Recently wrote a very brief article containing some music production tips related to finishing more tracks, and gaining precious production experience in the process;
Music Production Tips
Here are some tips that could help you on your way to actually finishing more music:
- Do Something. A lot of new music producers spend too much time learning, following tutorials, experimenting with new sounds than actually finishing tracks. The more tracks you finish, the better you will become. Experience is vital.
- Produce as many tracks as possible. They don’t necessarily need to all be of the highest quality, however when you’re producing many tracks you enable your creativity and are inspired to do greater things. Try it.
- Be as original as possible. If you are just copying other producers, copying your idols and not trying to produce something fresh and original then you will most likely not get very far. That is not to say that you cannot learn by observing and imitating genius, however you must add your own style and create something new out of it.
- Have a Motif. You’d be surprised how having some form of inspiration for your track could help you create something original. Try and picture why you are creating the track, for whom, when it will be played etc. This has worked wonders for many producers out there.
- Less is More. If you want to have a big sounding track, sometimes it is worth keeping the amount of elements to the bare minimum. Each element will have more room in the mix in turn making it sound bigger. Don’t be afraid to eliminate those elements that don’t sound 100% right to you. Be ruthless and eliminate anything that is not supposed to be there and that does not play a role in defining your tune.
- Invest in good monitors and headphones and a good listening environment. You can get a decent pair of monitors for relatively cheap nowadays and there is tons of information on the net about how to set up your speakers and listening environment. Check out our own ebook on mixing theory which contains tips on how to setup the listening environment.
- Master your favorite VST. I cannot stress the importance of becoming an expert at using one VST in particular. Spend hours practicing and making tunes with it. This will force you to get creative, and carve out your own style of doing things. Never limit yourself, but know your tools inside out and how to get the best out of them.
How many of us fall victim to over researching, starting multiple projects without finishing them, looking for the next best sound? Education is important for progress, however I am a strong believer than experience is the best teacher, and that finishing as many tracks as possible is the way forward for any budding producer.
Your thoughts?!
