What makes a producer decent?What makes a producer good and another amazing?

KonKossKang

KonKossKang

Ozagas
For instance to the experienced dudes, how do you get good at this?Not decent I mean really good, like back to back playback good?
There's scales and music theory [don't really agree on needing theory but yeah] chord progressions and such but still.

Although this is a hobby, I'd like to move up to better than my current skill set.Basically I'm trying to figure out how to bump up in power.
When I listen to tracks from those with experience I feel some type of 'character' in their music, it's like a fingerprint in their sound that sounds better than average to my ears.For instance there's rustie, then there's timbaland, then another section of makers called olive oil and nujabe.


What's it gonna take to give your beats a 'fingerprint' so it feels like a particular type of person?I've noticed that some of my favorite tracks are ones that feel like an [Insert whatever the dude's name is] beat.
 
You get it man, it's all about innovation and doing you not Pharrell, not Kanye, not Mikewillmadeit or anyone else but you. I'm the same though, some of the music that I have made sounds really similar to certain producers especially my favourite ones and I don't do it on purpose, it just comes through subconsciously I think. Then I have other beats that sound unique to me and they are definitely my better ones and the ones that I am more proud of.
It is really hard to find a definitive answer on how to get a unique sound but I think it's mainly about your mindset before going into a beat. Like when you sit down to create you just need to forget about other producers and just make whatever comes to mind. With that being said though there is nothing wrong with taking inspiration from certain songs, often I will mimic a kick pattern or something yet once my beat is complete it sounds nothing like the song I got my inspiration from. After you finish a track don't be discouraged if it doesn't sound like a certain producer, you should instead be stoked that you created something new and innovative.

Also focus on experimentation more than anything, don't be afraid to try something different and just be creative with the sounds you have. For example if you have never heard an 808 snare in a boom bap beat, that doesn't mean you can't use one (probably not the best example but you get my point haha). You don't know if it sounds good until you try it.

Just to make it clear, I am not trying to come across as some production guru I'm just explaining how I see it. :)
 
My advice is to keep learning and constantly evolve.

As soon as you think you're the $hit, that's when you start to suck.
 
the fingerprint is their musical voice (chord/scale/note choices and arrangement choices) and their production voice (sonic choices, mix choices, panning choices, eq choices, fx choices and balances, etc)

these come from just one thing: lots of experience and practice

I tend to differ from jt on constantly evolving - if you are always evolving then you never have a chance to establish a fingerprint, as you move too quick to be able to establish a sound that is yours

find a balance between the two, which is something only you can do

as for learning focus more on arrangement and orchestration than on notes and chords, and learn how to mix well: those two areas will enhance your ability to create your unique sound
 
Ok it seems like Ima have to learn that thing after-all.That theory stuff.

Alright psalm band and james I gotcha info, I will learn some of the orchestration and mixing
 
You say you don't think you need theory..and I'm not saying you do. TONS of HUGE artists have done it without, but those artists probably learnt how to play their instrument before they could walk. But still, you don't NEED theory to produce.

With that being said, you are asking the difference between a good producer and a great producer...Well heres my 2 cents. (this applies to any concept but ill stick to the main topic on hand about theory)

The 'good' producer would be asking what they can work on to be great. A good producer will realize he may not need music theory so he will continue to make good music without it because studying it might be time spent better elsewhere? A good producer researches what seems to be the 'mainstream' thing to research and drills all that information into their head so they have it mastered, etc..A good producer works at it for a good few hours everyday and gets right back it at the next day after doing everything else in their life.

NOW.

A great producer doesnt ask what steps he needs to take to get there because a great producer doesnt skip steps. Every little thing that comes through their head that has to do with music, they NEED to know. A great producer doesnt see music theory and think "do i need that, or can I do it without?" A great producer sees music theory as another skill he CAN use to get better. Does he need it? maybe not? will it hinder his progress? Absolutely not..It can only help, so he does it.
A great producer realizes in order to 'make it' you don't 'do it like everyone else is doing it. You do every little damn thing you possibly can to do it DIFFERENTLY than everyone else doing it. Because everyone else is usually doing it wrong. A great producer can think of his own ways to learn things. And finds a use for EVERYTHING they can learn, and DOES learn everything they can, relevant or not. Because it really is all relevant. If you're asking how to be a great producer, things SO information heavy like music theory shouldn't even be a decision about whether you need it or not. You don't need to know music theory, but you SHOULD know music theory; especially if you're asking this question. Its a step you cant afford to skip. Unless you only ever just wanna be good. A great producer cant sleep at night because they have too many ideas going through their head about the project they are working on. A great producer doesnt have a set time that they work a day..a great producer doesnt stop working.

In my opinion you don't just advance from a good producer to a great producer with time and experience. In order to become a great producer you need to have that plan and mindset in your head from the start. You cant take the 'path' to being a good producer and become a great producer because there is so much more you have to do. That jump from good to great isn't a technique switch, its a lifestyle switch. You have to BELIEVE and almost down right KNOW right from when you begin your journey that you WILL be a great producer one day. Thats the only thing that will keep you motivated enough to keep doing the work you must do to get there and be better than all the other 'good' producers out there. Because like I said it will and has to be your life. Because if its not yours, its someone else's.

Keep in mind I obviously have a pretty high standard for 'great'
 
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Right now I'm just barely decent but I want to get up to good status, great...I don't know about great I'm just aiming for good.
After wikipedia searchin, seems like my fears were ignorant.This thing's about arranging tracks/patterns in a organized way :/

The level grinding just does not end, no wonder this takes a lifetime
 
KonKossKang said:
Right now I'm just barely decent but I want to get up to good status, great...I don't know about great I'm just aiming for good.
After wikipedia searchin, seems like my fears were ignorant.This thing's about arranging tracks/patterns in a organized way :/

The level grinding just does not end, no wonder this takes a lifetime
Click to expand...
I was gonna reply to this but I just edited my post up there instead..added the last paragraph and sentence.
 
Alright, I'll keep this in mind for the hobby too.
I'll be content with leveling up to a good beatmaker.
But...I will be a great, sound designer.

That's the one thing I can't go to sleep over.Massive, Reaktor zebra all of those samples from kontakt and effects/tools...
But all those effects don't mean much if I don't practice placing these things together better.I'll do as you said.
 
Making music is like playing with lego! You'll notice different patterns and new pieces all the time, with every new experience and every new discovery your mind and soul expanded. Soon it all just starts to fit together methodically, instinctively and with passion and feeling! Eventually you will have a sistine chapel of lego in the making and your lego architecture empire will find it's true calling. Or so I figure lol
 
Yes, colored blocks with sound trapped inside is how i view them.I continue this and sound design because they are, well this in general is a very long fresh Rpg with music as the theme :/

It's just a grindfest I can't get enough of.Might even go as far as to say real instruments and electronic music is an extremely long, advanced form of videogame.
 
Those that are the best at this and have their own distinct sound are the ones who break down this broad term "music production" into it's contituent parts (ie song structure, mixing, etc) and then obsessively learn about & practice those areas.
For example, if i don't know anything about mixing, I'll download Mike Senior's book on mixing and I'll learn about some process called compression
He'll explain what it is, what each knob does and how it effects the sound in a different way. I'll feel ready to go compress the nastiest snare at this point
But my first (insert an amount so high it's cruel) attempts at compression will suuuuck. I will inevitably break that plateau tho as everyone does and it'll all come together
One more notch on the belt
Then I'll repeat the process with some other area
The absolute best have gone through their own similar apprenticeship with a constant tradeoff between learning about & practicing a skill. Dre has admittedly spent a lotttt of his time on perfecting every little part of how his drums sound and what do u know, he's arguably the best in the world at it & that's his signature.
 
That's a really good and difficult question to answer. Being a great producer is really a subjective thing. I think you have to be willing to put up with the fact that whatever you're working on now will never be the best stuff that you can make. It's a constant fight between doing what you always do and trying something completely different to improve.

The great producers are the ones that don't get too discouraged when they don't think they're good enough. You've just gotta pound it out and spend those hours in the studio working on tracks and finishing them. A lot of it is pyschological too; if you don't think you're a great producer, that thinking will show in your work. Who else will think you're great then?
 
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KonKossKang said:
For instance to the experienced dudes, how do you get good at this?Not decent I mean really good, like back to back playback good?
There's scales and music theory [don't really agree on needing theory but yeah] chord progressions and such but still.

Although this is a hobby, I'd like to move up to better than my current skill set.Basically I'm trying to figure out how to bump up in power.
When I listen to tracks from those with experience I feel some type of 'character' in their music, it's like a fingerprint in their sound that sounds better than average to my ears.For instance there's rustie, then there's timbaland, then another section of makers called olive oil and nujabe.


What's it gonna take to give your beats a 'fingerprint' so it feels like a particular type of person?I've noticed that some of my favorite tracks are ones that feel like an [Insert whatever the dude's name is] beat.
Click to expand...

I mean no disrespect to anyone who replied to this thread by saying this,
but:

Why are you asking the general public how to get to the top of the mountain?
It seems to me that you should identify a particular producer whose brain you want to pick, and ask him this question personally.
A lot of the people on this forum are coming from the same position you are, and they're only able to speculate in order to come up with an answer to your question.


-Ki
Salem Beats (+Reviews)
gpWmqu
 
To me this question can't be summed up by one person, because that's just one opinion, one point of view.I had to see the opinions of multiple fellas and extract portions of their opinions and mesh them together to grasp all of this.There's so many things in this field that just can't be put in one place.This hobby's is very easy to get into but once you're in...you start to find things you didn't notice before and that are above you.

My goal is not to be at the top of no mountains.I'm just a dudeguy who wants to be as good as people who made him say 'wow' when he heard their tracks.That's all there is to it besides sound design.
 
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