Do I really need to know how to play a instrument to make EDM?

knowing how to play at least one instrument helps in that you are not struggling to get your ideas solidified in a daw - you know what you want to happen and can translate that into a notation of some form
 
Well it makes recording your midi input easier and faster.Basically learning how to read music and practicing the recognition of notes speed you up a lot.And then it feels more like a videogame if that makes any sense to you, more fun when you can kinda tell what you press before you press.If you can remember what button on a 360 controller does without looking at it, you can do the same with a pianokeyboard
 
yousefgunz said:
I really need to know.
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No, you don't need to know how to play piano or understand music theory. Sure it helps, but if you're into edm, you probably don't want to worry about putting in multiple hours a day learning how to read music, ear training, or transcription. You just wanna have fun and dick around with effects until you stumble upon something that sounds good to impress your friends, right?
 
Pumpthrust said:
No, you don't need to know how to play piano or understand music theory. Sure it helps, but if you're into edm, you probably don't want to worry about putting in multiple hours a day learning how to read music, ear training, or transcription. You just wanna have fun and dick around with effects until you stumble upon something that sounds good to impress your friends, right?
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Ouch! :O Allthough I most of the time would agree with that, (listening to most electronic music out there today, it seems that's what it's about) I just have to say that electronic music can be just as musical as anything else.
 
Wallengard said:
Ouch! :O Allthough I most of the time would agree with that, (listening to most electronic music out there today, it seems that's what it's about) I just have to say that electronic music can be just as musical as anything else.
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I agree, but, lets be real here, if you need to ask, "should I learn an instrument to make ___", you didn't have any intent to do so in the first place. Furthermore, EDM as a genre is all about immediate gratification and having fun-thats why most kids are drawn to it in the first place. No one expects for someone into EDM to want to do unfun things like spend a weekend practicing scales and classical pieces. EDM producers with any real musical ability came to it from a different genre.
 
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Pumpthrust said:
I agree, but, lets be real here, if you need to ask, "should I learn an instrument to make ___", you didn't have any intent to do so in the first place. Furthermore, EDM as a genre is all about immediate gratification and having fun-thats why most kids are drawn to it in the first place. No one expects for someone into EDM to want to do unfun things like spend a weekend practicing scales and classical pieces. EDM producers with any real musical ability came to it from a different genre.
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I hear what you're saying. I started making electronic music quite a long time ago, and I have spent countless hours being frustrated and neck deep in tedious tasks and personal challenges. So I would be one of the guys who expect people to do a lot of unfun stuff, unless you are going for that mainstream sound that anyone with half a brain can do. But this is the turn that electronic music has taken lately and we can all just deal with it. Hopefully it gets better again!
 
Bass is a great instrument for learning about music and playing along while you produce. there are great fx or midi options for it too, as well as learning to play rhythm which is all going to help bashing out a best on a pad. I play guitar {snore} and bass, have owned a few synths but find keyboard and a lot of music "rules" counterintuitive. I just click stuff into the piano roll and build upon whatever melody I make up, chop it up, move it between tracks, jam over it, match keys, frequencies and delay times by calculating them, use ableton midi fx to alter scales, arpegs, note length. This is done more by understanding relationships than musical knowledge. Sheet music sucks if your brain doesnt work that way. Playing instruments is fun but learning your DAW and VSTs inside out is essential. EDM is a bit of a nonsense term. To me it's the unimaginitive, commercial end of dance and electronic music. There are so many genres and crossovers of genres on soundcloud that you as a producer can learn from and emulate and create your own style this way with patience and training your ears by lots of listening to as much really well produced and complex stuff as u can find.
 
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You should at least know chord progressions and have some musical talent to creating melodies, even if you wont actually be playing keyboard.
 
The short answer is that it doesn't matter. Making beats is a skill not separate to the ability to play an instrument, but definitely easier since you only have to be able to lay down 4 bar loops that sound musically cohesive, and sequence them.
Will it make it easier...probably, but just get busy making beats. They will sound poor to fair at best when starting out regardless of musical knowledge.

Good beats come from experience in making.....good beats.
 
E.T.F said:
Bass is a great instrument for learning about music and playing along while you produce.
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This I definitely agree with as bass is the easiest to mess up. Especially when sampling, and playing bass over the sample.
Sometimes people will play a low bass note, and not immediately hear is it out of tune because it may be a very low note that is barely audible (more felt than heard).
It can be a bass from a keyboard, but getting your bass right goes a long way.
 
yousefgunz said:
I really need to know.
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Yes, of coarse you need to learn how to an instrument to make EDM. You need instruments to make any kind of music. Music is made with instruments, even if the instruments are spoons or your own voice; which is biological instrument built into us as far as I'm considered. EDM music makers us MIDI controllers, software, drum mashines, analog synths, digital synths, keyboards, workstations, drums, and more.

Checkout Moog Music
 
Working as a producer, at least on a professional level, requires knowledge in a few areas (Taking into account that we are all interested in producing grade A material here) :

- Music Theory - The more the better grows your understanding of harmony and melody and how they both co-exist, allowing you to provide with more interesting melodies and progressions which feel more alive and fluid , at will.
You may still be able to achieve this but have absolutely no idea why or what made your track sound so good.

-Sound Engineering - Teaches you how to achieve your desired texture and beats, further supporting your idea. To know how to create a grade A track from start to finish will further expand your options for ideas, for the amount of time going into each and one of your tracks and such.

-Instrument/Musicianship - To be able to see things from the point of view of the musician is very important, it will support you further if you choose to collaborate with other artists and wish to convey your ideas to them.
Further more, being able to play on any instrument, will better improve your understanding of that instrument and of the synergy that accompanies other instruments as well.

To me personally, it is very interesting to look at electronic music like a classical masterpiece, where a lot of lines are combined together in perfect or slightly imperfect way. With developing harmonies rather than just stale beats for 7 minutes. But thats probably because I've spent so much time studying classical music and Jazz.
To further illustrate my point, I'd invite you to look at the artist " N'to" - creates amazing techno music which is , imo, perfect combination of the 3 things above.


"N'to - La Cle Des Champs"

Best wishes
 
no not at all. i know a lot of people who have never touched an instrument and make crazy shit. but you can get a new understanding of music be learning an instrument. Goodluck

Love - Calectic
 
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