Looking to aquire a ghetto education

[bewildered]

Im completely facinated in creating complex electronic music, but i know nothing of types of equipment and their roles they play in the assembly line of music.I already have an extensive background in music writing and performing, and am getting tired of the limits of analogue music.

At the moment i have a standard yamaha keyboard hooked up to my audigy2 card. ive managed to play my piano over my computer speaker while running its sound through the different sound machines within Reason. However i find Reason restrictive and meant more for the learning musician.

This is basically how i imagine creating music (bear with me):

I want to play my piano through a sound modulating program/machine much like im doing now with Reason, but i want it to record what im playing, as im playing. This program/machine should allow me to take samples of sounds i play, and create new sounds from their repetition. I should also be able to sample analogue sounds and incorperate them into the program so i may play them on the piano.

I want this recorded track to go into a program/machine as a layer. Then i want to be able to edit each individual layer, having the option to mute certain layers and change the overall quality of each layer (i believe such a machine is called a mixer?).

I also wish to create the rhythmic sections using analogue sounds and change them through a sound modulating program/machine. I imagine doing this with a microphone, but i need this microphone to pick up on the intended sound and not ambient noise, and it must be portable. obviously im going to need some sort of portable recording device, but am clueless as to what that is and how i would export those tracks into my sound modulating program/machine.

essentially this is all i can imagine. If anyone knows any tutorials that detail this process, or can help me in any way, it would be much appreciated. I have considered taking a audio engineering class at my university, but am unsure if it would help. Mods, If my thread would be better situated in a different forum section, please move it.

 

[ssscientist]

Most, if not all, of the procedures and machines you describe are already available as computer programs. The have one thing in common - they all use midi as a basis for operation. Reason seems frustrating to you because of your lack of understanding of the hows and whys of midi, but I assure you it's not meant for the 'learning musician'.

You've obviously given this a lot of thought and drawn a bunch of conclusions, some of which are right on target and some which are a little off base. Just as you'll never be able to create your own world in which to live, the world of midi has rules you'll need to learn and concepts that you'll need to know how to apply.

Start here with these links to two good articles on midi basics - part one and part two.

When you get finished reading those, download some demos of some low-cost midi and audio sequencers like Tracktion, PowerTracks and n-Track (which is free).

Unless you're the quickest study ever, you'll probably need more help and that's what we're here for...

 

[bewildered]

thanks for the help, ill read the links. I figure ill prob have to read a book on this. any reccommendations?

i guess my biggest question is, how much of what i want to do involves actual machines? if anything, moneys going to be my biggest problem.

 

[Carter]

All you need is one of those recording programs sscientist reconmended and you are good to go!