What you need to be a successful music producer
Efficient music producers, songwriters, composers always strive to strengthen their skills in different spheres of music production. And you for sure know that to become successful, you should have a rich skillset and develop it continuously. So once you build a solid foundation, you keep evolving and become better. To become better, you should always learn new skills and techniques and improve the ones you already have.
If you are a beginner, you should focus on the quantity of your skills, because there is a lot to learn. When you feel comfortable with the basics you can gradually move on to perfecting your existing skills as they impact the overall quality of your tracks. We, at EKmixmaster, know how scary it is to make the first step, but don’t get discouraged! This article will tell you about the skills you need to become a good producer. Here is a rundown of everything you need:
1. Music production tools
Software
Equipment
Instruments
2. Knowledge of theory
Music theory
Arrangement
Production theory
3. Knowledge of the production process
Music production tools
This category includes the equipment you should have to produce music. All the gear you own, from the software to MIDI controllers, requires some time to learn how to use them. These skills are essential to master if you want to become a good producer.
The DAW
The DAW is the software where tracks are produced, so mastering your DAW should be your priority. The same principle applies to your plug-ins and synths. The amount and variety of free and paid plug-ins and synths may be confusing, therefore focus on one or two, learn them, and once you feel comfortable using them, you can start learning new plug-ins.
Outboard gear (MIDI controllers, audio interfaces, e.t.c.)
Experiment with your gear, spend some time reading manuals, and finding what works best for you. Instead of spending money on new equipment, take time to master the one you have.
Master a musical instrument
It is not necessary but very beneficial when it comes to songwriting, as you are not dependent on other people, and it changes the way you think about the song.
Music theory
It is not necessary to learn advanced music theory to write music, but knowing the fundamentals (chord progression, keys, scales e.t.c) will definitely help you become better at music production in general. You will also become faster as you won’t be pressing random keys, hoping that it will sound good.
Arrangement theory
It implies knowing the structure of the song and melody. One of the best ways to do that is to analyze the songs you like, deconstruct them and figure out what makes them work. When you understand the song structure, you can move different parts around and see what works best for each particular song.
Music production theory
To become an efficient producer, you should also master your music production skills. They imply the processing of the sound itself, using different effects and everything that goes into it. To be profitable and efficient, we strongly advise that you dive into synth programming and create your sample packs, it takes a while to master, but the result is worth it.
Finally, master the production process and your workflow.
This process involves creating a song from the initial idea to the finished track, and the only way to get good at it is to practice it daily. The more you produce, the better you become, this is the exciting part of the process. By doing it over and over again, you will perfect your workflow and find new ways to be productive and creative. So, what are you waiting for? Get down to work and start producing!
