# General guidance for a hobbyist



## roman.i (Sep 19, 2020)

Hello everyone,

I'm in a beginning of my musical journey, doing this mostly for fun, for a year or so.
Recently I reached a basic level in playing a piano.
I have some basic experience and knowledge in sound design and mixing as well.
Now I'm trying to find my way into composition.
My goal is to produce music which is kind of a mix between an electronic and cinematic music.
I'm seeking for a general guidance / learning path / course suggestions,
and some feedback if I'm handing in the right direction or not.

Thanks


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## MusicStudent (Sep 19, 2020)

It is a life endeavor with countless paths. But you can't go wrong looking over here to find some direction.


https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=guy+michelmore


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Sep 19, 2020)

roman.i said:


> I'm in a beginning of my musical journey, doing this mostly for fun, for a year or so.
> Recently I reached a basic level in playing a piano.
> I have some basic experience and knowledge in sound design and mixing as well.
> Now I'm trying to find my way into composition.
> My goal is to produce music which is kind of a mix between an electronic and cinematic music.


I started out a few months ago with the same goal as you, so I'm gonna share my experiences and what I've learned so far:

1) Get East West's Composer Cloud:





EastWest ComposerCloud+ | Virtual Instruments Plugin Bundle


Limited Time Offer - 30 Day Free Trial to ComposerCloud+. Instant Access to all of EastWest's 42,000+ award-winning virtual instruments & DAW plugins.




www.soundsonline.com





It's a subscription service which you can cancel any time you want, so you're not "trapped" at all. How long you want to subscribe is completely up to you.

Once you have signed up for CC, check out their (East West's) Hollywood Orchestra. This is one of the biggest bang-for-the-buck deals you can get in the orchestral sample world. Check the sound of it:

- Andrew Barraclough's Youtube channel (best display of Hollywood Orchestra on Youtube)








Andrew Barraclough







www.youtube.com





- East West's own Youtube channel with tutorials on HO (scroll down until you get to the playlist ComposerCloud Tutorial Series):








EastWest Sounds







www.youtube.com


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Sep 19, 2020)

2) For electronic sounds, I will recommend the synths from u-he:
*





u-he Products: Synthesizers, Effects and Soundsets


u-he products: creative software synthesizers, effects and soundsets



u-he.com




*
Keep in mind you do not have to buy them for full price - you can find them 2nd hand on KVR, which is what I did:








KVR Forum: Sell & Buy (+Special Offers, Deals & Promos) Forum


KVR Audio Forum - Sell & Buy (+Special Offers, Deals & Promos) Forum




www.kvraudio.com





(As usual, be careful who you trust in online trading)

Heavyocity is another interesting company:
*





Virtual Instruments & Sound Design Software | Heavyocity


Find creative inspiration with Heavyocity's award-winning virtual instruments. Composers, sound designers, and other artists love our sound design software.



heavyocity.com




*
They have cinematic drums (Damage) and mangled electronic drums (DM-307) plus other interesting cinematic stuff.

Many people recommend Spectrasonic's Omnisphere for electronic music, but it is expensive:
*





Spectrasonics - Omnisphere 2.8 - Overview







www.spectrasonics.net




*
Omnisphere is also sometimes available as 2nd hand.


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Sep 19, 2020)

Finally, be careful how you spend your money. Hold on to it! It's easy to get tempted, because there is so much great stuff out there, so you have to be really, really careful in what you choose to get.

Also keep this in mind: Avoid buying software at regular prices. There are so many sales going on in the orchestral sample library world. Black Friday is around the corner, then comes the Holiday sales, then New Year sales etc.


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## DoubleTap (Sep 19, 2020)

hbjdk said:


> Finally, be careful how you spend your money. Hold on to it! It's easy to get tempted, because there is so much great stuff out there, so you have to be really, really careful in what you choose to get.
> 
> Also keep this in mind: Avoid buying software at regular prices. There are so many sales going on in the orchestral sample library world. Black Friday is around the corner, then comes the Holiday sales, then New Year sales etc.


Good advice. I've probably not got the best possible bargains but my spend averages about half the official list price, which includes things that aren't ever discounted like Serum and a Valhalla plugin. Most things are available at some point for at least half price

I would say though that I began this with the intention of not spending any money at all, and that pushed me down various routes that have ended up either delaying my progress or led to me spending money on things that were superseded quite quickly.


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## roman.i (Sep 19, 2020)

Fortunately, I've already enough gear and plugins.
My question is about more formal education, rather than random videos on Youtube.


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## dzilizzi (Sep 19, 2020)

Are you in the U.S.? If you get a library card, most allow you access to Lynda.com for free where they have a lot of good classes. Places like Thinkspace and Groove3 also have good classes. Udemy and Coursera are also good places to go for classes. 

If you are talking formal education, a lot of junior/community colleges have basic music theory classes that will get you started. But I wouldn't knock all the free videos on YouTube. There's a lot of really good stuff out there from people who know what they are talking about.


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## el-bo (Sep 19, 2020)

roman.i said:


> Fortunately, I've already enough gear and plugins.
> My question is about more formal education, rather than random videos on Youtube.



Not sure either of the links that have been offered would be considered random.

One is for a channel of a 'Guy' (  ) who not only gives away great, free YT content, but runs an academy with many levels of courses, for many levels of students.

The other recommendation is both inspirational and aspirational, which is the kind of quality content well worth seeking out.


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## MusicStudent (Sep 19, 2020)

roman.i said:


> Fomore formal education, rather than random videos on Youtube.



Short of going back in academia there is stuff like this which provided "certificates". I went this route a decade ago with jazz guitar performance and enjoyed it.









Download Your Free Composing for Film, TV and Games Handbook from Berklee Online


Berklee Online is Berklee College of Music's online school.




welcome.online.berklee.edu


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Sep 19, 2020)

roman.i said:


> Fortunately, I've already enough gear and plugins.
> My question is about more formal education, rather than random videos on Youtube.


I read the initial post as if you were looking for “general guidance“, which I then attempted to provide given your situation, but I see now that I misunderstood. That’s what happens sometimes in Internet communication


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## AndreasHe (Dec 3, 2020)

I am also learning (same genre) for around 2 years now. Watched tons of YouTube videos and so on.

Can recommend the channel of Alex Moukala for epic music. 

To be honest, I learned most by active listening to existing music. Try to read each single instrument, what it is doing and how it influences you. Analyze all the songs you like.


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## Marcus Millfield (Dec 4, 2020)

roman.i said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I'm in a beginning of my musical journey, doing this mostly for fun, for a year or so.
> Recently I reached a basic level in playing a piano.
> ...



Just make music, create what your heart tells you to, focus on being a musician first. Don't get into too much of the technical mumbo-jumbo, because it will distract you from your music. These forums are really special and great places to gain "technical" knowledge, but don't get too much distracted by it. It's a lesson I need to tell myself too, a lot.

Second: keep playing and practicing your piano, with a teacher preferably. This will be very valuable knowledge and experience in the long run.

Good luck and have fun!


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