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Help on new hobby with Logic Pro x


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Hi. I am not sure if this is the best place to post this question so apologies if not.

 

I have been pondering over this for sometime and would love some advice from anyone in a similar situation.

 

I am looking to start a new hobby after developing for many years. I have always loved music and the idea of writing songs, however, I can’t sing. And when I say I can’t sing I really mean it.

 

I am not that interested in “making beats” but I love orchestra and strings.

 

The idea is to start a new hobby composing strings in Logic Pro x.

 

I do not intend to write for film and tv and can’t find any resources that are not aimed at this area.

 

So, does anyone write/compose for strings simply to create nice music as a hobby?

 

I have very little music theory and zero music background and as I am now middle aged, and work full time, any courses would have to be online and/or book based.

 

I suppose I don’t have a very specific question but welcome any advice or thoughts around this.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Regards

Stephen

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Thanks for the replies.

 

Yes I know there are many tutorials, and I would be following them, I think the main issue I had was not knowing if it was worth doing this (i.e. strings) unless I was learning for TV and Film. For example, if I learn and ended up getting good at this, is TV and Film the only real route to take? Or do people do this and produce this type of music for other reasons?

 

Again, there are lots and lots of videos proving that people learn to make "beats" and "pop songs" for example, however, I can't sing and don't rap, so again, I think I was looking for ideas on where I could take this as a non singer, who is interested in producing music electronically.

 

Again, thanks for the replies :)

 

Regards

Stephen

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You have probably just described ... "me!" I don't (currently ...) make music professionally. But, I while away my evenings in my television-free(!!) house every night with music.

 

Most importantly of all, I suggest that you spend time "noodling." Just do something, no matter what it is. And, "record it, somehow." Whether you're feeding MIDI to Logic, or recording it on your phone, or a cassette deck or reel-to-reel. Record everything.

 

And, as you create projects, keep everything. (External hard-disk drives are by now very big, and very cheap.)

 

There are, of course, endless resources that have been written about "string orchestration," "composing," "arrangement" and so on – some of them hundreds of years old. You can get caught up, certainly, in "analysis paralysis." I think that the very best thing for you to do now is to ... "trust your gut." If it sounds good to you, trust that it is good. "Of course the next one may be even better, but this one is good."

 

My personal opinion is ... probably much like yours ... that "beats" and (some) "rap" are pretty much a cop-out. (As Peanuts said long ago, "it comes in spray cans.") Happy for those who want to go that way, but I don't. I love the lush and delicate harmonies of a symphony. I love to hear "several distinct melodic lines, intertwining." I prepare quite a bit of my music first as a musical score (https://musescore.org ... it's free and it works everywhere and it's awesome). I dream of making music that will last.

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Start with your favorite streaming service and listen to string ensembles - trios, quartets, etc. Mozart comes to mind...

Hunt down things that analyze the music for structure and form, looking for things like this https://sites.google.com/view/musicalharmonysite/part-ii-musical-harmony-theory-and-analysis/complete-harmony-analyses/mozarts-piano-sonata-in-c-major-k-545

 

Find a text on orchestration or some other resources like

 

https://wiki.youngcomposers.com/Orchestration:_Introduction_to_Strings

 

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/arranging-strings-part-1

 

https://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-arrange-4-part-harmony-for-strings--audio-23215

 

Lots of starting points - for a hobby ;-)

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