It's also a problem, if someone wants hard to be a musician guy and learns the DAW and plugins first before anything, but can't play an instrument and knows no other basics. All the software is the least of your concern.

 

Composition is my idea the most important and thus should get most focus. My biggest struggle in my journey has been how to make something that does sound accessibile, yet interesting and not corny. I find it's so easy that things tip over from one into the other. One thing I love about all of this creationg of music is how you can make the music that you would want to listen to. For example, I like instruments that sounds that sound more "metallic" and wet than "woodish" and dry. So it's fun to be able to just pick the things you like in music. I dislike certain chords progressions and like others, like some modes and dislike others..so I can just select ones I like. A lot of music I listen to contain parts about it I like and parts I dislike, which is something you can avoid if you do it yourself.

However, I make music mostly mostly out of passion for it (I like most artistic activities) ..so I can imagine that if you wanna make a hit song and make it your job it's gonna be much more frustrating to learn/do all this. It then just comes down to results and if you don't have results, you've failed. I'm glad I do not have to think about it that way.

 

A DAW is an instrument with instruments.

 

Gotcha. Should have specified the usage of software, not actually playing music with it. But it's not great in expression compared to a ®eal instrument like string or wind ones.

 

Again, it depends.

Say you're a keyboardist, and your instrument of choice is the DX7. You've practiced for a very long time and are able to truly convey your most inner feelings with it.

Then you build your own FM synth in a DAW. Not all DAWs allow for such stuff, but it's achievable. Now all you have is your MIDI keyboard, your virtual DX7 you built yourself in Bitwig, and your speakers. Wouldn't you be able to express yourself just as much?

I chose a fully digital instrument on purpose, because expression depends on the person expressing themselves, not the instrument.

 

Sure, those are all fair points. But as a personal recommendation for a beginner, I wouldn't start out like that. I am currently wrapping my head around the mysteries of Renoise to do some things, because I lost my shit and deleted Live and Max. So I get digital instruments. Partly.
My nephew got a Yamaha PSR keyboard last xmas and it has speakers and everything. He started with a trumpet. If he would have started with Bitwig, he wouldn't care about playing music by now. A DX with FM and operators and all that also would taken the piss out of it a little bit Just my guess.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Apr 4, 2024

Yeah I agree, there's the personal expression what one wants to do in music and the technical aspect what is possible to physically do.