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I had a cynical face on when I clicked this, but I found it a great article and I'd agree with all of the advice in it. It's pragmatic. The one part I am on th

by squigg 5y ago

I had a cynical face on when I clicked this, but I found it a great article and I'd agree with all of the advice in it. It's pragmatic. The one part I am on the fence on is on being able to play in notes, as opposed to just sequencing them on-screen. The reason I am on the fence is that, for me, there is an important question missing from the article and that is "What style, or genre, of music are you trying to create?". The reason that is important is that it can have a big influence on the tools you use to create your music - whether that is playing by keyboard then using a computer to tidy up your playing, or sitting with a blank piano-roll or step sequencer and creating loops ... I'll put that on a rough scale from Vangelis-style arrangements epics on the left, to synthwave in the middle, to electro and techno on the right, with the scale labelled "suitability of drawing patterns on screen" Something I always agree with is that not doing it sitting at the computer is important. Not all the time, but it's nice to be able to use your gear and a sequencer without using the keyboard and mouse - if you are reading HN there's a fair chance you use a computer all day, and it's nice that when you are being creative you can put the computer to one side and treat it as a giant digital recording studio / tape recorder, as you create and make music on your synths/grooveboxes/drum machines My perspective is written as a 50YO who has been making electronic music (acid/electro/techno) since I got my first Amiga at 17! I still can barely play the keys, but I am master of the sequencer. I have most of the classic Roland drum machines and analogue synths - I sequence the synths on Ableton mainly but program all the drums on the machines themselves as it's so much fun, using them to trigger sequences on the 101 and run the arp on my JP6 and Poly61. On the flip side, I sometimes wish I could play the keys as it would help with variations and chords for strings, so I understand the counter argument that I often hear from those classically trained

boffinAudio 5y ago
Another 50-something year old here, also a synthesizerist since I was a teenager. I've found it very, very useful to have a piano in my studio, even though I haven't taken lessons - it has been great to engage in various Youtube channels and learn proper keys playing, fingering, chord construction and so on. Also, Rick Beato is a god. If you're a synthesizerist but not a keyboardist, you need to spend some time with Rick. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJquYOG5EL82sKTfH9aMA9Q https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJquYOG5EL82sKTfH9aMA9Q He's gonna teach you things you should know and that WILL make you a better musician, especially around the subject of keyboarding and playing.
- adriand 5y ago
  An alternative is to get a good pad controller. You get a lot out of this beyond just playability (such as knobs — physical knobs are great for experimentation and fast, dynamic changes to things like filters), but it's still something that can be played like a piano in terms of expressiveness. But it's also something that will easily fit on your desk, and the grid layout lends itself to quickly memorizing chord patterns. I would agree that regardless of the type of music you make (including techno and related genres, which are among my favourites), having a playable instrument will make a big difference to your production. A huge part of this is just happy accidents. The synth part at around 0:40 in this track [1] came about with just pad mashing. A standard part of my process is to record the audio output of whatever noodling I'm doing on a pad controller, pick out the good parts, and loop them. It's way more fun than drawing notes! [1] https://soundcloud.com/the-track-club/requiem-for-the-voiceless https://soundcloud.com/the-track-club/requiem-for-the-voicel...
  - erwincoumans 5y ago
    Can you recommend some pad controller for looping?
    - emptybottle 5y ago
      Loopy pro on iPad with an optional midi pad controller
    - squigg 5y ago
      Ableton Push is absolutely fantastic - the original v1 device is pretty inexpensive as a used purchase, and it's still masses of fun. Very well built as well
      - heeton 5y ago
        Seconding this - the push was amazing for me without a big music background, as chord exploration became shape based, instead of needing piano knowledge.

by squigg 5y ago

boffinAudio 5y ago

Another 50-something year old here, also a synthesizerist since I was a teenager. I've found it very, very useful to have a piano in my studio, even though I haven't taken lessons - it has been great to engage in various Youtube channels and learn proper keys playing, fingering, chord construction and so on. Also, Rick Beato is a god. If you're a synthesizerist but not a keyboardist, you need to spend some time with Rick. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJquYOG5EL82sKTfH9aMA9Q https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJquYOG5EL82sKTfH9aMA9Q He's gonna teach you things you should know and that WILL make you a better musician, especially around the subject of keyboarding and playing.

adriand 5y ago
An alternative is to get a good pad controller. You get a lot out of this beyond just playability (such as knobs — physical knobs are great for experimentation and fast, dynamic changes to things like filters), but it's still something that can be played like a piano in terms of expressiveness. But it's also something that will easily fit on your desk, and the grid layout lends itself to quickly memorizing chord patterns. I would agree that regardless of the type of music you make (including techno and related genres, which are among my favourites), having a playable instrument will make a big difference to your production. A huge part of this is just happy accidents. The synth part at around 0:40 in this track [1] came about with just pad mashing. A standard part of my process is to record the audio output of whatever noodling I'm doing on a pad controller, pick out the good parts, and loop them. It's way more fun than drawing notes! [1] https://soundcloud.com/the-track-club/requiem-for-the-voiceless https://soundcloud.com/the-track-club/requiem-for-the-voicel...
- erwincoumans 5y ago
  Can you recommend some pad controller for looping?
  - emptybottle 5y ago
    Loopy pro on iPad with an optional midi pad controller
  - squigg 5y ago
    Ableton Push is absolutely fantastic - the original v1 device is pretty inexpensive as a used purchase, and it's still masses of fun. Very well built as well
    - heeton 5y ago
      Seconding this - the push was amazing for me without a big music background, as chord exploration became shape based, instead of needing piano knowledge.