Anyone in music production know how I can improve my skills?

Poll of the Day

Poll of the Day » Anyone in music production know how I can improve my skills?
I've reached the hard cap in terms of winging it. My stuff doesn't sound professional enough. For an upcoming project, I want to take it more seriously.

https://soundcloud.com/jamie-yello/little-guys-3

I now accept that I am simply not that spectacular. If I was, I'd be more popular, or at least get more of a reaction when I show people.

In terms of education, I've tried... nothing. I just opened ableton live and figured out how it worked. I think that's my main problem.

I know some very very basic music theory. I looked up one tutorial years ago and it taught me how to "drop the bass" after the shittiest most awful horrendous generic techno music I've ever heard and it turned me off from them.
Practice.
"Wall of Text'D!" --- oldskoolplayr76
"POwned again." --- blight family
ParanoidObsessive posted...
Practice.
15 years would have done it by now, I'm like a level 99 character that just put the wrong stat points in and need to redo it according to the meta.

I think I'm pretty good by your average person's standards, anyway. Just not good enough.
Yellow posted...
In terms of education, I've tried... nothing. I just opened ableton live and figured out how it worked. I think that's my main problem.

Yeah, you don't wanna sit there trying to reinvent the wheel when there's a ton of helpful content out there that you can lean on.

I think a good place to start is to look for tutorials and music based on the genre you are looking to make music in. The tutorials will help you learn techniques commonly used within the genre. Actively listen to music in that genre and take note of the kinds of sounds, rhythm and other techniques used. These will give you ideas for your own tracks.
Music: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv4cNOBY2eCInbxg6B-KRks6vKMfmFvtp
Genshin Showcase: https://enka.network/u/608173646/
Yeah, see, this is what I'm talking about. At this timestamp ( 7:37 ), this guy just jots out something that sounds amazing without thinking about it. I absolutely cannot do that and struggle to get something coherent.

I won't get what I want out of this video.

https://youtu.be/c3y79pc90lg?si=dvTBqSSkPKeqCeWZ&t=457
Blue_Thunder posted...
Yeah, you don't wanna sit there trying to reinvent the wheel when there's a ton of helpful content out there that you can lean on.

I think a good place to start is to look for tutorials and music based on the genre you are looking to make music in. The tutorials will help you learn techniques commonly used within the genre. Actively listen to music in that genre and take note of the kinds of sounds, rhythm and other techniques used. These will give you ideas for your own tracks.
Hmmm.... ok, I'll keep looking. But yeah there's something basic I'm missing that I have to find.
Post #7 was unavailable or deleted.
coyot posted...
Check out Clark. Listen to all of his old stuff.
Who's that?
Yellow posted...
Yeah, see, this is what I'm talking about. At this timestamp ( 7:37 ), this guy just jots out something that sounds amazing without thinking about it. I absolutely cannot do that and struggle to get something coherent.

Oh yeah that comes from having strong music theory knowledge and experience.

I'm no expert but videos like these have helped me in achieving a basic understanding:

Learn music theory in half an hour. - ANDREW HUANG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgaTLrZGlk0

Functional Tonal Harmony 1 - greg dalessio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzzLj1tbVnA
(He has several videos like this one on his channel)

How to Make Chords from One Note [Advanced Music Theory] - Busy Works Beats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P86NF-XMPeE
Music: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv4cNOBY2eCInbxg6B-KRks6vKMfmFvtp
Genshin Showcase: https://enka.network/u/608173646/
Was that first link sample your song? That sounded pretty cool! It reminded me of one of the garden areas in Metroid.

There are two things with music recording - using the software (which can be easy at first, but high quality takes real time) and music composition. For the software, channels like Creative Sauce are helpful https://www.youtube.com/c/CreativeSauce - this guy mostly does Cakewalk, but the ideas can be transported to Abletonstuff like Eq-ing, panning, etc. and more technical stuff like sidechaining, automation. All good to know.

In terms of writing and understanding music - try asking questions in ChatGPT. I don't record electronic music, but I appreciate elements of how it is composed. For example, I asked "how to create tension in songs using chord progressions" and I got:

Chromatic Movement (Descending or Ascending by Half-Steps)
  • Em Eb D C# C Dark and uneasy tension from chromatic bass movement.
  • Dm G7 Cmaj C#dim Dm Chromatic diminished passing chords keep tension.
So maybe start there - play with those chord progressions.Try queries like "what chord progression do the Beatles use in the song Help?" or whatever song you're trying to learn. Then get into the thing and try it! Don't be afraid if your early efforts aren't perfect, that's how you grow as a musician.

Hope that helps!

Use your computer mouse to navigate the internets. Be sure to talk to everyone you meet. You're sure to gain lots of valuable information.
bruplex posted...
In terms of writing and understanding music - try asking questions in ChatGPT. I don't record electronic music, but I appreciate elements of how it is composed. For example, I asked "how to create tension in songs using chord progressions" and I got:
I was about to say, I read the following and it looked very AI generated. Sorry to be blunt, but I don't trust any of that, and even if I did, I don't like using AI.

bruplex posted...
There are two things with music recording - using the software (which can be easy at first, but high quality takes real time) and music composition. For the software, channels like Creative Sauce are helpful https://www.youtube.com/c/CreativeSauce - this guy mostly does Cakewalk, but the ideas can be transported to Abletonstuff like Eq-ing, panning, etc. and more technical stuff like sidechaining, automation. All good to know.
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check that out.

bruplex posted...
Was that first link sample your song? That sounded pretty cool! It reminded me of one of the garden areas in Metroid.
I definitely think I'm decent, but I'm trying to be better. It sounds really cool, and don't get me wrong I really like it, but you wouldn't add it to your music playlist, and that's the tier of quality that I want. But also to be fair to myself, I feel like I have something a lot of people don't have, even after they master the "professional knowledge", in that I can't finish a song unless it feels and sounds special and makes me feel a certain way. I hear a lot of music where it just "happens" and "sounds professional". But I feel nothing when I listen to it. I want both sides of the coin.

Not to plug my favorite music or anything, here's an obscure Japanese artist I've been obsessed with, this is an example of someone who has both sides of the coin, he's extremely focused on conveying an emotion, but has all the professional knowledge to back it up. I could make something like this if I only knew how.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gt7ZkxpGlU

Blue_Thunder posted...
Oh yeah that comes from having strong music theory knowledge and experience.

I'm no expert but videos like these have helped me in achieving a basic understanding:

Learn music theory in half an hour. - ANDREW HUANG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgaTLrZGlk0

Functional Tonal Harmony 1 - greg dalessio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzzLj1tbVnA
(He has several videos like this one on his channel)

How to Make Chords from One Note [Advanced Music Theory] - Busy Works Beats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P86NF-XMPeE
That's a good list there, thanks. I knew the answer was "youtube videos", but I couldn't sift through to find what I needed.
Poll of the Day » Anyone in music production know how I can improve my skills?