What are begginers first bounderies they encounter in music production?

Andrelo

New member
Hello, so I am making some questions to people that have more experience about the issues music producers and artists find when they first start making music.

So my questions to you guys is
What was the things that caused you problems at the beginning?(money,time,lack of motivation,etc)
What was the way you solve those problems?
What do you see in beginners that they struggle when they start?

My response:
--When I first started I ended up making about 5 beats in 3 weeks. At first I thought they were good but then I realized that they were really, really bad, and that made me stop making music for a while. I thought that I needed to learn a lot of things about music to start making good stuff.
-- The solution to this problem took a while, and what I did was mainly to start paying attention to other music, like to the sounds effects, and the meausurement of each part, and that helped me to be more aware of every detail of any song, which made helped me to use that in my music production



Hope to see answers! . Please don't reply with something like "it depends...." that will not help, I want you guys to give me an example from your experience or from others!

Thank You
- Andrelo
 
The biggest boundary when I started was coming up with a good idea for a song, and trying to make it sound unique and different. The best thing you can do to overcome this problem is listen to a wide variety of edm (Deep House, Dubstep, Glitch Hop, Future House, Electro House, etc.) and listen to the different sounds within these genres. Then try and incorporate some of these sounds into a track. Try looking at some VST Plugins such as NI Massive, Xfer Serum, Sylenth, and watch a few basic tutorials. If you're also a beginner best thing is to just download some sample packs as it helps you out with a lot of sounds, especially if you're new to music. Have a look at some of the Cymatics sample packs they have released.
 
sourcing the sounds i wanted was a big problem until i learned to reverse engineer similar sounds and eventually start making my own
 
The first problem I felt was comparing myself to the commercially ready music. Me as an amateur, walking in and comparing myself to the best in the business stifled my creativity. I felt like I had mountains to climb, and I did obviously but it was just unrealistic comparisons.

My solution was realising that only I could make the stuff I was making and getting more unique as I went along and comparing my latest track to my first track was way more optimal than continuously comparing to a professionally produced, mixed and mastered.

I guess it all comes down to understanding the stages of production rather than the initial production itself.
 
Judging on the questions asked on this forum, it seems to be beginning producers are naive and impatient.
Naive to think that it all would be easy and come natural, impatient trying to find shortcut solutions to learning music theory and skills.
IMO, something that's entirely caused by wrong motivation. IMO, you should be making music for the fun of it, enjoy the process, just dick around and see where you'll end up. Eventually get better at it, learn new stuff, try to balance learning new stuff and incorporating that in your music.
 
The first obstacle that I had to cross when I first started was making my music sound professional. I worried too much about how amateur it sounded, and I compared it to professionally mixed songs. I realized that I wasn't going to become a master producer overnight, so I just started making beats and uploading them to my soundcloud without worrying about how they sounded.

Even nowadays I tend to criticize my own work and it really hinders me because I never finish any projects. I make an 8 or 16 bar loop and then stop. Comparing your music to other peoples music and criticizing yourself based upon your own opinion is really bad. Its best to just create what you think sounds good without ripping off of someone elses style.

In other words, being unique is a good thing
 
The first problem I felt was comparing myself to the commercially ready music. Me as an amateur, walking in and comparing myself to the best in the business stifled my creativity. I felt like I had mountains to climb, and I did obviously but it was just unrealistic comparisons.

I find this quite interesting and I see that a lot of people are in it for the paper chase. How many threads do we see about how to improve beatstore sale etc?

From my own frame of reference - money doesn't interest me.
I'm 37 and have a good job - production is my escape - my crazy-breaker - a hobby.

I'm doing some stuff for some guys in Hawaii, some stuff for free with some lads up the road (I'm Yorkshire) and working on my own album.
None of it is really about money though. It's about me and people that I rate supporting each other.

So I only need to make music that I'm into - I don't need to take current trends into account.
I can laugh that 90% of new producers I hear are making Trap(US)/Grime(UK) beats that sound unimaginatively similar to next-mans Trap/Grime beats.

Hip hop is still bigger than the sub-genres that spring-from and die-out of it; and there's still plenty of places it can go sonically.

The only boundaries are a lack of imagination and having to deal with people who don't respect what you do.

Be be different and only work with those that respect you because of that.
 
Hip hop is still bigger than the sub-genres that spring-from and die-out of it; and there's still plenty of places it can go sonically.

The only boundaries are a lack of imagination and having to deal with people who don't respect what you do.

Be be different and only work with those that respect you because of that.

This is super important to remember too. When I first started I was just doing what I wanted. Then I started showing people (friends, soundcloud etc.) and that's when it started. People telling me not to post full beats, had me tagging my music, telling me to focus on selling. All the magic and fun came out of it.

Lesson from this, forget all the extrinsic stuff and just listen to you. You know what sounds good to you. Make that. And share it however you want
 
You are right... I think that producers nowadays try to sound like other producers or rapper, this makes a lack of imagination because you feel like you must sound like the rest... but you just cant!
 
What do you guys think about this article I wrote about it?

Getting Started

Welcome to the world of music production. You are now taking your passionfor music to the next level by creating the sonic bed for artists to expressthemselves. The #1 rule of music is that there are no rules. This is true. However,there are a few guiding principles that can be used to help you avoid common pitfalls. We will now give you some useful tips on building yourself as a producer.


What is the best DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) to make beats?


This is an ongoing question many starting producers have when beginning their journey. The truth is, the term “best” is very subjective and varies person to person. All the major music-making programs are just as capable as the next (ie.Logic, FL Studio, Reason, Ableton, etc.). The goal is to find the platform that bestworks for YOU. The manufacturers offer demo versions on their website so you canget a feel for how the program works in your hands. Trial and error will be the best teacher in this instance. Go to YouTube, view a product demonstration, try the program, then make your decision on which program is the “best.”


Keeping up with the Joneses


This point ties back into the first one. Many times producers will see thelatest release of a Virtual Instrument, plug in, or a cool new piece hardware and jump at the opportunity to purchase. There is usually a big name artist or producertied to the product and they promise the world! “Buy this new product by the superduper amazing company. I swear this plugin will make your drums BANG!!, mix your beat for you, and....get you a brand new car. Save your money. Rather, take the new
product with a grain of salt. What a majority of these companies are doing is tappinginto the desire of consumers to be the “Top Dog.” This is not to say the productwon’t be quality. Once again, try the demo, get a feel for it, and decide whether or not it works for you.

The Marathon

While establishing yourself as a producer keep in mind that this is amarathon, not a sprint. Don’t be discouraged when your music doesn’t sound up topar to the hottest producers or other producers whom you look up to. Workinghard, being focused, and embracing experimentation will keep you on the pathwayto success. Every 6-8 months you can go back and review your music. You willslowly, but surely see the progression in your tracks. Put your ego aside, embracefeedback and constructive criticism from other producers who’s music you view asmore developed. This method of checks and balances will put you on the road tosuccess.


Anti-Social Media

Music production is a social art form by definition. With the advent of technology, it is easy to stay in an isolated state with the perception of actually being social. Forinstance, many times producers will use social media in an attempt to contact thebiggest artist in the hopes they will respond and give them their first big break. Onextremely rare occasions, this has actually worked. Unfortunately, more often thannot, the producer is ignored and they contact the next celebrity artist. The mosteffective thing you can do as a producer is to connect with artists in your area, buildrelationships, and create great music. This will not only teach you how to tailor your tracks with the vocalist present, but it will also help to build your reputationthrough word-of-mouth marketing. Remember, the best producers aren’t begging for clients.

@TheRealDesmond (Twitter & Instagram)
 
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I would say just never giving up. When you start, there is a loooong way to go, but you have to push through while friends give up. A lot of people started with me, but aren't here anymore. Once you get over the fact that you won't make a "hit song" until you have the skill, then you'll dedicate yourself to practice. Practice like it's an instrument, everyday. I think perseverance is the most important thing for beginners.
 
Judging on the questions asked on this forum, it seems to be beginning producers are naive and impatient.
Naive to think that it all would be easy and come natural, impatient trying to find shortcut solutions to learning music theory and skills.
IMO, something that's entirely caused by wrong motivation. IMO, you should be making music for the fun of it, enjoy the process, just dick around and see where you'll end up. Eventually get better at it, learn new stuff, try to balance learning new stuff and incorporating that in your music.


this is literally on point and i agree 100% with this dude, you have to know that you will suck at first and its a slow process of building your own unique sound, everyone has a different ear usually raised listening to different types and genres of music, just know that growth is measured by time and effort. the more hours and hard work you put in the easier things get and that's a fact, of course thats just making music, then you have to deal with the industry which is just a shithole ;D
 
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