Okay so I don't even know what to call this. I started with a future bass sort of bass, chords, kick & snare arrangement then added a lead over the top. I often use portamento to slide the notes but experimented with turning it up much more than usual and got a very weird ethereal sort of sound, but can't really decide If it sounds good or not?

https://soundcloud.com/harwood-official/ethereal-wip/s-QwFDD

Opinions would be brilliant and if anybody has any advice for what to do with it that would be even better!

Thanks in advance,

Harwood

The best songs are usually 90% done in a few hours. The rest of the tie is just to perfect it and build it up, if it's a really good idea I tend to find most of it is done very quickly.

Thanks. This will probably help me. Do you know any free piano plugins. (Realistic, or just better than fl keys xD).

http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php?id=1100

I believe Piano One is probably the most realistic free plugin.

Its certainly a good start!

I played piano/keyboard at a very basic level when I was younger but never did any graded examinations and never really had the drive to excel at it. The bits I have picked up have helped a bit, just being able to play out your melody on a MIDI keyboard makes things a little easier, but that is all, it just gives a bit of ease, it doesn't allow you to do anything extra.

More important I'd say is having a musical ear. I come from a very musical family, where we all seem to have an aptitude for music, as I said earlier I never took advantage of this by learning an instrument but it does really help for production. Just being able to know what melodies sound good and catchy, which ones sound dull or repetitive.

On the whole I'd advise that any musical background is not essential, it can all be learnt if you're willing to put in the time and effort. In terms of improving your 'musical ear', listen to everything. Good songs, bad songs, songs from your favourite genre, songs from your least favourite. It will all help.

Hope this helps,

Harwood

Start very very simple. Firstly choose a key, in general this is personal preference for you. So when starting off I'd say find a song you want to make something similar too, or a similar mood/feel and use that key. Start with a bassline, use the notes of the key until you have a simple bassline that sounds good, and by bassline I literally mean the notes, you can play with rhythm later on. When you have the bass, copy this to a saw for the chords and build the chords around the bass until it sounds good.

In general though the main thing is trial and error. Start simple and just keep playing til you find something good.

Hope this helps,

Harwood

Most of the tips so far have been about gear and things like that. Obviously all of this stuff helps no end but you can make anything from anything in theory. The most important thing to do is ENJOY IT! It sounds very cheesy and fanciful, but without a shadow of a doubt you'll make something better if you are in the right frame of mind. Sometimes I sit down at my computer because I haven't got anything better to do and just end up pondering over average ideas for hours, however at times when you are desperate to get down and make something it will just flow. Some days it'll take several hours just to get the right chord progression, at others it will take a few hours to build the basics of an entire track! The thing is not to get perturbed when it's not going so great, go away and take a break, come back fresh, try a different idea or a different sub-genre, mix things up.

Genuinely my biggest tip would be producing is all a mindset. Get a DAW, sit down and play. And play. And play. Press every button, turn every knob, try every preset of every plugin. You will be surprised how quickly you pick things up.

BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP FOR ALL PRODUCERS EVER.
SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE.

Control + S is a producers best friend. Save your work constantly, there is nothing worse than making something amazing, your DAW crashing and then having no idea how you made it (a lot of the best things made are done completely by accident)

Hope some of this helps, I realise these aren't real tips but I hope it motivates you to go and have some fun and make some music!

Harwood

Hey, this is a great attempt for a first try at a genre

I'm no expert on making this kind of music, but I do like the genre, and i'd say the thing I like most is about how the drop hits HARD.

You've got the melodic chords down for sure, and an awesome beat, but it needs a sub and the drums could be more punchy. That way when it drops it sounds HUGE

Hope that helps

Thank you for the feedback I really appreciate that! For my next one I'll work on improving the bass somewhat!

Harwood

I really like this! Beautiful melody and beautiful sounds, the only thing I would say is in the drop there is something overpowering most of the sounds, I can't tell if it's white noise or a particularly loud saw that takes most of the frequencies. I think if the levels were adjusted slightly to bring out the rest of the sounds it would sound even better than it already does. Overall great work though, keep it up!