From a software perspective I’d also recommend Ableton, it strikes a fantastic balance between providing an intuitive workspace and letting the user shape the environment to their preferences.

That said if you want to make music, software/hardware is the smallest part of the process.

For a beginner I’d recommend learning the basics of music theory and synthesis, and then spending a lot of time starting and finishing tracks in a limited environment.

If you enjoy your iPad, I really recommend Auxy. The app gives you just enough freedom to explore your ideas, while being streamlined enough that you won’t waste hours twiddling knobs on effects chains. Plus it can export to Ableton if you want to flesh out your tracks at a later date.

Ableton actually has a great resource for beginners[1], as well as a good resource for the basics of synthesis[2]. If you find you enjoy learning about synths then I’d also recommend the Syntorial iPad app. It’s an exhaustively comprehensive, interactive course on subtractive synthesis. It’s worth it for the ear training alone, imo.

Most importantly, start making bad music. I believe we all have a certain number of bad beats/tracks in us, and the best way to learn is to get them out. You’ll improve way more from churning through your first hundred songs than from setting up the perfect DAW.

Happy noodling.

1.https://learningmusic.ableton.com/ 2.https://learningsynths.ableton.com/

Hardware...Get a Volca DX-7 clone for $150, a Behringer analog synth clone for $300, and a nice reverb/delay pedal. Protip: older and cheap mixers will give you some 'secret sauce' in terms of lightly distorting and compressing your signals. Get Mackie if you like a rough sound, Tascam if you like it a little tinny, Spirit or Allen & Heath if you want warm.

If you want a DX-style synth, I'd highly recommend getting Yamaha Reface DX for about $250 on Reverb.

It's the most underrated synth of all time. The controls on it make FM synthesis fun, and you can change the sound in real time. It's compact, I've brought it with me anywhere from airplanes to deserts. The built-in speakers are good enough to jam with anyone, anywhere. Everyone who's touched it loved it. It's worth its money for the e-piano patch alone. And on-board effects take it to the next level (tell me of another synth at that price point which allows you to chain two Delay FX!).

FM synthesis can be done purely digitally, and Dexed VST will do a good job replicating DX-7. Reface DX offers a compelling reason to buy a hardware FM synth: it's an instrument that in the long-term will help you transition into live performance, and in the short term will incentivize you to play with it, and learn FM.

Oh, and it's a great 3-octave mini-keys MIDI controller too.

Cute as it is I'll take the extra knobs and the motion sequencing on the Volca any day of the week. It's a very interesting contrast to Yamaha's modal UI approach (where you can easily switch between parameter sets but have only two soft parameters available at any given time).

Interestingly Yamaha documents the CC codes for the Reface DX, so you can use an external controller with knobs such as an Akai to go wild with altering the patch while you play.

I’ve only done a little bit of this, but here’s a video where the guy is all over it 12 minutes or so in https://youtu.be/Xt-tmIMCxTk

Ableton is the industry standard for electronic music, the makers have a ambient and dub techno background, and there are a ton of tutorials yo get you started.

The program is still underrated, because essentially it's like system in which you can build your own software effects and instruments (as racks), and use the ones that other DIYers have created. It can replace VST's, you actually don't need any. Ableton packs of sampled instruments can also replace Kontakt from Native Instruments.

Having the 8 knobs on a controller comes in handy because you can "lift" parameters within your racks and map them to a rack macro frontend that consists of 8 knobs, and that's the best way to access the devices and racks within Ableton for sound design. There are also some good controller apps for the iPad like Touchable, and synths that you can integrate (those that support the Ableton Link protocol).

The Lite version (that's bundled with controllers and some iPad apps) and the Intro version are very limited, but enough to get started. Upgrading to the Standard version can be done for $250 or maybe even a bit less if you catch a deal, and that's where the fun starts.

But the theory should transfer to any major DAW and you really don't need much else to get started. You barely need any more plug ins than the built-ins

A couple of niggles (can't set start/end points for loop playback/recording, no midi learn, relatively few keyboard shortcuts) but for a free portable DAW it's superb. Supports a lot of i/o too, I've used interfaces all the way from 2 track IK duo pro to 16 channel Soundtrack desk with it.

I like the BeatMaker3 program, as it is good as a looper for a backing track, as well as being a host for Audio Units.

Lorentz is a nice analog emulator (similar to Juno 106), KQ Dixie a SysEx compatible DX7 emulator , and bs-16i a soundfont rompler.

Later you can get other instruments and additional effects, but I think those are a good starter kit. Also, the Yamaha home PSR keyboards, even the $200 ones, transfer audio as well as MIDI over USB, so you might look at one of those.

As others have pointed out, learn some music basics, such as what a I IV V vi (or i iv v VI) chord progression is, as well as major vs minor keys / scales / modes and such.

Disclosure: I’m a hobbyist, so don’t take this as career advice :-)

E.g. - https://soundcloud.com/rob-anderson-104336556/sets/cassiopod... - many of the songs have notes on the setup used. (Yeah, not quitting my day job)

Ideas for iOS stuff : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZFPiLpzd4cKOsBS9CIu3xg

The fact you have a Mac, and a MIDI controller is a great start. The next steps would be choosing your DAW and then starting to experiment with the many different features.

Its a little dated, but here is a good link on picking a DAW: https://www.rrfedu.com/blog/2016/09/19/pro-tools-vs-logic-vs.... I personally use Logic as I got it on sale and it works well with the touchbar (a miracle I know).

Next, you just need to experiment. Watch tutorials, mess around with the instruments, and just have fun!

Eventually, you can expand your software/hardware collection. However you should just need your Mac, MIDI Controller, and DAW to start.

THANKS to everyone with suggestions. there's some good ones here... i played piano years ago, so in terms of basic music theory i have some of that. i tend to love researching things like music options and then am too overwhelmed to get around to doing it.

and YES to the suggestion to make bad music. totally down with that suggestion, as it's been a truism for other creative pursuits.