Basic Help!

[I Am Shikari]

I need just very basic help! I know very little about sound engineering and producing, and I tried reading the Production Bible, and reading a lot of posts, but I understand very little vocabulary...Is there a sticky that has a nice list and description? or how can I go about learning a lot of the basic vocabs and need to knows?

[deadly_habit]

http://www.soundonsound.com/information/Glossary.php

[bigfootspartan]

I haven't heard of a thread covering basic terms, but that'd probably be a good idea. Without knowing what people are talking about the production bible is pretty heavy stuff to get through.

I think honestly your best bet is to google stuff. That usually filled me in with what I was confused on. If you can't get it that way PM me and I can do my best to help you out.

Edit: Deadly's link looks pretty solid. That's probably your best bet.

[Basic A]

Read your DAW's manual, in all honesty, itll change your life.

[I Am Shikari]

thanks guys! man learning to make music is just like school...but worse because you actually have to do the homework

[gnome]

thanks guys! man learning to make music is just like school...but worse because you actually have to do the homework

It's a shame that you aren't enjoying the learning process.

[GV1]

Some people are quick learners, and have a brilliant ear. With very little music training or theory (if any) they can produce beats that get signed and rinsed. But, others (like myself) are slow learners, and struggle to grasp the theory. I've been producing for years and read the Access Virus Synth Programming PDF ... and it was too technical. Even though I have man hardware synths, and can design sounds, I still struggle to grasp the theory.

So, with that said just take your time and learn what you need to. I would not advise learning what you don't need to, because in a couple of days you will forget it. Reading your DAW manual won't do much for you at this stage. Some stuff will go over your head and you will waste your time reading it. Instead, use the manual as a reference and try to figure things out. After a while things will start to click into place. If you do read the manual, don't concern yourself with topics that are difficult to understand. Come back to them in a month or 2 and you will understand it.

If you're using Ableton, and you're stuck on "what does XXXX mean" put it into Google. I forgot what portamento meant last night and had to Google it. If you learn what you need to, when you need to, the information will stick.

And finally, have fun. Try not to tie yourself up in knots trying to learn mixing and mastering techniques before you know how to produce a complete track. I'm learning mastering at the moment, and it really does put a roadblock in the way of my productions when I spend most of my time tweaking the EQ, flicking through reference manuals, and hindering the creative process.

Good luck with your productions.

[Filthzilla]

Literally jus google words you don't understand.
You can build up knowledge fast that way.

Cool name btw.