Who's a Dj/electro music producer here on GLP?

See sharp!

So incredibly wrong.

I am.

I am not so much interested in DJ'ing until my music is undeniable and professionally made. I have been doing it for 10 years off and on.. in the last year.. I got serious about it...

You can check out my music here while you read my history and program recommendation to give you an idea of where I am and how long it took me to get there. These tracks are unmastered.

[link to soundcloud.com (secure)]

I started producing Hip Hop with Fl Studio.. never took any lessons just figured it out on my own more or less.

I then started using Ableton Live and that has been my go to program ever since. It is the most intuitive and powerful program I have ever experienced.. and it is used by your favorite artists such as Deadmau5... It has a pretty steep learning curbe but once you get over just a bit of it using tutorials you will get a good handle on it and be amazed at what you can do.

There are many Ableton production tutorials out there.. and I have gone through many of them.. I can tell you this... no matter how many of them you absorb and practice.. you will still never reach a professional level because you will be lacking in music theory knowledge, and basic sound shaping fundamentals... I studied piano for many years so I was able to sound things out.. and I rely strictly on my ear.. however.. that is problematic and I am unable to go pro unless I curb that learning curve.. If you want to be good.. and you are passionate... Take the following advice:

Go to music school or invest in a good music training program.. Dubspot has an Ableton fundamentals course for 5k... even though I have many years of experience and have studied countless tutorial videos.. I will be signing up for that program.. and taking others... I want to be a certified professional... I have big dreams in this genre and after all these years... I can tell you that education is the only path to success... doing the tutorial videos at home is nice and will get you somewhere.. but to truly make it.. and to really have a solid foundation.. get a proper education.

okay great..but does it have to be vinyl ? can't it be something like this?

For production propellerhead reason. I still use SP1200 for drums and ASR 10 keyboard for the rest and then dump it into reason but regardelss of what you use reason is the shit and new version has SSL board on it too. I gave you the best simplest route for both DJing and production and to specify, if you can afford it get a Rane mixer with Serato built in and you good to go.

If you want to learn to dj as well, best thing you can do is learn on vinyl. train your ears first and foremost, not your eyes. Too many "dj's" staring into laptops these days, it's a joke!

Im sso wonwly in hardstyle is worth it...

I was checking the Dubspot, and I don't seem to find any in toronto, but in new york. are there any in Toronto?
besides, I understand that music theory is important, but it seems that popular music producers such as tiesto or deadmou5 never been to a music school...right?

I am going to be taking the online course.

deadmau5 has a very extensive knowledge of music.. his chord progression technique.. which is what he is known for..is the result of a solid understanding of song structure and music theory... same as tiesto.. you don't just slap things together with music... the amount of time you will need to sacrifice to get good is astronomical.. i hope you don't have it in your head that putting a program on your laptop is going to make you famous in a short amount of time.. it won't.. if you want to be great.. you will have to work for it. It is a serious career path just as any... its the equivalent of becoming a computer programmer.. its going to take time to train your ear and understand how to build songs..

okay I'm starting to get very confused about Djing and producing....If i was say a prodocer, and I made a song, if I have to perform live, I would be a DJ ... right? with the turntables and everything .. right?

well you see. I used to be in a rock band, and I wrote couple of the songs myself....I do write songs (on the guitar mostly) ... when I hear electro music, I sometimes guess what the next chord would sound like in my head....so pretty much I know about chord progression, however, I've no Idea how electro music production works

Don't listen these jerkoffs man just go download the fl studio demo and see how it feels - then figure out what to specialize in.

Dj'ing is performing live.. you can play your music and other people's music.. its about driving the party... as a producer you simply create music.. but you can cross over into Dj'ing very easily... programs like Ableton live make it easy for you to Dj as well...

I used to play guitar myself.. it does nothing for producing dance music... the difference between rock music and edm music is astronomical as well... rock is stuck to a certain blueprint and scales, progressions..whereas Edm can take on any feeling... it is the most diverse artform in music right now..

the percussion elements in dance music including trance, techno, electronica, deep house, tech house, nu disco, house, dubstep, electro, etc... are unique and give those genre's their identity.. you have to learn how to shape those sounds and what type of patterns to arrange them to.. with rock music.. you basically have the same percussive elements over and over again.. as well as the song structure.. its so boring.. and people have moved on.. including you i think... with a proper dance song you can be working with many varying voices that modulate into and out of each other... giving that distinct driving and pumping sound.. you can do things digitally which you can't do live as well... its just a more developed and advanced way of looking at music... and good dj's are just as good as any performers live... if you want to see one of the best in the game... check this guy out: just amazing..

[link to www.youtube.com]

Last Edited by PigsInSpace on 08/04/2013 03:32 PM

To get a feel for the software side check out Audacity or Reaper. No big "bells and whistles" and they do not have the same 'status' as some of the other programs mentioned so far, but they are both freeware (Reaper does have a nag screen). You'll have a much better idea of what you're needing in a DAW before shelling $$$ out for one of the above named programs.

Remember to check for the free VST plug-ins available as well. These will get you into it and still leave money in the bank account for bling for the live gigs. Good luck!

Not all country is tears in your beer, with the dog running of and the wife leaving you...

if you produce a song and perform it live, you are dj'ing your stuff. if you don't produce any of your own music and play stuff at shows, you're a dj.

that's kind of funny that serato is considered old school.. bceause its not.. old school is digging for individual records and spinning them individually.. beat juggling.. beat matching with your ear, key/pitch manipulation with your ear.. those were the true masters... serato was considered selling out to the true old school heads.

Serato with Technics turntables. 20 years experience here. Tech house 4 life...

We complained for a while, but there's really no way around it any more. Us old school vinyl purists can still get the same feel, but with a new digital technology. Sometimes you have to embrace technology as much as you fear it.

Most of the big producers usually are doing dj sets. It's not as east to do a live performace with techno. They usually dj their own procuctions and run a music label.

Producer programs are called DAWs ( Digital audio workstations.

The most populars are Cubase, Ableton, Fruity Loops (FL) and Logic. There are any more but you can find 99999999 tutorials for these on youtube.

The easiest in my opinion is FL but i think you should watch some youtube clips and maybe torrent them and try before you invest into one.

It doesnt realy matter wich one you use because sound mainly come from instruments called VSTs (Virtual Studio Technology). They are softweare synthetisers from 3rd party companies but they can be used in every DAW stated above.

Find a DAW that is suitable for you and watch some basic youtube clips to get started, the rest is up to you.

Skrillex's DAW: Ableton Live

Deadmau5's DAW: FL

I agree, try starting with FL. It is pretty user friendly.

People are learning Ableton right now - many like LogicPro Etc.

You can do it all from your computer.
You will need a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)
(GarageBand, Mixcraft, Ableton, FruityLoops, ProLogic, Etc.)
Download "Mixcraft" for free or buy the full version for $60
I also use a "Maschine Mikro"

You can get the "Skrillex" sound using "the Maschine"
Search Youtube "Maschine" Skrillex"

You will basically need a way to record and play back - your DAW.
then you will need something to record from, like a;

Mic
Keyboard
Maschine
Turntables
Guitar
Etc.

Skrillex makes his own sounds and music then DJ's/Plays his tunes.
You will need to "make cool sounds" and tunes - that's the goal.

Create>Record>Playback Really Loud> You are Skrillex

Last Edited by Giordano Bruno on 08/04/2013 04:10 PM

this

People say ableton live is a good tool for live situations, I tend to agree.
But, for writing, I would use logic pro, or protools. There are plenty of tutorials online. A bunch of crap ones,also. Massive is a very good synth for electronic music because of its versatility, and once you get used to it, ease of use. Lynda.com has a ton of tutorials on how to use the software of your choice. Plugin synths are cheap, and easy to find, hardware synths are more expensive. Research, good luck!

Last Edited by The Wizzard of Ahs! on 08/04/2013 04:26 PM

Skrillex ? Get 'Reaktor', and obsess.
My advice -find your own sound, experiment endlessly to find it.
My personal heroine, Delia Derbyshire, did the original Dr.Who theme with tape loops, she was away with herself.. It still sounds futuristic to my ears..


I don't think that you don't need the latest tech'; Ableton's expensive, Logic's plenty ( and cheaper !). Reason's pretty good for all sorts, if pricey, it has an exhaustive set of machines that mimic closely the many types of synths and drum machines (and the way that they connect) that can be found in the electro producer's armoury- pattern sequencers, 303s,808s, 909s. 'Thor' for dubsteppy things, outboard etc etc. The latest version now transmits midi too, so you can link it up to whatever old tech the fashionistas are (probably temporarily;) abandoning for cheap.
There are alternatives; Korg's just made a cheap little trio of electro 'tr' type
pattern thingys-

The best electro/techno funk is from the early-mid 80s out of New York .
The Latin Rascals[not Mexican music], Shep Pettibone, Jonny Freeeze.
This is "true school".

[link to youtu.be]

Great mixing/editing starts at 2:40 into the mix.

We need to bring these "true" jams back.

All this auto-tune garbage these days comes from true ilk.