Well, not many of you may know this, I do SFX. I am one of the Stroserian SFX guys. I noticed that when I came here that there wasn't many people who did SFX. I don't know if it was because none of you knew how, hated music, hated children, or just didn't want to make it. So, I'm hear (pun intended) today to show you how you can make music!
For starters you're going to need a program to make music. Depending on your computer you'll need to decide what kind of program you want to use to make your music. If you have a Mac you can use Garage Band, you can use that for PC as well, though it costs money.
http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/ There is where you can go and get it for yourself.
What I personally use is Linux MultiMedia Studio. This in my opinion is the best free program to use for making music.
http://lmms.sourceforge.net/ there is the link if interested. I prefer this program because you can hook a MIDI cable up to your computer.
Now, for starters you'll want to decide what kind of music that you want to make. There is many different styles of music that you can make. Jazz, rock, dubstep, hip-hop, blues, swing, and classical. That is not everything that you can make, that's just the gist of it.
For starters I will show you where to start depending on your music. Let's start off with techno since it's the easiest. The way that I prep for making music is I listen to music like it. So, for techno, you should kind of know what music you should listen to. In case you have been living under a rock your whole life, this is techno:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7Sjy92gk3U I prefer BassHunter ;)
The first thing that you'll want to do is set your BPM. BPM stands for Beats Per Minute. That's the speed of what you want your song to be. I recommend anywhere from 140-150 depending on the style that you're wanting to make. Next you'll want to set your time signature. That is the
http://img.ultimate-guitar.com/_img/lessons/cpdmusic/05.jpg (Unsupported image host) You'll see this at the beginning of the song. Sometimes it will change throughout the song. If you're a beginning artist I recommend just using 4/4 as it is the most simple one that you can use while starting.
Next you'll want to use your key signature which is this:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Circle_of_fifths_deluxe_4.svg/400px-Circle_of_fifths_deluxe_4.svg.png (Unsupported image host) However, I would not recommend using sharps and flats right off the bat, as most people don't know what to do and if you use it wrong it will sound really bad...
Now onto the next step! The beat! Now, if some of you have never listened to music before a beat is basically a constant bass and/or drum pattern in the background. It is pretty easy to make a beat like so,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTyGHY-JiVo DO NOT MAKE THIS YOUR ONLY PART OF THE SONG!!! As it may sound interesting it is not going to keep the attention of your listeners. It is just used for the background and making a good foundation on your music. For the beat I recommend adding numerous bass, snares, cymbals, and if you want to: toms. Follow so like it is in the song that I provided in this paragraph.
Now that you have your beat it's on to the most important part of the song: the lead. You'll want to have a good lead part in your song or no one will want to listen to it! Like I stated earlier, do not make the beat the only part of the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4_0IUcj0Nk What I recommend for making the sounds in techno is, Synth sounds. If you know what you're doing, you can make a whole entire song out of synth sounds. Synths are capable of producing lots of sounds. The sounds can range from musical to sound effects. You can make a synth sound like anything that you want. You can make it sound like a piano, a bird, or even a fart; the possibilities are endless! Back to making the lead. What I recommend using is a scale to make your music. If you do so it will sound great as that is what basically what everyone uses for making music.
http://www.ltsguitar.com/technics/b-scale.gif (Unsupported image host) here is a picture of a scale for those of you that don't know any scales or anything.
I'm sorry if I did not go into enough detail for some of these things as I am kind of rushed on time and tired. If there is anything at all that you would like me to explain or expand on just say so in the comments below. If you liked this tutorial I would love if you gave me some rep! Feedback of all kind is welcomed! I will be providing on how to make other types of music in this thread later on when I have time. Hope you guys liked it!
Also, if you quote this whole OP I will find you and I will kill you, like Liam Neeson.