How to Produce Music: A Starter Guide
For Artists
To start producing music, you need a computer, a DAW (free options exist), headphones, and about 20 hours of focused learning. Start by recreating a simple song you like in your DAW. This teaches arrangement, MIDI programming, and basic mixing faster than watching tutorials without building anything.
The hardest part of learning production is not the software or the gear. It is the gap between hearing a finished song in your head and knowing which buttons to press to get there. That gap closes faster than you expect if you focus on finishing tracks instead of accumulating knowledge you never apply.
This guide is the "I want to start producing music, where do I begin?" answer. It covers the minimum gear, the software decision, your first project, and a realistic learning path. For a deeper treatment of every production concept referenced here, see Music Production Basics.
What You Need to Start
The Minimum Setup
You need fewer things than the internet wants to sell you.
Item | Why You Need It | Cost |
|---|---|---|
Computer (laptop or desktop) | Runs your DAW | Already own one (probably) |
DAW | Where you make music | $0-$199 (GarageBand is free) |
Headphones | Hear what you are making | $50-$150 |
MIDI controller (optional) | Play instruments into your DAW | $50-$100 for a 25-key mini |
Audio interface (if recording) | Record vocals or instruments | $60-$150 |
Microphone (if recording) | Capture audio | $70-$150 |
If you are making beats, electronic music, or any production that uses virtual instruments and samples, you need a computer, a DAW, and headphones. That is it. The audio interface and microphone only matter if you plan to record vocals or live instruments.
For a full equipment guide with budget tiers, see Home Studio Setup Guide.
Choosing Your DAW
This is the first decision people overthink. If you have a Mac, start with GarageBand. It is free and it teaches you production concepts without overwhelming you with options. If you are on Windows, Cakewalk (free) or FL Studio ($99) are the best starting points. For a full comparison, see Best DAWs for Artists in 2026.
Do not spend three weeks researching DAWs. Pick one and open it.
Your First Week: Learn by Building
Tutorials are useful, but they become a trap when you watch ten hours of "How to Use [DAW]" without opening the software. The fastest path to competence is building something.
Day 1-2: Recreate a Beat
Pick a simple song you know well. A four-chord pop song or a straightforward hip-hop beat. Open your DAW and try to recreate the drum pattern. You will learn the step sequencer or drum rack, how to set tempo, and how to navigate the arrange window.
Do not aim for perfection. Aim for a drum pattern that sounds close to the original.
Day 3-4: Add Instruments
Layer a bass line and a chord progression over your beat. This introduces MIDI programming, the piano roll, and virtual instruments. You will learn how to select sounds, draw or play notes, and quantize timing.
Day 5-7: Arrange and Export
Take your beat and instruments and arrange them into a song structure: intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, outro. Copy and paste sections, add variation, and export a stereo WAV file. You now have a finished track. It will not be good. That is fine. You finished something, which puts you ahead of most people who "want to learn production."
The 90-Day Learning Path
After your first week, you have enough context to learn with direction.
Month | Focus | Skills |
|---|---|---|
Month 1 | Finish 4 beats or songs | Arrangement, MIDI, basic sound selection |
Month 2 | Record and edit audio | Signal chain, gain staging, comping takes |
Month 3 | Mix your tracks | EQ, compression, panning, level balancing |
Month 1: Production. Make four complete tracks. They will be rough. Each one will be better than the last. Focus on finishing, not polishing. Learn your DAW's shortcuts. Learn how to use the stock instruments.
Month 2: Recording. If you sing or play an instrument, this is when you add recording to your workflow. Set up your audio interface, learn gain staging, and record vocals or instruments into your DAW. Edit the takes: comping, timing adjustments, pitch correction.
Month 3: Mixing. Take the four tracks from month one and mix them. Learn EQ by cutting frequencies that muddy the low end. Learn compression by taming a vocal that jumps in volume. Learn panning by spreading instruments across the stereo field. These three tools handle 80% of mixing.
What to Learn and What to Skip (For Now)
Beginners waste time on advanced topics that do not matter yet.
Learn now: How your DAW works. How to program a drum pattern. How to use EQ and compression at a basic level. How to arrange a song with an intro, verse, and chorus. How to export a finished file.
Learn later: Advanced synthesis and sound design. Sidechain compression. Parallel processing. Mastering. Mid-side EQ. These matter, but not until you can consistently finish tracks.
Skip entirely: Buying plugins before you have learned your stock tools. Watching gear comparison videos instead of producing. Obsessing over sample rate and bit depth. None of this makes your music better at the beginner stage.
The Finish-First Mindset
The single best habit in production is finishing tracks. A hard drive full of eight-bar loops teaches you nothing that another eight-bar loop will not repeat. A finished track, even a bad one, teaches you arrangement, transitions, energy management, and the discipline of committing to decisions.
Set a rule: for your first ten tracks, you are not allowed to spend more than two sessions on any single song. This forces you to make decisions and move forward. You can always revisit old tracks with new skills later. The goal right now is volume and completion.
As an independent artist building a career, the ability to finish and release music consistently matters more than any single production technique. Skills compound over time, but only if you are producing regularly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to learn music production?
Basic competence (finishing a track that sounds decent) takes three to six months of regular practice. Professional-level production takes years. The learning never stops, but it gets more rewarding fast.
Do I need to know music theory to produce?
No, but it helps. You can produce by ear and intuition. Knowing basic chord theory and scales makes you faster at finding what sounds right.
Can I produce on my phone?
Yes. GarageBand (iOS) and FL Studio Mobile are legitimate production tools. They have limitations, but artists have released commercially successful tracks made entirely on mobile.
Read Next:
From First Track to Release Plan:
Finishing your first track is the milestone. Turning it into a release is the next one. Orphiq helps you plan the steps between a finished production and a song on streaming platforms, so nothing falls through the cracks.