Advice For Aspiring Music Producers: 4 Things You Must Do To Be Successful
So you want to get into music production to create your own music, huh? Whether you're getting into music production to produce hip hop, electronic music, with or anything else, if you’re serious about becoming a music producer, and you feel you have what it takes to take your skills to that level where you drop catchy tracks that sound fresh and get stuck in people’s heads, this article is for you!
There are 4 key things every music producer must do to set himself up for success in the music industry. Without understanding these four things you'll dramatically limit your music production potential. And this has nothing to do with resources. This has to do with 3 skills you must develop and one thing you must drill into your head!
Regardless of whether you're a total newbie in the music production world or if you've been at it for a few years now, just focusing on the following four things and being consistent about it could have a profound impact on your music production abilities and music career. We're not exaggerating when we say that, despite them being so simple, the following are some of the best music production tips out there. Let’s get after it!
Advice For Music Producers #1: Learn To Play At Least One Musical Instrument!
No worries, you don’t have to get to a pro-level! That would take thousands of hours of practice. Though while you won't need to get to such a level to be able to perform in Central Park in front of everybody, you do need to be able to navigate the instrument and perhaps even know how to improvise on different musical scales. This will take time, of course, but the most important thing is getting started. Even a thousand-mile road starts with one step. Just advance one step. Then another. And before you know it, you'll be even jamming along to your favorite songs!
Learning how to play a musical instrument such as the guitar or piano is great for becoming a music producer. But that aside, the main benefit of learning an instrument is that it will teach you the basics of music, which will make music production more straightforward (sounds obvious, doesn’t it?). It will also enable you to meet your artists where they are musically and to strike inspiration while it’s hot, which comes in handy when in a recording studio, especially if you're collaborating with other people!
So why piano or guitar? According to many musicians, these are the best instruments to get started learning music. The reasons are simple: these instruments are widely used and the way they are laid out makes it easy for you to learn scales, especially with the piano!
You could play pretty much any melody, harmony, or scale with any of these two instruments. Don’t be choosing something like a harmonica to get started with because it not only is very hard to learn, it may also be limiting you in terms of genres and the like (even though it sounds magical, we must admit).
Although many music producers are known for knowing how to play several instruments at a very high level, note that this is not the norm in the music production industry. With that said, however, I don't think there's a single successful music producer out there who doesn't play at least one instrument. That would be like a chef not knowing how to make some scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast...
If you dig around you’ll see that so many people recommend learning to play the piano to aspiring music producers. Some music schools even require basic piano skills as a prerequisite to be admitted, that's just how the music industry works.
The reason for this is because the piano makes a lot of sense visually! It's also how many music production programs are laid out. Also, according to so many musicians I’ve met over the years, learning piano makes learning other musical instruments easier, which down the line may be very helpful, especially for finding your own sound.
As an aspiring music producer, learning an instrument to a basic level at least to feel quite comfortable playing it will enable you to instantly translate an idea into actual musical notes as soon as it hits you, which is tremendously helpful for many music producers.
This comes in handy when working with artists in the studio, who may or may not know how to play any instruments but will come to you with the basics of a killer hook stuck in their heads. Whenever you're in this situation, you better know how to translate the artist’s idea into a melody in the appropriate key!
Advice For Music Producers #2: Become Tech Savvy
This may suck at first but if becoming a music producer is your dream job, you gotta be able to navigate your DAW (digital audio workstation) confidently, and in the beginning, this may be a little overwhelming. But it’s just like with any other thing you learn. In the beginning, you’ll suck but if you want it, stay patient and you’ll see that it’s not as hard as it seemed to be! It'll be a wise investment of your time in the end, and it will also help make the recording process smoother. Take advantage of free online tutorials!
As a music producer, you should get comfortable using some of the most popular DAWs to produce music, such as Ableton Live, Pro Tools, and Logic Pro X, or any music plug-ins. Whichever one you choose to use, make it a goal for yourself to learn it inside and out. You gotta know what each button does because it will ultimately help you tons in the long run, especially if you want a career in the music industry and want to make your own music!
Just imagine collaborating with another music producer or artist and being asked to pull up the latest MIDI track and not being able to do so immediately because you don't know how to handle your MIDI controller! Imagine having an idea at the moment and having your workflow interrupted because you must figure out how to do X or Y! Music producers must be able to do this sort of thing, ideally, in many music production programs!
As a music producer, your tech skills must become second nature. And sure, this is the goal and it will take time. Just make sure that it’s indeed the goal. This will enable you to focus 100% of your attention on actually producing, recording, and mixing instead of managing the DAW, which trusts us, it's what every single successful music producer likes doing! It may feel daunting at first, but if you're serious about becoming a record producer, cruising through this step is exactly what you shouldn't do. Focus on laying a very strong foundation for your future!
Advice For Music Producers #3: Train Your Ears!
Alright, you don’t have to be aiming for Charlie Puth-type of precision (in fact that guy has what’s called perfect pitch but that’s another story). But as an aspiring music producer, you do need to start training your ears to know when something is out of tune and also be able to pick up the scale of a song and whatnot if you want to stand a chance when competing with other music producers. This "competition" becomes very real, especially when working together in a recording studio or even a professional studio!
As a music producer, getting good at playing with your DAW is something you must learn to like! But beware that it is something you will acquire over time working in music so don't beat yourself up if you're not making progress as fast as others. Stay focused on yourself my friend! But with that said, you must still be very conscious about it. Make it a task for yourself to get better at identifying notes and even learning some music theory! That's, in our opinion, one of the best music production tips out there.
You must become a student of music! You must carefully listen to other people's music to be able to make your beats and tracks that sound good! Listen to different songs, genres, and musicians every day. Pick up what makes them unique, their influence, and perhaps even current trends. This will simply grow your musical arsenal which you will then use to create your tracks. Think of this as a music school, but without the boring part.
You must ask questions about the production process decisions that are being made and why they were made, just as if you were learning in a professional music studio. Become a critic of music! Try to identify what makes a song good, what sounds are the ones making a beat catchy, what artists seem to be at the forefront of trends more often! Feel free to even look at an artist's record label to see what they are doing at a macro scale!
There are many components such as low-level background noises (or small percussion fills), and understanding how these elements contribute towards both melody and harmony is crucial to driving songs forward. So you gotta know what you're looking for and this is only possible if you make it a task for yourself to pay close attention to other producers and artists! Even look to befriend a sound engineer! Leverage social media to jump on the artists networking bandwagon!
You must also be able to tell the difference between certain keys, no matter what scale you are playing in. This will help with your workflow and also give an idea of which key someone else may be playing in when they're recording or jamming together, whether for fun or professionally! This is only possible if you’re mindful about training your ears! Listening must become your music teacher!
Advice For Music Producers #4: Drop The Fear And Get Cranking!
You gotta get your hands dirty and drill into your head that no one cares about what you’re doing. The minute you internalize this you will be free to create and create and then create some more without being worried, not even a single bit, about what others may think.
This is the foundation to becoming a successful music producer capable of working with many talented artists or even a group of musicians. That’s the ideal scenario to let loose on your creative juices and create something unique and fresh to share with the world! And that's also one of the keys to long-term career success.
It’s also a great mindset to walk into if you plan to separate yourself from the music production crowd and start creating your very own niche or style (whatever you wanna call it)! Just think of your favorite artists and how they speak of their experiences when they get in the “zone” while they are making music.
It’s as if they were connecting to some sacred place inside of them where ideas flow from. Not the other way around. The best don’t look outside for inspiration even if it seems the music industry wants you to think otherwise. If you want a successful career, look inwards! Letting go of others’ opinions is a vital skill. Work on it!
The Bottom Line
There you have it fam! Want to become a music producer for real? It’s a long road just like with anything worth pursuing. You’ll have to learn many skills and deal with lots of ups and downs. But stay patient and trust the process and you'll be able to add the music producer title to your name in no time. And always remember: it’s about the road, not the destination! Enjoy the process and the rest will follow! Oh, and follow the advice I just gave you of course!
If you're into music production and have any questions, whether it is about becoming a music producer, making music, dealing with a record label (or even starting your label), or learning how to play an instrument, feel free to drop it in the comments we're here to help!
Bonus Advice: Complete An Internship As A Producer
Some of the biggest record labels in the music industry such as Universal Music Group Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group provide some of the most sought-after music production internships for students. Universities might partner with local studios to assist students with internships.
The range of paid internships in the music industry runs everywhere from $7.25 to $30.15 per hour. During the music production internship, students get to interact with leading industry professionals. Remember if you follow up after an application or interview with an employer or new employer so the significance of an internship should not go unnoticed. Internships can sometimes lead to full-time employment as a producer so it's important to know many internships are unpaid or very limited paid.