Music Education Archives - Page 10 of 10 - WKNC 88.1 FM - North Carolina State University Student Radio

I’m no expert in music production, but I am trying to learn and I’ve realized that one of the most important things to decide when you’re learning to make music is what DAW you’re going to use. A DAW is a digital audio workstation where you record, mix and master music.

I have a macbook. so naturally the most available thing to me was to use garageband. But for some reason I heard a lot of criticism people have for the software. So I decided to try it out for myself and see what all the fuss was about. I did make my first ever song in garageband and I have to say, it’s not quite as ‘easy’ as some people make it out to be. I guess if you’re an expert you might disagree but as a total newbie I was still really confused during the whole process. I have used other DAWS like Abelton and Reaper, from what I can see I’d say that garageband really is a unique platform so I can see why it might turn people off. It did take me a minute to get used to it, and i’m still not that familiar with it, but it can get the job done. I wouldn’t bash it because I think different ideas need different ways to execute them, and I’d definitely see where garageband could have its place, but I’d understand why people aren’t too fond of the software. That being said I do think it has its place, I mean it totally works so it probably is right for some and not for others. DAWs can sometimes be hard to learn and I think some people will definitely prefer the look and feel of garageband.

Personally I have to say Reaper and Ableton are my top choices. So what do you think? Is garageband for you or do you prefer something else?

– DJ Psyched

I really love Linkedin Learning, and a little while ago I took one of the courses named ‘20 Unofficial Rules of Songwriting’ (because my songwriting can always use some serious work). And I thought the course was pretty useful, so I figured I’d share some of the best tips I’ve learned (from videos like this and from personal experience), because songwriting is great and I think anyone interested should give it a try.

Don’t overthink it – This was my biggest problem when I started. I would contemplate every word I wrote and it took forever, it always led to me never finishing any songs. Yikes. But one day I just sat there and started singing and just let it be what it was, and I wrote the first song I ever finished. It wasn’t any kind of masterpiece but it made me realize that I was being way to uptight and it was ruining my creativity, so I think relaxing is a good way to combat that. To quote Rick and Morty ‘Good music comes from those who are relaxed, just hit a button’.
Improvise – I recently made a friend who wanted to start songwriting together and when we got together I realized we had totally different ways of doing this. I usually come up with an idea and then start building slowly. He just straight up starts hitting keys and improving until it feels right. And while I’m sure both ways have their place I also think improv is also just another form of being relaxed and letting it happen, so you might accidentally end up making something amazing. Who knows?
Listen more – My music teachers are avid that listening to a lot of music and analyzing what they do will help give you ideas. I have to admit they’re kind of right. Just listening to more music will help give you ideas and inspire your own work, and it’s just fun.
Think about talking to someone – This is the only technical advice I have (but if you are interested in more stuff like this I’ll link that course below) but writing as if you’re talking to someone is a real crowd hitter. It makes the music feel a bit more personal and natural and usually makes for good hooks.

Do you have any songwriting tips I could use? (anything would be appreciated)

– DJ Psyched