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So, you heard all those submissions on the audio portal, and you got inspired.
You want to make your own music. Here's a few things to consider.

What kind (genre) of music do you want to make?

You'll probably already have this one figured out if you got the plan to start making your own music. Before you can start making music, you have to figure out what tools you need to make that music.
If you want to create 'real' music, with real instruments, you'll most likely have to learn how to play those instruments, or form a group with people who can play all the instruments needed.

Most likely, you'll be looking to make electronic music though. (Because most music on the site is electronic). If you want to go for making electronic music, starting out will be quite a bit easier, simply because you don't really need much more than your computer to start out with.

What you need to start making electronic music:

- A computer with (obviously) sound output.
- Speakers or heaphones with decent quality.
- Software to make this music with.

Normally this last one will be the problem when you're only just starting out. There is a wide range of options if it comes to music software.
The software you use to make your music with is called a Digital Audio Workstation, or DAW in short. Remember that term, it is widely used among the people creating electronic music (and not only them).

Here are a few commonly used DAW's.

- Image-Line Fl studio (Windows)
- Propellerhead Reason (Windows, Mac)
- Steinberg Cubase (Windows, Mac)
- Apple Logic (Mac)
- Apple Garageband (Mac)

If you own a Mac, you probably have Garageband on there already, as it comes with it.
For Windows, I recommend Fl studio, as it's widely supported. You'll find the most tutorials for this, the most people to help you, and so forth.

If you want to use it though, it comes with an investment, unless you want to go for the demo.

More information and a demo for Fl studio can be found here.

More information and a demo for Reason can be found here.

More information about Cubase can be found here.

More information about Logic can be found here.

More information about Garageband can be found here.

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Now, the thing about these DAW's is that they cost you money. There are some free alternatives out there, with mostly little functionality compared to 'the big ones'.

A relatively complete, free DAW is Mu.lab. (More information+download) There's a version for both Windows and Mac.

Now you have yourself a piece of software, you can get started. A Big tip I can give you is to listen to the genre you want to make. Don't just listen for pleasure. Listen, and separate what you hear into layers. You'll get to know what the music is made of. Listen for re-occurring patterns in different songs of the same genre.

When you find certain things, try recreating them in your DAW. If there are things you don't know how to do, firstly, experiment a bit, ask google, look for tutorials on youtube, then ask people. Preferably in that particular order.

Using google for help with your DAW

Here's an idea of how you best search for something you want to do in your DAW.
["DAW name"] ["What you are trying to achieve"] (the quotes are important)

Here's an example. You want to look up how to automate the volume in FL studio 9.
the exact search query would be: "Fl studio" "volume automation".

Additional links

Here's another bunch of links that will probably be quite helpful when you're starting your audio journey on Newgrounds.

[1] Audio Forum Sticky
This a set of basic links you might need. I'll cover some of them here as well. Definitely check this one out before you post on the audio forum.

[2] Studios and editors
This thread contains a very complete list of audio software. You'll find the DAW's I mentioned in this article, and a whole load of other programs. There are a lot of programs out there for different functions. The list is mixed up with free and commercial software.

[3] Software Synthesizers
Similar to the above one. The important difference is that this one contains software synthesizers for use in a DAW. Synthesizers are used to create all kinds of sounds by using varying techniques.

[4] Mediaconverter.org
If you need a sound file converted (like a .wav to a .mp3), you can use this website. It is perhaps the fastest way to quickly convert a file if you don't have an application lying around. If you have to convert a bigger amount of files, find an appropriate converter here. (linked from the audio forum sticky).

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