To summarize my question: a.) What are the first 3 steps (or more) to learn to compose music? b.) Any links, resources etc. to share?
Thanks for your time and interest.
You can, of course, grab a horizontal tracker or a DAW like FL Studio and just start scattering notes down. Set a key signature, throw some notes in, and curate until you have some kind of a four-bar loop that sounds good, then build on that.
Electronic music tends to be more pattern‑based, which is why some people prefer using programs like Ableton or FL Studio for that kind of workflow.
Side note but you can watch endless videos that teach you how to use a DAW (quantize, set up your mixer, do sidechaining, bla bla) but I don't think I've seen a tutorial that genuinely teach you how to come up with melodies. I, and most of my friends who are musicians, usu. come up with melodies while playing on our respective instruments, and the occasional dream.
That's why I recommend learning an instrument, or at least getting a MIDI keyboard so you can "plink" in a way that rewards discovery.
Learning Music: https://learningmusic.ableton.com/
Learning Synths: https://learningsynths.ableton.com/
For the non-programmer who does not want to get into programming, something g like LMMS is a good place to start, gives you everything you need and a simple interface that can be quickly learned.
Or just do like we all used to do, buy a synth and dive in.
use simple (caustic3) or cheap software at first (reaper) you later will know what exactly your needs will be. this are just some starting points. i am at your same situation: i have almost no clue about music theory nor i do play a real instrument but i do have a simple midi keyboard just to have a tactile direct access.
one a while i look for YT-advice.
Especially for caustic3 there is a good YT series explaining the basic machines used for electronic music.
caustic3: https://singlecellsoftware.com/caustic3.html
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcM7HcMAhmhaLNX80o4FFRA
reaper: https://www.reaper.fm/
I just started with Ableton recently working on remixing tracks I like. Actually working on a remix of Ella Langley's Be Her just because I thought it was a cool genre bending remix.
After you do some remixes creating your own from scratch will be easier.
Mimicing songs and artists you like is a good recommendation, you can also cut up and remix parts of songs you like.
Lots of video courses fail to actually teach you the fundamentals. I wasn't super impressed with sonic academy for this reason. It was basically "watch me do stuff". Groove3 was ok but tbh most dance production teachers on there seemed meh.
The absolute king is dancemusicproduction.com [1]. The guy who teaches has literally written the manual on dance music production (Snoman). He says he's been a ghost producer for Guetta and worked on Kylie Minogue, etc.
By all accounts if you want to learn from an actual pro who can actually teach all the fundamentals, it's this guy. Was so pleased when I finally found it.