Music Production School/Books

[Crow Steppa]

Respect,
I'm thinking about taking Dubspot's online music production school but am still unsure. i know im cut out for music production but still cant get a grasp on the more technical aspects of production, and alot of the language. I began producing about six months ago and what I've learned is from youtube videos and a little from here. I was wondering if you guys would think it's worth it or know of any books that would take me from the basics all the way through, from the most basic of basics (making a beat with a kick and snare) all the way to the more complicated mixing and mastering and everything in between from resampling, to sound design. It's a little overwhleming looking through all of the books available to find what I'm looking for. Is Dubspot the right choice or can I teach myself with the right books (and if so, which would you recommend) Much appreciated.

[Fused Productions]

Forget about theory.
Start a new genre that depends exactly on what you like and is not similar to anything else

to be serious, I don't know shit since I'm not educated but I think it couldn't hurt to try one of these courses out, as long as you have the cash for it. Otherwise find a mentor or something/someone to discuss things like music theory with. And if you want to teach yourself as much as possbile by reading books, why not try to read all of them. Read music history, read classical music theory and such. Do not limit yourself to know only about production based music.

I guess that is my point of view anyway

[Crow Steppa]

yeah i can afford it, the main i want to try is their sound design class. i figure with that i can make my own kicks snares hats and effects which is the only part im having trouble with. i guess its just frustrating because there is so much info on here but alot of the technical terms are beyond my understanding. i hear about splitting frequencies and layering basses and bussing shit and i have no idea what the fuck that means. then somebody posts a youtube video with a tutorial but im in the navy and we cant get onto youtube out here in the ocean. stuck between a rock and a hard place, thats why i want to get the knowledge and core of music production down.

[Toric]

If you can, go to a community college and take electronic music and DAW classes. This way you get an accredited degree while getting the same information Dubspot will teach you. It's probably also way cheaper!

Cheers

-T

[accordionfan]

i dunno, to just make things like kicks snares n hats you just need to understand basic synthesis and you don't need a 4000 dollar course to do that. everything else just comes with experimentation and reading and practice practice practice. i went to audioschool and i've learned way more just lurking dogsonacid and this place tbh. maybe study up on the threads here and save the money so when you get back to dry land you could buy tons of gear???

[drake89]

damschroeder is the keyboard theory book i learned with the year before last. It took me from 0 to at least a 50 in terms of theory knowledge, on a scale of 0-100. It also helped that my professor taught you how different modes, chords, and intervals affect your emotions.

http://www.amazon.com/Foundations-Music ... b_title_bk

didnt use the cd, though

[olyko12]

Check out the free PDF of "how to make a noise"
It's really lengthy. I got it a few weeks ago, and I'm still going through and backtracking and all that. But every single thing you would possibly need to know about synthesis is in it. Google it.

[benjam]

Free pdf??? I paid nearly £20 at waterstones! Not that im bothered as its well worth it. Very well written and easy to follow. Like olyko said it covers a lot.

[Turnipish_Thoughts]

I'de personally avoid paying for a course until you've been producing for a while longer off your own back. Then if you feel you need it go for it. 6 months really isn't very long in terms of producing, Its an extremely vast subject and not something you ever feel like you understand to a creatively effective degree until you have a few years under your belt and a shit ton pile of really bad tunes to-put.

Allot of what you have to learn is definitely jargon orientated but trust me, once you have the basics down allot of the more advanced stuff begins to make sense. I suppose what i mean by that is your not going to be taught any 'secrets' by taking a course. You'll find it as hard and confusing taking a course as you would trying to read the same shit from a book or online resources. The differences is in respect to the latter you don't have to pay for shit if you don't want to, there's enough free shit out there that rivals some of the most expensive shit on the market, and more importantly there's no timescale involved so you can work at your own pace. All that course is going to be teaching you is the same basic underlying theorem you're looking into in your own time, please don't think that doing a course will make it any easier for you, the only thing it will do is get rid of the logistical need to gather all the resource needed to learn.

Just build the ground work yourself. Learn what interests you, in the order you want, in your own time. imho of course.

[Crow Steppa]

thanks alot guys. i guess its just me doubting myself. i can learn all this stuff and the more time i put in, the more ill get out of it. more focused on the books people sent my way now. thanks for the answers (more are appreciated too!).

[Ongelegen]

Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming by Jim Aikin, as the title suggest it's about synthesis but it's very well written. Recommended if you want more knowledge about synths.

[Filthzilla]

I don't get this kinda thing. :l I find music masterclasses way too much to bother with. Everything can be learned yourself.

I'm pretty sure datsik/excision/skrillex/noisia didn't take some music production classes and I know for sure burial didn't. :L

[Toric]

Find a guide book for your DAW.

Logic's is called "Apple Pro Training", but there are a few others that are much better. Either way, the basic books that are written for your DAW will teach you a ton, and help you the most when it comes to Production. When it comes to making tunes, you need theory, technique and synthesis books, and a lot of those can be found for free online.

Good luck, and message me if you need any help!

-T

[drooka]

As far as books go, the Dance Music Manual (by Snoman) is great imo. It has chapters on everything from sound physics, theory, design, recording techniques, and chapters solely devoted to many of the various dance genres. Great price as well for the amount you can learn from this book, if i remember correctly around 30 usd.

[Fused Productions]

I don't get this kinda thing. :l I find music masterclasses way too much to bother with. Everything can be learned yourself.

I'm pretty sure datsik/excision/skrillex/noisia didn't take some music production classes and I know for sure burial didn't. :L

I'm pretty sure that Datsik did take classes in music and music production, at school. I'm pretty sure some of them others did too

[monkfish]

I don't get this kinda thing. :l I find music masterclasses way too much to bother with. Everything can be learned yourself.

I'm pretty sure datsik/excision/skrillex/noisia didn't take some music production classes and I know for sure burial didn't. :L

lol wut,
Datsik studied a sound engineering course for 4 years. Skrillex was in a band as a child and went to several music classes, a few might have been production. Excision, not so sure, but it's not doubtful.

[Crow Steppa]

Find a guide book for your DAW.

Logic's is called "Apple Pro Training", but there are a few others that are much better. Either way, the basic books that are written for your DAW will teach you a ton, and help you the most when it comes to Production. When it comes to making tunes, you need theory, technique and synthesis books, and a lot of those can be found for free online.

Good luck, and message me if you need any help!

-T

I have the Apple Pro Training book. Still teaching myself the basics with it so for now im using FL.

@Filthzilla-Datsik and Excision confirmed on here that indeed they went to a production school in Kelowna. I'm not trying to emulate them as it makes me sick to think I have somebody else's style. My intentions are to be as good as them but to have my own style and sound.

Like I said, it's the vocabulary on here and the lack of youtube video access that makes it harder for me as alot of the tutorials on here are youtube based. Also, no internet besides the work computer so anything I want to try out when I get off work I have to copy and paste and take downstairs with me as I can't have my laptop where I work. I want a mentor but I know those are hard to come by, especially when it comes to legit producers. The best advice I've gotten so far is an email from Torqux saying he resampled the bass in midriff and he uses Logic Studio.

It's not knowing where to start. I can make sounds and I think for producing for six months I have a pretty good foundation on the actual production part, its just the knowledge and technical stuff I am having a hard time with. Like which book I should start with, etc.

[lyons238]

those dubspot online courses look intriguing. till i click learn more and realize there charging 4500 per course...

thats more than it would cost to take a course at a university. i don't have that kind of cash. looks like ill be teaching myself the hard way

[lyons238]

As far as books go, the Dance Music Manual (by Snoman) is great imo. It has chapters on everything from sound physics, theory, design, recording techniques, and chapters solely devoted to many of the various dance genres. Great price as well for the amount you can learn from this book, if i remember correctly around 30 usd.

i have the pdf file of this if anyone is interested.

[Crow Steppa]

i found macprovideo.com place looks legit as fuck and huge selection of tutorials for logic, ableton, and native instruments. gonna subscribe when i get back on land.