How do you make trance/techno music?

[KillingTime]

Im so into trance like DJ Tiesto, John Digweed/Sasha, Chicane etc. and I've wanted to see if I can get into it as a hobby but I have no clue where to start.
It's like, if you're into Metallica or Iced Earth or whatever, well you pick up a guitar or a drum kit or a bass and you learn and you play

But with electronic music how do you go about it? I'm completely clueless, how would I go about making all those sounds? What do I need? etc.

I was a guitarist in the past and I guess im still looking at it from that point of view, on a guitar or any instrument you can play someone else's song by simply playing the notes.
But say I wanted to play renzevous off of Paul Oakenfold's tranceport, how on earth would I go about doing THAT? And of course making my own material, how how how?

 

[dannowillbookem]

you need a drum machine, a recording device (computers are usually best cause you can use alotta of effects cheaply) and a MIDI device, like a keyboard. its pretty easy, i made a rap beat out of boredom and i didnt even use the midi, i just ran a drum machine and base lines with the occasional guitar riff accenting it.

 

[Scumfrog]

Great choices btw (Sasha is the greatest!)
The best all-in-one package to start would be Properllorhead's Reason 3. It's a sequencer and has many built in synthesizers and effects units to get you started. It is limited though. You'll eventually want to move onto something like Cubase or Sonar so you can use VSTi's (which are software synthesizers that can by purchased / downloaded)

Of course, you could always do it the old fashioned way and buy synthesizers and record them to your pc

 

[MrS]

Check out Armin Van Buuren, state of trance episodes.

 

[Joe The Homophobe]

can you burn the songs you make in these programs into a cd? if so do they sound the same as regular cds recorded in a studio? (in terms of sound quality)

 

[Vulpine]

I have some software called Fruity Loops. I've been meaning to remix a couple songs, but I want to find DAT versions of the originals somewhere.

Don't forget: Timo Maas, Danny Tenaglia, Juno Reactor, Paul van Dyke ...

 

[Create Reality]

try using fruityloops to make sounds and melodies and riffs and then when you get good buy some "virtual instruments" (they are software music synthesizers). Then you're well on the way to stardom! :cheer: