BETA YOURSELF MAKING MUSIC
You used to need real instruments and a studio to turn your musical ideas into actual tunes; today, says Craig Grannell, you only need a phone, some apps and - optionally - talent
Craig Grannell
THE BASICS
■ Keep it simple
If you’ve never written a song before, don’t think you’ll become Brian Wilson overnight. Start slowly and play around, figuring out how to make interesting snippets that sound good. Ignore condescending musos who insist you should avoid automation and loops - make use of whatever tools you have to hand, and gradually build your skills.
■ Slow it down
Tempo is an important part of any song. Although you might want to craft insanely fast rock or head-thumping dance tracks, don’t forget it’s slower tracks that often brim with atmosphere. So set your tempo to less than 100 at least some of the time. Also, remember that you can temporarily slow everything down to record tricky bits.