If you want to start producing music... :) 6 steps to follow

If you want to start producing music, but don't know how to start, I'll give you some tips :) (I know I'm just some random guy from Denmark, but if I knew this when I started, it would've helped me a lot!)

1. Choose your DAW.
DAW means Digital Audio Workstation. A DAW is where you make/produce music.
In the beginning it can be a bit confusing, but if you try to learn it everyday, you'll understand it in no time :)

I started out in (and still am using) Fruity Loops Studio (or FL Studio). 
FL Studio is one of the easiest DAW's to start out with. As I said before, I started out in FL Studio when I was 10 years old. I wasn't that good at english, but I learned how to use it. And if a 10 year old can learn how to use FL Studio, everyone can! :D

Here are some videos of famous producers (and DJ's) who use different DAW's:

FL Studio by Avicii:

Logic by Firebeatz:

Ableton by Armin Van Buuren:

2. Learn your DAW (YouTube is your friend)
The next step is to learn your DAW. For the rest of this post, I'm going to post FL Studio tutorials ONLY, not tutorials using other DAW's.

To quickly learn how your DAW works and so on, use YouTube!!!

Learning FL Studio takes some time. You're probably going to search for other tutorials on YouTube, but here's a wide tutorial :)

The newest version of FL Studio is FL Studio 12, so the tutorial is based on FL Studio 12.

Basic FL Studio 12 tutorial:

3. Learn how the different plugins works (the eq, compressor, gate, reverb, delay, limiter, filter, stereo widener etc.)
Learn how the different plugins works. Watch a lot of YouTube tutorials.

A great tip I got from Toby Green is: "Find one plugin (vst) that you're going to learn inside out. Learn ONE reverb, ONE delay, ONE eq, ONE compressor, ONE limiter etc. Learn that vst inside out, and you'll get AMAZING results!"

4. Learn some music theory
Learning a little (or more) music theory is a big shortcut. Instead of just placing notes all around the piano roll, you're seeing it from a different perspective. After learning music theory, writing melodies is easier and funnier!

5. Learn sounddesign
Sound design is when you're creating a sound from scratch. Being able to create your own sound is going to help you in many ways, for example in having your own signature sound, and in mixing!

6. Learn mixing and mastering
After you've made your track or song, you're ready for mixing, and afterwards mastering!
When you're mixing and mastering, you're bringing your songs to life. Mixing and mastering is all about the songs quality, you aren't changing the melody or arrangement or something like that.

An AMAZING tip that would've helped me a lot, if I knew it a long time ago is:
"Mixing and mastering goes hand in hand. If your mix sucks, mastering WON'T fix it! Mastering will only give a lot to your song if your mix is VERY GOOD!"

Here's a picture that willl give you an idea of how mixing and mastering goes hand in hand. I'll explain it after you've seen the picture:

The 1st picture (1) = Havn't mixed or your mix sucks.
The 2nd picture (2) = Your mix is very good.
The 3rd picture (3) = Your mix is very good, and you've mastered your track good as well.

- If you havn't showered or fixed your hair (1), make-up won't make you look amazing, but the opposite (3).
- If you've showered and fixed your hair (2), make-up will give you a boost, so you'll look amazing (3).
- If you've showered and fixed your hair (2), but don't wear make-up, you'll look very good, but not amazing.

I hope this gave you an idea behind what mixing and mastering does, and how it goes hand in hand :)

(Personally I don't think make-up makes a girl prettier if you can see the make-up, but hopefully you get the explanation.)

Thank you for reading all this, and good luck creating magic! :D

- MusicDAB