What are the best music production EXERCISES except making a song?

[captain lysergicacid]

Hi everybody!

Everybody who makes music probably knows this: you want to make something with music, but your time / ideas / motivations are just not enough to start to make a whole new song.

So, my question to you is, what are your favourite exercises to "keep in training", and thus getting new skills and ideas.

My training list:
- Watch a tutorial and make the same with ableton
- "Covering" a song (as in trying to copy it 1:1, for exercise)
- Making own sounds (operator, etc.)
- reading about music theory, e.g. reading a book or online articles
- analyze songs, structure, instruments, bpm, etc.

OR: watching live music
.. really, nothing gives me more motivation and ideas than going out, grab a few bottles of beer and enjoy some nice live music!

Lets hear about your favourite practicing techniques

[Guenon]

Just chiming in for the "making your own sounds" category here, in this case specifically synthesis and actual exercises. This is the best thing I know of for getting the basics down (and a bit beyond, too) in an exercise regimen fashion: https://www.syntorial.com/

[rod_zero]

Improving your playing skills, for example, one could use Melodics to improve finger drumming.

[simon.a.billington]

Personally I constantly explore new ideas, but not at the expense of getting rid of the old.

Simply arranging a 3 or 4 part hornlike can be a great exercise in itself, as with 3 or 4 part vocal harmonies.

Playing with chord inversions, so for example, when you double guitar parts, they don't necessarily have to be paying the same thing, you could try changing the inversion to get a different voicing of the same chord to really open up more depth and get better stereo width. I often do this trick with keyboard "pad" sounds, they seem to sound more open when you use slightly different sounds and inversions for both left and right side of the mix.

Counter melodies. So in between the "main line", which is usually vocals, there often space. Space can be a good thing so don't forget to practice leaving some of that in. However, you could also leave counter melodies in between the gaps, played by something else. They might even be simple "fill ins" played by guitar or something

Try playing with extended chords, like 7ths, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths. Not your typical rock or dance sound, but do come in handy time to time when you want to create an unexpected change or parts that appear to have more "depth" to them.

Syncopation, try getting some musical ideas sounding off the beat. Funk does a lot of this, , but then so does jazz and even reggae.

That's what I got right now. You should be able to type in these ideas as searches to find some instructional videos on TYouTube if you feel you need to.

[ATN69]

I often make a 8 bar track with drums, bass, pads, plucks, etc. I then start mixing it by adding EQ, Compression, Reverbs, Gain staging and panning, etc. This is how I practise my mixing skills. The goal is to have a clean and well polished mix where all the sounds sit well in the mix.

I use reference tracks to compare.

[vitocorleone123]

Mixing practice. Best to watch tutorials first. I think there's something like the Ten Minute Mix challenge or something like that, where you do the best you can in 10min to see where you're at. By the way, you can download some free stems to practice from http://www.cambridge-mt.com/ms-mtk-newbies.htm#Top among other places.

[Armagibbon]

Play your instrument 30 a day no matter what. Do an hour if you can.

Do your rounds on keys and chords every week. Slam out some 7ths, improvise on top. Do the circle to a beat you love. Shout out the chord name when you land on it. Can't think of it? Stop and figure it out. Figure out the key too. Pro tip... the chord tells you what key you're in if you build a scale from the root. Forget all that classical shit about careful modulations and whatever. You can go from anywhere to anywhere if you got a melody to carry the audience. But here's a funny thing... good melodies follow classical conventions so you're gonna do it anyway hahaha... something to chew on

Find fun tricks you like to do and try to put them everywhere. One chord voicing thing I always try when the tension deserves it? Make one f*ckin nasty chord like full on 11th or 13th or some quartal or sus shit with all kinds of f*cked up 2nds for dissonance in the same register then take all the 2nds and invert to 7ths or 9ths. Spacing that shit out makes it damn rich and opens more options for voice leading if I feel like doing it that way. Good shit.

Suspensions are f*ckin great substitutions. Invert til it slots in. Try it for f*cking everything I'm serious.

[DJ Warmonger]

Except making a song? Why?
Just try making a whole track from one sample and see where it gets you.

[Zexila]

Debating on forums

[captain lysergicacid]

THX for the answers everybody!

Except making a song? Why?
Just try making a whole track from one sample and see where it gets you.

Simply because sometimes I just dont have the motivation, time or energy to program drums, make a bass line, make a melody, find chords etc.

[Alphacodex]

Trying to replicate a song 1:1 with my gear, from recording to mixing and mastering taught me a lot...

[Michael L]

Pick a preset and sing/play a melody that brings out its distinctive qualities; or sing a melody and play it on the piano first and then with a synth patch you make for that melody.

[dark water]

I (genuinely) find that getting a good amount of sleep and being able to plan out arrangements critically, sometimes on paper/post-it, is always a good exercise for music production.

[_al_]

remixing, using a good quality pop or rnb acappella.
and i don't mean listening to the original to find out the chord structure and whatever else. do a completely new track, using the vocal stem as an instrument.
this is actually a great way to learn, because with good quality vocals already in place, half the battle is already won, and trying it with different sounds / note progressions / beats is a really fun and educational experience.

ok, i know you said "without making a song", but i think this counts, because you can be as quick or lazy as you want, and the vocals can still carry you to a good sounding result