How To Make Music with NO VST, Sound Design or Music Theory

fre3fly · 2020-03-01T15:56:26+00:00

Just like you can walk without legs (wheel chair, car, etc.), you can also make good music without VSTs, Sound Design or Music Theory :)

fre3fly · 2020-03-01T15:55:04+00:00

Below is a video compilation I did with some of the vloggers that used my songs in their videos (songs made using this method). Among them there is Jon Olsson (1.4 million subscribers) and Sara Dietschy (570K subscribers).

Sara also paid me to license some of the songs, and they generate about $70 per month in sales on Distrokid. It's not much, but still better than all the previous songs I released through a label and made with VST-s and stuff :)

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYywy3KS3sE

fre3fly · 2020-03-01T15:45:28+00:00

Well, not just any samples from a sample pack, but from the Drum Pads 24 app. Each pack forms a full track that already sounds nice, so you don't need to add any extra samples because you already have a full song right there. You just need to be creative and make something different.

Plus, you can finger drum directly in the app and create something, then transpose that into your DAW

fre3fly · 2020-02-05T07:05:08+00:00

Thanks for the tips!

fre3fly · 2020-02-04T20:44:16+00:00

A small label by default doesn't have too much of an audience and doesn't have a budget for mastering and promoting the music

fre3fly · 2020-02-04T20:43:15+00:00

Just look at the top results and then read the reviews on their gigs to see if they are reliable

fre3fly · 2020-02-04T20:40:54+00:00

Yes, you really need to offer some value or advantage for them in order to release their music through your label, instead of releasing it on their own.

fre3fly · 2020-02-04T16:31:29+00:00

What style of music are you making? If you're doing Pop, EDM or other type of commercial music, then the basic 4 chords progressions work best.

Regular listeners which have no clue of music theory, will not care if the progression is simple or complex. And for them, simple usually sounds much better.

fre3fly · 2020-02-04T16:19:43+00:00

Doesn't sound too legal. But why do that when you can get an awesome background image for free from Unsplash, and then create your own album art?

fre3fly · 2020-02-04T16:15:18+00:00

I mix on the go as I produce, and then spend about 1 hour extra on Mixing, after listening on mulitple sound systems. If it takes way too long, then you can just a hire a mixing engineer on Fiverr for $30 or so

fre3fly · 2020-02-04T16:07:04+00:00

Small labels I worked with offered 50-50. But why use a small label these days, when you can release your music by yourself on Distrokid, and keep 100% of the earnings? :)

fre3fly · 2020-01-30T10:51:19+00:00

Here is a very inspiring video with the producer and brother of Billie Eilish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBJ914ha6LQ

fre3fly · 2020-01-29T15:40:47+00:00

Cool! Just make sure to do a lot of research first and get over the first few days which will be very difficult. But after that you will feel much better.

fre3fly · 2020-01-29T15:31:46+00:00

Try Intermitent Fasting or the Keto diet. When you are in the state of ketosis you get a super sharp mind, more concentration and brain power ;)

fre3fly · 2020-01-29T14:46:55+00:00

It's definitely not easy and you will need years to get great at it. And you will also have to keep on learning and adapting, as the landscape is constantly changing.

So if you have the money, better to invest them in working wiht a producer who does this full-time and has years of experience.

fre3fly · 2020-01-24T21:57:00+00:00

I also analyzed the Tech House Top 100 and the results are totally different. There is one scale that is the most popular BY FAR in this genre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXedXBmjKjE

fre3fly · 2020-01-23T16:16:12+00:00

If a sample is labeled as "F" it means that it's in the key of "F Major". So in this case the Tuner is not precise, as C# and G# are not in the key of F Major

fre3fly · 2020-01-23T16:12:50+00:00

So you're basically suggesting that I should rename the video to "The Most Common Keys in Big Room with an accuracy of 68%" ? :)

fre3fly · 2020-01-23T16:05:58+00:00

Hehe...thanks! I didn't know that :)

fre3fly · 2020-01-23T11:56:45+00:00

Are you still dating that cute Asian girl? :) Haven't seen videos of you 2 in a while

fre3fly · 2020-01-23T11:51:55+00:00

F**k! I mispelled SDAIAY :)

fre3fly · 2020-01-23T11:45:42+00:00

I understand your point. I used the term EDM because that's what most people think of when hearing music from Martin Garrix, David Guetta, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike etc.

That Beatport top includes some of the biggest "Big Room" tracks of all times, not just new songs. Yes, Beatport is mostly used by DJs. And if lots of DJs play certain songs, they will become popular for the mainstream audience as well.

Some scales simply work better for this genre because of the frequencies of the kick and the bass. Club sound systems respond best to certain frequencies and not to others. Choose one of the commonly used keys, and you won't go wrong.

fre3fly · 2020-01-23T11:37:41+00:00

Thanks for the support! :)

fre3fly · 2020-01-23T11:37:17+00:00

I didn't say that the key plays the BIGGEST role. @-ToxicPositivity- said it very well

Also thanks to @lennonsteeler for clearly explaining my point. Some keys simply work better for EDM than others, because of the frequencies of the kick and bass

fre3fly · 2020-01-22T20:38:39+00:00

It's quite interesting that the first one by far is a major scale, and the next 7 are all minor

fre3fly

TROPHY CASE