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Music Recording & Sound books:
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I learned independently but would probably have learned a lot faster with a tutor. The moment it "clicked" for me, so to speak, is when I bought this book: Music Theory for Computer Musicians. I immersed myself in that book and read it in no time. For me it worked wonders just staying away from the computer and endless tutorials to just jump in for a deep dive.
Lots to go on.. but start with the Rod Gervais book
Go by this and you'll be OK. Walls with double drywall + green glue will do you right... take care with ANYTHING ELSE that goes through a wall. Doors, HVAC, electrical... that's the tricky part.
The Sound Reinforcement Handbook by Yamaha
Other great YouTube is Dave Rat
Buy this book and read it. When your done, read it again. When your finally done that, read it a third time.
https://www.amazon.ca/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X
Then join this forum;
http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php
And read all you can and ask your questions. You can also upload your design and the community there is very good at giving honest feedback.
Gearslutz.com is a great resource as well.
Studio building is 90% planning and 10% construction.
Music theory for computer musicians. It is classical theory but written in a piano roll in case you can't read music. Great book in my opinion. Read it all the way through and it helps every day.
https://www.amazon.com/Theory-Computer-Musicians-Michael-Hewitt/dp/1598635034
I should add that there are a few minor errors in the book. Nothing factually wrong, just a few mislabeling of images.
Mike Senior's Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio is solid: https://www.amazon.com/Mixing-Secrets-Small-Studio-Presents/dp/1138556378/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
Books. Start with your local library system and find every book they have on the subject. Scan them all, and read those that seem to speak to you. Ask for book recommendations here. The one that comes up most often for live sound is "Sound Reinforcement Handbook" ( https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Reinforcement-Handbook-Gary-Davis/dp/0881889008/ref=sr_1_1?crid=32D1J9UME9UQA&keywords=sound+reinforcement+handbook+2nd+edition&qid=1564110323&s=gateway&sprefix=sound+reinfo%2Caps%2C194&sr=8-1 )
There are used copies available on Amazon for less. Even though it's from 1989 most of the information is still applicable.
I'm trying to be helpful.
There are no rules for the decibel level of different instruments. Here are some general tips:
-Mix to -6 or -3 db max at the master
-Generally if there are vocals the vocals should be the most prominent, i.e. the loudest
-Depending on the genre, the loudness of the drums is more or less important
-Other instruments can change throughout a song depending on the part
-Getting "good" at mixing is much more about learning how to use EQ properly than anything else
-Read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Mixing-Engineers-Handbook-Bobby-Owsinski/dp/128542087X
https://www.amazon.com/Mixing-Secrets-Small-Studio-Presents/dp/0240815807
Tough read, you bet... but it covers so much, rather than youtube tutorials crammed into 20 minutes with 5 minutes worth of adds and shit...
Tells you the ins and outs and the whys of all the techniques, methods etc. I'm about to start my fourth read of this.
I'd even argue that I got more out of this book when it comes to mixing than I did at uni... but maybe its because I was older and already had a basic understanding of the bulk of the book.
'Music theory for computer musicians' It teaches the theory behind harmony and melody.
As far as playing goes, there's no substitute for putting your hands on keys as often as you can. Try learning songs you like.
The Sound Reinforcement Handbook may be of interest to you. It is fairly technical and it's focused on live sound design, but I found it to be a valuable read.
Books!
Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros: Gervais, Rod: 8601406362468: Amazon.com: Books
Hope you didn't expect someone to ELI5 it. Your topic is large and doing the wrong things will be useless *and* expensive.
I'm like you, a hobbyist having fun on journey of musical discovery. I will say this, since beginning music production a year ago, I started out constructing songs solely by ear and my own taste. They sounded pretty okay for someone with no experience whatsoever. I found it actually very encouraging and quite exhilarating.
But I did reach a point where I did want to know more theory. My wife is trained musician and she always kind of recommended learning some. I'm not much of a book person, but casually browsing Amazon yielded this guy: Music Theory for the Computer Musician
25 bucks well spent. Not only is it fairly well written, it's geared exactly toward folks like us. Honestly, I found kind of cool to learn how the interplay of sound and its relationship to frequency makes all the music we love. It isn't an end all, be all. But I do create music differently now and with a little more intention, more able to predict how something might sound rather discovering it by trial and error.
I don't think there's anything wrong not knowing it, but knowing some is definitely a benefit to your process. Good luck.
Do you know your way through Ableton already or are you looking to learn more about the in's and out's of Ableton?
If you know how to use Ableton already, I highly recommend spending more time delving into music theory over DAW tutorials (especially if you are producing deep house which has more complex chord structures). I bought the following book off Amazon and was happy with what I learned off music theory (allow the beginning starts off a little slow if you have been producing for awhile):
If you are wanting to learn more about the in's and out's of Ableton, I'd recommend saving some money and looking up tutorials on YouTube on how to accomplish what you are looking to do. If you have any questions regarding Ableton plugins, there is likely a YouTube tutorial on it for free.
Ah, I wasn't aware. Music Theory for Computer Musicians is also a great resource. It doesn't explore much beyond the basics, but it's great for beginners since it builds gradually and doesn't overwhelm with information.
Hi and welcome! Never too late with starting to make music! What DAW did you choose? I would definitely go with at least 49 keys! I have the Nektar Panorama T49 - pretty good and comes with aftertouch. All the best!
https://www.amazon.de/Music-Theory-Computer-Musicians-CD-ROM/dp/1598635034
I prefer video tutorials regarding music theory, because mostly you can listen to examples in one go. I can recommend "thinkspace education" from guy mitchelmoore. Free youtube and payed courses. :)
I don't have this, I think i got it from public library,i remember it being good, Mike Senior. Owsinski's is probably also good
https://www.amazon.com/Mixing-Secrets-Small-Studio-Presents/dp/1138556378/
My best advice would be to buy and read this before you move any farther:
https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X
Next sketch up your design and post it here after you read everything you can find in the forums that relates to your design.
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/
I can almost guarantee someone has already built your room.
Based off your post I can already tell you’ve missed a few big things.
(Friendly note: stop using the term STC. That standard is no where near thorough enough to mean anything when building a studio. It doesn’t take into account low frequencies and those are the biggest culprits when soundproofing for Recording/Music)
Do yourself a favor and read the Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook. It's old (doesn't cover anything digital) but still really useful for understanding the fundamentals.
Get a copy of Rod Gervais’ book Build It Like the Pros and you’ll get some fairly detailed explanation of how to design and construct isolated rooms.
Note that it all starts with design criteria — how much iso do you really need?
Because floating a room could mean just the walls (I did this in my basement control room build), the walls and ceiling, or all the above plus the floor. Each level up increases the cost, complexity and difficult of execution significantly.
The book will also explain which details you can’t afford to mess up. Unfortunately many people run headlong into studio projects without having a really solid plan considering all elements of the build, and end up blowing a bunch of money for poor results because they messed up a critical element. Little things like shorting out resilient channel because you screwed into a stud, or failing to seal every crack and seam in your drywall, can really kill the isolation gains you fought to make.
At any rate, it’s a cheap way to learn what you’re getting into.
thanks for the rec! is it this one? I cant seem to find it otherwise
The music theory they would teach u at a school yes it can intimidating. But the most basic music theory is nessesary just to understand exactly what your essential goal is to make, MUSIC.
Your interest in sound is great! What was it that initially made you think "this is so cool!"? Attending a concert, editing a video?
Two ways to get involved and start exploring sound might be 1) volunteer to assist with AV at a church or school so that you can learn a bit about live sound, and 2) start producing/editing videos, and 3) start recording/editing some music (even if you're not the performer).
I also like u/NuclearSiloForSale's idea of buying some used gear to play with. You can find lots of reasonably-priced stuff on www.reverb.com. Start with a mic, a small mixer, and a small powered speaker just to get a feel for setting levels, signal routing, DSP, etc.
And if you do nothing else, buy a copy of the Sound Reinforcement Handbook and read it cover-to-cover. It's one of the best educational books in the industry.
It covers everything you'll need to know/consider
Yup, it's a big project, even for a fairly basic build. Had to do it so I could record in a basement right next to a fairly active railway.
Your sound proofing is only as good as your weakest point. Don't neglect a really sound proof door (that was the weak point for me) and good ventilation (tricky to get enough air in an still keep quiet, mine had enough air exchange, but did get hot with multiple people inside.)
The Rod Gervais book is a great place to start.
Start anywhere you want, go anywhere you want, and play anywhere you want.
That said, buy this book and read the whole thing, but particularly Chapters 23 and 24:
https://www.amazon.com/How-DJ-Right-Science-Playing/dp/0802139957
In a nutshell, you should build your set to tell a story. But there are many ways to tell a story and many stories to tell.
Your set can be a constant progression of energy, building to a climatic peak. Or it can be a series of peaks and valleys. Or a slow journey through a genre or a mood. Or a long, punishing, relentless workout. Or a series of ebbs and flows.
You can pick music based on mood, genre, instrumental qualities, energy, or even the meaning and stories they tell.
Really, it’s up to you. But no key progression formula will ever tell you what you need or how to express it.
If you would like to understand more about it, it's all in Floyd Tooles textbook on sound reproduction. https://www.amazon.ca/Sound-Reproduction-Acoustics-Psychoacoustics-Loudspeakers/dp/0240520092
Also Geoff martin (lead designer at b&o) has a great series of videos about how sound behaves in room. Really great explanations on everything.
Soundproofing is very different from acoustic treatment. To soundproof, you'll need to insulate the outer wall, build a new wall a few inches away from that wall, insulate that wall and drywall (2 layers better than 1). Make sure to only drywall the inside of the inner wall, so that the gap between the walls are just bare insulation exposed. You'll need to do the same thing with the ceiling, and you'll need to use acoustic sealant in all the corners. This is just the bare bones, you can go much much deeper with soundproofing. After this is complete, the neighbours will be happy, but you'll still need to acoustically treat the new room you built, as it will sound boxy and bad.
This book is a bible of sorts, highly recommend to anyone building a studio