Ableton Forum

I recently bought Ableton and I have no experience of doing this before hand. I have been trying every day for an hour or two but and have sometimes felt like I am making progress but in general I can't say I find this fun. I am determined not to give up and have been reading up, using tutorials etc.

I am wondering if any others have felt like this when starting out? I find that I am constantly forgetting how to do things I did before and that I have actually gone backwards in terms of making music since I got the program! Does anyone have any advice on how the best approaches to starting out?

I still have fun!

Start small. I think too many people jump into it trying to bang out a whole track right away, and that will only get frustrating. Spending some time just playing with one of the synths, or messing with a drum loop using clip envelopes. Little steps that you can enjoy while you are learning.

There IS a learning curve, the more you know the program and the technique the more enjoyable it gets.
Try to practice by examples from various trainers or Youtube videos, redo them until it gets under your skin and add something from you in plus.
Don't get pissed off when something doesn't get as you want, leave it and make other things
creating music gotta be fun in first place, you're not a pro to have deadlines or tasks to accomplish, so enjoy, if not sell everything and go fishing
Cheers.

Take music lessons, write songs and learn to use synths's effects and clips while you do it.

debrice wrote:I am wondering if any others have felt like this when starting out? I find that I am constantly forgetting how to do things I did before and that I have actually gone backwards in terms of making music since I got the program! Does anyone have any advice on how the best approaches to starting out?

I was constantly forgetting how to do certain things but I made a notebook file up and started a 'how to's' list (My computer isn't connected to the internet). Before long I was remembering and those things became second nature. As for going backwards, I hear you. Sometimes I think to myself that I too am going backwards. I'll listen to tracks that I've done a couple of years ago and think 'shit, that sounds much better than what I'm doing now' and it's because if a tracks not going the way you want you lose interest (so therefore you don't try new things and become lazy) and the best practise for that is to leave it and come back to it when you've been inspired to have another go, don't force it. Then try something new with the track and go forwards.

Once you know what you are doing, its much easier to have fun ... much like riding a bike.

I was totally over the moon the day I came home with my first trombone. Was rusty and the case was falling apart, and I made the sound of a poorly baby elephant, but the idea I'd started on a path to being able to play the fast, dynamic and exciting jazz that inspired me to want to felt great. It was a lot of hard work til I joined my first band, then worked my way up to being really quite good over the next 4-5 years. Still a never ending journey though. And now I'm not nearly as good at trombone as I used to be.

I actually find it harder to be inspired and not frustrated these days, as then I had a good excuse for not being that good on my single instruemnt, and these days I have a lot less time to stay practiced, and a lot more instruments and production tools!

I was happy to make music since the beginning. That should be the 'compelling event', feel good when making music.
So you return over and over again. It doesn't matter what tools you have but what you have inside.

My 2 cents

Best
Pasha

debrice wrote:I recently bought Ableton and I have no experience of doing this before hand. I have been trying every day for an hour or two but and have sometimes felt like I am making progress but in general I can't say I find this fun. I am determined not to give up and have been reading up, using tutorials etc.

I am wondering if any others have felt like this when starting out? I find that I am constantly forgetting how to do things I did before and that I have actually gone backwards in terms of making music since I got the program! Does anyone have any advice on how the best approaches to starting out?

Had fun the first time I ever saw a DAw (fl producer crack). Stayed up all night making a song. If your not having fun now it might be a good time to get out. Music production can suck the life out of music for some when it gets real technical. First time I saw live I could not believe how simple they made it to create music, then I realized why so much electonic music sounded the same and sucked. That's where the studying and tweaking comes in. You have to find your sound and way of doing things. Again you should be in the honeymoon stage I would think?

To those who think live has a learning curve, must have a rough time else where because to me live is the most intuitive, simplistic program around. Maybe it just clicked with me

when I first began I don't think I read the manual for my equipment .. I just began.
And it was all fun, all the time.



however, this is what it looked like.
it was a LOOOOooooooong time ago



this


and this

HeadrickProductions wrote: To those who think live has a learning curve, must have a rough time else where because to me live is the most intuitive, simplistic program around. Maybe it just clicked with me

]

Didn't say Live has a HARD learning curve, I said that MUSIC PRODUCTION has. But hey, everything in life have a learning curve, or you were born already Einstein on his 30's , don't get me wrong tho...
Cheers

Angstrom, that still really cool gear. I could make a whole album with that stuff. Those Yamaha's sound great!

Debrice - I feel you, 100% BUT... hang in there - it DOES get easier.

I've been at it for only a year, and it's only in the last few months that I've stopped having to refer to a manual/tutorial on a regular basis. I did make it a little harder for myself, by getting Maschine a few months after Live (with the intention of using it as a controller for Live) - so I ended up dividing my focus between two apps, which obviously prolonged the learning curve!

One thing I found, was I really started to get bored by trying to cram myself full of info through constant tutorials - there was a period where I didn't actually make ANY music, because I was just doing so many tutorials. This was getting me down, I WAS getting bored, so try to find a balance.

There is A LOT to learn, but the essential stuff that you need to make a basic track is not too difficult. You probably don't need to know what every parameter in Operator, Analog, Tension etc does... That will come later. I still don't know how to properly program a synth patch from scratch - and when you are starting out, it probably doesn't matter - ride those presets, baby - tweak them a bit, learn gradually what each knob does.

Just make sure you understand the basic stuff to make a track - the relationship between arrange and session view, recording midi and audio, overdubbing, warping. Cut, slice, copy, paste, split and consolidate/ join functions in arrange view. Learn impulse. Get a basic understanding of EQ, compression, reverb and delay.

If you can do the above, and dont mind using the presets to get you started, you should be able to piece together soemethig that resembles music! Try not to stress about making 100% refined professional finished tracks - go easy on yourself. Good luck!

Oh, and when you do make something that you are proud of - even if it is just an 8 Bar loop - the feeling is unbeatable, and at that moment you will forget that it ever was difficult and frustrating at one point!

Trust me.