Get started with making music in Studio One 5

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Illustration: Jordan Moss

Whether you’re looking to pick up a new hobby or you’re reaching for the stars, music production can be an activity that’s extremely fun, immersive, and rewarding.

There’s nothing quite like being able to make the kind of music that you love listening to, or creating something that you’ve never heard before. That said, with countless different courses, tutorials, and resources out there, it can be hard to know where to start. Should you begin with learning how to read music? Or should you download some software first (and if so, what software)? Just figuring out where and how to begin can be overwhelming.

Good news: You’re not alone – we’re here to help.

The articles and videos included below break down each step of music production so you can tackle them one by one. Together, we’ll lay the foundation for building your first track brick by brick, sound by sound. Once you reach the end of the sequence, you’ll be equipped with the tools you need (and an understanding of how to use them), a general foundation of music theory, and an audio file export of your first completed track!

What to expect:

This experience is designed so that you’ll be able to create your first track in just seven days, if you choose to put in some time everyday. Of course, you can move faster or take longer than a week if you’d like. To receive emails to keep you on track over the course of a week and a code for a free month of sounds that you can use in your music, enter your email here if you haven’t already.

By the end, you’ll have made something like this, in the musical style of your choosing:

What you’ll need:

Aside from a computer or laptop, the following is all you’ll need to get started. Don’t worry – we’ll dive deeper into how to install and use each of these in the very first tutorial video.

  • A DAW (Digital Audio Workstation): Studio One
    • The DAW is the central software we’ll be using to create and edit our music. While there are many DAWs out there, all of the concepts explored throughout our tutorials can be translated to any workstation of your choice. That said, we’ll be using Studio One in our demonstrations, so we encourage that you follow along with it if you’re not already set on a different software – it’s an intuitive yet powerful DAW that can be demoed for absolutely free.
      • Do note that we also offer this equivalent experience using another DAW, Ableton Live Lite. If you’ve already downloaded Ableton, or want to simply check out an alternative option, head over here.
    • Cost: Free for 14 days, then $16.99/mo for 24 months.
  • Some sounds: Splice Sounds
    • If the DAW is our canvas, sounds are our paints. Splice Sounds will give us access to a wide array of sounds that we can freely arrange and modify to create our own music.
    • Cost: Free for 14 days, then $7.99/mo for 100 credits/mo.

If you’re looking to just test the waters of music production, you should be able to create your first track for absolutely no cost using the free trials of Studio One 5 and Splice Sounds. A pair of headphones will also be helpful for when we get to mixing all of our different ideas into a cohesive piece of music. While anything you already have at home will do, if you’re looking to purchase a pair, here’s our guide for picking the headphones that are right for you.

What you’ll learn:

You’ll gain an understanding of the following concepts along your journey towards creating your first full track. Each topic (rhythm, melody, etc.) pairs written guides that overview fundamental concepts with video tutorials that help you put them into action:

Feeling ready? Let’s get started.


Get acquainted with Studio One 5 and Splice Sounds

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Let’s start by familiarizing ourselves with our tools. In this video, we’ll provide an overview of our DAW, Studio One 5, and our sounds library, Splice Sounds. As mentioned above, while we’ll be using Studio One for subsequent tutorials as well, all of the key concepts explored throughout the upcoming videos can be translated to any DAW of your choice.

Watch the tutorial: Get acquainted with Studio One 5 and Splice Sounds


An introduction to music theory

Before we dive into specific topics, let’s briefly discuss why a basic understanding of music theory will be beneficial in helping you find your sound.

Read the article: An introduction to music theory


An introduction to rhythm

Rhythm is perhaps the single most fundamental element of music. While entirely rhythm-driven music exists (ex. music created by hand claps), you can’t really have music that’s ‘solely melodic’ – after all, how can we have a melody if we have no information about when its notes are going to strike? For this reason, it makes sense for us to start our musical journey by learning about rhythm.

Read the article: An introduction to rhythm


How to make a beat in Studio One 5

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Let’s take the ideas we learned about rhythm and apply them in the DAW by creating our very first drum groove in Studio One 5.

Watch the tutorial: How to make a beat in Studio One 5


An introduction to melody

A catchy melody can continue to bounce around in our heads long after we’re done listening, and a soaring tune can move us to tears. What are the building blocks that constitute the melodies we know and love? In this article, we talk about the fundamental principles that are relevant to the idea of melody.

Read the article: An introduction to melody


How to make a melody in Studio One 5

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Let’s build on the groove we previously laid down in our DAW with our own melody, which we’ll program using the piano roll in Studio One 5.

Watch the tutorial: How to make a melody in Studio One 5


An introduction to harmony

Harmony not only helps us identify what notes sound good together, but why they sound good together. It also plays a pivotal role in helping us tell a story with our music. In this article, we walk through important subtopics that pertain to harmony such as intervals, triads, chord progressions, and more.

Read the article: An introduction to harmony


How to make a chord progression in Studio One 5

Let’s add some much-needed color to our groove and melody by crafting a simple but effective chord progression in Studio One 5.

Watch the tutorial: How to make a chord progression in Studio One 5


An introduction to mixing

A great mix not only helps create a commercial-sounding end product, but also elevates the emotional impact of our track. In this lesson, let’s explore the three key processes that constitute mixing: balancing levels, panning, and applying audio effects.

Read the article: An introduction to mixing


How to mix your music in Studio One 5

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Let’s sweeten the existing sounds in our track and create an exciting mix using audio plugins and the other tools available right within Studio One.

Watch the tutorial: How to mix your music in Studio One 5


An introduction to song structure

Song structure allows us to take our disjointed individual ideas and turn them into complete compositions. In this article, we discuss some popular song sections and forms, and how you can approach putting them together yourself.

Read the article: An introduction to song structure


How to arrange and export your track in Studio One 5

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Lastly, let’s extend our loop into a complete track and export our finished song so that we can share it with the world.

Watch the tutorial: How to arrange and export your track in Studio One 5


…And there you have it! Making your first track is truly an exciting adventure to embark on, and we’re thrilled to be able to be a part of that experience. While there’s no pressure to share your work, we’d love to hear what you created; feel free to tag us on Twitter or Instagram @Splice if you do choose to share your first creation with the world.

We wish you the best of luck on your musical journey!


Explore royalty-free sounds from leading artists, producers, and sound designers:

October 19, 2020