I’ve taught myself music production for two years until I recently started to study audio engineering at a University in Munich. So I can say that producing music is not as hard as it seems.
Producing your own music can be easy. If you have a bit of musical understanding, you can make your own song on a laptop in minutes. However, If you take a deep dive into the topic, you realize that you need to acquire many different skills to make outstanding music.
Knowing how to play an instrument will help you in the composing phase, but it is not required anymore.
The tricky part is making music. People want to hear.
Why Producing Music Isn’t As Hard As It Seems
With our technology today, you can download software onto your laptop, import some sounds you want to use, and create a viral song in minutes.
Although things like this happen from time to time, it’s still a rare occasion.
Sadly, the majority of music producers quit before they would’ve made it. But, in return, the ones who just kept going have a high rate of success.
So with this in mind, most artists you know and listen to probably spent a lot of time learning and acquiring skills before they were at the level they are now.
But don’t let this discourage you. If you want to succeed in music, you can do it.
What Do You Need To Start Producing Music?
You can use many things to produce music: fancy equipment, the best gear, and the newest software.
But is it worth it? Well, yes, if you hand that gear into the right person’s hands.
But in return, someone who is just using a laptop can make music just as good as someone with the best high-end equipment.
Before you straight jump into music production,
ask yourself these questions:
- Do you want to record vocals?
- If Yes, you need a microphone and a DAW.
- Do you want to use an instrument and record that?
- Recording an instrument with good quality requires some special gear. But you could also use a microphone and a DAW.
- Are you going to use samples on a laptop?
- In this case, all you need is a laptop, DAW, and samples to use.
Technically having a laptop, DAW, and a microphone is enough to make your first banger.
There is plenty of free software out there that can get you started, but if you want to get serious, consider buying a professional DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).
A DAW is used to layer different sounds or instruments together, mix them, and put effects onto your tracks.
The most commonly used DAW’s in the music industry are FLStudio and Ableton.
How Can You Learn To Make Music?
When I first started, I watched a ton of youtube videos, and that got me off the ground pretty quickly. Nowadays, you can find everything on youtube.
However, later down the line, if you get to know the technical part a bit better, you will recognize that a few things would come in handy.
If you somewhat like you and me are producing on your laptop or pc, just using samples and creating your own sounds using synthesizers. You will soon recognize that some things will cost you a bit of money.
These things could be a Midi Keyboard for you to play chords physically and record them straight into your DAW, which saves you a ton of time, A high-quality microphone to make your vocals sound more clear, or some plugins to edit your sounds like a pro.
Most of these things are going to cost you money. But they don’t get you any further down the line if you don’t know how to use them correctly.
When you are this far down the line in your music production journey, youtube will not help you as much anymore. However, videos on youtube often scratch the surface of what you need to know.
Luckily, there are platforms like udemy, masterclass, and skillshare, where professional music producers offer online classes covering every detail.
Should You Become A Music Producer?
Producing music is one of the most creative things you can do, and if you love music and enjoy creating an experience for people, you should definitely start.
With all these resources right at your fingertips, you can learn everything you need to get your feet off the ground. And if you enjoy the progress just as much as the goals, you are on a clear path towards success!