To a lot of people’s dismay, they're always very surprised when I tell them that it isn't that hard when it comes to making electronic music. I think it is always important to know, with anything, not to over complicate things, especially when it comes to something as simple as making music. Do understand, I might say that making music is "simple", but that's only because, over time, it has become more and easier for me to understand the technicalities of all these things. I'm happy to give you these tips because I remember that I would have loved to know these things when I started out, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER.
First Off, Forget.
Forget about perfection, or getting what you are working on "perfect". I've seen to many people worrying about their song being "Just right". This is one thing that for the, longest time, I kept doing over and over and over. Trying to get your music to have that "Professional sound “ so early in your music production journey is almost impossible, unless you’re a Savant. (Not be confused with the music producer 'Savant') The whole "Professional sound" thing comes over time, with hard work and dedication. Concentrate more on what you want your listeners to feel, creating music that makes you happy as well. Understand that the quality of the music you make will get better; it all just depends on how long you spend time on improving your craft. Rome wasn't built in a day.
So what are the main things I need to make electronic music?
- A decent computer/laptop with a good processor. The reason I say good processor is because it will spare your CPU the long run, trust me. But you don't need anything fancy to make good music!
- Decent to good studio monitors. Having the right speakers when making music will yield a much more honest end result. I'm not saying you need amazing speakers to make amazing music , a lot of hits were mixed on cheap earphones , what I am saying is however , if you want to improve and better yourself , having the right speakers will take you a really long way . (Flat response speakers give you the most honest sound when making music.)
- Having Your Digital Audio Work station or"DAW" for short. There are many DAWs to choose from in the market, but essentially, they all do the same thing. I personally use FL Studio, because that's what I started with, as well as it’s thee most visually appealing DAW out there. Other DAWs that are also really good are; Abelton live, Logic Pro X (Mac users only), Pro tools etc. Give it a good old Google search and you'll find other DAWs as well , It all comes down to personal preference.
- Your creativity! The absolute and most powerful tool at your disposal is your mind. The music you make is only limited to how far your creativity can stretch! I can't say much about this one because everyone has their own way of thinking.
- One of the most important things! Always, I repeat! A-L-W-A-Y-S, have fun or enjoy your-self when making music. I used to sometimes sit for hours upon hours forcing myself to work on a track when I wasn't enjoying it or, just not in the best mood. Yes, it is very important to set yourself on a grind and just work for as much as you can and get as much done as you can. What I am saying however, is that you need to be in an overall good and positive mind set to make music you will be satisfied with. But if you are in a bad mood and still want to create, just make something and get it out of your system.
- Dedication. Just take the time and work hard, the true "Secret" to getting better sound is experience, ask any high level producer and they will tell you the same. There's no one thing that will make your music become better, it is bits of information that come together to make a whole, and at the end of the day, you’ll have your own personal perception and understanding of music and how it works. That's also why it's hard for more experienced music producers to explain to the younger ones how they think when it comes to making a track.The more experienced can't just explain all that they know , because it might be hard for other people to understand how they think.
Yes! That is literally the six things you need to make music. It’s nothing too complicated or too fancy, just pure hard work and experience.
Some Production Tips That Will Help In The Long Run.
- Keep things simple. Don't over complicate anything when it comes to making music , though it might seem at first when you start out, it becomes much easier over time , just spend at least 2 hours a day working or learning about music , you will grow .
- Constantly learn and teach yourself about music. Take in and understand as much about music as you possibly can, watch YouTube tutorials and read up on music production as well.
- Never compare yourself to a successful or your favorite artist. The reason why is very simple, when you do this, you can cause doubt in your mind. For example, you'll have thoughts like "My music isn't good enough because it isn't getting as much recognition as (Insert artist here)." Don't do this with yourself, it will cramp your creativity; kill your inspiration and motivation. It's good to have inspiration from other artists though, but don't try and copy what they already got right, which brings me to my next point.
- Be as original as you can. I've seen a lot of newer producers fall into this. They will start to try and copy bigger artists, and obviously when they post it or promote it, it doesn't get any major recognition. I know what this is like because I used to do the same, all successful artists have. Let me say it like this though, the reason the successful artists you like are where they are, is because they did something different. So copy that, doing something different.
- Listen to lots of different music. As simple as it sounds, it really does helps when it comes to making original music, getting inspiration from unrelated electronic/non-electronic music.
Hopefully these tips can help you improve in some aspects of your music production; I'll be doing more posts like these, as well as more technical tip posts as well. Do let me know if there are any specific things in music production you struggle with, I will be happy to give advice, whether it be technical or non-technical.
Thank you so much for checking out my post ! If you have any questions , I'll be more than happy to answer any you may have .
Please don't for get to UPVOTE and RESTEEM .
FOLLOW ME so that you don't miss any of my new posts .
Awesome tips mate, keep it up
Thank you very much man , glad they can be helpful .
:)
Nice tips dude!
Glad you like them man !
Great advice... the thing is, as you gain experience, what is simple for you will actually grow in scope and scale. I got into Cakewalk early on as an arranging and accompaniment tool so now I'm into Sonar Producer and it is an excellent tool for creating quality work. I don't know if we could get together on Soundcloud, Reverbnation or something but if you are on that platform look me up at The Hatcher Street Diaspora. I might like to get some feedback on new work I'm doing and I would be happy to offer the same to you or anyone reading this.
Hey man thank you ! Sorry I'm only replying now , have been so swamed with school . Very true, with experience everything becomes simpler !!!