Advice needed

S

strnpch

New member
Hey guys
New to this website and also beginner producer

I have been working on improving myself musically (studying music theory again..listening to different genres..etc) however, I always find my beats to sound empty? repetitive? there is always something I don't like and mostly that it sounds empty, and what I hear just doesn't sound.. ENOUGH?:cry::cry::cry: if that makes sense
I am extremely new to this whole thing and especially having problems with tackling mastering and leveling and so on which I read on some other forum could be the solution to the beat sounding empty problem:shame:

Any advice on where to start on those? It will be really appreciated!
What did you use when you first started? for example if youtube, whose tutorials helped you the most? and so on!

(I use sennheiser HD 280 pro and FL studios)
 
Hello,

I've been producing for about 7 months, I'm a far cry from an expert.

In the first month or two I looked up youtube videos for like 30 minutes every day to learn a bit about Ableton which I use. Then I challenged myself to make 100 songs in a year. I'll easily make that goal, and it forced me to make lots of music. Id have a couple weeks of crap music then another thing would "click" and I could hear the improvement. Going back to stuff I was making a few months ago sounds like a complete joke compared to what I am capable of making now.

Ignore your empty beats and keep using new sounds and techniques everyday until you find some stuff you like.

Here is a random beat I made, simple and needing vocals to bring it to life but I'm happy with it for now. Whats your stuff like?

For Thomas To Listen To by Severin Aegir | Free Listening on SoundCloud
 
Hey Severin!

Thank you so much for replying and for your advice! Actually last night I went back to things I made last year and I can hear a lot of improvement, but it’s like tackling areas that have always caused me difficulty are what making me anxious about it

I am currently listening to your beat and it sounds really good!! Have you dabbled in mastering yet??

My sound that I am striving for is neosoul and r&b and so on, that is why I am currently studying music theory and all ! I don’t know if I will post anything as I don’t have confidence in posting it yet :(
 
You can always think that your music sounds empty/repetative, but everyone can be self critical. Do you have any examples of any music you have produced?

Getting good samples is, in my opinion, most of the battle. EQing in the correct areas can really make a big difference, the frequency band at around 250Hz can make a big difference in filling up/decluttering a complete mix.

If you use FL studio, in the effects slots there are a few plugins worth noting:

EQ2 for EQing (duh!) and EQ for sidechaining.
Delay - Can work nicely on hi-hat flow cutting in and out of the effect volume automation.
Blood Overdrive - Some form of distortion I think.
Compressing Plugins - Can make sounds pack more of a punch.
Maximus - EQ and Compression overall and in three seperate bands.

Hope this is of some use.
 
Hi mate, We've all been there or will be at some point, Don't let it stress you too much.

Finding good quality samples to use in your tracks is one of the keys, samples that don't require much processing to make them stand out etc.. like a tight snare / hats etc

Try sidechain on your parts etc

If your track is feeling empty - try processing individual tracks with things like Compressors / saturation / overdrive / eq / limiter / multi-band compression etc
i always find that when starting a track, mixing into a compressor can help thicken it out (Compressor on your output master) try multiband compression and limiters to give it more life - there's no rules on how many compressors / limiters etc to use, just go onto youtube videos to try and get your head around them and what they do... or even better just experiment, a lot of the time you might make a mistake that makes your track sound better etc..... Pensados Place / Zenworld are good for content i've personally learnt a lot from these 2 channels. There's loads out there....
 
Hey man been producing for quite a few years now and I've finally gotten to the point where my music doesn't sound shitty haha but honestly I randomly saw an ad on for a course on remixing and decided to give it a try I think it's like $40 or something but it changed my life. It's 4 hours and the dude breaks down exactly how to remix a track, layering synths, mastering, what plugins to get it was worth every penny. I should add that I'm not affiliated in anyway it was just a really useful course even for an intermediate producer. Here's the link if you wanna check it out.

FaderPro | Remixing w/ Dave Winnel
 
This might reiterate an above suggestion but any beat is empty to me without a harmony I like. Maybe find something to have part of the beat trigger chords or notes, or have them triggered only between the beat. Allow your production to occur at different stages or phases. I think most of the composition phase, or at least initially, should be done separately (maybe using a midi standalone) from the audio effects/mastering phase. But I'm not one to give advice, I'm just having fun with it.
 
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