Anecdotal: there's a few different approaches to learning songwriting that seem to click for beginners. The "build up" approach is the most common and is what this link offers: It first teaches beats, then chords, then melodies and then, in theory, vocals etc. These lessons in this order make sense to many people, but not everyone.<p>If you're interested in learning to make music and the lessons in the link are confusing or overwhelming or boring, some students find a "peel back" approach to learning songwriting easier to grasp at first. A peel back approach just involves finding a song then teaching by stripping away each layer: start with stripping away vocals, then learn melodies, then chords, then finally learn about the drum beat underneath it all. A benefit of the peel back approach to learning is melodies and vocals are the memorable parts of a song and easiest to pick out when listening to the radio so a student can learn using songs they know and like. Either way, songwriting is hard and fun. Best of luck.<p>P.S. I think Ableton makes good software and I use it along with FL and Logic. They did a solid job with these intro lessons. But worth mentioning, there is free software out there (this includes Apple's Garageband) that offers key features a beginner just learning songwriting can practice on and mess around on before purchasing a more powerful DAW software like Ableton.
For those wondering, this is made with Elm lang, Web Audio & Tone.js [1]<p>[1] <a href="https://twitter.com/AbletonDev/status/861580662620508160" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/AbletonDev/status/861580662620508160</a>
This is some good coverage of the music theory behind songwriting, which is important in making songs that sound good.<p>However, there's another part of making music which is not covered at all here, which is the actual engineering of sounds. Think of a sound in your head and recreate it digitally—it'll involve sampling and synthesizing, there's tons of filters and sound manipulation to go through, they all go by different names and have different purposes—it's a staggering amount of arcane knowledge.<p>Where is the learning material on how to do this without experimenting endlessly or looking up everything you see? I want a reverse dictionary of sorts, where I hear a transformation of a sound and I learn what processing it took to get there in a DAW. This would be incredibly useful to learn from.
I always wondered why musicians keep up with the conventional musical notation system, and haven't come up with something better (maybe a job for a HNer?).<p>I mean the conventional music notation represents tones in five lines, each capable of holding a "note" (is that the right word?) on a line, as well as in between lines, possibly pitched down and up, resp., by B's and sharps (depending on the tune etc.).<p>Since western music has 12 half-tone steps per octave (octave = an interval wherein the frequency is doubled, which is a logarithmic scale so compromises have to made when tuning individual notes across octaves) this gives a basic mismatch between the notation and eg. the conventional use of chords. A consequence is that, for example, with treble clef, you find C' in the top but one position <i>between</i> lines, and thus at a very different place than C (one octave below) visually, which is <i>on</i>, rather than between, an additional line below the bottom-most regular line.<p>I for one know that my dyslexia when it comes to musical notation (eg. not recognizing notes fast enough to play by the sheet) has kept me from becoming proficient on the piano (well, that, and my lazyness).
Guys if you haven't seen Sonic PI (<a href="http://sonic-pi.net/" rel="nofollow">http://sonic-pi.net/</a>), this is also a great tool! You can write beats using a Ruby DSL and it runs them real time.<p>I sat down and did this in an hour: <a href="https://github.com/exabrial/sonic-pi-beats/blob/master/house_beat.rb" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/exabrial/sonic-pi-beats/blob/master/house...</a><p>Sam Aaron is the guy behind the project, he does a lot of ambient type stuff: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1m0aX9Lpts" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1m0aX9Lpts</a>
I'm actually working full time on a new DAW that should make writing music a lot faster and easier. Current DAWs don't really understand music. Also the note input process and experimentation is extremely time consuming and the DAW never helps. Current DAW : my thing = Windows Notepad : IDE. The HN audience is definitely one of my core groups.<p>If you are interested, sign up here <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-aQzVbkbGwv2BMQsvuoneOUPgyrc6HRl-DjVwHZxKvo" rel="nofollow">https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-aQzVbkbGwv2BMQsvuoneOUPgyr...</a> and I'll contact you when it's released.
Check out Jack Schaedler who works in this at Ableton <a href="https://jackschaedler.github.io/" rel="nofollow">https://jackschaedler.github.io/</a><p>He even made an interactive essay about the GRAIL text recognizer from the 1960s <a href="https://jackschaedler.github.io/handwriting-recognition/" rel="nofollow">https://jackschaedler.github.io/handwriting-recognition/</a>
I'm an amateur musician and one of the things I hate about electronic music is how "distant" it all feels.<p>I'm used to picking up the guitar, playing a few chords and writing a melody.<p>Ableton (or any other DAW) feels like a chore. I have to boot up the computer, connect the MIDI keyboard, the audio interface and the headphones, then wait for Ableton to load, then create a new track and add a MIDI instrument before I can play a single note.<p>I know the sessions view in Ableton was an attempt to make the music feel more like jamming, but it doesn't really work for me. A lot of musicians who play instruments I've talked to feel the same way.<p>I would love an "Ableton in a box" that feels more intuitive and immediate.
I purchased the Ableton Push 2 a month or so ago and it has to be one of the most beautifully engineered pieces of equipment I have ever used. Look up the teardown video. Extremely simple, yet elegant. The Push 1 was created by Akai, and apparently Ableton wasn't satisfied, so they designed and built their own.<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YItWQdJgXLs" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YItWQdJgXLs</a>
Related, this is trending on reddit this morning. Just fascinating to watch someone build a catchy track up on such a (apparently) basic piece of equipment...<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK5cU9qWRg0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK5cU9qWRg0</a>
As someone who has no musical talent whatsoever, I'm oddly intrigued by Ableton's products. I've occasionally stumbled across the Push[0] and been fascinated by it as an input device.<p>This site is another thing to add to my Intriguing Stuff list.<p>[0] <a href="https://www.ableton.com/en/push/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ableton.com/en/push/</a>
This looks strangely similar to a collaborative app I made last year with Elixir/Elm/WebAudio API:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCVuLh5Io9A" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCVuLh5Io9A</a>
Get Started Making Music (In Ableton Live).<p>Love the simplicity, though it does seem to favor EMD (for obvious reasons).<p>I've always loved the idea of using Live in a live improvisation context, potentially with multiple instruments having their own looping setup; or just a solo thing. It's hard to find that sort of thing, though.<p>Checking out Tone.js now.
They put Tone.js to good use.
Promoting Ableton by showing what cool stuff you can do with free js library that can work in browser, weird?
<a href="https://tonejs.github.io" rel="nofollow">https://tonejs.github.io</a>
To all the people complaining, I feel you. There is not one tool that takes you through the entire workflow of making music well, but they sell software pretending they do support the entire workflow. In truth, you write and arrange in specialized notation software, create samples in specialized synthesis software, or record live audio, then you use audio workstations to fix, edit, transform, and mix. Even there you may rely on external hardware or software plugins. These tools aren't meant for a one-person creator. They mimic the specializations in the music industry. A good all-in-one software simply does not exist, and small teams trying to work on these projects are trying to bite off a real big pie. It's very complex and requires a lot of specialized knowledge, and many of the pieces are probably patent-encumbered, too. But good luck!
The timing of this post is funny, as just this week I launched a little ear training game built with React an Tone.js: <a href="https://www.notetuning.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.notetuning.com/</a>
The first page of that tutorial reminded me of a product I saw at the Apple store a few weeks ago called Roli.
They have a great app [0], but the hardware [1] itself is not ideal but unfortunately necessary to unlock some features... I will be waiting for a v2...<p>[0] <a href="https://roli.com/products/noise" rel="nofollow">https://roli.com/products/noise</a><p>[1] <a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HKFR2VC/A/roli-lightpad-block" rel="nofollow">https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HKFR2VC/A/roli-lightpad-b...</a>
I was looking for an app like this for my son. He started with "My Singing Monsters" and some music lessons at school, but when I tried to get him into Garage Band it was too much for a beginner.<p>Thank you to the creator ... I will show it to him later today. I am not sure how far he can take it, but I like what I have seen so far.<p>Also, if anyone has other suggestions for music-making apps for tween kids I am all ears ...
I think the design of this is really interesting.<p>It's designed in a way to make the user (e.g. anyone who likes music) just want to play with it in a way that's very intuitive via its simple, visual layout. And it provides instant feedback that makes you want to continually tinker with it to make something that you like more and more.<p>Web development/programming training tool makers should really take note of this.
Ableton Live is my main daw. I use it every day, generally for hours, and for a wide variety of purposes.<p>The most depressing thing about ableton is made obvious in two seconds of messing with that tutorial. A complete disregard for music in the sense of pushing boundaries of time, or doing things that are not tied to any sort of grid, and the sense of music as an emotive form.<p>So many aspects of music are very annoying or borderline impossible to do in ableton. Yet in all these years, and with so many installations, they just never addressed those issues. Instead they vaguely pretend as if music that would require features they don't have is radically experimental. Which might become true if so many people learn music only through using their software.<p>Seriously, Ableton. Stop pretending making music is clicking on and off in little boxes. It's embarrassing.<p>--<p>Edited to take out the "art" part and put in a couple of more specific criticisms.
Over the years I like to think Ableton has been at the forefront of the digital music community (at least among the pack like Korg), at a special nexus of hardware, software, VST developers, and global sharing by way of an incredibly robust and deep Live Suite program. Seeing the firm continue to reach out and share community resources is habitual for them, and I'm very pleased to see this get all sorts of attention from this community. The intersection of Technology and Art is a bright, multi-cultural future, and with that comes responsibility. To put it in a phrase, this is an example of Ableton providing a ladder up to new members, rather than slamming the door behind them once a certain level was reached. Enjoy!
Like any technology there can be lots of different inputs and outputs. I think it is safe to say that Roland and the TR808, 909, 303 changed music notation, and music forever, with their popularization of grid based music programming. It may be that Ableton is doing the same with their software. Each year the tools get better to do these sorts of creative activities. The Beatles recorded Abbey Road on a giant 4 track expensive four track owned by a record label. In 1995 I saved up my money from a summer job and bought a 4-track cassette recorder for about $500. Now you can get a four track app for you mobile phone for about $5. Or download an open source one for free.<p>YAY :)
Off topic, but I posted the exact same link about 24 hours earlier: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14291332" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14291332</a><p>Not that it's important but I'm kinda curious why a. my submission would only get 7 points and b. how it was possible for someone else to submit the same link so soon after and gain the points rather than my submission getting boosted?<p>It it just random chance/time of day of posting? Or is it because the user who posted this had more points to start with and so was more likely to be "noticed"?<p>Awesome site in any case!
Myself and two friends have tried to make music production easier (and more robust) on the phone in our spare time, and came up with our iPhone app, Tize (<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tize-make-music-beats-easy/id1130726632?mt=8" rel="nofollow">https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tize-make-music-beats-easy/i...</a>), to that end.<p>If it sounds like something you're interested in please give it a go! We're always working to improve it and open to feedback.
(Android is coming soon)
This is beautiful and amazing. I love how each step builds on the previous, and uses pop examples to explain theory concepts. I've often wondered so many of the things presented in this, particularly around what common characteristics a genre has with respect to rhythm! Big kudos to the team who built this. I'd love to learn about the development backstory, as this feels a lot like an internal sideproject made by passionate individuals and less like a product idea dreamed up with requirements and specs.
I've been using Ableton Live for about a week after getting a free copy with the USB interface I bought (Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, highly recommend) and I had to turn to YouTube to figure out how to actually sequence MIDI drums in it.<p>I use it pretty much solely for recording, but I take advantage of the MIDI sequencer functions to program in a drum beat instead of recording to a click, because I've found my timing and rhythm is so much better playing to drums than it is just playing to a metronome.
I did music at GCSE and A-level so I knew about a lot of the basic theory here, but it's fallen out of use in the past year or two. The best part of this by far was the deconstruction of tracks that I like into their components and realising that they're not insurmountably complicated. Kinda like a musical version of "you could have invented monads".
I wanted to build something similar for mobile to make music on the go. I started it here (abandoned now, but code is linked): <a href="http://buildanappwithme.blogspot.in/2016/04/lets-make-music.html" rel="nofollow">http://buildanappwithme.blogspot.in/2016/04/lets-make-music....</a>
The following really helps understanding the difference between electronic music genres.<p>Legendary Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music:<p><a href="http://techno.org/electronic-music-guide/" rel="nofollow">http://techno.org/electronic-music-guide/</a> (requires flash)
If you want to get an interesting take on the 'Live' part of Ableton Live, look for 'Kid Beyond Ableton' videos. He builds up tracks live on stage by beatboxing all the instruments, and uses something called a Hothand recently as his controller.
I think I've watched this video a ton of times: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU5Dn-WaElI" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU5Dn-WaElI</a><p>That guy is using Ableton Live to re-create a popular song of The Prodigy.
Did this get voted 1023 points (so far) because, it's a great article or does everyone love music? Btw, I use Ableton after my Pro Tools rig was stolen and, I'm buying a new MatrixBrute. I can't wait to checkout this site.
Similar concept using Daft Punk samples instead: <a href="http://readonlymemories.com/" rel="nofollow">http://readonlymemories.com/</a> plus some filtering and looping capability.
It reminds me "Generative Music Otomata" <a href="http://www.earslap.com/page/otomata.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.earslap.com/page/otomata.html</a>
This is extremely comprehensive for any beginner/intermediate musician/composer, and I'm really impressed at how they managed to implement the content in a mobile friendly manner!
Love it. Great web app from a really good company. I use Ableton a lot and I'm continually impressed with their software and content marketing activity.
This seems like the wrong place to start. This seems like the place to start learning a DAW and snapping together samples—to, IMO, make depersonalized unoriginal loop music in a society awash with it because DAW's and looping have created an angel's path to production and proliferation. Learn to drag and drop and you can tell people you meet that you're a musician or a producer. I've met too many mediocre people like this. There should be a disclaimer when this page loads: learn to play an instrument first. Bringing forth music from a physical object utilizes the body as well as the mind, attunes to nuance, and emphasizes that music is primarily a physical phenomenon. It's also just fun and you can jam with or perform for friends. This cut and paste and drag and drop and sample and loop mentality popularized by the rise of hip-hop has lead to an oversaturation of homogeneous, uninspired, unoriginal sound in society. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I think people should spend long, frustrated hours cutting and blistering their fingers for the craft, at least at first. That builds character and will show in your music as you move on.
This is not the basics of making music. It's a super advanced technique using a computer. The real basics involve pencil, (staff) paper, and hard work. Downvotes please.
Amazing presentation. Concentrates on the content, works on mobile[0], no bullshit effects.<p>[0] within the constraints of Android's embarrassingly crappy audio subsystem
Am I missing something? I went through all the tutorials and AFAICT there isn't much here. It seemed like "here's a piano. Here's some music made on the piano. Now bang on the piano. Fun yea?"<p>Is there really any learning here? Did I miss it? I saw the sample songs a few minor things like "major chords are generally considered happy and minor sad" etc... but I didn't feel like going through this I'd actually have learned much about music.<p>I'm not in anyway against EDM or beat based music. I bought Acid 1.0 through 3.0 back in the 90s which AFAIK was one of the first types of apps to do stuff like this. My only point is I didn't feel like I was getting much learning in order to truly use a piece of software like this. Rather it seemed like a cool flashy page but with a low content ratio. I'm not sure what I was expecting. I guess I'd like some guidance on which notes to actually place where and why, not just empty grids and very vague direction.