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Ask HN: How to get started in electronic music

3•A_Random_Nerd•1h ago
I've been interested in learning how to make electronic music (e.g. Geometry dash, Undertale, Daft Punk, C418), but there doesn't seem to be any real documentation or tutorials on how to start.

To summarize my question: a.) What are the first 3 steps (or more) to learn to compose music? b.) Any links, resources etc. to share?

Thanks for your time and interest.

Comments

ultrablue•1h ago
You may want to investigate DAWs first. They're the bread and butter of electronic musicians. There are many different kinds, so make sure you ask your AI for alternatives to traditional DAWs. For example live-coding music is a thing.
vunderba•49m ago
You say electronic music, but you didn’t really specify whether you have any background in music at all. Can you sing and/or play an instrument? Can you read sheet or have familiarity with music theory? Do you already make little simple melodies? If you’re starting completely from scratch, it’s going to be tougher.

You can, of course, grab a horizontal tracker or a DAW like FL Studio and just start scattering notes down. Set a key signature, throw some notes in, and curate until you have some kind of a four-bar loop that sounds good, then build on that.

Electronic music tends to be more pattern‑based, which is why some people prefer using programs like Ableton or FL Studio for that kind of workflow.

Side note but you can watch endless videos that teach you how to use a DAW (quantize, set up your mixer, do sidechaining, bla bla) but I don't think I've seen a tutorial that genuinely teach you how to come up with melodies. I, and most of my friends who are musicians, usu. come up with melodies while playing on our respective instruments, and the occasional dream.

That's why I recommend learning an instrument, or at least getting a MIDI keyboard so you can "plink" in a way that rewards discovery.

bigyabai•35m ago
Ableton, the company behind Live, has two awesome interactive tutorials for learning basic compositions and synthesis:

Learning Music: https://learningmusic.ableton.com/

Learning Synths: https://learningsynths.ableton.com/

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