First of all, I wanted to say hi to all of you since it's my first post!

So yeah, I've been searching a lot but I still can't find that 'perfect' video tutorial series... By saying 'perfect' I mean a tutorial that will start at introducing us to DAW, moving on to the kick, melody, etc., a tutorial that actually will teach us/show us how to completely make a song from nothing...

Any suggestion guys? I copleted Music Theory online course, FL Studio basics course (and I payed for both of them), bought myself a MIDI keyboard, but I still feel pretty 'lost' about it, I just open my DAW, Im fuckin around for like 10 minutes, then close everything and Im back for tutorials searching...

 

Hey man hows it going. First of all i would say having a goal within your DAW would be a great starting point, and if you are lacking inspiration then try and find a genre of music or a sound that you like and try to mimic it, fuck around with knobs and make random sounds. Or try a more structured approach, e.g. im going to make a reese bass today using such and such technique with such and such synth. A nice approach that got me learning things was cutoff automation, it can make really nice sounds in Sylenth and also teaches you how to use automation properly. Just make a simple bassline and try messing around with that.

People you might want to watch:

Seamless:
https://www.youtube.com/user/SeamlessR

He does an amazing track from scratch series with different bass genres.

Savant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyXMhf0NbOU

Also an FL user that creates different genres of music.

These are the main FL guys that i know that openly have tutorials available, but i sure with a youtube search you could find more.

 

If you are giving up after 10 mins your problems don't lie in a lack of knowledge more a lack of commitment...

Music aint easy, in fact it requires patience, commitment, talent and intelligence...that's what makes it so special.

When i got my first hardware sampler about 10 years ago it took me 2 days to work out how to get sound into the bloody thing.

Turn on ya Pc, load up ya DAW and fuck about, then fuck about some more, when you think you've hit a brickwall do more fucking about...after a while things will start to make sense then you fuck about even more...

Sooner or later you will realise if this is really for you...if not take up DJ'ing...that will take about 10 minutes to learn...

 

I agree, Watching a tutorial or follow a course won't make you a musician. Just clicking some notes and some more clicking on effects and some more clicking could help to become one.
I can work several hours on one sound, sequence whtvr. to eventually never use it in thát track..
Samples and loops can be very helpful and less time consuming when you don't know your way around synthesis, layering and mixing.

Tutorials can be tricky, you will learn something but that particular thing you've learned can stand in your way when you have a different situation.
For 12 years I still don't know what the heck I am doing, (sort of) it is al trial & error. You will grow when you just try and keep on trying. like everything else.

There are only guidelines. Think of Layering, Groups, Busses, EQ, Compression, Saturation, and some more EQ. All the rest is really not so important. Or just start with using samples and or parts of loops.

On the arrangement thing I suggest you just load up a released track that you like the arrangement of and just copy the exact parts and transitions. You will figure it out in no time when you try this a couple of times with different tracks.

But he, if you really want a good tutorial, which genre(s) are you into actualy?

 

I agree with most of the responses,... I can easily sit for hours on end just messing around,... and over the years my skills have improved and the sound I can get out of FL studio is a lot better than when I started,.... But I'm still trying to improve upon that,... striving for perfection (well, perfection from my point of view)

As for working with FL Studio,... if you want to create track within 10min,. then perhaps leave the synths alone, and play with loops, you can either arrange them like with ACID, or slice them up with slicex, or alternatively use the new Performance mode, by using your midi keyboard to trigger sounds, (there are plenty tutorials online..... a ##### load, one of the perks of working with FL Studio) The beauty with FL Studio is that there are countless ways to make music.

but that said, I find the best way to be more productive and to work quicker is to visualize your end product.... know what it is that you want to do/achieve before you start. and then make it happen
tutorials are a great help, but if you don't have the discipline or passion to sit around mucking about for hours,... then unfortunately you're not going to really get anywhere, nothing is easy.
(well that's just my opinion)

 

Making a song from scratch is entirely down to you, watching tutorials will help you with the technical side of production but not with creativity. That comes from YOU and YOU ALONE. keep "fuckin" around and it will happen. My piece of advice is when listening to your favourite music, try and work out how the song was composed and put together - drums / percussion / bass / melody / voice / etc. and then have a go at using those ideas and open your daw have have a play. And spend more time at it, 10 minutes is not going to produce a 5 minute masterpiece. Time, perseverance and patience will. Good luck and keep fuckin around

 

Music can be difficult, and the feeling of being lost never dissapears, but that´s the point. That´s what drives you when you 'find' something that sounds special: contrast. Also, I´m sure that everybody here have their own way to 'get in the mood', and it also changes A LOT, so... you´re going to get tons of answers, points of view, techniques, but you will be more lost trying to replicate that. Same thing with tutorials. Knowledge is great, but technical stuff tends to be needed to reach a pre-existing idea. Sometimes accidents happen, and YES, you can get or find a song from a bunch of sounds, fx and random tweaking, but maybe your daw, your screen, all those knobs and GUIs, tons of virtual instruments, presets, fxs, techniques, tutorials and so on are just EXPANDING the possibilities to an endless process of chasing a single accident that 'could -luckily- work'. You will need too much luck.

So (and anyway...) my view here.
- Do you play an instrument? Try to get a simple small pattern that sounds nice for you from it. ANYTHING.
- You don´t play any instrument but you own one? Same as before.
- Can you sing or imagine melodies? Are they recognizable? Can you listen to them in your head? Can you get or approximate to those notes with an instrument (MIDI controller included) or writing in your DAW? That´s A LOT.
- None of the mentioned?: stick with just one simple virtual instrument, and if you´re not chasing anything solid, leave the knobs alone and pay attention to the melodies, not the flashy artillery. Play.
The point here: GET A SIMPLE PATTERN that moves you.

Next: record or write it, quickly. Again, don´t mess with the knobs. Don´t open Youtube for a tutorial. Don´t lose the idea. Play/listen carefully the melody in loop mode (A LOT), and during the listening try to repeat all the process over your basis idea; does a beat come up? a complementary melody? lyrics? needs some variation? chord progressions? try to get a second layer, be patient, listen to both looped, then look for a third, and so on...

So remember, technique and knowledge are great, but you will get the most of them by having where to apply it. Now go to find that simple progression.

**And be ready to work for hours, no minutes. Greetings!