Making music doesn’t have to be in a professional studio, you can learn to make music for the first time at home. This is what almost every musician does at the start of their career. You will get a professional studio someday.
Is there a difference when making music in a home studio versus a professional studio? Of course, there is, but you don’t need to worry about that if you are still in the learning stage. Especially as a beginner, you have a limited budget, so it’s better to get your initial ideas down at home while developing your skills before taking it to a professional studio.
Guide to Creating Techno Music At Home
Techno music is music that has hypnotic rhythms, incessant beats, and futuristic sounds. This is why techno music is perfect for hitting the dance floor and is so popular in clubs around the world.
If you want to dive into the world of techno music, you can start learning to produce your techno music at home. There are several guidelines that you can follow as a beginner to produce techno music that can lead you to become a techno music maestro in the future.
Learn the Basics
Learning the basics of techno music is the first step before you make techno music. Techno is music that has beats repeated four times, with a tempo of 120 – 150 beats per minute (BPM). The sound produced depends on the techno musical instruments used, such as drum machines, synthesizers, and effects that create a distinctive sound. You can get inspired by the diversity of genres from techno artists Jeff Mills, Carl Cox, and Richie Hawtin.
The main characteristics of techno music are minimalism and repetition, then a hypnotic pattern will gradually develop. Several drum elements are needed to create complex rhythms, such as hi-hats, kick drums, and percussion. You can experiment with effects and sound design to shape the sonic landscape.
Techno music tracks must follow a properly structured arrangement, starting from the intro, main part, and grouping, until condensed. To produce professional sound, you need mixing, mastering, and creative use of effects and automation. In essence, producing techno music depends on the creativity and innovation of the creator, whether the techno music produced will attract attention on the dance floor or not.
Read also : Uncovering the Origins of Techno Music
Required Equipment and Sound Design
To make techno music, even in a home studio, you need the right electronic musical instruments. Although some producers prefer analog music equipment, many beginners in producing techno music use digital audio studios (DAW), such as FL Studio, Ableton Live, and Logic Pro. This software platform is frequently used because it provides various types of virtual instruments and effects that are commonly used to shape sound.
Other equipment needed is a studio monitor or a set of headphones so you can listen to music accurately. You can also use hardware such as synthesizers (Moog Sub Phatty – Roland TB-303) and drum machines (Elektron Analog Rytm – Roland TR-808).
Techno music means the process of designing sounds, you can experiment using synthesizers to create unique textures and distinctive directions. Explore various module, wave, and filter techniques to produce techno music. Layer and process sound to achieve complexity and depth in your techno music productions.
Beats, Structuring, and Automation
The foundation for producing techno music is the beat, considering that its characteristic is a non-stop beat. Create a beat through a solid kick drum with consistent hits every time instead of just a quarter, so it will push the rhythm forward. Layer the beat with sharp hi-hats and snares to spice it up with groove and energy. You can experiment to create new characters in your music using percussion elements such as hand claps, snare drums, and others.
Next is structuring the techno track which is an important part of making techno music. Start by composing an intro to build anticipation, followed by creating a main section where the core elements of the song can come into play. Introduce new elements step by step, and mix in improvements and breakdowns to keep the techno music flowing with energy.
Techno-music has succeeded in achieving rapid development due to the use of effects and automation through the creativity of music producers. You can experiment with distortion, delay, and reverb to add levels of depth and atmosphere. Automate several musical parameters, for example, filter cuts and tones that are used to create dynamic and evolving sounds.
Get Creative By Mixing and Mastering
You can create professional techno music sounds through well-mastered song mixes. In this process, you need to pay attention to compression, EQ, and spatial effects to achieve balance and clarity of sound. To get inspired, you just need to use references from your other favorite techno artists to then mix and perfect the mix.
Because Techno is a music genre that emphasizes experimentation in its music creation, you don’t need to hesitate to go beyond your safe limits in making music. There are many types of sounds, common and unusual, to make what you create stand out even more.
Keep Practicing
To achieve professional techno music production results, of course, you have to continue practicing through your home studio so that your skills can develop. It may take longer than you think, but if you are patient and practice, it will one day pay off with satisfying techno music results. Because it emphasizes experimentation and creation, you have more room to innovate with various subgenres that you can try.
Read also : Main DJ Equipment for Beginners
Sharing Music With The World
If you manage to make some techno songs that you’re proud of, don’t hesitate to share them with the world. Upload to various music platforms and promote via social media. You may be able to quickly gain fans or find a techno community that can help you improve your skills.
Conclusion
In essence, learning to produce techno music doesn’t have to be in a professional studio, you can use one of the rooms at home as a studio. As long as you understand the basics of making techno music and you have the equipment to support it, producing your techno music at home is not impossible.