Hi, I'm a beginning producer who intends to really get serious with producing. However, I'm a very hands-on, one-on-one type of learner. Watching videos and reading things helps me to an extent, but not the same extent having one-on-one help would.
I want to ask if any skilled producers would be willing to help me out through skype(I don't mind if it's just messaging), and help me fully learn how to use my DAW and effectively make beats. I currently use FL studio 12. It would be greatly appreciated if anybody could help.
My skype username is "Awesomegamer1".
Hi and welcome, this endeavour of yours, if done right, will effectively change your life for the better. But it's not, by any means, an "easy road", it will test your willpower, your dedication, your discipline up to your very soul.
So first, as an advice, I'd say you got to make sure that this is what you want to do, and why you want to do it. There's no easy money or free pussy around for 99% of us. Define what you want to do. I don't believe "producer" is the correct word for what we do here (even tho we tend to go with that word), because it implies a "business" part that is mostly distraction from the most important goal, that is to make the best music you can and share it with as many people as you can. Money and business are results of this work and should definitely not be seen as a goal to set for oneself.
"Producer" as you say, is not a "job", it's a way of life, like the ultimate goal of alchemy, to turn lead into gold, a musician turns darkness into beauty. But you first have to be willing to stare the darkness in the eyes, embrace it.
It'll challenge you, socially, it may alienate you, I've seen people who got completely destroyed by it too, from insanity to suicide, divorce, loss of everything they had.
It has little to do with DAW or even music theory, if you want these things, you can learn them easily, they are skills that you develop, you can watch a 20 minutes video on youtube and have enough of the basics to get started.
But it has to do with that itch to express yourself, express things that you are and feel, things that are unenglishable, things that word couldn't possibly translate.
So my main advice here would be to first learn to be comfortable with yourself, not trying to be someone else, assume your own identity, your own beauty, your own creativity.
Don't run after money, don't run after fame, don't chase any other goal than to express who you are. Money, glory are results of how good you are at being and expressing yourself.
there's one thing you don't want, it is music becoming a job, something you *have to* do to pay the bills. So many people compromise who they are, they want to make beats like Dr X and prods like DJ Y, but if X or Y are so proeficient at making good beats, it is first and foremost because they didn't try to make beats like someone else in the first place.
Good luck in everything, and most importantly: have fun