I'm gonna be honest, I play live instruments to pick up chicks. Frankly, it works pretty well. Holy shit... sorry guys I gotta go. Girlfriend just walked in wearing new lingerie, shaved pussy and

 

I play mouse and of course the computer musical keyboard(logitech) and use Splice.com & obviously AZ Welcome to the future you amateur "real musicians" get with the times and learn to program like a robot with groove templates

 

I started this thread because I was curious if anyone just jumped straight into production.
Or, took the long road of natural logical progression.
Such as musician, then dj, then music producer in my case.
Like when djs want to learn to produce with zero musical ability.
Its so much harder for them to learn all the theory as well as the DAWs and plugs.
If I didnt have all the music knowledge already down before I learned to produce, I probably would have been WAY overwhelmed with ALL the technique, and more than likely would have given it up.
Im just trying to see it like the fosters and steves out there, from their point of views.

 

Last edited: Jun 18, 2016

Anyone, who didn't understand that this was your reason for asking is clearly missing the point. I wondered the same thing in guitar school, because a couple of my peers had to take time off to catch up being new to guitar and new to music theory, so naturally the workload would become overwhelming. Mainly due a lack of dexterity one the instrument.

But realistically, computers wish they could operate at the same level of the human brain. So being overwhelmed is just an emotional point of view of the information being provided not a lack of capability for your mind to absorb it. Most people don't want to take the time to "get it" so they make up every excuse not to do the work.

Also, anyone that took your benign question negatively does so in their own mind because they know their skills aren't up to snuff that their lack overall music ability is the culprit. And instead of admitting it, they project their insecurities on everyone else.

 

There was a bit of a disconnect between your now stated purpose and actual wording and connotation of this thread. Why don't you start anew with more a focus on what actually you would like to discuss.

For myself, playing an instrument, or a person who writes, sings or conducts, all with a certain level of proficiency defines the word musician for me. One can aspire to be a musician by working hard, aquiring skill, studying and learning the language of music with the intent to express one's inner thoughts and emotions. These are the criteria one must meet to satisfy the definition.

 

Dear @Funk U
The musics I listen do not need being an instrumentalist and I love them. They need more working with the computer than the instruments. I've tried more to enjoy the non-electronic musics but my ears mostly have been addicted to the electronic ones. For my genres knowing the playing techniques of the instruments does not help more. It's like a rock star wants to play an accordion.

BTW, any electric failure for my style = physical damage for your instruments.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jun 18, 2016

I play the computer keyboard and mouse!

Started with piano when I was a kid, took up violin and got straight A's then I decided skateboarding and being cool was more important, which eventually transpired to djing and scratching and now electronic music production!


My favorite instrument right now that I've mastered is the keyboard and mouse! And I forgot to mention, my volume knob and that thing with the dials and keys with the 12 notes....

 

I forgot to mention I played the trombone for about 6 months when I was 10. I got bored with all the practice so packed it in to go out and play football instead. Looking back I wish I'd stuck with it now, but try telling that to a 10 year old with new football boots.

 

I can't truly say I'm a producer, but most of the time when I record artists, they appreciate the input. I play the bass, and I can do some guitar and keyboards. This track is my only attempt ever to be a one-man band, me singing (off pitch at times) and playing everything. I did it in 2007 with my first audio gear: M-Audio's FastTrack Pro and a Shure SM58 in my bedroom. The bass is a Yamaha RBX375, and my electric guitar at that time was a Squier Stratocaster Standard. Percussion is the back of an acoustic guitar. Drums and electric piano are sequenced. I guess I used Groove Agent 2. It's all rudimentary but I love it. recorded and mixed in Sonar 6, so long ago.

 

got a nice touch of raggae vibe to it

for me , the feel i get when it works or watching an instrument player get it sooooo right, nothing beats that feeling, Herbie Hancock lead in "the Hunter and the Hunted" is what I mean

 

Drums since 20 Years and Keyboard.

 

wax paper round a comb, 12 neck guitar, toe nail clippers and just started lessons on the electronic badger !


and sometimes seriously acoustic guitar and piano

 

Man, you really need to suppress your whimsical sexual plans.

 

I am professional vengeance libraries player.

 

Good music is made from a strong foundation, as is all art. So yes you are right, creativity is the key. Most skilled musicians do have a good theoretic understanding of the building blocks required to make good music, but the ratio of good songs to professional musicians tells it's own story.

 

Last edited: Jun 18, 2016

Don't want to derail this thread all too much although this is a very interesting topic to touch upon. I'm an economist and statistician during the day and I can only wholeheartedly agree with you on the fact that people should be a lot more critical whenever random statistics get thrown around in the media or wherever. Of course "scientific" proof is completely worthless if it can't be replicated by anyone else. But people will still take it as the truth just because somebody posing as an expert told them like it is just that. All of this happens because commercialism (and boatloads of ego) are now the driving factor behind the scientific community which were assumed to be unbiased for a very long time.

But in this case it doesn't particularly matter what he stands for and what not. I don't know the guy in the by me mentioned TED Talks video but he doesn't throw any statistics around like they are an absolute truth. Maybe some of his euphemisms are somewhat crooked and shouldn't be there, but he does pose a solid example of how I think modern day technology could help out the modern day musician (or producer) if they are willing to explore it. I think anyone can agree that, simply by thinking about it a little bit, somebody could more easily play a certain type of progression or melody within all the different keys on that fancy lighting keyboard of his than they could on a traditional piano if they didn't have any prior experience on either. Especially since it's still in its infant shoes and with a more practical ergonomical layout of the keys even using a lot of keys at once shouldn't be a problem anymore.

I have to add that I still greatly admire mastery in terms of any instrument played. My jaw drops whenever I see somebody play the most amazing things, especially on a drumkit or a piano since I logically (from my perspective) have more affinity with both of those instruments. But not everyone needs to be capable of doing any of that just to be a solid producer. Anytime I see that I also think: "I could program that in my DAW and it would just as wonderful to listen to if carefully done". I know it's not as impressive by a long shot but my aspirations require me to produce music at home and whenever I hope to find myself in any live setting I'm looking to DJ (which can be extremely impressive in and on itself if skillfully done) because I prefer its vast versatility. For me, the hard part is thinking of these wonderful progressions and melodies and then getting my DAW to play them for me. I'm probably more of a composer than I am a musician. And my rudimentary piano playing skills and piano roll get the job done for any bit of music I may want to produce. And so they could for about 95% of the (aspiring) producers out there, no matter what they want create. As said before, it mostly just depends on what their ambitions are as far as live performance goes.

I really didn't want to make this post too long but whenever I start typing I just can't help getting elaborate just to try and make sure I can't be misunderstood in any possible way. I also like the thread although I thought it came from a more pretentious angle at first glance. I think @subGENRE has a point that it seems way harder to get into production if you don't have any instrumental skills and it's interesting to look at different "natural" progressions several of the members have made.

 

I have a very annoying neighbour who is just that. I think he gave up recently. And i'm very thankfull for that.

P.s i think you all are overthinking it too much.

 

Last edited: Jun 18, 2016

I suppose my journey to what I do now is somewhat odd. I always loved to dance, even as a kid. It wasn't until the mid 90's that I hit the club scene; the real one, not the meat markets. I would go every weekend and dance, and I pretty much lived for it. The early 2000's I moved to another country. They didn't have the music I loved, and to buy it was near impossible. I started downloading mp3's off the net, but I wanted mixes of the tracks I liked, so I downloaded vdj, and just with a mouse to control it started doing my own mixes. Then I messed around doing my own remixes with it.
That led me to download fl studio. Opened it, took one look at it, and thought maybe not then. Went back to it some time later, made some awful tracks, put it away, went back to it made some better tracks. got pissed off with the mixer, moved over to Bitwig, did some remix comps for fun and practice, did some originals, but felt something was missing. I didn't feel connected. That's when I bought my 1st groovebox/sequencer.

I now have 3, but my fav is that big old blue thing, no auto quantize, but really programmable when you need to. Trying to play chords with those little black and white buttons is like nah. Next addition is a vintage VA synth.

Am I a producer? No I make music that's all, but I do produce my own stuff; from the idea, to jamming it out, to arranging it, to most of the sound design, to live sequencing it while I record it. I'm having great fun, and as for my music, if other people like it then that's cool, if not then never mind ay.

 

Drums, bass, piano, guitar, violin, sing.