Easy and fun way to make your own song!

If you like music or are just bored try this online music factory. It's very easy and lots of fun. You can choose the cords that you want in your song and change the rhythm of each intrument by selecting a rhythm in the sound box.

www.jamstudio.com...

Does anyone here on BTS know of any other websites or programs like this? If you do please share a link or the name of the program.

I forgot to mention...... you only have to choose 4 chords or even 2 chords.

example: Am, C, G, D.

If you click on "loop page" in the mixer box . The chords that you chose
will repeat or loop so you can change the sound and rhythm of each instrument while the music continues to play. That way you can decide what rhythm sounds best to you.

In other words don't fill all of the spaces with chords (letters). You only have to fill the first 4 or ...2 if you get the rhythm right. Don't wast your time with pages of chords if you don't have to.

AS long as the loop page box is checked you can repeat 2 to 4 Measures and make many diffrent songs or variations by changing the sound and rhythm of each instrument.

Have fun!

Erm well that's pretty crap if I'm being perfectly honsest.

If you're looking to actually start making music for real then I recommend Ableton Live. Been using it for a few years now although I've only just got back into production recently.

Check it here

There's plenty of tutorials on teh interwebz so get stuck in

Thanks, I can use this!!

Especially the Save function

If you really want to make music professionally, then I recommend hardware. Not software.

If you have the money, you can go out and get you a Korg Triton or m3. Top Notch. Also, you may wanna pick up a MPC2000. Of course both of those things will run you a good $5000 brand new. You could look into a pawn shop though.

Korg m3
image source: http://www.korg.com/page_img/m3_center.jpg


Korg Triton
image source: http://www.korg.com/gear/images/products/enlarge/lrg_TRITONPROX.jpg


Akai MPC2000
[im]http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbnCgmOFxVW0AsBM:www.sequencer.de...[/im]



Another alternative besides hardware is some really good software. If you're looking for software you can get started pretty cheaply with a decent MIDI Keyboard ($150) and Propellerhead's Reason 4 ($600). That will get you started makin some pretty sweet music. I used Reason to make the song below in my signature. Just load up some sounds and play em on your keyboard while you're recording.

Reason 4
image source: https://www.propellerheads.se/shop/img/category/topstory-rsn-405px.jpg


Also, if you have a Mac, then I recommend Apple GarageBand. Its a pretty neat all in one package for recording and making music.

Apple GarageBand
image source: http://images.apple.com/ilife/garageband/images/hero20070807.png



These are of course professional options that I would recommend to those who are serious about it.

If you're just looking to dabble around a bit, I recommend Fruity Loops, as you can find a version of it just about anywhere and its got a relatively low learning curve.

Fruity Loops Studio
image source: http://www.fruityloops.com/documents/GiantScreenshot8Mirrored.jpg


And for professional recording, one cannot beat ProTools. I personally use it with the digi003 mixer and it is the SH**! Assuming you have about $3000 to kick around...if not I recommend CoolEdit 2.0 for recording! It is very sweet also. I think its now called Adobe Audition though...I dunno, its been a while since I used it.


you can find the respective softwares here:

Propellerhead's Reason 4.0
Fruity Loops
Apple iLife GarageBand
DigiDesign ProTools 7 (Recording)

Good Luck to you man!

reply to post by threedoom

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It looks to me like it is for beginners and just to have fun. Obviously there's professional software out there so you comment has no relevence.

reply to post by Mad_Hatter

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Great advice.

I suggested the software route originally as it's relatively inexpensive compared to hardware. Infact most applications are readily available for free if you know where to look. No point in blowing £100s on kit then deciding it's not really what you want to do.

Nice track btw Mad_Hatter.

Am only just getting back into producing myself after a year break. I would post some of my stuff but lost near enough all of it when my old computer broke (hence the break).

Ah, actually there's a couple of crappy tracks on my old myspace...

Pretty old now though and probably not most people's cup of tea

reply to post by MrMysticism

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Yeah sorry you're right although my comment was relevant as I did what the OP asked and suggested some software (imo the best for all round production/live performance etc)

Peeeassssh

I wanted to say that but I hesitated because of T&C's...but you are right...if one knows where to look, one can get anything for just about the cost of FREE...U2U me and I can probably help you.

And thanks for the compliment TD. It means alot.

[edit on 6/25/2008 by Mad_Hatter]

I would like to thank everyone for thier replies. Especially Mad Hatter for taking the time to provide all of the links and info. I appreciate the U2U help also, but I Know exactly what you're implying and I'm right there with you.

I have many of these programs that I use religiously but I've never seen one this easy, so I was wondering if there was anything out there that is similar.

As basic and simple as jam studio is I thought it was entertaining. I spent quite a bit of time playing along with my guitar. I figured more people would have fun with this but maybe it's old news.

Mad Hatter,
I downloaded your song... Good stuff. Think I'll keep it in my tunes. It's very professional. About Reason 4......I have'nt tried Reason 4 and I don't have a professional keyboard so.. I'm sorry if this is a dumb question but what do you mean by "Just load up some sounds and play em on your keyboard while you're recording"?

Reason is designed to use with a MIDI keyboard, but of course it's not limited to this. Here's what I do in Reason:

I have a nice Edirol (Roland) MIDI Keyboard Controller, which is a keyboard that does not have any of its own sounds. It is merely a controller for your Reason devices if this makes sense. Each different type of Reason device can load up its own kind of sounds and the MIDI keyboard is simply a control to play these sounds with. So for instance, you load up a sample in Reason and arm it with a particular sound like a string sound, for example. Then you can play that string sound on your MIDI keyboard and record what you're playing directly into reason. I do this all the time. If you need more info I will try to explain it better.

reply to post by Mad_Hatter

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Yes, it does make sense. I guess I've been missing out! I could spend countless hours doing this. I need a MIDI Keyboard Controller!!! If you don't mind me asking..

How much did you spend on your keyboard?...

With your experience (keeping in mind the rising cost of fuel) what keyboard do recommend I start with? I like quality but I like money in the bank too.

My keyboard cost $200, but I think it is cheaper now. Here is a picture of it.

image source: http://allmanmusic.homestead.com/Edirol_PCRM80.jpg


There are a few things you need to consider when buying a keyboard.
You want sixty six or eighty eight keys for ease in switching octaves. Also, it depends on the options you want your keyboard to have. Some come with drumpads on them (which I would highly recommend).

The main thing you need to realize in purchasing this type of equipment is that it is an investment and an expensive option would pay off in the long run and you will be very satisfied with it.

I think you'd be well off with the one I mentioned above. It is well worth the $200