I just bought a Roland JD-XI and not having an understanding of music theory I was looking for anything that talked about What Sounds Good and Why.
I'd like to read more without really diving into music theory too far.
I'd like to read more without really diving into music theory too far.
It won't tell you how to write a song, but it'll start you with a solid foundation for music production. You can start by just finding loops and samples online and putting tracks together that way. Then you can start replacing bits with original music. Think of it like learning how to program by cutting and pasting code from stack exchange.
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Mixing-Recording-Engineering-Prod...
My only complaint is that the audio playback has annoying zero-crossing pops.
1) Lessons or books on how to play a specific instrument. The good ones will cover the most relevant basics of music theory--stuff like chords, scales, keys, and voice leading.
2) Learning how to play your favorite songs. Copying performances and then experimenting with variations on them is essential for getting an intuitive sense of how it all works.
The author covers lots of ground this algorithm seems to ignore. I wonder what sort of music a program that used these suggestions could make.
That may seem disconnected from the sounding good part but it's what gives you a core to build on. You can take the thought and express it in a very simple, low-fi, minimalist way, or go all out and build a huge arrangement and smother it in production. That's something that is better to decide upon by design than by trial and error.
Given your instrument choice you might also be very well served by the "Music Theory / Harmony / ... for Computer Musicians" series by Michael Hewitt.