I have recently become interested in learning how to produce electronic music. I’m formally trained in sitar and Hindustani vocals and I know a little guitar so the music theory side of it isn’t a problem. But as far as what software I need, what other equipment, how to record vocals, I’m at a loss because there are so many choices! Subreddits I should check out, tutorials videos, books to read, your personal suggestions and experiences — I welcome it all!
EDIT: if it helps, the computer I would be using is Windows. 1 TB hard drive and 8 GB of RAM.
gurdijak: I’m by no means an expert but I’ll give a few starting points that can hopefully help you.
First of all, practically all music nowadays is produced in an application called a [DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio_workstation). You can pretty much download whichever one you want and go with it. FL Studio and Ableton are probably the most popular and both work on Windows. DAWs work using plug-ins such as synthesizers to make specific sounds, or to add certain effects to sounds.
I started playing around with FL Studio by watching [MDK’s (Morgan David King, an electronic music artist) tutorials](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzaZLzmylO752Rtbwxi8X23U_RPdQsG9B) – however they’re for an old version of FL Studio. That being said, they can still help you if you decide to use that DAW. I also recommend watching some of [BusyWorksBeats’ videos](https://www.youtube.com/user/busyworksbeats). He mostly does hip-hop/trap but he also covers some music theory in videos (though you pretty much got the hang of that already) and has made videos for certain EDM genres.
Watching other established producers with their workflow and breaking down their own songs really gives an interesting perspective on music production. For this I really recommend [Genius’ Deconstructed series](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlBigmhynF-Wwg-s1BCw-MOQPEhNtUn_Q), [Future Music’s “In The Studio with…” series](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzRVf2noPwEF8e4qDczsEL7A3xdL51yC8), and believe it or not I’ve learned a few interesting things from some of these joke channels that make humourous tutorials like [AcesToAces](https://www.youtube.com/user/WyseGuyAces) and [FrankJavCee](https://www.youtube.com/user/FrankJavCee). Yeah I know it seems like these guys are just taking the piss but you can actually learn a thing or too.
After you get a hang of production, I’d advise you to learn a bit of audio mixing.
I’m afraid I can’t recommend any specific books because I never read any with regards to music production.
As for what equipment you’ll need: you can pretty much go into this with nothing at all except your computer at first! Getting things like a MIDI keyboard really help your workflow, and an audio interface is a definite must have.
deadmau5 also did a masterclass on electronic music production though I don’t know how good it is.
Here’s a beginner’s guide for [Ableton if you’re interested.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ableton/comments/25hw39/official_beginners_resource_thread/)
I hope that’s answered a few of your questions. Now go out, learn, and most importantly have fun 🙂
b00tymagik: i love me some reason, my preferred DAW of choice
sockHole: Since you have a background in music already the best thing to do would be to find a good DAW, digital audio workstation, that you like. I prefer ableton because it’s all I’ve used. DAWs are typically pretty pricey but if you look hard enough you can find torrents online. I would start following the subreddit r/edmproduction they have a lot of helpful tips and tutorials on there. Once you have a daw picked out and installed start looking up tutorials on YouTube. There are hundreds of channels for electronic music production.