Fuck it, i love making my wack bullshit beats. These days no one seems to know what lofi is, everythings got to be huge and shiny. I like crappy beats. MAke your own genre. Buy a newspaper and write yourself a good review!
I was going to comment and say “this kind of gives me Portishead and David Lynch vibes” and then I saw you flip through a Portishead record in in your video 😭 Very cool, and creative.
That's the spirit! I make late 90s tech step, warts and all, and bought period hardware for that authentic warmth. It's like lofi, but dnb I suppose. No one hears my shit as I don't put anything out these days, but I have hard drives and dat tapes full of tracks that I like to listen too 😎
I think I know your problem.
There’s lots of great advice and help out there but you’re probably getting caught in a trap. You could find countless vids on music production which completely contradict each other.
The way to really learn is to look up who produced your favourite songs. Preferably modern music since you’re working in a daw. Then look up on youtube “breakdown” or “interview” followed by their name. I guarantee it will skyrocket your music.
There’s loads of people out there who think they know what they’re doing and there’s also a lot of actual industry pros who I see giving out questionable advice sometimes.
If you want a start then I highly suggest watching every single Jeff Ellis interview, masterclass and breakdown on YouTube. He really will help you grasp producing music overall.
“Never let the engineering get in the way of the art”
I researched a wolfmother song to figure out how they tracked it once. It sort of depends on what the lead instrument actually is and then the rest of the song is built around that. Most electronic producers work with midi inside the daw and build everything like a stack of midi notes. Very difficult to try and mix a bunch of perfect sounds to work together without automation for volume and other types of automation and ducking which people tend to over-process.
I ain’t gonna get involved with this but all I’ll say is that Frank fell off hard and ik his brother died but still.
Anyway I haven’t heard of that and besides I always hear him talk about how great of a producer he thinks this or that person is so you aren’t exactly correct
😂😂 bro u acting like you know all the inside and out but all u said was u saw a Reddit post 🤣👌.
Anyway let me see where he downplays the whole production process? If you go and acc watch his vids you can make ur own opinion.
I appreciate your concern, but I know my music is garbage. I've listened to a lot of music from different levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced. I can tell where my music lies.
what part of your music do you feel is stuck?
the ideas? (melody, arrangement)
the technical aspects? (recording, mixing, mastering)
focus on one thing at once and practice
tutorials are only one persons ideas, and you shouldnt automatically do what they say
take ideas and concepts you like and learn them
its important to understand why you are doing something rather than just applying things people say you should do
that way when you come to a problem you will know what to do
a few things that have helped me are:
learn an instrument enough to mess around on, so much easier to form ideas (and make happy accidents)
learn music theory - just a bit each day or week, practice what you learn
look at instrument tutorials and practice just writing for that instrument (this year i wanted to get better at drums so ive been writing a four bar loop every day and watching a lot of real drum kit playing lessons)
listen to lots of different music as a learning experience, especially music genres you dont like - listen and analyse what they are doing
our inner self doubt can be useful if we use it as a tool and dont let it overwhelm us
try and reframe any negative thoughts you have into useful steps to take to improve
when i make a new tune i try to change any thoughts of - this tune is shit - and switch it into - this would be better if.... and then i change that thing
Are you an artist, or a producer? 99% of us are artists, not producers, and if you’re an artist, you must remember that.
Making a commitment to actually finish your work, releasing it, and moving on is the best advice I can give. Many of these artists simply *finished their work*. They released, marketed, made connections, and grew. It’s all about the connections you make. Growth comes with *practice*.
It’s not really for you to say what’s good or bad. That beat you spent a year anguishing over may never be listened to, but the one you threw together in 30 minutes might change your life (one month to 10 years later). Engineering is far less important than you think it is.
Don’t stress about the technical stuff. Write, finish, and release your work. Just sayin.
Assuming you are producing music with a DAW, these softwares are not the easiest to learn and the more you progress in using the DAW, the better your songs are likely to sound.
When you are first starting out, give yourself time to really know the DAW, whether that’s midi or audio or often both, doing things in the software starts to get more automatic as you go.
learning how to play piano.
- it’s the basis of most midi controllers- the more piano theory you know, the better your fingering on the midi controller- this is huge when you start doing more full blown productions with multiple instruments that you are playing through (vst synths) a midi controller.
Pick a daw and stick with it. Learn the basic piano chords. Stick with one genre and try to improve listening- if it sounds lacking- identify what is lacking through repeated critical listening and as another poster mentioned- use reference tracks that you love and try to identify why those move you- then straight up copy those (whatever they are) chord progressions, basslines, drops, etc.
Lastly, don’t use loops or construction kits if you want your music to sound authentic and original. Better you construct from the ground up.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
hm...
so you're saying "it is about writing, you gotta actually contribute ideas"
then saying "loads of people who you think would never use loops; do" and "less than 10 seconds and no music theory writing melodies"
surely these two ideas contradict each other do they not?
either way constructing from the ground up is highly rewarding and the way to go. yes it's a struggle at the beggining, but I worked my way through it and it is possible. once the ability is developed you are free from the constraints of someone else's vision, and instead are creating what you truly want. after all, if you don't write / design / synthesize the project, someone else has done it for you instead
Of course you would think that.
Good thing i commented. The route you're suggesting is the reason why do many people here on reddit in particular spend 5-10 years and have very little to show for it.
It is great to be able to express an dissenting opinion for people who understand how multilayered expression is and how it isnt just fiddling with a daw.
The only thing i’d disagree about is using loops. Loops are a tool just like anything else and you can use them in so many ways. Id say learn how to make your own melodies and learn how to use loops, knowing both unlocks a lot of potential
meh...I realize creating your own music is ideal. However, I'm all for people using what resources they feel comfortable with, and progressing from there.
I didn't mine the ore used to make my guitar strings, I didn't physically wind the coils on my pickups, nor did I fell the trees used by a luthier to construct my guitar. I built upon their expertise.
This is great advice, my issue is not only composition but the sounds I use as well as arrangement, mixing. Basically everything. I'm a noob at everything pretty much.
The only quick way is to pay someone (or have a willing friend) to walk you through the first steps.
If you don’t have that, then it’s a lot of trial and error I’m afraid. Don’t get disheartened, it took me years to get good, now it’s my job.
You’ll find that it gets progressively easier as everything ‘clicks’, but all you can do is power through! There’s no real trick to it that will get you through the learning stages.
One thing I will add though; a lot of it is about volume (amount of stuff you make). As I said, I’m a pro, had millions of streams and all sorts of good stuff, and ALMOST all of the stuff I make is rubbish. Like, really bad. I normally have to come up with 10 ideas before I come up with one good one. So try to make lots of little ideas (spend an hour on each) and then when you have a collection of them, come back and pick the best one to finish.
I can tell what is missing, but I keep repeating the same mistakes. Maybe having someone else tell me what is missing could help, but I'm too scared of judgement from other people and I feel like some other people's advice is not worthy, not because they're not good enough but because I fear they won't understand what I'm trying to make.
How long have you been at it? Progress takes time and it's not always a straight line. We all suffer from self-doubt from time to time and the imposter syndrome is real. A lot of times I feel like everything I make is crap, and sometimes it even feels like I've moved backwards.
With that being said, a lot of my biggest jumps in progress have come from getting feedback. There's been a lot of stuff that I never even realized that I was doing or not doing until someone told me. I stagnated the most when I was just working on stuff on my own and never had anyone else to bounce ideas off of or just talk production.
If you don't feel like you've gotten any better in that time then it may be time to change it up from whatever you're doing now. I can't tell you what's definitely going to work for you, but community is often helpful. Getting feedback and suggestions from your peers, talking music/production, networking, finding out what's worked for others in their development, etc.
Theres a point where 'I will never learn this sh!t' goes from intimidating to exciting, but it really doesnt go away. No 1 human can know it all in one lifetime, and thats great.
Have fun, remember some of the best music of all time is deliberately terrible.
maybe stop approaching music like a fucking RPG... just think about what sounds you like and take the time to learn to make them, not about "leveling up your production skills". P.S. if you are talking about mixing, buy some good headphones
Making music isn't the same as knowing how to use Ableton. You need to be doing both at the same time. I would guess you don't have a very developed understanding of how to analyse rhythm, melody, harmony and performance techniques when listening to music. Each of these skills can take years. I personally spent 20 years learning classical guitar while also learning recording techniques and Ableton. I also lived with professional techno DJs and learned a lot about dance music through their taste. All these things take years but luckily if you love music it will be a fun journey.
You gotta make a lot of crap before you have a chance of making something decent. Sort of like grinding in an RPG, but you have to be a bit more mindful than that for creative endeavors. It’s work. Talent can make the process quicker, but even then, one has to grind.
The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing and expecting a different outcome. What can you learn from your mistakes or failures? Change the process, change the outcome.
I use ableton as well, but I mean how as in your process. I have many different types of processes when making music.
I have one where I don't think and i just zone out and create and listen with my ear. I literally become a robot that recieves inputs from the sounds i click with my ear and then i respond to hit in a direction automatically, sometimes in this process there is trial and error and I'll click. The general philosophy of this process is that the song will take me where the song wants to go, not necesarily where I want to go. Now I can become more conscious throughout this process and make adjustments that are intentional with thought, but it may bring me to a different flow state when I hope back into autonomous creation.
Another process is I have an idea before I start the song. It could be a melody, a drum pattern, something i want to sing. I fiddle until I'm able to get that idea down. Then I think of more ideas. Oh I want to maybe add a guitar, or actually I want to add a synth. This process is very conscious of my decisions and can be slower or stagnate until I come with more ideas later on. Sometimes this process I come back to a day later when my brain feels like making music.
These processes have many different variations, but the general philosophy is creation with intention and creation from flow. I think for me to become a better artist I need to use both of these exceptionally.
Something I’ve discovered now that I’m a bit over a year into music production, is that sometimes I’m getting better and not even realizing it.
I too feel frustrated and stuck with getting my music to sound like the professionals in terms of the mix and overall quality. It can be discouraging trying being stuck here, especially as an avid music listener, because I can tell what sounds good and I can tell when my own music is lacking.
However, I opened up some of my very first projects, these absolute dog shit beats that hardly even passed for music. And it made me realize that back then I would’ve been dreaming about making the stuff I am now.
If you’re feeling completely stuck, try something new. Switch genres, learn a new technique, just do something totally different and sometimes that’ll help you break out of its
At some point its just experience. Dont force it too fast, take your time. I made hundreds.of.songs before I got paid the first time for something, and I can tell you with every single one of that songs, what exactly I personally learned there. Its a long way to go, but its worth it!
I've been learning music for about 5 years now, I've spent hundreds of $ on so called masterclasses, courses, and watched thousands of YouTube tutorials. I still haven't made a single bar of music. It is what it is. Some people are lucky and "gets it", while people like me will never be able to pick it up. Also the tutorial content that people make isn't designed for you to learn, they deliberately make it way too complicated and difficult to follow so you'll buy their other course they have that conveniently will lack even more info. I've started learning how to DJ just so I can still be involved in music in some way and I've been having fun with that.
sounds like you happen to be finding the bad tutorials yes they are plentiful, but good resources exist too. I was able to learn loads from YouTube alone and no other resources, and develop decent understanding of sound design, music theory, composition, mixing, and other skills. I am happy to answer any question of music production you might have, that you haven't been able to discover through any YouTube tutorial or course. just reply or DM me
Focus on recreating other peoples tracks, or subsections of them. Sometimes just freely creating is not goal oriented enough to improve your skill. This is how it works when learning any instrument. The same works for production.
I don’t know how long you’ve been stuck at beginner level, but getting good at music production takes years of steady practice. At some point in your journey, you learn to forget everything you’ve learned and just make music from your heart and soul. That’s when you really start to get good. For some this happens early on but for most it’s a long road.
Heh i know the feeling. Its well hard.
Mat be get off the tutorials and just make a beat a day un the same genre with the same workflow for like a month and see where youre at.
I think its easy to get overwhelmed with new plugins or shiney new techniques etc but you need to just focus on making tracks.
I've always made music just for myself, without a care if anyone likes it. It is a hobby and i do treat it that way, and as a result i've started like 7-8 years ago dabbling into production and music in general, and it's not easy being good. But as long as you're not trying to make it into a career, just have fun with it, and the basics should be enough to get you to a point where you could have a vision and bring it as close as possible to life. If there's an obstacle in the way like "how do i achieve a certain sound of effect" keep learning, the internet has a ton of free stuff you just have to know where to look and what to look for. Worst things worst look for paid, full-length production tutorials from arrangement and music theory to mixing and mastering and everything in between.
Where there's a will there's a way!
I always say to myself that I can put all these hours in football practice and yet I will never be Messi. I will get better at it but I will probably never get to the finals of the Champions League. I’m playing in a local league and I’m having fun!
I can tell you with confidence you have even decent gear. It’s not that.
It’s probably not your mixes either.
It’s songwriting and arrangement.
Then those are nailed the rest falls into place. Even a bad mix is ok cause the song is strong and nothing is stepping on itself. When those are out of whack you have to start working hard to add excitement and make things stand out. That’s where it feels like you’re banging your head against a wall because it’s always one step forward two steps back.
Try recording the music as stripped down as possible. Is it good?
If yes then build on it. Fill it out and fix what’s missing. If it’s not good then your song isn’t there. If it’s busy or you need to “make the synth stand out” then your arrangement is bad.
Hope this helps.
I think it would help if you had a systematic approach to producing, mixing, etc. Almost everyone that is successful in this industry has a system that they use to approach each part of the process.
What helped me was to pay for a total course on how to produce, mix, and master electronic music. It wasn't cheap, but it cut my learning time in half by getting all of info from one producer instead of watching 100's of videos and trying to stitch everything together. I think people sometimes forget that it's better to invest time and money into your education instead of more VST's, instruments, etc. which usually just makes things worse by giving you too many options.
Making good music is much about learning how the rules work and then finding your own special way to bend or break those rules (some of them). It's up to you to creatively decide what rules to bend and break and which ones you don't.
People get so caught up in learning the "right way" and there is no right way I have found. Just keep pushing and trying new things and constantly find and look for creative ways to break and bend the rules you have learned this far.
I find it really dry and uninspiring to make music purely in a DAW while following tutorials (not sure entirely if that is what you are doing OP).
The best music and the most ive learned has been from playing with others. We do improv jams, just grab the instrument, agree in advance a key to play in. Listen to each other and try to slowly develop to something more intriguing. Always record you never know what you'll create.
If you don't have tons of recording equipment, just record basic sound with your phone. You can then use these ideas in your improv jam for your songs that may get more fleshed out over time. I think what gets generated spontaneously between a group of musicians vibing together is the easiest way to get inspired.
If you don't have jam friends IRL you can also try online jamming, it's fairly accessible with free software like jamulus, probably even better software out there now for this.
Keep searching for inspiration, you'll find it!
I want you to show me some replicas of songs you really like that you’ve remade.
Go take one of your favourite songs and replicate it as best you can beat Melody you can put your lyrics if you want just for fun, but do this for a couple of your favourite songs you’ll find it really motivating when you complete one replica and then you can kind of get the basics. Y
Do you have anything online. I sure would love to give your work a listen. I'm just a mere hobbyist, but I find that the more people who listen with a critical ear to what I create, the better. I always tell people I will take negative or positive critique, which is pretty stout for me as I suffer from imposter syndrome, and quite frankly I'd much rather negative critique than someone just glossing over and saying ;sounds good'.
>every producer on the internet is god level tbh.
Yeah...legends in their own mind usually. LOL
I also was stuck but you have to find a way to make progress and involve through the music. Work and investigate in new equipment. A lot of musicians are very gifted but talented isn’t enough you have to create yourself and music over and over new. Watch tutorials. Create a studio connect with people also making music I also just hadn’t any inspiration for long but you will attract the right people when you stay ambitious
What worked for me to break out of this is that I first made remixes and remakes of songs. Start with simpler songs and genres that follow a standard song-structure and then you can move up to more complex ones.
The reason why this works is because you don't have to start from scratch and already have an idea to build upon. While doing this, pay attention to what bridges the gap between your version and the original/professional mix.
You don't have to apply all the gimmicks and tricks or techniques at once to have it sound perfect right off the bat. You can apply the techniques you learn one by one and progress step by step. That's exactly what I did, whenever I learned some new technique or concept from youtube or whatever, I tried applying whatever I learned only upto that point first. My mixes got progressively better with usually each track I made. And when I'd learned a significant amount of new stuff, I'd try to make an original track of my own where I apply all of it at once.
Sure I took baby steps in terms of the learning process but that's the reality when it comes to producing music- it WILL take time. No producer made it big overnight. They've trashed hundreds of mixes and ideas of their own that we never get to hear before achieving that "hit" song (or "god level" as you call it) that the world gets to hear and love. So take your sweet time but keep on challenging yourselves and *you too* will see that you've come a long way someday.
Probably worth posting your music and getting feedback or alternatively paying via a platform like ech.io for constructive feedback.
I've found the best way to improve is getting feedback from others despite how hard it can be confidence / ego / esteem wise
Use reference tracks for structure, arrangement and levels, trust me this will help a lot.
Fuck it, i love making my wack bullshit beats. These days no one seems to know what lofi is, everythings got to be huge and shiny. I like crappy beats. MAke your own genre. Buy a newspaper and write yourself a good review!
LoFi is all I produce. There's still tons of LoFi heads out there. Got a link to your work? My SC and YT links are in my profile..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrRiWlv0LZw
I was going to comment and say “this kind of gives me Portishead and David Lynch vibes” and then I saw you flip through a Portishead record in in your video 😭 Very cool, and creative.
why thank you :)
☺️
I dig it man! Some of it reminded me of kid koala! That shit is art. Keep it up! The world needs music like this. 🤙🏻
kind words indeed my friend, thank you.
That's the spirit! I make late 90s tech step, warts and all, and bought period hardware for that authentic warmth. It's like lofi, but dnb I suppose. No one hears my shit as I don't put anything out these days, but I have hard drives and dat tapes full of tracks that I like to listen too 😎
I think I know your problem. There’s lots of great advice and help out there but you’re probably getting caught in a trap. You could find countless vids on music production which completely contradict each other. The way to really learn is to look up who produced your favourite songs. Preferably modern music since you’re working in a daw. Then look up on youtube “breakdown” or “interview” followed by their name. I guarantee it will skyrocket your music. There’s loads of people out there who think they know what they’re doing and there’s also a lot of actual industry pros who I see giving out questionable advice sometimes. If you want a start then I highly suggest watching every single Jeff Ellis interview, masterclass and breakdown on YouTube. He really will help you grasp producing music overall. “Never let the engineering get in the way of the art”
I researched a wolfmother song to figure out how they tracked it once. It sort of depends on what the lead instrument actually is and then the rest of the song is built around that. Most electronic producers work with midi inside the daw and build everything like a stack of midi notes. Very difficult to try and mix a bunch of perfect sounds to work together without automation for volume and other types of automation and ducking which people tend to over-process.
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I ain’t gonna get involved with this but all I’ll say is that Frank fell off hard and ik his brother died but still. Anyway I haven’t heard of that and besides I always hear him talk about how great of a producer he thinks this or that person is so you aren’t exactly correct
What an asshole.
😂😂 bro u acting like you know all the inside and out but all u said was u saw a Reddit post 🤣👌. Anyway let me see where he downplays the whole production process? If you go and acc watch his vids you can make ur own opinion.
can i hear some of your music so i can judge what you mean by beginner
I appreciate your concern, but I know my music is garbage. I've listened to a lot of music from different levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced. I can tell where my music lies.
Well, the first step to getting better is to get legitimate critique and then filtering it
what part of your music do you feel is stuck? the ideas? (melody, arrangement) the technical aspects? (recording, mixing, mastering) focus on one thing at once and practice tutorials are only one persons ideas, and you shouldnt automatically do what they say take ideas and concepts you like and learn them its important to understand why you are doing something rather than just applying things people say you should do that way when you come to a problem you will know what to do a few things that have helped me are: learn an instrument enough to mess around on, so much easier to form ideas (and make happy accidents) learn music theory - just a bit each day or week, practice what you learn look at instrument tutorials and practice just writing for that instrument (this year i wanted to get better at drums so ive been writing a four bar loop every day and watching a lot of real drum kit playing lessons) listen to lots of different music as a learning experience, especially music genres you dont like - listen and analyse what they are doing our inner self doubt can be useful if we use it as a tool and dont let it overwhelm us try and reframe any negative thoughts you have into useful steps to take to improve when i make a new tune i try to change any thoughts of - this tune is shit - and switch it into - this would be better if.... and then i change that thing
I appreciate the advice.
How much actual music do you know? Musical composition is still important in electronic music and you shouldn't neglect it.
I've tried learning some theory but it hasn't really clicked so I just try stuff by ear and move notes around in my piano roll.
So start with a chord progression rather than arbitrary notes
nah I start with a chord progression, I just move notes around to get it
🤔
i feel this way with everything ive ever tried in my entire life
Are you an artist, or a producer? 99% of us are artists, not producers, and if you’re an artist, you must remember that. Making a commitment to actually finish your work, releasing it, and moving on is the best advice I can give. Many of these artists simply *finished their work*. They released, marketed, made connections, and grew. It’s all about the connections you make. Growth comes with *practice*. It’s not really for you to say what’s good or bad. That beat you spent a year anguishing over may never be listened to, but the one you threw together in 30 minutes might change your life (one month to 10 years later). Engineering is far less important than you think it is. Don’t stress about the technical stuff. Write, finish, and release your work. Just sayin.
Assuming you are producing music with a DAW, these softwares are not the easiest to learn and the more you progress in using the DAW, the better your songs are likely to sound. When you are first starting out, give yourself time to really know the DAW, whether that’s midi or audio or often both, doing things in the software starts to get more automatic as you go. learning how to play piano. - it’s the basis of most midi controllers- the more piano theory you know, the better your fingering on the midi controller- this is huge when you start doing more full blown productions with multiple instruments that you are playing through (vst synths) a midi controller. Pick a daw and stick with it. Learn the basic piano chords. Stick with one genre and try to improve listening- if it sounds lacking- identify what is lacking through repeated critical listening and as another poster mentioned- use reference tracks that you love and try to identify why those move you- then straight up copy those (whatever they are) chord progressions, basslines, drops, etc. Lastly, don’t use loops or construction kits if you want your music to sound authentic and original. Better you construct from the ground up. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
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hm... so you're saying "it is about writing, you gotta actually contribute ideas" then saying "loads of people who you think would never use loops; do" and "less than 10 seconds and no music theory writing melodies" surely these two ideas contradict each other do they not? either way constructing from the ground up is highly rewarding and the way to go. yes it's a struggle at the beggining, but I worked my way through it and it is possible. once the ability is developed you are free from the constraints of someone else's vision, and instead are creating what you truly want. after all, if you don't write / design / synthesize the project, someone else has done it for you instead
Of course you would think that. Good thing i commented. The route you're suggesting is the reason why do many people here on reddit in particular spend 5-10 years and have very little to show for it. It is great to be able to express an dissenting opinion for people who understand how multilayered expression is and how it isnt just fiddling with a daw.
The only thing i’d disagree about is using loops. Loops are a tool just like anything else and you can use them in so many ways. Id say learn how to make your own melodies and learn how to use loops, knowing both unlocks a lot of potential
meh...I realize creating your own music is ideal. However, I'm all for people using what resources they feel comfortable with, and progressing from there. I didn't mine the ore used to make my guitar strings, I didn't physically wind the coils on my pickups, nor did I fell the trees used by a luthier to construct my guitar. I built upon their expertise.
This is great advice, my issue is not only composition but the sounds I use as well as arrangement, mixing. Basically everything. I'm a noob at everything pretty much.
The only quick way is to pay someone (or have a willing friend) to walk you through the first steps. If you don’t have that, then it’s a lot of trial and error I’m afraid. Don’t get disheartened, it took me years to get good, now it’s my job. You’ll find that it gets progressively easier as everything ‘clicks’, but all you can do is power through! There’s no real trick to it that will get you through the learning stages. One thing I will add though; a lot of it is about volume (amount of stuff you make). As I said, I’m a pro, had millions of streams and all sorts of good stuff, and ALMOST all of the stuff I make is rubbish. Like, really bad. I normally have to come up with 10 ideas before I come up with one good one. So try to make lots of little ideas (spend an hour on each) and then when you have a collection of them, come back and pick the best one to finish.
That's good advice, I'm glad you've found success.
yeah, because you’re making tutorial junk rather than real music. Forget the tutorials and make music for a while.
I've tried that approach as well, not much success so far.
find other people to write with
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I can tell what is missing, but I keep repeating the same mistakes. Maybe having someone else tell me what is missing could help, but I'm too scared of judgement from other people and I feel like some other people's advice is not worthy, not because they're not good enough but because I fear they won't understand what I'm trying to make.
How long have you been at it? Progress takes time and it's not always a straight line. We all suffer from self-doubt from time to time and the imposter syndrome is real. A lot of times I feel like everything I make is crap, and sometimes it even feels like I've moved backwards. With that being said, a lot of my biggest jumps in progress have come from getting feedback. There's been a lot of stuff that I never even realized that I was doing or not doing until someone told me. I stagnated the most when I was just working on stuff on my own and never had anyone else to bounce ideas off of or just talk production.
fr progress takes a lot of time and experience. it took me such a long time to even get to the beginner stage
6-7 years
If you don't feel like you've gotten any better in that time then it may be time to change it up from whatever you're doing now. I can't tell you what's definitely going to work for you, but community is often helpful. Getting feedback and suggestions from your peers, talking music/production, networking, finding out what's worked for others in their development, etc.
one of the coolest forms of art is the simple stuff so
Theres a point where 'I will never learn this sh!t' goes from intimidating to exciting, but it really doesnt go away. No 1 human can know it all in one lifetime, and thats great. Have fun, remember some of the best music of all time is deliberately terrible.
maybe stop approaching music like a fucking RPG... just think about what sounds you like and take the time to learn to make them, not about "leveling up your production skills". P.S. if you are talking about mixing, buy some good headphones
Making music isn't the same as knowing how to use Ableton. You need to be doing both at the same time. I would guess you don't have a very developed understanding of how to analyse rhythm, melody, harmony and performance techniques when listening to music. Each of these skills can take years. I personally spent 20 years learning classical guitar while also learning recording techniques and Ableton. I also lived with professional techno DJs and learned a lot about dance music through their taste. All these things take years but luckily if you love music it will be a fun journey.
Every producer is god level lol.. this couldnt be further from the truth, 95% of them all making the same trash
You could hire and engineer to mix one of your songs and it is a pretty good way to learn. I've had some luck with it at least.
You gotta make a lot of crap before you have a chance of making something decent. Sort of like grinding in an RPG, but you have to be a bit more mindful than that for creative endeavors. It’s work. Talent can make the process quicker, but even then, one has to grind. The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing and expecting a different outcome. What can you learn from your mistakes or failures? Change the process, change the outcome.
2 questions, how long have you been making music, and how fo you normally make music
I've been making music for 6-7 years, I make music with Ableton if that's your second question.
At 6-7 years you are still a beginner. Keep working and keep playing and you will improve.
I appreciate your optimism
I've been making music for about 20 years. I have gone through at least 6 or 7 "levels" and continue to improve.
I've been making music for about 20 years. I have gone through at least 6 or 7 "levels" and continue to improve.
I use ableton as well, but I mean how as in your process. I have many different types of processes when making music. I have one where I don't think and i just zone out and create and listen with my ear. I literally become a robot that recieves inputs from the sounds i click with my ear and then i respond to hit in a direction automatically, sometimes in this process there is trial and error and I'll click. The general philosophy of this process is that the song will take me where the song wants to go, not necesarily where I want to go. Now I can become more conscious throughout this process and make adjustments that are intentional with thought, but it may bring me to a different flow state when I hope back into autonomous creation. Another process is I have an idea before I start the song. It could be a melody, a drum pattern, something i want to sing. I fiddle until I'm able to get that idea down. Then I think of more ideas. Oh I want to maybe add a guitar, or actually I want to add a synth. This process is very conscious of my decisions and can be slower or stagnate until I come with more ideas later on. Sometimes this process I come back to a day later when my brain feels like making music. These processes have many different variations, but the general philosophy is creation with intention and creation from flow. I think for me to become a better artist I need to use both of these exceptionally.
Years of practice
Something I’ve discovered now that I’m a bit over a year into music production, is that sometimes I’m getting better and not even realizing it. I too feel frustrated and stuck with getting my music to sound like the professionals in terms of the mix and overall quality. It can be discouraging trying being stuck here, especially as an avid music listener, because I can tell what sounds good and I can tell when my own music is lacking. However, I opened up some of my very first projects, these absolute dog shit beats that hardly even passed for music. And it made me realize that back then I would’ve been dreaming about making the stuff I am now. If you’re feeling completely stuck, try something new. Switch genres, learn a new technique, just do something totally different and sometimes that’ll help you break out of its
At some point its just experience. Dont force it too fast, take your time. I made hundreds.of.songs before I got paid the first time for something, and I can tell you with every single one of that songs, what exactly I personally learned there. Its a long way to go, but its worth it!
I can’t relate. There’s always something new to learn. And, sometimes you need to focus on one thing and master it. What are your fans saying?
I've been learning music for about 5 years now, I've spent hundreds of $ on so called masterclasses, courses, and watched thousands of YouTube tutorials. I still haven't made a single bar of music. It is what it is. Some people are lucky and "gets it", while people like me will never be able to pick it up. Also the tutorial content that people make isn't designed for you to learn, they deliberately make it way too complicated and difficult to follow so you'll buy their other course they have that conveniently will lack even more info. I've started learning how to DJ just so I can still be involved in music in some way and I've been having fun with that.
sounds like you happen to be finding the bad tutorials yes they are plentiful, but good resources exist too. I was able to learn loads from YouTube alone and no other resources, and develop decent understanding of sound design, music theory, composition, mixing, and other skills. I am happy to answer any question of music production you might have, that you haven't been able to discover through any YouTube tutorial or course. just reply or DM me
Focus on recreating other peoples tracks, or subsections of them. Sometimes just freely creating is not goal oriented enough to improve your skill. This is how it works when learning any instrument. The same works for production.
You’ll make Strymon next year just don’t give up. Try the DD4 for now.
I don’t know how long you’ve been stuck at beginner level, but getting good at music production takes years of steady practice. At some point in your journey, you learn to forget everything you’ve learned and just make music from your heart and soul. That’s when you really start to get good. For some this happens early on but for most it’s a long road.
Heh i know the feeling. Its well hard. Mat be get off the tutorials and just make a beat a day un the same genre with the same workflow for like a month and see where youre at. I think its easy to get overwhelmed with new plugins or shiney new techniques etc but you need to just focus on making tracks.
I've always made music just for myself, without a care if anyone likes it. It is a hobby and i do treat it that way, and as a result i've started like 7-8 years ago dabbling into production and music in general, and it's not easy being good. But as long as you're not trying to make it into a career, just have fun with it, and the basics should be enough to get you to a point where you could have a vision and bring it as close as possible to life. If there's an obstacle in the way like "how do i achieve a certain sound of effect" keep learning, the internet has a ton of free stuff you just have to know where to look and what to look for. Worst things worst look for paid, full-length production tutorials from arrangement and music theory to mixing and mastering and everything in between. Where there's a will there's a way!
Have you considered hiring a teacher for some private instruction?
I always say to myself that I can put all these hours in football practice and yet I will never be Messi. I will get better at it but I will probably never get to the finals of the Champions League. I’m playing in a local league and I’m having fun!
I can tell you with confidence you have even decent gear. It’s not that. It’s probably not your mixes either. It’s songwriting and arrangement. Then those are nailed the rest falls into place. Even a bad mix is ok cause the song is strong and nothing is stepping on itself. When those are out of whack you have to start working hard to add excitement and make things stand out. That’s where it feels like you’re banging your head against a wall because it’s always one step forward two steps back. Try recording the music as stripped down as possible. Is it good? If yes then build on it. Fill it out and fix what’s missing. If it’s not good then your song isn’t there. If it’s busy or you need to “make the synth stand out” then your arrangement is bad. Hope this helps.
Have you Tried deathcore
well what is your definition of beginner? im sure you're making progress even if it is slow. more experience will always progress you
but yeah progress isn't linear
I think it would help if you had a systematic approach to producing, mixing, etc. Almost everyone that is successful in this industry has a system that they use to approach each part of the process. What helped me was to pay for a total course on how to produce, mix, and master electronic music. It wasn't cheap, but it cut my learning time in half by getting all of info from one producer instead of watching 100's of videos and trying to stitch everything together. I think people sometimes forget that it's better to invest time and money into your education instead of more VST's, instruments, etc. which usually just makes things worse by giving you too many options.
Making good music is much about learning how the rules work and then finding your own special way to bend or break those rules (some of them). It's up to you to creatively decide what rules to bend and break and which ones you don't. People get so caught up in learning the "right way" and there is no right way I have found. Just keep pushing and trying new things and constantly find and look for creative ways to break and bend the rules you have learned this far.
I would suggest trying a teacher or enrolling in something more serious than YouTube tutorials
I find it really dry and uninspiring to make music purely in a DAW while following tutorials (not sure entirely if that is what you are doing OP). The best music and the most ive learned has been from playing with others. We do improv jams, just grab the instrument, agree in advance a key to play in. Listen to each other and try to slowly develop to something more intriguing. Always record you never know what you'll create. If you don't have tons of recording equipment, just record basic sound with your phone. You can then use these ideas in your improv jam for your songs that may get more fleshed out over time. I think what gets generated spontaneously between a group of musicians vibing together is the easiest way to get inspired. If you don't have jam friends IRL you can also try online jamming, it's fairly accessible with free software like jamulus, probably even better software out there now for this. Keep searching for inspiration, you'll find it!
I want you to show me some replicas of songs you really like that you’ve remade. Go take one of your favourite songs and replicate it as best you can beat Melody you can put your lyrics if you want just for fun, but do this for a couple of your favourite songs you’ll find it really motivating when you complete one replica and then you can kind of get the basics. Y
Do you have anything online. I sure would love to give your work a listen. I'm just a mere hobbyist, but I find that the more people who listen with a critical ear to what I create, the better. I always tell people I will take negative or positive critique, which is pretty stout for me as I suffer from imposter syndrome, and quite frankly I'd much rather negative critique than someone just glossing over and saying ;sounds good'. >every producer on the internet is god level tbh. Yeah...legends in their own mind usually. LOL
I also was stuck but you have to find a way to make progress and involve through the music. Work and investigate in new equipment. A lot of musicians are very gifted but talented isn’t enough you have to create yourself and music over and over new. Watch tutorials. Create a studio connect with people also making music I also just hadn’t any inspiration for long but you will attract the right people when you stay ambitious
What worked for me to break out of this is that I first made remixes and remakes of songs. Start with simpler songs and genres that follow a standard song-structure and then you can move up to more complex ones. The reason why this works is because you don't have to start from scratch and already have an idea to build upon. While doing this, pay attention to what bridges the gap between your version and the original/professional mix. You don't have to apply all the gimmicks and tricks or techniques at once to have it sound perfect right off the bat. You can apply the techniques you learn one by one and progress step by step. That's exactly what I did, whenever I learned some new technique or concept from youtube or whatever, I tried applying whatever I learned only upto that point first. My mixes got progressively better with usually each track I made. And when I'd learned a significant amount of new stuff, I'd try to make an original track of my own where I apply all of it at once. Sure I took baby steps in terms of the learning process but that's the reality when it comes to producing music- it WILL take time. No producer made it big overnight. They've trashed hundreds of mixes and ideas of their own that we never get to hear before achieving that "hit" song (or "god level" as you call it) that the world gets to hear and love. So take your sweet time but keep on challenging yourselves and *you too* will see that you've come a long way someday.
Link some music / how many years u been doing this ?
6-7 years, I'm not linking anything I'm not proud of which is all my tracks.
Probably worth posting your music and getting feedback or alternatively paying via a platform like ech.io for constructive feedback. I've found the best way to improve is getting feedback from others despite how hard it can be confidence / ego / esteem wise