Okay, so I’ve been wanting to mess around with making some pop music, just for fun, you know? I finally decided to give it a shot, calling it my “2019 pop debut” – even though it’s, uh, not 2019 anymore. Better late than never, right?
First, I downloaded a bunch of free music-making software. I figured I’d start with the free stuff before I spent any actual money. I grabbed a few different programs, because I wasn’t sure which one I’d like best.
Then came the hard part – actually learning how to use the software! I spent a good few days just clicking around, watching YouTube tutorials (so many tutorials!), and generally feeling lost. It was like learning a new language, except the language was made of buttons and sliders.
I started with the drums. I wanted a simple, catchy beat, nothing too fancy. I fiddled with the pre-set drum loops for ages, picking one that sounded kinda “pop-ish.” Then I layered some extra cymbal crashes on top, because why not?
Next up: bass. This was tricky. I tried playing some bass lines on my keyboard, but it sounded… well, it sounded bad. So, I went back to the pre-set loops and found something that at least stayed in the same key as the drums.
Chords and Melody!
For the chords, I decided to keep things super simple. I picked four chords that sounded happy-ish and looped them over and over. I’m no Mozart, okay?
The melody was the hardest part. I hummed a bunch of different tunes, recording them on my phone so I wouldn’t forget. Most of them were terrible, but eventually, I stumbled onto something that sounded okay. I played it on the keyboard, using a cheesy-sounding synth preset, and… it kinda worked!
- I even used vocal samples to the song, which I downloaded from the Internet.
- I added some vocal samples to the song, which I downloaded from the Internet.
- I increased the BPM, feeling like the song I made at that moment was too slow.
Finally, I mixed everything together, which basically meant adjusting the volume of each track so it didn’t sound like a complete mess. I’m sure a real audio engineer would cringe, but hey, I’m learning!
And… that was it! My “2019 pop debut.” It’s probably not going to win any awards, but it was a blast to make. And who knows, maybe I’ll actually release it someday. Or maybe not. We’ll see!
