by Paul Graham Raven

Learn Music Production At Home (Part 1: “The Truth”)

On the internet there are many supposed “solutions” to creating professional tracks. Some of them actually have good content, and can play a role in your projects. But even the best of them seem to assume a lot. You have to “get” why things sound the way they do, and why there are do’s and don’ts that you should follow. The assumption seems to be that, since this is so much fun, and the technology does so much for you, there aren’t any real rules, and you don’t need to know much. Everything will just come out great. Some of these solutions depend on an arsenal of equipment that you probably don’t own, or you are held captive by their proprietary solution (i.e. their own product). Soon, everything starts to sound alike, and this is not really desirable if you want to be good at this.

So, after finding that the choices seem to be: 1. Go to music school, spend a lot of money, study hard, take in all you can, and then maybe you’ll know what you’re doing. or 2. Buy the right toys and the music will take care of itself. It’s all about learning the technology. Well, I’m here to tell you that, if you even remotely believe #2, you need to adjust your perspective some. However, going to music school is something that most people can not afford, neither time wise nor financially. So what’s the truth, and where can you find it?

The truth is that you need to learn enough about actual music to know when the technology is doing something that’s good, and when it’s not. Your own judgment and understanding of the “rules” of music have to play a role. Yes there are shortcuts, and I plan on writing many articles to help. However, to get good at music production means to know why something IS “musical”. What does that word mean? Some notes go well together. Others do not. Can you tell the difference? If your idea of a musical track is: “a beat” and other than the drums and vocals, the music seems less important, guess what? That’s not how the big guys think. Every note and every sound is carefully planned out. Don’t get me wrong. I know I might be making this seem like a ton of work, but the bottom line still is: Music is the best thing you can do on so many levels, that the work part becomes truly a pleasure. If you have the passion to do this, it will come. You just need to understand the truth about it first.

As I write more articles, our mission together is to get you to master a balance between efficient, technological solutions, and what, for the sake of brevity, we’ll call “music theory”. We need to do away with the idea that music is detached from its creator; that it somehow exists on its own. This is a mistake consumers make all too frequently. Once the production is completed, of course, a piece of music does exist on its own, but as a “consumable”, or something to be enjoyed. When you are producing original music, it is the process of production that is enjoyed by the producer, and he or she should be thoroughly involved in all aspects, even when software is making your life easier. In other words, know enough about the music side, so that you avoid simply following the orders of the software developers. If you take what they give you and use it without a lot of musical judgment and input from you, you aren’t being an artist. You’re being a technician, or worse, a robot. We know that’s not going to happen, though, because you’ve already figured that out, and among others things, you’re reading this!
When you decided to take up music production, you entered a world that is all of the following: huge fun, a creative outlet, a potential way to make money, a potential way to make new friends (or if you prefer, a way to spend more time alone), one of the best hobbies you can imagine, one of humankind’s great achievements, and a great way to spend some of your spare time. The truth is, though, that there is another side to it. That side is the honing of your various skills that go into music production.

Today there are products available that greatly simplify the music production process. They do this using various approaches, but the main approach is what I like to call “higher order solutions”. This is a fancy mathematical term that you don’t need to know. It’s just quicker for me to say more using fewer words. “Higher order” here simply means that the software has developed to a level where fewer decisions have to be made by the producer, since many of the more mundane, detail-oriented decisions involved in music production are made by the software itself. It’s programmers–working with music experts–have created real shortcuts for you, so much more can be done in a much less time. So yes, as you may already know, most popular music styles do follow predictable patterns in certain areas. Timing, instrument choices, trendy sounds, audio processing, and even performance patterns, are areas where the software can provide ready-made solutions.

The “ready-made solution” might be how to decide what speed the song should be playing at, and how to keep all instruments playing at that speed (proper terms: “tempo”, “bpm” {beats per minute}, and “synchronization”). The “solution” could be a kick and snare drum pattern that is widely used in the style you’re working on. This pattern is used to “trigger” the kick (bass) drum and snare drum sounds through a special music communications system called “midi”. In a techno or house song, one typical drum pattern is nicknamed “four on the floor” because of the constant hits of the big kick drum on all four quarter note beats in a 4/4 time signature. OK….We won’t get into the details of midi and music theory here, but this should give you an idea of what to expect as we get into them.

I’ll cover music theory, midi, and many other topics in upcoming articles, e-books, and in the exclusive member content area on my website, Music Production at Home. Also, though, I plan on making this a more well rounded experience for you than just the mechanics. Mechanics are necessary, but expressing yourself means expressing life’s experiences through your music. What emotions are you trying to convey? What energy level feels right? Should the music be simple or complex? Traditional sounding or ground breaking? Commercial (i.e. “pop”) or more outside-the-mainstream? These are questions you should ask yourself as you listen to more and more music, and see what fits. Listen creatively. Listen critically. Listen closely. Make some decisions about who you are, and who you want to be as a musician.

Choosing your “ready-made solutions” should be guided by this self-examination. The way each one of them is programmed suits certain styles more than others, and picking the right one can be done by actually growing as an artist. The self examination helps you grow as an artist, and makes your purchase choices clearer.
So you see, all of this is related. Your deepest emotions,……and midi,…..are connected. So let’s start connecting the dots….

Step 1? Start listening more carefully!

Looking forward to writing to you again.

Marc

Marc L Soucy composer, producer, studio engineer/programmer http://www.MusicProductionAtHome.com

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