So, I have Reason 4. . .

[Chris Black]

. . .and, um. .Which button do I push to make a dope beat?

[Chris Black]

Seriously, I can't get any sounds out of most of this shit. Do I have to buy a keyboard or something? In all the tutorial videos people have these big ass keyboards and shit. I just want to fuck around for 15 minutes a day.

[Chris Black]

I think I'll go old school and pull out the Fruity Loops 4 disc.

[WillieWil]

Lol wow...

[WareProductions]

you acn use redrum to program drums

and any of the samplers/synths to create melodies

i would suggest watchin the tutorials again, but this time focusing on what they are actually doing, not being jealous of what you dont have

[Chris Black]

I watched and the guy pushed record, then pushed a few keys on his keyboard and sounds came out. I don't know how to make sounds come out of the synths with my mouse or my qwerty. I haven't seen a tutorial that shows that. You know of any?

[WillieWil]

Damn... its hard as hell to explain this shit without physically being there to show you..

I'm bout to go through my files and see if I cant find you some tuts... I'll brb

[Opie M.]

Use this program to use your computer keyboard as a MIDI keyboard. I don't know why Reaso doesn't just have this function built in.

http://www.bome.com/midi/keyboard/

And I told you to get a Tutorial DVD for a reason man. A DVD will walk you thru the program from the very basics, and you'll know how to do whatever you want. Reason is so easy tho. It's just hard to teach without just showing you. I guarantee anyone that knows Reason could sit down with you and show you how to use it in about 10 minutes.

[WareProductions]

you should be able to use your keyboard as a keyboard...straight out of teh box...im pretty sure there is a setting

as far as "drawing" what you want to hear...its easy

1 create a mixer (wit reason 4 its already in a new song)
2 create a redrum
now, you have 2 windows, ones considered the rack, the other the sequencer, you created a mixer and redrum in the rack, but below that, there is a sequencer. on the left side of the screen in the sequencer, youll see a list of the different instruments/effects that you have created in the rack. you want to make sure that the redrum is selected before you do this next step (to tell if its selected, it should have a red box around the diagram of the redrum).
3 in the top of the sequencer window, theres a button i cant remember what its called, but it toggles between the sequencer and the piano roll/pattern matrix..its to the left of the select button (which is located to the left of the pencil) click that button
*that will show you the breakdown of multiple bars (length of which varies depending on how wide your screen is) into 16th notes
4. now you select the pencil tool and begin "drawing" your drum beat in there.

this is how i do it, but you can actually click the buttons on the redrum to create different drum patterns and program the redrum to play different patterns taht you have created, its a little more in depth and i feel a waste of time

also, you can apply this same technique to every other instrument that you create, however with certain instruments, you wont have a pattern matrix, youll have a piano roll (which has a vertical keyboard on the left side, and a grid corresponding to note location [on the keyboard] as well as length)

this should help ... alot

[Opie M.]

im pretty sure Reason doesnt have the built in keyboard function. That app I posted is from their website. I have the newest versio of Reason and I can't find that function anywhere. I looked thru the menus and help file before I posted.

[WareProductions]

maybe my boy actually downloaded that then...cuz he dont have a midi controller, he uses his qwerty...or maybe its a mac thing

[Kris Cain]

i only use reason for the refills.

chris... you'll have a easier time learning how to cut samples, and program drums in fruity loops.

reason is alot more complicated for someone who is starting music creation from scratch.

get FL8 or something

[Mariah]

FL7 is easier to get. Just so you know - if you use torrents.

[Opie M.]

Ware, I have Reason on my PC and my Mac. They're both the same. You have to use the add-on.

Kris, I think Redrum is better and easier to use than anything FL has built in. I can see where sequencing in general is easier, but I'd take Reason over FL if I was just working completely in the box.

[WillieWil]

I fucks with Reason...

Although I do find it somewhat easier to work in FL...