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- Audio Production Beginners Start Here -


Jim Fogle

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The idea is simple, you're new to computer based audio production so how do you get started?  I'm proposing this thread as the go to thread to help beginners get started in this hobby.

If you've found a video, downloadable pdf file, online course or other content suitable for an absolute beginner with no prior experience in the field of audio production then please place your links here.

I'll begin by placing links to some content I'm aware of.

Website:  Play With Your Music   http://www.playwithyourmusic.org/ 

Online Classes:  The Technology of Music Production  https://www.coursera.org/learn/technology-of-music-production?  The Art of Music Production  https://www.coursera.org/learn/producing-music  These two online classes can be audited for FREE. 

YouTube Video  Series:  Mixing Fundamentals   https://youtu.be/ydbkZ1ZWQGM  

 

Edited by Jim Fogle
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On 1/11/2020 at 6:57 PM, Eddie said:

One of the first questions beginners ask is "What should I get?"

For starters, I generally point them to How to Set Up the Ultimate Desktop Recording Studio, despite the hyperbolic title. ?

@Eddie, while I agree your link has merit I think that it is biased toward the Mac operating system by using GarageBand for it's examples.  Since Cakewalk by BandLab operates on the Windows operating system and is not a cross platform application I believe it is in the best interest for beginners that whatever links provided in this thread be either operating system agnostic or biased toward the Windows operating system.

A short internet search revealed MANY "first studio" internet articles ARE biased toward the Mac operating system.  In fact I'd go so far as to say the vast majority of articles are based on the reader having a Mac computer or laptop or Ipad as the starting platform.  There are relatively few articles that are operating system agnostic or directed toward those using Windows computers.

One I found is Your First Home Recording Studio.  Take a look and see what you think.

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@Jim Fogle, yes the article you link to is an excellent one.

The article I linked to talks about concepts (like MIDI, plug-ins and loops) and gives some examples of software, including GarageBand for Mac but also Sonar Music Creator and Acoustica Mixcraft for PC. The word "PC" appears more times than the word "Mac", I personally don't get the feeling they're biased toward the Mac. However, if you feel I should remove the link I will. It's not as detailed as the article you linked to. Let me know what you want me to do.

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@Eddie, please leave your link.

I'm sure some beginners will follow your link and find exactly the information they hoped to find while my link will not help at all.  For other beginners just the reverse will be true.  The more links to choose from the more likely a beginner will find this thread useful.

Again, thank you for placing the link.

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Hey guys! I have a video coming out soon which aims to be the ultimate resource for people wanting to grow in their studio mixing skills/knowledge. The whole video will be links to other video's which have helped to shape me immensely in my own journey.

I have not finished the video yet, but it currently has 45 links to these amazing videos and I plan to add a lot more to it. I aim to let you know once I have posted the video.

Also, I have a few video's on Getting Started, EQ, and Compression in Cakewalk on my channel - these are all aimed at individuals who have very little understanding of how to use this program.

 

 

Edited by Mike Morris
Remembered something else to add...
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@Mike Morris

Welcome to the forum.  I've subscribed to your YouTube channel and look forward to seeing your videos. 

Am I correct in assuming the majority of your videos will focus on audio recording and mixing?  Do you plan to include anything about working with midi or audio loops to create track content?

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23 hours ago, Jim Fogle said:

@Mike Morris

Welcome to the forum.  I've subscribed to your YouTube channel and look forward to seeing your videos. 

Am I correct in assuming the majority of your videos will focus on audio recording and mixing?  Do you plan to include anything about working with midi or audio loops to create track content?

Hello Jim!

Thank you for the welcome (and that was very kind of you to subscribe to my channel)!

Yes, you are correct in that my content will be focused around audio recording and mixing. At this point I am getting content out about studio mixing as my main focus, but I will eventually include live mixing as well - probably later this year. I do not have enough experience working with midi or audio loops to give any solid content in these areas, so I will stick with my strengths.

My main goal and focus right now is to finish a "learning resources" video (still don't know what to call it) which will have 40+ links to other YouTube video's with great mixing content which have shaped my a lot in my own learning. Hopefully it will be a useful tool for many people to grow in their skills.

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The Video Link's Video's are up! I gathered links to more than 40 top quality video's for people to click on and learn from. These have been quite helpful in my own growth as an audio engineer. Here are the videos:

 

Edited by Mike Morris
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I have posted this as a list here already, but just in case a beginner was to miss that post or maybe it seemed a bit daunting, here is the entire playlist. These will literally walk you through, step by step, everything from downloading and installing to recording, mixing, and exporting your songs!

 

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I like the idea of a set of starter tutorials being limited to what comes standard with Cakewalk. (They can say so in their titles.) There is plenty to learn using just the Sonitus plugins and the SI instruments.

Very often beginners struggle with a tutorial showing adjusting the ratio on a T-Racks Bus Compressor and finding the slider on the Sonitus compressor.

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For those that don't already know... new tutorials are in the works for this channel... don't be fooled by the lack of activity there. Go ahead and subscribe (free) to the channel... it will see new life soon... :) And be sure to click the Bell and choose ALL from the menu if you want to be notified about new videos...

https://www.youtube.com/user/ScottGarrigus?sub_confirmation=1

 

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Scott,

I'm REALLY looking forward to viewing any Cakewalk by BandLab videos you release.

I never had Sonar so I had no need to view your Sonar videos or read your books.  While I'm sure much of the information you've distributed in the past still pertains to Cakewalk by BandLab I don't want to confuse myself by trying to sift through what's still the same versus what's changed.

As an acknowledged Sonar expert I look forward to discovering your gift for teaching on Cakewalk by BandLab content.  I've subscribed to your YouTube channel.

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Thanks, Jim! I'm working on it. What were you using before Cakewalk by Bandlab?
--
Scott R. Garrigus - http://www.garrigus.com
* Cakewalk SONAR Video Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/user/ScottGarrigus?sub_confirmation=1
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Sound Forge Power book series: http://garrigus.com/?PowerBooks
* Publisher of the DigiFreq music recording newsletter: http://www.digifreq.com/
* Publisher of the NewTechReview consumer tech newsletter: http://www.newtechreview.com/

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