Trip Lykely
New member
About 6-ish months ago the bug I had to begin producing glitched out bass music caught fire and I began meandering about FL Studio making garbage tracks. There are many things I now know I wish I knew then but the most fundamental of which are:
1. Study tracks you like in your DAW. Loop them 8-bars at a time and note what is taking place. On your first pass outline the sections of the track with time markers in your DAW (intro, build, drop, etc). As you continue to listen note placement of drums, bass, and synths. One of the most difficult things when starting to produce, especially if you're like me with no musical background, is the blank canvas and even knowing where to begin. Before you try to make a track, study a few.
2. Be organized. In everything. If you want to get great at producing you need to develop good habits. Your samples shouldn't just be in packs, organize them so you can easily access what you want when in the creative mood. Presets and patches, same thing, organize them so you can find them quickly. Organize your time into various studio sessions. If you have limited time watch tutorials, do sound design, write melodies, etc. Don't try to write a track if you are crunched for time or will have distractions. Make templates in your DAW to eliminate the need to duplicate work. Your goal should be to make it as easy as possible to write a track when you want to.
3. Everyone gets stuck in a loop. You make a great 8-bar or 16-bar loop and have no idea how to turn it into a track. Try this, load a track you really like into your DAW, adjust the project BPM to that track and outline the sections. Now copy your loop across. Begin arranging by subtracting elements. Once you have this general outline you can go into each section with a starting point for your creativity.
4. Your music will suck. Its ok. Its supposed to. You want to produce because you have good taste, and you don't like your music because the artists you love have spent years working on their craft. Its a good thing to think your tracks suck, its your taste propelling you forward. Do not get stuck in trying to make the best track possible. You won't. Focus on making as many completed tracks as you can. Set a goal that you can hit but that pushes you. Personally I only have Sundays off, so during the week I do everything I can to set myself up to write and finish a track on Sunday. The more tracks you make the quicker you will get to the point of being able to create your masterpiece. You will also feel a sense of accomplishment and improvement as you listen to old tracks.
5. There is a neverending list of techniques, skills, tools, etc for producing. Don't focus on that. Make an outline of what you need to know and work on those aspects when you don't have time to use your DAW. Listen to a tutorial on compression on your way to work. Use the time you have to stay focused on production. And until you understand the concept, don't use it. Just make tracks, and each track apply a new skill, technique, etc. Rinse, repeat.
When I started I was completely lost and didn't even know what to really Google to get going. Add to this the countless garbage YouTube tutorials and it took me a while to even make something I liked. Again, I'm only 6 months in myself, far from good, but the improvement I've made in 6 months could have happened in 1 month if I knew the above when I started. Hopefully this helps someone.
1. Study tracks you like in your DAW. Loop them 8-bars at a time and note what is taking place. On your first pass outline the sections of the track with time markers in your DAW (intro, build, drop, etc). As you continue to listen note placement of drums, bass, and synths. One of the most difficult things when starting to produce, especially if you're like me with no musical background, is the blank canvas and even knowing where to begin. Before you try to make a track, study a few.
2. Be organized. In everything. If you want to get great at producing you need to develop good habits. Your samples shouldn't just be in packs, organize them so you can easily access what you want when in the creative mood. Presets and patches, same thing, organize them so you can find them quickly. Organize your time into various studio sessions. If you have limited time watch tutorials, do sound design, write melodies, etc. Don't try to write a track if you are crunched for time or will have distractions. Make templates in your DAW to eliminate the need to duplicate work. Your goal should be to make it as easy as possible to write a track when you want to.
3. Everyone gets stuck in a loop. You make a great 8-bar or 16-bar loop and have no idea how to turn it into a track. Try this, load a track you really like into your DAW, adjust the project BPM to that track and outline the sections. Now copy your loop across. Begin arranging by subtracting elements. Once you have this general outline you can go into each section with a starting point for your creativity.
4. Your music will suck. Its ok. Its supposed to. You want to produce because you have good taste, and you don't like your music because the artists you love have spent years working on their craft. Its a good thing to think your tracks suck, its your taste propelling you forward. Do not get stuck in trying to make the best track possible. You won't. Focus on making as many completed tracks as you can. Set a goal that you can hit but that pushes you. Personally I only have Sundays off, so during the week I do everything I can to set myself up to write and finish a track on Sunday. The more tracks you make the quicker you will get to the point of being able to create your masterpiece. You will also feel a sense of accomplishment and improvement as you listen to old tracks.
5. There is a neverending list of techniques, skills, tools, etc for producing. Don't focus on that. Make an outline of what you need to know and work on those aspects when you don't have time to use your DAW. Listen to a tutorial on compression on your way to work. Use the time you have to stay focused on production. And until you understand the concept, don't use it. Just make tracks, and each track apply a new skill, technique, etc. Rinse, repeat.
When I started I was completely lost and didn't even know what to really Google to get going. Add to this the countless garbage YouTube tutorials and it took me a while to even make something I liked. Again, I'm only 6 months in myself, far from good, but the improvement I've made in 6 months could have happened in 1 month if I knew the above when I started. Hopefully this helps someone.
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