expand my horizons and talents. (If you've ever heard of Mayhem/Renard, that's the kind of thing i'd like to be doing eventually) 

 

Now for the REAL problem.

 

I have no money as such, and i'm on a Mac.

The software I want to get (FL Studios 10) is based on a Windows PC, and will not run on a Mac. The solution? Buy a PC. 

I have £1000 that I got for my 18th birthday, and I dont want to waste it. But I was thinking about buying FL studios and a new computer for my own personal use for creating music. Would you suggest this? Would you suggest I do anything different? Or should I really just give up on my dreams before I waste my time? I am a very lazy person, so for me to actually get off my ass and do something with myself even like this, is a great personal leap...I just dont want to waste it. 

 

I was considering starting on Garageband on the Mac, posting a few noob videos on YouTube and developing my talents from there, before I leap into spending all my money. If people could suggest anything or give me some advice or...anything? Even getting a few video views on my YouTube channel (when I...actually post some music) and getting some advice and some recommendations, just the little things to help get me started...if I...get started :/ 

 

 

 

[Pony Of The Month 534]

Producing electronic music is a LOT harder than it looks. I'm not saying you won't be able to do it, but since you're not experienced with it, you have a lot to learn. If you don't know music theory, you might want to learn some. There's more to producing electronic music, than writing melodies and harmonies. You have to learn how to mix and master, song structure, rhythm, etc. Also, don't just use the sounds that come packaged with FL Studio. Find some other sounds online, or better yet, learn how to make your own. Find some third party VSTs. One of the many reasons that Soulja Boy was so heavily criticized was because he used nothing but stock FL Studio sounds. You won't be able to make a song with the quality that other brony musicians have just by using stock sounds. I hope this helped.

[Agent505 661]

Producing electronic music is a LOT harder than it looks. I'm not saying you won't be able to do it, but since you're not experienced with it, you have a lot to learn. If you don't know music theory, you might want to learn some. There's more to producing electronic music, than writing melodies and harmonies. You have to learn how to mix and master, song structure, rhythm, etc. Also, don't just use the sounds that come packaged with FL Studio. Find some other sounds online, or better yet, learn how to make your own. Find some third party VSTs. One of the many reasons that Soulja Boy was so heavily criticized was because he used nothing but stock FL Studio sounds. You won't be able to make a song with the quality that other brony musicians have just by using stock sounds. I hope this helped.

 

Of course it helped

As we speak i'm writing a list on what I will need to do to actually take off. And I have heard that using extra plugins and stuff with FL studios is heavily recommended. I will be starting out small, of course, but once I get enough money and fans to actually become successful in some regard, then I will expand.

 

The only thing i'm concerned about is wasting my money. 

And i'm under no illusion that learning EDM will be easy, in fact it even looks tricky. Like I said though I learn quick, and I have plenty of time to be learning this.

[Gone for good 1,593]

You can run FLstudio on a Mac. If I know a guy who managed to get it running on Ubuntu Netbook Remix with Wine it sure as hell will be able to run on a Mac. Go Google up Wine.

 

Also,  you can install Windows on a Mac if Wine doesn't work. I'm not sure what the process exactly is, especially since I've only done the exact opposite, but I'm guessing it won't be too hard. From my understanding you have to install something called bootcamp.

[Agent505 661]

You can run FLstudio on a Mac. If I know a guy who managed to get it running on Ubuntu Netbook Remix with Wine it sure as hell will be able to run on a Mac. Go Google up Wine.

 

Also,  you can install Windows on a Mac if Wine doesn't work. I'm not sure what the process exactly is, especially since I've only done the exact opposite, but I'm guessing it won't be too hard. From my understanding you have to install something called bootcamp.

You do indeed, Windows Bootcamp. 

Although i've heard of people who have complications from that, and apparently it's expensive (Caus buying a new PC isn't?) 

 

Besided, the Mac I have at the minute is a family computer, so I think getting my own would be best in the long run even if this doesn't work out...which it will *keep your hopes high*

 

Edit: So apparently it's not as expensive as I thought...as in it's free. 

I'll have to look into that some more, thanks for reminding me! 

Edited January 2, 2013 by Agent505

[Gone for good 1,593]

You do indeed, Windows Bootcamp. 

Although i've heard of people who have complications from that, and apparently it's expensive (Caus buying a new PC isn't?) 

 

Besided, the Mac I have at the minute is a family computer, so I think getting my own would be best in the long run even if this doesn't work out...which it will *keep your hopes high*

If you don't wanna buy bootcamp (I can't believe you have to pay for that. That's so lame! lol edit) Wine might be your best bet, unless you want to buy a new PC.

 

Now, if you're going to go the PC route I would actually recommend you build your own stuff because it is a lot cheaper, and most likely anything you will build will be better suited for FLstudio. Trust me on this one. I can send you some guides about how to do it, and if you're a college student at the moment you can use that as a way to get a copy of windows for waaaaay less.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Lord Bababa

[CloudsdaleCompanion 342]

In that case you probably are better off using an own computer, because these things are really time consuming.

 

Before you go off buying FL Studio you need to be sure you have what it takes. Creating music is not easy. You see, just because I play the guitar (and I don't even suck at it) doesn't mean I'm good at music. I've tried many times before, but I can't even come up with a simple tune.

 

Drawing however, seems to be more of my nature.

 

As Flutterbase stated, creating electronic music with software is not easy.

 

SimGretina has been doing what he (or she???) does for almost 10 years and obviously started out small too. Probably just composing a few tunes for the piano or something.

 

All I'm saying is, before you fork out money for nothing, try and see if you can come up with some good songs the classical way.

Edited January 4, 2013 by CloudsdaleCompanion

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

Option B, I make you a repair disc of Windows 7 Home Premium so you can run Windows on your Mac. Because I'm just a nice guy like that.

[Agent505 661]

In that case you probably are better of using a own computer, because these things are really time consuming.

 

Before you go off buying FL Studio you need to be sure you have what it takes. Creating music is not easy. You see, just because I play the guitar (and I don't even suck at it) doesn't mean I'm good at music. I've tried many times before, but I can't even come up with a simple tune.

 

Drawing however, seems to be more of my nature.

 

As Flutterbase stated, creating electronic music with software is not easy.

 

SimGretina has been doing what he (or she???) does for almost 10 years and obviously started out small too. Probably just composing a few tunes for the piano or something.

 

All I'm saying is, before you fork out money for nothing, try and see if you can come up with some good songs the classical way.

 

That's what I was thinking, I dont want to go throwing money away for something that's not going to work, so I would start off small, and probably on Garageband or something cheap/free, just to see exactly what I would be getting myself into. I listen to a seriously unhealthy amount of EDM, and im the kind of person who learns by doing stuff, so i'm willing to give it a good go. 

 

Option B, I make you a repair disc of Windows 7 Home Premium so you can run Windows on your Mac. Because I'm just a nice guy like that.

 

Now that I couldn't ask. 

And besides I would have no idea what to do with it :3

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

That's what I was thinking, I dont want to go throwing money away for something that's not going to work, so I would start off small, and probably on Garageband or something cheap/free, just to see exactly what I would be getting myself into. I listen to a seriously unhealthy amount of EDM, and im the kind of person who learns by doing stuff, so i'm willing to give it a good go. 

 

 

Now that I couldn't ask. 

And besides I would have no idea what to do with it :3

You pop it in and it asks you if you want to install windows, you click yes and I just give you the serial number. Simple as that really. I'd just be glad to help.

.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Harmonic Revelations

[CyberFlash 41]

Firstly, you are certainly not too old to learn new skills! But yes there is a lot to it. If you already play an instrument, particularly one with a keyboard you will have a good starting point!

 

Then there's all the electronic side of thing (compression+side chain, reverb, arpeggios, gates and stuff). A lot of this you can pick up from some good tutorials online. Even learning how to setup your first synth for dubstep as I did for the first time last weekend can be simple enough to stumble through, though getting good is another thing altogether. With enough patience and enthusiasm you stand a good chance. But it will take time!! A lot of time! (or extra hard work)

 

However - I particularly wanted to help regarding you PC/Mac dilemma! A Mac is a great machine and you can run all PC software using either Bootcamp ( http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1461) or Parallels ( http://www.parallels.com/) . I'm not a mac user myself and not sure how much they cost. But I will bet you its a nice cheaper alternative to buying a whole new PC. But you will need some technical skill to set that up (also, be sure to check your system is up to spec, fast enough and also that you have enough space on your drives (bearing in mind your system will have a full installation of windows on it (usually start around 10Gb fresh and will balloon to much more as you use it!)

 

Also, Ableton is one of the better music production tools used by professionals and is available for both Mac and PC. I suspect it will be more expensive than FL Studios but will certainly do everything you need. There is also Cubase (I think is also avaiable for Mac, but not certain) which I think may even be better still, though I've never used this one myself!

 

But yes, there are a lot of options. if you need a PC for other reasons, this might still be a worthwhile investment. But I definitely recommend not getting it just for one program though.

 

Good luck!

Edited January 2, 2013 by CyberFlash

[~Master~ Button Mash 2,307]

First of all, I want to give you a brohoof, because I know exactly where you are coming from. I'm in almost the exact same position - what you wrote resonated with me so much. Feeling the need to give back to a community that has given so much. The wanting to make a name for yourself...to be a somepony. And the frustration of not knowing where to start when you've only now realized that music is in your heart.

 

I understand the feeling 100%, friend. 120%, I do. Just know you're not alone on this journey. /)*(\

 

Now, if I recall there is a version of FL Studio for Mac. I ended up getting it on my other, Windows laptop (Dell XPS), but just so you know they're both out there. Not to mention the many other DAWs out there. There's so many options.

 

Have you put much thought into exactly what "sound" you want? Dubstep? House? Trance? Hardcore? There's so much out there, and there's thousands upon thousands of VSTs out there to help with each.

 

Also, do you plan on branching off into real life instruments eventually?

 

If you aren't sure about FL Studio, but still want to try it out, there's always a few *cough* less than completely legal *cough* ways of getting it, just to try out. Just be careful where you get it, play around with it, and if you like it buy a legitimate copy.

Edited January 2, 2013 by StratoPegasus

[Antismurf9001 1,271]

So you want electronic music eh?  I'm in a similar situation, except that I have the tools to create the music, I'm just too lazy to actually do so.  Perhaps I can help you somewhat.

 

If you know something about music theory, you can get free music notation software relatively easy (basically writing music on an actual music staff).  I used MuseScore for a while.  Problems with that are that you are extremely limited in what you can do (for example, you can't really change the attacks on notes, so slurs don't exist) and it is prone to bugs followed by crashing.

 

If you don't know about music theory, a somewhat easier (but infinitely more expensive) option that I use is Pro Tools.  It's quite good from my experience and definitely runs on a Mac (that's what I use).  The problem with that is it's expensive, even if you get the student discount.  The only reason I have it is that it is a required program for some of my college classes.

 

Then again, you should probably listen to the other posters before listening to me.  I've only had experience with the software that I've mentioned (plus a few others) so my opinions are sort of biased.  Anyways, I wish you the best of luck and can't wait to hear what you have to offer.

[Agent505 661]

People have been asking me what kind of music I would like to be creating.

 

This is the main style of music that really piques my interest, and I would love to be able to create something in the same style. 

Here are a few examples of this...

 

 

 - For the new Lunar Republic

 

 

 - Lower the moon

 

Again though, as I have no experience with any type of music software I dont know what exactly would be required to create something like this. The most recommended thing has been FL studios, i've asked around a bunch of people - WoodenToaster, xSonicMetroidFiendX, TheLivingTombstone and others, all recommend FL studios so that's most definitely the way i'm going...eventually. Start small right? I'm working with Garageband at the minute, just trying to grasp the basics of everything wish me luck guys ... or not, entirely your choice, of course <3

Edited January 3, 2013 by Agent505

[veryBPManny 2]

I'm so sorry I can't help you at all  (I would if I could) , buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I wish you ALL THE LUCK I can wish for!!!!!!     

 

btw THANKS FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISH!!!!!!    

 

[CloudsdaleCompanion 342]

Again though, as I have no experience with any type of music software I dont know what exactly would be required to create something like this. The most recommended thing has been FL studios,

 

 

Yes, FL Studio is quite good. You only hear positive feedback. Do you know Evening Star? He also creates pony music, but he's a Mac user. He uses Logic Pro 9 or something. Sounds quite good too: http://www.youtube.com/user/PonyEveningStar/videos?view=0

 

What do you require? You NEED something like a midi Keyboard, otherwise you won't be able to create any synths: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9/178-7864841-0097133?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=midi+keyboard&sprefix=midi+keyb%2Caps%2C474

 

Basically, you have a library filled with beats etc. (all included in the software), then you have your synth which you came up with and your singing voice (if wanted) which will probably be acapellas from the show.

 

You just mix it all together, match the beat to everything else and perhaps add a few sound effects.

 

Sound's easy but it's frikkin hard.

Edited January 4, 2013 by CloudsdaleCompanion

[Agent505 661]

Yes, FL Studio is quite good. You only hear positive feedback. Do you know Evening Star? He also creates pony music, but he's a Mac user. He uses Logic Pro 9 or something. Sounds quite good too: http://www.youtube.com/user/PonyEveningStar/videos?view=0

 

What do you require? You NEED something like a midi Keyboard, otherwise you won't be able to create any synths: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9/178-7864841-0097133?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=midi+keyboard&sprefix=midi+keyb%2Caps%2C474

 

Basically, you have a library filled with beats etc. (all included in the software), then you have your synth which you came up with and your singing voice (if wanted) which will probably be acapellas from the show.

 

You just mix it all together, match the beat to everything else and perhaps add a few sound effects.

 

Sound's easy but it's frikkin hard.

 

 

Learning that last part with Garageband right now...

Got a basic beat layered out that sounded good at the time, now I go back to it...not so much.

 

And yeah, a keyboard is starting to seem necessary haha, thanks for that  

 

Really wish this thing would tell me when someone replies to a topic I made...didn't even get a notification on the quote D: 

[deltaNiNE 8]

Man, you're never too old to create music, or to learn how to play an instrument for that matter. I didn't start taking guitar seriously until I was around 19 or so, and I've been told that I'm not too bad.

As for FL 10, it's a fantastic program, and there are heaps of resources and free plugins out there for it! Although, the standard VSTs that come with it are pretty decent, definitely more than enough to learn with, and even get some pretty cool sounds out of. The only thing I don't like are the woeful standard drum sounds, but they're easily replaceable.

The best thing to do would be to get a hold of the demo of FL from the Image-Line website: (http://www.image-line.com/downloads/flstudiodownload.html)

And there's no shortage of tutorials, either. This is a pretty good one to learn the basics of the program: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPxIk-nJvT0)

All in all, good luck with it! It's hard work to get into, but in my opinion, it's totally worth it