getting started, things you wish you knew?

[DJ Warmonger]

I learned a lot on studies, from books and tutorials Also from this board. The thing is, no matter how much you know, you still need experience and check theory in practice. Some things that should work on paper won't work in your mix, and some things that seem counter-intuitive give great sound. Learning music production (or just anything, I guess) is ongoing process. You need to learn something new every day and draw conclusion.

[KoolFartWind]

What I learned from my mistakes :

- think twice before investing money in recently hyped equipment. it won't improve your results in most cases

- don't get lost in sound design, if you want to learn how to compose (electronic) music. Or did you hear Bach or Beethoven to build the instruments before composing for orchestra ?

- already mix while prototyping, check continously with headphones and monitors. don't try to rescue your mix in the mastering stage.

[MadAnthony81]

hey man, or woman. hmhmhmhm. sorry i didn't listen to your music, im not in the mood usually. i do like electro, and want to produce it.

For EDM the pump lead is used a lot, maybe not electro but maybe can squeeze oone in there, doubt it though.

But its called a sidechain lead pump. grab a compressor with external sidechain, and apply it to a small quick sound. watch your compresser attack your lead sound you have it on to pump it.

[coskivst]

Long time lurker - thought I'd finally get involved and register. Here are my two cents.

For me - I think I spent too much time looking at random assorted free tutorials online - all of which were helpful, but usually only covered one small aspect of production or synthesis etc.

I'm still definitely still learning of course - but what helped me was buying a full production video class or book that covered the aspects of production from start to finish. While there are still tons of things about synthesis, EQ, FX, mixing, arranging, music theory, etc to learn - at least I have a general idea of where they fit in the process and what they are. It also helped me to design a workflow for me instead of just randomly twiddling and fiddling and not really getting anywhere. If someone had told me that before - I think I would have saved a bunch of time.

Enjoy the journey - there is so much to learn - and that is a huge part of the fun for me.

[4tune]

I'm still definitely still learning of course - but what helped me was buying a full production video class or book that covered the aspects of production from start to finish.

I`ve found the Timothy Allan videos on Groove3 great for this with dance music production. You can sometimes find a voucher for a free one month pass floating about on KvR or elsewhere too:

http://www.groove3.com/str/author_produ ... uthorid=15


A couple of further recent tips I wish I`d known:

-Learn how to use the groove/swing settings properly in your DAW. Also nudge those individual hits around as needed; were talking ticks and milliseconds here. Once you hear the difference you will hear it in tracks everywhere. Such a basic one, but trying to learn from forums you can get caught up in the A/Bing of different compressors and miss some basic technique.

Incidentally an interesting interview with Roger Linn on the birth of Swing in his drum machines:
http://www.attackmagazine.com/features/ ... pc-timing/

-Learn to parallel compress properly. High gain reduction needed, not the same as mix bus compression settings. I was being far too `safe` on the parallel drum bus.

http://www.attackmagazine.com/technique ... mpression/

[arkmabat]

Money is not equal to quality.

[Rah]

one thing i would add is dont ever delete a project. if youre working on something and you get to a point where its not going where you want it or it seems like its just not panning out, leave it, but keep it. dont force it, but dont give up on it either. theres obviously something in there that you liked.

i cant tell you how many tracks i have that came from a 1 or 2 year old project that i stopped working on. sometimes its just a matter of hearing it again with fresh ears...sometimes its a matter of you improved since last time and have more skill to make it what you originally wanted it to be.

i consider this as "putting it in the bank". something i can come back to later and have (some of) the work already started. its especially good for those times where you just arent feeling inspired and cant seem to even start a new project. you cant start one right now...but maybe you can finish one.

I do this, I often return to old projects and spruce them up or turn them into a complete piece of music.

[EdSevered]

I wonder if the OP will return to this post or not.

Just wanted to bump this thread to say THANK YOU guys. All the advice contributed above is invaluable, and has helped me to get perspective. I wanted to help others to benefit from it.

I have more money than time, and find myself buying more gear and software to soothe my desire to make music. I finally invested in a groove3 membership and have started watching the videos, to focus on learning during times that I can't spend with my kit, instead of buying things I "think" or "imagine" that I will want or need later on.

Again thanks for sharing. Even though it appears that the OP didn't come back, others do appreciate your efforts.

-Ed

[nickamandote]

1. learn music theory else you are wasting your time (get books, watch videos, do exercises)

2. a tons of plugins won't help you. Buy a few and stick with those

3. sound modules or analog synths do make a difference

4. learn about gain staging and use it everytime

5. if you don't have decent monitors and decent sound proof room you're missing a lot

I guess I could add more but these come into my mind right now. Good luck!

[Lejurai]

One tip that would've helped me a lot is that Don't study theory (or anything actually) unless you need it. Only stuff what you need and when you need

*edit*

Buying several issues of computer music magazine could also help. Pile of knowledge in a tiny package ^^