Help me structure my (newbie) learning process for music creation, please

The Lounge
#1

Hi everyone,

I happened to acquire Syntakt and am trying to learn the machine itself while also simuntaniously learning to make electronic music ( I like melodic techno/techno-house, dnb, breakbeat ).

It’s hard because at the moment, I see all the features Syntakt provides in a kind of a flat structure. It’s hard for me to judge what I should learn to use first, and what is more advanced. For example, is understanding what Sample Rate Redux in the syn menu used for, more important than understanding what Tuning and Detuning is? Now, consider there are literally hundreds of little things like this and you can imagine how confused I am.

Another thing I am struggling with is the structure: breaking the music creation learning down into tiny, manageable steps.
For example, as stupid as it sounds, after many months of analysis paralysis, I finally came to the conclusion that I shouldn’t try to make a track from the get go.
Instead, now I am focusing on creating drums only. But even then, how does one get better?
I learned all these things about syncopation, polymeters, etc on youtube and I am trying to apply it. I am considering stopping when I will feel like I can create something resembling the music I like to listen.
Is this a good way? What would be next then? Which small steps should I take in creating leads, pads, bass?

Thank you

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Elektron gear private lessons recommendations?
#2

Welcome! And congrats on your Syntakt, it’s a wonderful box :slight_smile:

I’d suggest to separate composition and sound design to make it manageable for yourself.
Load up some presets and try to recreate a song that you like without worrying so much about the minutiae. Once you have the structure, notes and rhythms down, then go nitty gritty on the filter sweeps, lfo modulation, detuning etc.

You can also go the other way around but you’ll probably hit a wall and get frustrated faster (in my experience.)

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#3

  • start with the manual, go over the chapters, there’s a lot to read there regarding technical capabilities along with tips, don’t get hangup on things you don’t understand but it’s good to have the pieces in your head for later when it clicks, return to the manual several times after that to memorize important parts, keyboard combos, etc.

  • your device comes with factory content, learn from it, play the patterns that comes with the device, learn how they are structured, look in the manual how to preview sounds and start deconstructing the patterns, figure out how stuff done there

  • look for youtubers that do some sort of guides or make notes about jams and try following along, it’s good experience to achieve something step by step and along the way you’ll understand which part does what

  • start a learning project and just fiddle with it, learn the machines on every track, put some trigs, turn every knob, use lfos, filters, etc., there’s no better explanation for “what it does” then hearing what it does, so learn your machines

  • go over the factory presets, they are categorized, find sounds you like and go over every menu page and see how it’s made, load a second track and at first just dial in the values of the presets, by manually recreating the presets you will also learn how sounds come together and what param does what

  • don’t give up, it might take time, people on YT make it look easy but it’s not, so be ready and groove on :wink:

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#4

I don’t feel like you should pigeonhole yourself into a specific workflow, it’s important to be able to relate tempo and rhythm to creation but if melodies or basslines come to you first, you don’t have to work from drums out. You also don’t have to create the same part first every time.

If you hear a song that you like and recall it later, are you usually humming a melody or beatboxing the drums? Like half the time, I start with a melody and often find a drum beat in the rhythm of it, sometimes it’s the other way around.

Totally agree with analyzing the factory content for a window into structure, or recreating something you enjoy to learn about the make up of it’s individual parts. Nothing wrong with bringing genres together also, and no reason to be perfect at this straight away.

Think about the presets as your window into knowing how certain sounds fit together, then later you can work on making sounds that you know will in some way complete each other without having to compete with each other. It’s a very deep rabbit hole, don’t get discouraged!

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#5

Don’t overthink it, just have fun and experiment at your own pace.
When you feel stuck, take the habit to read the manual.

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#6

Maybe get acquainted with the demo patterns rather than trying to start something from scratch. Reverse engineer the different sounds on the different tracks, get a feel and understanding for what happens when you change different parameters. if you’re really starting from the very beginning with production then I think trying to learn every single thing before you even begin is just going to be confusing.

I’d avoid trying to create something that tries to sound like what you listen to. Just make whatever you can and see where that takes you rather than trying to emulate something else. Just have fun messing about and finding your way.

#7

Twist knobs, press buttons, and enjoy. There’s something to be said about that initial exploration and not understanding what things do, or what terms mean. You’ll learn a lot from just getting tactile with it.

Then of course you should learn what everything does and all of that lovely stuff but don’t discount the ‘just being’ and explore this new world you’ve stepped into

1 Like
#8

Learning how to make music.
Learning how to use syntakt (or other electronic box)

Two very different things.

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#9

What is a track? Even more, what is a GOOD track?

I don’t think you need to put music on a pedestal, just make what feels good- create a starting point for yourself and work on improving it.

At first, your biggest fans will be your friends and family that are excited that you’re making something(and also the lovely people here on the forum)

As you get better that will hopefully expand. Follow your inspiration.

Personally, my process is- sound design first. And when you create a sound that is neato…I mean…how are you NOT going to take that sound on a test drive to see how it works in a track?!

Don’t overthink it. The most important thing is that you have fun, because that carries more into the music than you think:

And if you’re not familiar with base music theory, then that will certainly help

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#10

Generally for House :

Kick : steps 1-5-9-13
Hats : steps 3-7-11-15
Snare/Clap : steps 5-13

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#11

I would start with « how to input notes on the Sequencer ».

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#12

Welcome, @vit41iq, to the forum. I think you are trying to go too deep too fast. While keeping in mind the goal of making the music you like to listen to, think of the initial stage of learning as focussed on how to use the instrument, without necessarily coming close to that final goal. In your education, you probably have had the experience of starting with simple tasks and progressing to more complex ones. It would be nice if you had some sort of curriculum to follow but I don’t know of a free resource that takes you through that for the Syntakt. Start with a simple beat and a simple melody. Then copy it and decide how to complicate it. Do you want to work on the percussion, do you want to make the melody more complex, do you want to add a second voice? Try one of these in a new pattern, not more (you can use several new patterns to see what aspect you seem to be making progress on). Then merge if it makes sense. If it gets too complicated, scale back and practice on more familiar ground. You don’t have to use everything all at once and there are some features that you might never use. What works is taking a small increment on what you are comfortable with, rather than a grand leap.

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#13

Hi and welcome!

I was in this spot a couple of years ago, and I’ve found it a consistently rewarding and surprising process. The Syntakt and Digitakt continue to surprise with how many ways you can approach them. Great advice above, to which I’ll add:

  • I’ve found the idea of the etude a consistently helpful one, learning a sound type or machine or combination by trying to play with it in very simple compositions with limits.

  • There are a lot of good resources on this forum, maybe starting with the

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#14

just start messing around, see for yourself what things do, if you have confusion about things the information on it will surely be online. when i got my elektron box i watched lots of media on how people use it differently and picked up a bunch of tricks. a lot of the features you see are ubiquitious to lots of synthesizers / modern daw features and carry over to general experience. experiment a ton, don’t worry about finishing anything or sounding pro, that will come with time. treat it like an instrument that you need to practice to play just like a piano or something.

#15

Welcome!

I can strongly recommend taking one or more structured courses in electronic music making.

@DaveMech has created a series of wonderful tutorials for the Digi boxes that will get you up and running quickly, but also in a very well-structured way. Really can’t recommend his stuff enough.

I am guessing you’ve seen this guy before if you’ve been in the YT rabbit hole for techno production, but if not, he is very good at explaining fundamental concepts and has a number of good videos that are techno-focused:

You also might want to consider setting up a lesson with someone. In fact, I believe @DaveMech does private lessons, as do many YT content creators, like Red Means Recording and EZBot.

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#16

…warm welcome…and puh, just let go…easy, tiger, easy…

ur on the right track…but u got a neverending way in front of u…anyways,and u picked the perfect tool to get there…i can assure u, u goona miss the innocence of these clueless, unintentional times one day…
if u embrace them NOW, u got the chance to really discover and develop ur very own sonic vibe…

read the manual…from time to time…but beyond that, stop watching tutorials for now…
just allow urself to let things happen…relax and just enjoy for a while, wherever it might take u…
closing in on all this and sharpening ur focus is coming for u, if u allow urself to fool around and just have fun with all the happy accidents and lucky dips that are waiting for u in every elektron device…

and don’t tame urself to jsut go for drums at first…no, no…ur syntakt has the perfect 12 single elements that allow u to discover all the sonic essentials that make a whole track…

pick a tempo, pick a scale, enjoy the key modes and off go…follow ur ears and instincts, stay curios and open…on frequent daily bases…and all the rest will follow soon enough…

give urself a few month…what u have not discovered by then, syntakt toolkit/function/ trick wise, only then it’s time to have a closer look on dave mech’s pretty decent tips 'n tricks for in depth real know how…

3 Likes
#17

Cool topic.

I make short pieces based on scales and simple melodies for my students. This material, I believe, has helped me improve on the Digitone. Because it presents me with clearer “targets” regarding the balance of the parts and the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic momentum of the piece. If I had no material to start with, I would go crazy.

The last couple days, I spent time redoing old projects, clarifying the sounds, the balance, etc. I notice that, when I learn a new technique on the Digitone, I tend to overdo it or use it crudely. Later, I learn how to use the technique in moderation or more discretely.

I disagree with the notion of separating sound design and composition. Sum of the parts is less than the product. The “right” sounds are the sounds that work in the mix. One of the most useful techniques for me, on the Digitone, is, while adjusting the parameters of a single track’s sound, listening to how those changes either clarify or cover…the other sounds. In other words, not judging a sound on it’s inherent qualities, but rather how it plays with others.

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#18

It’s a long journey and the tools will change with time. It sounds like you’ve got a decent understanding of the structure and platform so I would pick one or two simpler tracks you like and do your best to copy them. Just straight up plagiarism. The rhythm and melody are the easy parts and over time you’ll figure out how to mimic the timbres, the mix downs, the small details which is where a lot of personality in these genres really comes from. After you do it a couple times, do it some more.

I wouldn’t stress over the minute synth parameters - they’re macro parameters that are very specific to this one machine. What you should focus on is your ability to listen critically and carefully to your own music, your own art and decide what about it should stay and what needs to change. Listening to your music in the context of the things you’re inspired by and the things you’re chasing. Over time you’ll naturally develop a workflow that’s specific to you and as you continue to make music, one day you’ll look up and realize you have a voice and an identity of your own.

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#19

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice!

What, in your opinion, are the 20% of features/tricks I should focus on which would take me to the 80% of making a decent song?

#20

My view (and just my view) - don’t watch a whole bunch of videos on ‘how to make music’, don’t get caught up in the technicalities of everything before you begin, don’t worry about what you may think you SHOULD be doing

Just start… and when you get stuck, or want to achieve something specific then look something up or ask a question.

Just my two pennies worth, if you want to discover your own voice and way of doing things

Good luck to you - and enjoy!

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