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Ask HN: Do you create music? Let's hear it!

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Ask HN: Do you create music? Let's hear it!

#1

Post by kyro »

I've noticed that many of the hackers I've spoken to create their own music. I myself dabble in digital music, hip hop beats and what not, and know that others in this community do as well. I thought it'd be interesting to see the musical productions of hackers here. Maybe we'll see some patterns, who knows. So if you're a musician, pro or amateur, let's hear it.

Also, please specify what software you use, if any, in creating your music, for recording/mixing/mastering/etc.

I'll start with myself - http://www.virb.com/kyro - nothing terribly impressive. I have gotten much better since, I will tell you! I use Logic Pro 8 mainly now, but have also used Reason 4. Notes are entered in using a MIDI keyboard.

Re: Ask HN: Do you create music? Let's hear it!

#5

Post by gdp »

Neat thread, I'm keen to see what comes out of it.

I've since moved away, but I was in a band called Dynamo Go back in New Zealand. We released an album for free in April this year:

http://www.dynamo-go.com/

Drums were tracked in a pro studio using protools, then the rest of the album was recorded using Ardour and UbuntuStudio with LADSPA plugins. The final master was done by somebody else using some other software.

We had done a couple of EPs and had been pretty unimpressed by the immense financial risks we had to take in order to get a distributor on board - having gone down that path previously and having had to work exceptionally hard just to recoup our investment, we released the full album for free, based on the fact that it involved zero upfront investment and lots more people would hear it. It worked out pretty well. It still gets half a dozen downloads a week, last time I checked my webserver stats.

Re: Ask HN: Do you create music? Let's hear it!

#6

Post by kyro »

trafficlight wrote: post #4

I use FL Studio myself. http://thesixtyone.com/abledanger I've also recorded some vocals using Adobe Audition and the USB Rock Band microphone. Not too shabby.

Great stuff. That's the kind of stuff I'd love to be able to make. I just really haven't gotten a hang of things that well yet. How long have you been doing this for? Do you have any resources that helped you along the way, other than just trial and error?

Re: Ask HN: Do you create music? Let's hear it!

#8

Post by tlrobinson »

dkersten wrote: post #2

I mess about with Reason 4 and a MIDI keyboard, but I'm pretty bad at it and have nothing worth sharing ;-) My little brother is pretty good at it though and has just started studying sound engineering.

Me too. I built a x0xb0x (http://www.ladyada.net/make/x0xb0x/ - it's a pretty impressive project, Ladyada does great stuff) a few years ago and play around with it occasionally, but I've realized I'm much better at enjoying other people's music than creating my own.

Re: Ask HN: Do you create music? Let's hear it!

#9

Post by mattdennewitz »

http://myspace.com/motion

two of us, both in chicago. npr says we "reinvent phil spectors wall of sound as a 50 foot tall electric fence." software-wise, we use ableton live for loop control.

will be headlining our label showacse @ midpoint music fest (cincinnati, oh) on sept. 27, then pop montreal (montreal, quebec, canada) on oct. 3, if anyone wants to swing in and geek out!

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