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124 points akktor | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.428s | source

This question's for all those cool projects or skills you're secretly fascinated by, but haven't quite jumped into. Maybe you feel like you just don't have the right "brain" for it, or you're not smart enough to figure it out, or even worse, you simply have no clue how or where to even start.

The idea here is to shine a light on these hidden interests and the little (or big!) mental blocks that come with them. If you're already rocking in those specific areas – or you've been there and figured out how to get past similar hurdles – please chime in! Share some helpful resources, dish out general advice, or just give a nudge of encouragement on how to take that intimidating first step.

Let's help each other get unstuck!

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pigcat ◴[] No.44240501[source]
Making electronic music. Any recommendations for where to start?
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1. fb03 ◴[] No.44242076[source]
My time to shine! I'm a computer programmer but I've been making music digitally for about 15 years now

The software you want is called a DAW - Digital Audio Workstation. There are 300 DAWs, you need to find the one that fits your 'style' or 'workflow'. There are a multitude of paradigms, as making music is not a single technique.

Once you find your DAW, my recommendation is to just make lots of music. Make the music you imagine in your head. Make the tracks that don't exist but you wish they did. Your first 100-200-300 tracks will all be extremely crappy in hindsight, but when you finish them you'll think they are, at the time, a magnum opus each. Keep iterating that process over and over and after many years, you'll start making something that you'll feel semi-proud enough to be able to show your friends!

This is a track I've done 11 years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlkoEI4Sq7w&list=PL2xsoYcYFo...

and this is a newer track, released "only" 8 years ago:

https://soundcloud.com/flipbit03/twothousandseventeen-feat-m...

so you can definitely notice the difference of what 3 years of music making look like in terms of progress

GOOD LUCK!

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2. noisy_boy ◴[] No.44249235[source]
Your enthusiasm is shining through. For someone wanting to do exactly what you said "just make lots of music. Make the music you imagine in your head." and faced with the issue of "There are 300 DAWs, you need to find the one that fits your 'style' or 'workflow'.", how do I choose? I am not a music maker, I have never made music - I would like to though. I don't even have a style or workflow. I don't know how to start.