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It’s time to end the constant debate over what is a producer vs. a beat maker vs. a composer. Here is the real answer, not what you think but the facts. Mods should sticky this. Everyone should print this out and hang it up on your wall to help you stay on track to realizing your goal of becoming a good producer. BTW, this is paraphrased for the most part from a number of publications. So don't disagree with this just because you may not fall under the definition. Just do what you do. If you wanna work on becoming a composer or a producer, follow the right steps to becoming one.
Beat Maker:
This is what most of us in here are solely. A beat maker is a person who takes a number of samples (one-shot sound e.g. a single instrument note, drums, etc.), loops (e.g. sampled from a record, or loops in commercial/noncommercial libraries), or instrument emulations in keyboards, sound modules, synthesizer, and software instruments and uses them to make sequences. A beat maker strings together a number of these sequences (short phrases or pattern) into a complete instrumental.
Composer:
Simply put, a composer is a person who writes music (keyword: writes!!!). Many composers now use computers and other hardware to assist with composing music. But stringing together samples, loops, and sequences on a computer or sequencer does not qualify you as composer. A composer can also be a lyricist, songwriter and/or producer, however many composer are not lyricist and most do not produce at all.
Since composer write music for a number of instruments, they need to have a deep understanding of the instruments they are creating music for. This is why a composer is also a musician, sometimes capable of playing several instruments to professional standards. So composers are always musicians, but being a musician does not make you a composer.
Songwriters and composers share some similarities, both may write music and words to create a composition for the listener’s pleasure, but most composers (although not all) obtain music qualifications and concentrate on the musical aspect rather than word creation. They are also capable of producing long intricate scores based on a theme, whereas a songwriter may have no written qualifications and mainly concentrates on short tracks. So the key difference between a composer and songwriter is the composer focuses on the music more than words and usually writes long or complex scores based on a theme, while the songwriter focuses more on the words than the music and is usually making a short song, not long complex music.
Producer:
The Producers job is to help you get the recording that you want to make. A lot of times music producer is also a competent arranger, composer or songwriter who can bring fresh ideas to your tracks. This is especially true in hip hop, where the producer is usually also the person who made the beat or instrumental. But just making beats does not make you a producer or a composer. So in hip hop, a lot of the times the producer also is the beat maker or the composer, but many of the bigger name producers simply hire composers, arrangers, and songwriters to put together a song. In other genres of music, the producer is almost always a separate entity from the person who wrote the song and composed the music. This is especially true in rock bands, where the artist write and compose the song and outside producers come in to help make the track sound a certain way or to improve it.
As well as making any songwriting and arrangement adjustments, the producer is also in charge of the creative mix. He or she will collaborate with the sound engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. The music producer keeps an eye on the overall projects marketability. A lot of times, sound engineers end up becoming producers also.
Encouraging the best musical performance, coaching the artist and directing the backing vocalists are just a few of the mixture of functions that a music producer is expected to perform. They act as a go-between, translating your needs into the technician’s point of view and protect the artist and record labels interests.
PRODUCER QUALITIES
(print this and work on becoming as close to this as possible)
Advanced Musicianship
- Has spent a lot of time writing and collaborating on song
- Plays a lot of instruments
- Has a feel for song structure
- Has a feel for placing the song in the right key
- Has a feel for establishing the optimum bpm and achieving tight timing
- Understands vocal technique and vocal issues
Plays Well with Others
- Gets along well with technical types
- Gets along well with artistic types
- Is able to step into artists' dreams
- Is someone people like being around
- Upbeat and positive
- Can deal with sensitive artist egos
- Knows when to fight and when to surrender
Organizational Skills
- Has a plan for each session
- Works methodically toward the finish line
- Schedules on-call studio musicians
- Demonstrates ability to work within budgets
Knowledgeable
- Knows gear, computers, and software
- Understands digital and analog issues
- Familiar with mixing and mastering
Relentless
- Has a burning desire to create great recordings
- Doesn't get discouraged if things aren't going well at a particular session
- Flexible, not afraid to try new things if something's not working
- Unfazed by technical difficulties
Intuitive
- Able to visualize finished product
- Knows when an artist has a better take in them and when to move on
- Knows if it's worth it to suggest going over budget
- Has conviction in decision making without being dictatorial
- Knows when the song is done
Brought to you by Red Star Network
Beat Maker:
This is what most of us in here are solely. A beat maker is a person who takes a number of samples (one-shot sound e.g. a single instrument note, drums, etc.), loops (e.g. sampled from a record, or loops in commercial/noncommercial libraries), or instrument emulations in keyboards, sound modules, synthesizer, and software instruments and uses them to make sequences. A beat maker strings together a number of these sequences (short phrases or pattern) into a complete instrumental.
Composer:
Simply put, a composer is a person who writes music (keyword: writes!!!). Many composers now use computers and other hardware to assist with composing music. But stringing together samples, loops, and sequences on a computer or sequencer does not qualify you as composer. A composer can also be a lyricist, songwriter and/or producer, however many composer are not lyricist and most do not produce at all.
Since composer write music for a number of instruments, they need to have a deep understanding of the instruments they are creating music for. This is why a composer is also a musician, sometimes capable of playing several instruments to professional standards. So composers are always musicians, but being a musician does not make you a composer.
Songwriters and composers share some similarities, both may write music and words to create a composition for the listener’s pleasure, but most composers (although not all) obtain music qualifications and concentrate on the musical aspect rather than word creation. They are also capable of producing long intricate scores based on a theme, whereas a songwriter may have no written qualifications and mainly concentrates on short tracks. So the key difference between a composer and songwriter is the composer focuses on the music more than words and usually writes long or complex scores based on a theme, while the songwriter focuses more on the words than the music and is usually making a short song, not long complex music.
Producer:
The Producers job is to help you get the recording that you want to make. A lot of times music producer is also a competent arranger, composer or songwriter who can bring fresh ideas to your tracks. This is especially true in hip hop, where the producer is usually also the person who made the beat or instrumental. But just making beats does not make you a producer or a composer. So in hip hop, a lot of the times the producer also is the beat maker or the composer, but many of the bigger name producers simply hire composers, arrangers, and songwriters to put together a song. In other genres of music, the producer is almost always a separate entity from the person who wrote the song and composed the music. This is especially true in rock bands, where the artist write and compose the song and outside producers come in to help make the track sound a certain way or to improve it.
As well as making any songwriting and arrangement adjustments, the producer is also in charge of the creative mix. He or she will collaborate with the sound engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. The music producer keeps an eye on the overall projects marketability. A lot of times, sound engineers end up becoming producers also.
Encouraging the best musical performance, coaching the artist and directing the backing vocalists are just a few of the mixture of functions that a music producer is expected to perform. They act as a go-between, translating your needs into the technician’s point of view and protect the artist and record labels interests.
PRODUCER QUALITIES
(print this and work on becoming as close to this as possible)
Advanced Musicianship
- Has spent a lot of time writing and collaborating on song
- Plays a lot of instruments
- Has a feel for song structure
- Has a feel for placing the song in the right key
- Has a feel for establishing the optimum bpm and achieving tight timing
- Understands vocal technique and vocal issues
Plays Well with Others
- Gets along well with technical types
- Gets along well with artistic types
- Is able to step into artists' dreams
- Is someone people like being around
- Upbeat and positive
- Can deal with sensitive artist egos
- Knows when to fight and when to surrender
Organizational Skills
- Has a plan for each session
- Works methodically toward the finish line
- Schedules on-call studio musicians
- Demonstrates ability to work within budgets
Knowledgeable
- Knows gear, computers, and software
- Understands digital and analog issues
- Familiar with mixing and mastering
Relentless
- Has a burning desire to create great recordings
- Doesn't get discouraged if things aren't going well at a particular session
- Flexible, not afraid to try new things if something's not working
- Unfazed by technical difficulties
Intuitive
- Able to visualize finished product
- Knows when an artist has a better take in them and when to move on
- Knows if it's worth it to suggest going over budget
- Has conviction in decision making without being dictatorial
- Knows when the song is done
Brought to you by Red Star Network
Last edited:
Good post.
e.g. the producer qualities section with the part about plays multiple instruments... thats copy/pasted straight from electronic musicians mag. I think I trust their crap opinions, being that tey have 4 million subscribers and writers who have been in the music industry for 35 years. And this is an ELECTRONIC musician that is saying, NO just electronics dont cut it, you need to know multiple real instruments - thats a good trait for a producer. Hmmm that should tell you something.
