You hear a track and think: I want to be able to do that. You download some software, open an empty project and… then what? Everyone who produces music knows that moment. In this post you’ll read how to start, and above all how to avoid a folder full of ideas that never become songs.

What do you need?

Less than you think. For your first tracks, this is enough:

A computer or laptop. An ordinary laptop from the last few years is fine to start with.
A DAW (digital audio workstation): the program you make music in. Well-known options are Ableton Live, FL Studio and Logic Pro. At Foltaazje our lessons use Ableton Live.
Good headphones. Honest studio headphones are better than expensive earbuds that make everything sound nicer than it is.
Optional: a MIDI keyboard or controller. Handy, but not a must. You can start perfectly well with mouse and keyboard.

Studio monitors, an audio interface and microphones can come later. Invest in time first, then in gear.

Start with a song you love

The best teacher is a track you think is great. Load it into your DAW and listen actively: when does the drop come, how many bars is the intro, which instruments play at the same time, what changes after eight bars? This is called reference listening or arrangement analysis, and it’s one of the fastest ways to learn how a song is put together.

From loop to song

The best-known problem for beginning producers: an eight-bar loop you repeat endlessly, and then you’re stuck. Here’s how to get past it:

Build the core: drums, bass and one melody or chord progression. Nothing more.
Pull it apart: copy your loop across the length of a whole song (three to four minutes) and start removing things. An intro with just drums, a break without bass, a chorus where everything comes together.
Add variation: every eight or sixteen bars something should change. A new sound, a fill, an effect, a silence.
Finish it: a finished song that isn’t perfect teaches you more than ten perfect loops. Set a deadline and stick to it.

Learn the basics of mixing

You don’t have to become a mix engineer straight away, but a few basic concepts make your music sound a lot better: volume balance, EQ (so bass and kick don’t get in each other’s way), compression, and space with reverb and delay. Our post on mixing vs. mastering explains what those steps involve.

Why lessons help

YouTube is full of tutorials, and you can learn a lot from them. But a tutorial doesn’t look at your project. It’s the direct feedback (“your bass and kick clash here”, “this chorus lacks energy because…”) that helps you take steps in a few weeks that would otherwise take months. And a fixed appointment works better than your own good intentions.

At Foltaazje you can learn to produce in two ways:

Private coaching with Mark, one-on-one in the studio, at your level and pace. On Monday afternoons.
Studio group course on Monday evenings, where you work on your own music in the studio together with other producers.

Aged between 13 and 21? Drop by the free LAB058 Music LAB, every Wednesday evening at Foltaazje.

See the schedule and request your lessons on our music coaching page.