8 Expert Music Production Tips for Improving Your Sound

Music production isn’t always easy. You need to put in hard work in order to improve your production skills. For those that want to learn how to produce music, it’s important to continue refining and perfecting your craft. You should never get complacent or fall into a routine. You need to continue to expand your skills. In order to help you out, here are 8 expert music production tips for improving your sound.

#1 – Use Fewer Elements in Your Beats

It can be tempting to combine a lot of different sounds and elements in your beats. But, sometimes, less is more. You want each individual part to contribute to the song. Sometimes, it is easier to remove these elements once the song is completed. Throughout the music production process, it’s easy to end up adding more and more to the song. So, once you complete a song, go through all of the elements and see if there are any elements that you can get rid of.

#2 – Check Your Final Mix on a Different System

After completing a mix, you should check it out on a different system. You may notice something that you missed earlier. Sometimes, you need a fresh perspective or need a short break. When you come back to the song, you may find that a certain part doesn’t sound quite right.

#3 – Make Sure Each Element Can Be Heard

Going along with the first tip, you also need to make sure that each element can be heard. If you can’t hear it properly, then it doesn’t need to be on the track. Though, before you completely remove the element, you should try adjusting it. Turn up the sound on that element or EQ it so it doesn’t get buried by other elements.

#4 – Create a Structure Before You Start Producing

It’s always good to have a game plan before you get too involved in a project. Say you’ve come up with a loop that you really like. Before you start expanding on the loop, you should come up with a structure for the song. Think about how long it should be and how many sections it will contain.

#5 – Listen to the Track on a Lower Sound Level

You should always check your track while listening to a lower sound level. If you are able to hear all of the different elements on a quieter level, then you know that these elements will be heard when listening at full volume.

#6 – Separate the Creation and Editing Processes

The creation and editing processes should be separate. When you try to perform both at the same time, you’ll end up second guessing yourself. When this happens, you could end up working on the same part of the song for far too long. In the end, you’ll have trouble deciding whether or not it is any good. Start with the creation process. Create a part of the song and move on to the next part. You should leave editing and fine-tuning for the end of the music production process.

#7 – Render Your Music Before You Quit for the Day

At the end of the day, if you’re done working on a track, you should render it and export it to another device. For example, you could burn it to a CD or put it on your smartphone. This is especially helpful for people that tend to get sidetracked or work on too many projects at once. Render your music and listen to it as you would any other music. In fact, you may want to do this before you really get into the editing process. You may find that you are happier with the cut than you were initially.

#8 – Watch Online Tutorials and Videos

The last tip for improving your music production skills is to watch online tutorials and videos. Sometimes, it helps to see the process in action. Watch experts as they explain their techniques and methods. For example, TCustomz Productionz created the following video offering advice for those that want to improve their mixing and sequencing skills for creating hip hop beats:

You can find plenty of other videos on YouTube. But, YouTube is not the only source of beneficial video tutorials. You should also check out Vimeo. You may not have as large of a selection of videos, but you won’t need to deal with ads.

Start Selling Your Own Music

Once you start improving your music production skills, you can begin making money by selling your music. ArtistPR can help you get started. Register for an upcoming music sales webinar that will teach you how to make a living selling your own music. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to check out our other articles covering music production tips and suggestions for getting ahead in the music industry!

Source: ArtistPR Music Production