Study time - From beginner to master

How long does it takes to develop MPC 500? Time, from start to a point, when you can say "I know all options, can use them easily and quickly.. And when I have any idea of new song, I just make it on my MPC"?

Year?

I mean,.. if you listen rap music, but decided to make own.. and bought MPC. Real beginner

*they say we as humans learn something new every day*

The same would apply to music also, these machines have so many functions that are not listed, shortcuts, work a rounds,
the possibility's can be almost endless.

You crawl, walk, jog, run............ the way you use your mpc is the same way

everybody is different, if you have a lot of experience on other models it may take you a day... if you have experience on other things like DAWs and other brands of gear with different lingo it may take 2 weeks or a month.... if you never touched music production at all until the moment of picking up the 500.... 6 months to several years.

the thing is, there is the side of learning the options and features and there is the side of knowing where to apply those features and when to tastefully use them in the type of music you are making.


It isn't only technicals involved in mastering the mpc, it is a combination of that, hand eye and timing coordination, an artistic ear and creativity... etc


you can tell when you hear work that was done very well by somebody who has great technical skill but it lacks creativity and soul... or so to speak.

To be honest, I grew up on Roland samplers, but I always desired to try a MPC.
When I first got the MPC500 in 2006, I couldn't make a single beat on it. I thought it was gonna be like the past samplers I had but it was no where near like those. So I let it sat in in a dusty corner of my room for a week or two and I buried my head in that manual in the meantime. Afterwards, I switched it on and just made simple loops to understand the machine and how it works. The more I got involved, the more I realized its potential and how powerful this little sampler is. I know how samplers work, but the MPC got a different mind of its own on how to make beats so it was like learning another language from scratch and once I learned the operations and functions it became very easy to make beats on it. As a month or two passed by, I figured the machine out and it became easy to navigate around the menus, and I use to think "damn there's alot to scroll through" but now its like a trip to the corner store instead of a long hike to the next city like I thought before.

From grasshopper to Master, I'll say it took me 3 months, but that includes work time and family time, minus those things, I believe it would have took me at least 4 weeks to master it. Dedication is a virtue.

Im just one of those freaks that get something, dont usually need manual, and can usually figure it out. Usually the manuals are no good anyways. lots of WTF bad chinglish. then things like confirming voltages or secret windows comes last. But still SysEx is a biatch. thankgod for midi cc's

Well I fall into the latter i.e. listened to hip hop all my life and decided to give beat making a go with no prior knowledge of DAWs or samplers...6 weeks on and I'm still a complete noob. The manual wasn't of much use as it assumes I know alot of the lingo and functions already however the MPC500 tutorial from this very website was a great help. I now know the basics and can perform most simple tasks.

But the answer to your question for me would be at least a year to master (and by master I mean know my MPC inside out) but at the rate I'm going, a lot lot longer to make the fire I'm after.

Doesn't help I've recently acquired an X box and bought Black Ops and smoke too much weed.

Whilst I'm sort of on the subject can anyone recommmend sample packs (bass/keys/strings) to buy and where to get?

peace

I felt comfortable the first sit down with my MPC, and I hadn't had any prior experience at all with sampling, DAWs, sequences, beat programming - none of it.

BUT - I did read the manual before I got my MPC. And I do come from a "traditional" music background, so songwriting is pretty natural to me, as well as the basic language of music. Composition stuff like dynamics, breakdowns, building tension... these are all touches I picked up from years of writing for/playing guitar in a heavy band. I should also mention that I'm not very concerned with using the MPC in the same way I see others using it.

As far as navigating the actual MPC goes, if you get easily confused by stuff like reading operating system menus and/or owners manuals then I would dare to say that "music producer" might not be the career choice for you. You'd think that would be obvious.

My own users manual is like a bible now. Problem, that I have to learn much terms. Every sit I learn something new. Youtube helps, but anyway... I guess, I need time, time, time.
Now, when I listen a music, I hear things, details.. I never heard before. And, you know, this kind of music have to be easier then classic music education.

Dr. Frank Boogie wrote:
As far as navigating the actual MPC goes, if you get easily confused by stuff like reading operating system menus and/or owners manuals then I would dare to say that "music producer" might not be the career choice for you. You'd think that would be obvious.

I'd have to disagree with you on that point. Does being a music producer mean you also have to read technical manuals to have an idea of what sound you wish to achieve or which drum loop would be more appropriate? I don't think so and believe people learn skills and retain the knowledge in different ways. Some people like to read to gather information and then attempt the task and some are more hands on and would like to tinker and learn through trial and error.

I would say I fall into the latter and you, Dr. Boogie, the former. Maybe you've started a thread within a thread. What approach do other users take with their MPCs?

man, i have to say though, the easiest manual to read was the mpc60 manual... it was written in english first and it was not written the way manuals are usually written.

also with the version 2 series of operating systems on the 60 you can hold the help button on pretty much any area and while you are holding it it switches to a page that tells you what the parameter does. I did that quite a bit just to see if there were any additional non-obvious features.


they dont have that on the newer models... but on the 500 you aren't sequencing 4 pieces of external hardware and assigning tracks to individual outputs and all that routing stuff.....

mastasteez wrote:

Dr. Frank Boogie wrote:
As far as navigating the actual MPC goes, if you get easily confused by stuff like reading operating system menus and/or owners manuals then I would dare to say that "music producer" might not be the career choice for you. You'd think that would be obvious.

I'd have to disagree with you on that point. Does being a music producer mean you also have to read technical manuals to have an idea of what sound you wish to achieve or which drum loop would be more appropriate? I don't think so and believe people learn skills and retain the knowledge in different ways. Some people like to read to gather information and then attempt the task and some are more hands on and would like to tinker and learn through trial and error.

I would say I fall into the latter and you, Dr. Boogie, the former. Maybe you've started a thread within a thread. What approach do other users take with their MPCs?

I don't think so. Tinkering and trial and error are actually supposed to be the fun and experimental part of the process, so of course I do that too. But I stand by my original statement. If you are easily confused my such simple things as reading an owner's manual and navigating very simple drop down menus, then music production is probably not for you. I don't know what is, but I would assume that those are two of the most very basic requirements. I actually think a LOT of people disagree with me - which is why you see so many used MPCs for sale. People didn't think that reading the manual or bothering to learn the menus were important. They've now moved on to other things, most likely. Every other noob thread on here starts with something about not reading the manual, and they are posting here asking questions... so much for "tinkering" and "trial and error"!

Producer? I would find another career path or hobby. One with less manuals and menus, apparently.

You forgot about many terms. If you don't know them, user's manual is needless. You have master terms, then you understand a book easily.

My original question was about studying all terms, scills..

Dr. Frank Boogie wrote:

mastasteez wrote:

Dr. Frank Boogie wrote:
Producer? I would find another career path or hobby. One with less manuals and menus, apparently.

I may be jumping the gun a bit here, but it feels that your comments were inspired by my post. I didn't state the menus were difficult or confusing. I said the manual presupposes the reader has previous knowledge of working with samplers/hardware/sequencers and what the individual functions are used for.

The tutorial guide I bought thru this forum was a thousand times better suited to a total beginner and now I've gone thru that I can read the owners manual and actually understand the terminology.


And how fukt up is it to say you shouldn't have a hobby because you didn't understand the manual? Thats pretty retarded. I don't imagine you would've seen Havoc, J Dilla or Premier back in the day with the owners manual scrutinizing every word. In fact I'm damn certain many producers of the music which inspired me to buy an MPC, were taught by other producers who already had the hardware and from that initial knowledge passed on garnered their own production knowledge and skills.

mastasteez wrote:
The tutorial guide I bought thru this forum was a thousand times better suited to a total beginner and now I've gone thru that I can read the owners manual and actually understand the terminology.

I think that is the thing, if you got the cash to spend on that tutorial I suggest it. I did not read it, but I do know it has helped MANY people. The real manual does have everything in it... but from what I hear on the newer models the manual was originally written in japanese or something like that and translated to english..... which baffles me as to how they would do that because I dont believe they have a japanese version of the OS hahaha...


somebody should write a mega MPC glossary.

thunder wrote:How long does it takes to develop MPC 500? Time, from start to a point, when you can say "I know all options, can use them easily and quickly.. And when I have any idea of new song, I just make it on my MPC"?

Year?

I mean,.. if you listen rap music, but decided to make own.. and bought MPC. Real beginner

If you listen to rap music, then decide to make your own, and never made music, let alone sampled a thing before, then you have many mountains to overcome.

Learning the machine is only a small part of the process, but if I had to say, being a complete noob, and starting from scratch, with no prior beat making knowledge...

It is going to take a while before you will be able to use the MPC at its full potential, like a paintbrush.

If you have no sequencing knowledge, and no way to visualize what is happening when you hear a beat, it is going to be a tough process at first.

Once you begin to understand what is actually happening behind the scenes when you hear a beat, and can picture it in your minds eye, it will be easier for you to take an idea and just SLAM it down.

Either way, if you are REALLY passionate about it, you will find yourself choosing beat over food, sleep etc.. until you learn it. In that case, year! Otherwise, couple, maybe few, possibly never...

I know how to use at least 90% of the features, and was making beats an hour after I learned to clear the memory. Had it running in sync with Reason, and the Motif the next day... But I also have an extensive history of sampling, sequencing, and making beats...