I’m a self taught singer/songwriter, when I first started out it was super daunting! trying to figure out how to record and use a DAW was a real challenge for me but I found watching YouTube tutorials to be really useful. I’m always reaching out to ask others for help and advice and I find that most musicians are really open to sharing their expertise.
I’d recommend starting out with GarageBand and watching some tutorials or reach out to a producer you like and ask to collaborate.
I believe in you and I really hope I get to hear your music someday :)
Apr 25, 2024
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Throughout my whole life, I had awful music teachers. I had a piano teacher that made me sit on my hands because he was frustrated with the way I played scales and a music teacher in primary/middle school that gave me so many anxiety attacks that my doctor finally gave me a note so I didn’t have to go anymore.
I was told so many times throughout my life that I had no music talent, discouraged from going further than scales but all of those people (teachers!!!!) were wrong. They just couldnt fathom that I had a different musical brain than them.
When I was 23, I ended up having to move back home from LA after my job rescinded their promise to sponsor me for a visa. I was depressed and heartbroken and lonely. I went to school for writing but didn’t want to write anymore so I ended up opening GarageBand on my iPad.
I was inspired by all the things I could do on it. I suddenly felt like I was entering a new world. After making a couple beats, I started moving everything over to the laptop version of GarageBand. I bought big headphones, a cheap usb mic and a keyboard off of a guy from Craigslist and continued to tinker. One of my favorite things to do at the time was to download karaoke midi tracks of popular songs I loved, import them into GarageBand and change the instrument until I felt like I was making something new. I would then use my shitty mic to wail on top of it.
I used GarageBand for years after that to make tons of songs that I just uploaded to SoundCloud without thinking about it much. Eventually I got a controller/sampler and access to Ableton and thats when the fun really started.
My love for music making snowballed after that, I amassed more gear and skill and eventually made an album after a couple years. I was obsessed with making it and while I feel really whatever about it now, I don’t feel whatever about the experience.
Music has allowed me space to express parts of me that there are no words for. The best thing I can impart is to take advantage of this. There are some things that you can only explain with a kick drum or a sine wave or a really hard bassline.
Music is still a huge part of me! I made another album after that first and now I’m working on my next project. I recently reincarnated myself (everyone in the ~industry~ advised against this but I’m a different person now) and I’m excited to see what’s in store for me. I don’t expect to make money or become famous but music feeds my soul in a way nothing else can.
Have fun!!
May 4, 2024
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i only have an associates degree in illustration and had to further my skill set on my own and i taught myself how to play [mediocre] bass and the most important thing is consistency. i’ve always been told practicing something five minutes a day regularly is better than once a week for two hours…and it’s true!
for visual art, try doing a self portrait every day, a plein air painting or sketch… really anything! even if you don’t like it you’re learning and growing. don’t bombard yourself with fancy supplies and remember you have to learn the rules to break them. art history and foundational drawing practice are very important. hone in your skills with line and value and once you master that explore some basic color theory. drawing observationally (still life, models, landscapes) will help you immensely no matter what you decide to do with your talent. if you’ve got the budget for it, see if you can take a class at a local arts council or community college. digital art is just as valid if you’re worried about going through materials and a great medium for quick warm ups and practice. you’re really interested in painting, try doing master copies, that’s where you copy an existing work to kind of get a feel for the techniques the artist used and it’s completely fine and dandy to do so. i had a professor who would make us do weekly pencil self portraits in the style of various artists and it was extremely helpful in terms of problem solving. art is basically just problem solving with form and color.
as for instrumentally, i had no background in music and no schooling or guidance to help me. i also decided to play bass with no background in guitar which i am told is slightly blasphemous but i just really enjoy a juicy bass line! i’m def not perfect, in fact i am quite a wonky bassist, but i’m having a good time ☺ research different styles and models of the instrument you enjoy along with basic maintenance and caretaking. do you need any additional materials for this (pick, amp etc…)? sort of like the master copies, find a few players of said instrument that you really look up to. i taught myself VERY basic music theory via youtube (that site will be your best friend!) and scales and warmups there as well. once you’ve got the muscle memory for all that you can begin to emulate the music you look up to. i would teach myself the bass tabs of my favorite songs, and once i got the hang of them, sort of dissected them to see what makes them work, which helped me develop sounds of my own invention.
hope this didn’t sound like too much! it’s hard to comprehensively give advice on this sort of thing as being self taught isn’t a linear thing in my experience. i hope this helped some and best of luck with your creative endeavors and remember having. fun triumphs over all else <3
Jul 31, 2024
I’m taking music seriously in 2025 and trying to learn how to write songs. I feel like I’m behind the crowd as I’m starting in my 20s and know very little actual music theory. But I just WANT TO. So I guess im gonna.
Wish me LUCK xoxo
Dec 25, 2024
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Definitely one of my favourite covers, it’s so beautiful <3
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This album reminds me of riding my bike around my old neighbourhood on sunny evenings <3
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