So, you want to be a music producer? And you want to know how to get there? Well, good for you, I have been there and I want to share my journey, and hopefully, I can share some tips with you that will get you there. But first, I want to go over what a music producer does. Well, basically they can do everything that involves the recording process. Mixing, recording, engineering, working with the artist directly to get the sound they want or finding the studio to record at.
A producer is a person who has the knowledge and skill to be able to make those quick decisions on the spot. Do you need to add a cello to the mix? Do you need to loop kick and bass 4 x longer than originally laid down? Just some examples of how a producer might need to make some quick decisions.
Learning how to make and produce music is fun and, if you work at it, and get good at it, you might just be able to make a career out of it!
If you commit yourself and love music you will be heading in the right direction in becoming a successful music producer.
However, it is important to understand that being a successful producer requires discipline and persistence. This is vital since failure will be part of the process and not all songs that you are going to produce and record are going to become number 1 hits. So it is important to be confident and resilient to become a successful music producer.
Here are some of the tips and steps involved in becoming a professional music producer. You might not need to do all of them, but each of the following steps will certainly give you an edge in the music producing industry.
Steps required in becoming a professional music producer:
Learn an Instrument
Learning how to play a musical instrument is really helpful in learning about music production. By learning how to play an instrument such as the guitar and piano (any instrument or even voice will do) you’ll get a solid foundation and a more thorough understanding of the music production process.
If you do not know how to play an instrument, it’s not the end of your potential career, but you’ll need to develop really good skills in other areas of music production if you want to succeed in this field.
Study and Learn Music Theory
Studying music theory is very important for an aspiring music producer. Getting some skills and knowledge of arranging and composing a song using music production equipment is key. Music theory is vital since it enables a producer to understand how a piece of music works.
It also helps you to understand why a certain music note is played high or low, why it was chosen and the reason why it keeps on repeating. Most people find learning music theory boring and a waste of time. However, this is not the case since music theory will help you progress excellently in music and make you become a well-rounded music producer.
Acquire Music Production Equipment
Another step in helping you become a great music producer is to get the various music production pieces of equipment. This will help you in gaining more control and skills in creating the sound of your music.
Some of the necessary and required pieces of equipment include a microphone, a digital audio workstation, high-quality headphones, a powerful laptop, a MIDI keyboard, and an Audio Interface. You can read more about the music production equipment you might need here.
Master How to Use a Digital Workstation Station
A digital audio workstation is a type of software application or program that is used for mixing, editing, processing, and recording digital audio. This piece of equipment helps in controlling almost every instrument including the automation and the timing they play at.
A DAW also helps in organizing and arranging of all sound compositions with ease and simplicity. It’s a pretty important part of the music production process and one you’ll need to learn and practice.
Create Some Music
After learning and mastering some of the basics, it is important to create some music. This allows you to have an idea of how a full song sounds from beginning to end. The more songs you listen to, the more creative you become and the more you acquire inspiration. The songs or music you listen to can either be rap, rock, R&B, Pop, EDM or country, whatever type of music you like and intend to record or produce.
Also, select an instrument that you like playing, for instance, the guitar or piano. These instruments are very popular and also great with any music genre. When creating your music it is also important to think about the song structure. The very basics can be the intro, verse, chorus, solo, and the outro. You can also add some background vocals, piano fills, sampled sound effects and some percussion fills.
Share Your Songs on Social Media
You can begin sharing your songs and music once you feel that they sound great. You can upload your music on various media websites such as the Soundcloud, YouTube, and Bandcamp. Make sure that the music highly represents your sound and it’s the best.
Sharing your songs on social media is great for letting people know about your music and this may lead to the potential viral success of your music. It is also important to understand how to use descriptions, tags, and titles to make it simple and easy for people to find your music.
Take A Course
If you’re really serious about becoming a music producer you’ll need some help and guidance. If you know someone in the field who’s willing to guide and teach you like an apprentice, that’s fantastic and will be a huge help to your career. If not, consider taking a course in music production.
I can’t recommend one here as I don’t know where in the world you are reading this from but, simply type “music production course” into google and you’ll find all sorts of recommendations of places where you can learn how to become a music producer. If you’ve already done some or all of the other steps listed above, then you’re well on your way to an exciting and fulfilling career in music production.
