Getting Started

My current obsession with making music probably started a couple of years ago when I met a guy at work, Tom, who played bass and guitar. We hit it off pretty well and our jamming session re-awakened my enthusiasm for making music.

Things really got going, though, when I bought my iBook which came loaded with GarageBand. Suddenly there was this possibility of creating and recording music that hadn't been there before. I had been cultivating an interest in drum 'n bass/techno/dub music and wondered how they did it. When I looked into it, though, it seemed a little inaccessible. It required a considerable investment in equipment and I wasn't sure if I'd really take to it or not. But today's fast computers, which allow playing software instruments in real time without other dedicated hardware, changed the picture. As well as simplified sequencing programs like GarageBand that make getting started a lot easier.

Okay, gee, I've got these software instruments, a sequencer, a keyboard, an amp and pre-amp (about $600 not counting the computer). What do I do with it? I figured I'd better learn about things like notes and chords and stuff. So I bought a sort of keyboard-for-dummies book which basically just lays out the basic chords and scales in easy-to-read keyboard diagrams.

I then would load up something like a software electric bass, pick a chord, and start banging the keys. That's how the magic started to happen. Playing the drums, I guess, has given me a pretty strong rhythmic sensibility. I'd try different rhythmic patterns with different notes until something started to sound good. When that happened, I'd hit record and try to play the riff in time to the metronome. Eventually, I'd nail it well enough that through the wonders of GarageBand, I could turn it into a loop.

Armed with a looping bass line, I'd set up an audio track, put on some headphones, and play my drums to it. Once I found a good beat, I'd press record and play a bunch of measures (30 to 60 depending on tempo). My drumming isn't always as precise as I'd like it to be but in the span of 60 measures, there's usually a segment or two played accurately enough that I could turn the beat into a loop.

That's when the real fun begins. With drum and bass loops going, I can start playing melodic bits over it with other software instruments, creating loops as I go. Before long a song starts to develop.

Probably my first noteworthy example I called The Riveter. It's basically variations on the B flat blues scale with different vintage syths. Another thing that I did here was to play fills with my drums, make loops out of them, and plug them at the changes. I was delighted how seemless it sounded. The music is coarse, amusingly simplistic and the drums are super lo-fi (I recorded them with one cheap stereo microphone).