Arts & Entertainment, Science & Tech, Music
Introduction
Lesson time 06:27 min
Welcome to Armin’s studio. Get ready to learn more about producing, DJing, and growing your career from one of dance music’s all-time legends.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Follow Your Passion • Have Fun
Teaches Dance Music
Learn how to make dance music from the platinum-selling producer voted No. 1 DJ in the world five times by DJ Magazine.
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I didn't have a lot of money, especially in the beginning. I mean, my parents were willing to help me a little bit but not that much. I mean, they weren't able to just-- especially in the beginning of my career, you didn't have the possibility of doing everything in one DAW. You needed a big mixer like this, and then and a lot of outboard gear, and synthesizers, and samplers. And you needed to-- you know, to connect everything via MIDI. And so, it was an expensive hobby back then. Only later, it was possible to do everything on one computer. That was only since 2002, 2003 that that was possible. Computers just weren't fast enough. So that was a-- that was really difficult in the beginning. Money was definitely an issue. But the good side of that is is that because I didn't have that much money, I had to put everything that I had upside down. I had to put-- you know, the JX-3P only had a polyphony of four voices, I guess. So as soon as I touched more than four keys on the keyboard, there was always one note that wasn't playing. So how am I going to solve this? Well, that meant I had to sample one of the notes. So if I wanted to hear five voices at the same time, I needed to sample the other one. So that's how I became creative. It's all about creating a vibe in your studio. That's also why I think it's important to not only look at your room acoustics but also make sure you have fresh air, a nice coffee machine, some nice sandwiches. You don't-- you should not be in the studio being hungry because that doesn't inspire you. It can kill the vibe, you know. It's almost as the atmosphere on a dance floor. It's a very, very delicate balance. You need to create a nice environment where you feel comfortable, where-- you know, where there's maybe-- some people are really into candles. I'm not, but some people are. Great. Put candles in your studio. Make it your living room, a place where you're comfortable. And especially now with the DAWs and you can-- the possibility of doing everything on a laptop, it's great to just sit in your living room. Why do you need to be in a studio like this? You don't need to be here. I mean, this can be pretty intimidating. You know, once I walk in a room like this, I'm like, oh, I have to make music now, you know. It looks like a studio, and I really have to start working. No, you know, it's about you. The convenient thing about living in these times is that you don't need to spend a lot of money to make decent-sounding tracks. I like to use Logic Pro and Ableton Live for production, preparing my DJ sets. You do need to make a choice between one of the DAWs that fits your sound and that fits your style. And I would really suggest to stick to one or maybe two DAWs and really dig deep into what's possible and what's not possible. Don't ever think that if you're using a different DAW than me or anybody else, then your songs will not be as good. It's all about the chef, not about the k...
About the Instructor
Every week, Armin van Buuren puts 41 million listeners into A State of Trance on his radio show. In his first-ever online class, the platinum-selling DJ breaks down his hits and builds a track from scratch to show you how he produces, performs, and promotes dance music. You’ll learn his technical process for using samples and plug-ins, mixing, recording vocals, and how to DJ a set. Your crowd is waiting.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Armin van Buuren
Learn how to make dance music from the platinum-selling producer voted No. 1 DJ in the world five times by DJ Magazine.
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