Yet another beginner..

[Dustin Puryear <dpuryear@usa.net>]

I started playing with beats when I was a freshman in college, and that 
was a
few years ago. I always used Impulse Tracker because it was free and it 
had a
very good "feel" to it. It was easy to lay down a track or two. 
Unfortunately,
I can't really use IT anymore. I had to abandon my ISA AWE64 when I got a 
new
motherboard (no ISA slots). 

I'm looking for some new tools. I'd also like some pointers. Here is a
run-down of me:

o I have never actually completed a song; I don't understand song 
structure or
any of the finer details, but I'd like to learn eventually
o I _REALLY_ like to just sit down and create beats
o I would eventually like to be able to create entire songs, but at the 
moment
I can live with something that allows me to easily create groovy beats
o I can't stand using the mouse for all this stuff--it just doesn't feel as
natural and it doesn't flow, at least not for me

I just downloaded the Fruity Loops demo (boy, I remember when it was just a
free little utility, how things have changed). It's seems cool. I also
downloaded the demo of ACID music.

I am willing to spend up to $400 over the next two months on this stuff. 

Should I get a keyboard? Do I really need this expensive software? What 
can I
get by with? 

I guess my question boils down to: how can I get started?

Also, are there any tutorials for creating good beats? Books? I do this 
just
to pass the time and as a hobby. (It's relaxing isn't it?) So I'm not 
looking
for a pro studio or anything.

Regards, Dustin


---
Dustin Puryear <dpuryear@usa.net>
http://members.telocity.com/~dpuryear
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