Creating electronic music requires that you are reasonably proficient in modern computing and technology. The use of DAWS (digital audio workstations), the requirements of a music studio, and even the necessary administrative tasks of registering, releasing and promoting your music online require a certain level of tech and computer knowledge.

In other posts, I mentioned that I worked previously in scientific and medical image and data analysis and used computers for implementing techniques like spectral analysis and early experiments with AI. All that was done, however, using specialist computers that used the UNIX operating system with the C/C++ programming language, and not the systems designed by Microsoft and Apple. It was therefore a bit of a learning curve understanding the ins and outs of various incarnations of the Windows operating system. I have friends and relatives who use Macs and swear by them, but it not something that I have ever considered – the price alone puts me off.

Getting the hang of the Windows system was one thing, but understanding audio software and plugins was quite another. I also like to make visuals to go with excerpts of the tracks (called shorts or reels depending on your preferred social media platform), so that involved learning the technology for photographs and videos. Even learning to distinguish between file extensions like vst, aax, au, ini, mp3, wav, jpeg, tiff, mp4, etc., may be easy for the youth of today but is a bit of a learning curve for older guys like me. Knowing what to do with them, when they don’t work in the way you want, is quite another story.

Then there is the hardware. Buying the correct cables (TRS or RCA, 1/4 inch or 1/8 inch, balanced or unbalanced) and the correct connectors (USB Types (A, B, C, Micro, Mini) And USB Versions (USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.2, 4)) can also be a bit of a nightmare, not to mention the bigger items such as speaker monitors, microphones, headphones, and audio interfaces. Even when you feel like you are getting on top of it, something odd happens which can take ages to fix, while getting a delivery of an item or buying one from a shop can be a nerve-racking experience, wondering if that, indeed, is what you actually need.

In the end it is quite gratifying when you get everything to work. Fortunately, there is online help in the shape of manufacturers’ help pages, user forums, social media specialist groups, Google, and even AI bots to provide you with the information you need. To be fair, it can be fun at times.