For those of you looking to get into music production training, there’s a lot you’ll need to prepare yourself for.
First off, in order to become proficient at music production, you have to be well-equipped with the right tools, which will include a sufficiently powerful computer, a decent soundcard or audio interface, an acoustically treated room, a pair of decent studio monitors, a MIDI controller or keyboard, and a lot of patience, persistence, and determination.
There are plenty of classes that you can sign up for or videos that you can watch to learn about essential concepts like learning how to use a DAW to do record acoustic soundsources, plot out an arrangement, and apply essential processing via equalization, compression, time-based effects (i.e. reverb, delay, chorus, etc.), and also how to get into things like synthesis and using synthesizers to create your own individual and unique sounds that will help you to forge your own identity as a producer.
Developing Your Music Production Skills
Aside from all these things, however, what is most essential to developing your music production skillset and becoming a great producer with a lot of music production know-how and experience is lots and lots of practice, which may tread a bit on things like your social life and lead to situations in which your friends go out on a Friday or Saturday night to have a good time while you’re left all alone and holed up in your studio honing your craft.
Even if you’re a beginner, this is an ideal opportunity for you to experiment and really conceptualize your signature sound.
Start With Samples
Starting out, you’ll definitely need some quality samples if you’re into making dance music or producing styles of music that incorporate dance music elements, and for that, I would highly recommend that you check out sample pack and loop sites like http://www.mutekki-media.de/ or http://www.vengeance-sound.com/, which will definitely set you on the right path to creating tracks with catchy rhythms and crisp, punchy sounds!
Of course, aside from developing your chops on a DAW and learning how to become a whiz at whipping up catchy beats and creating cool effects and powerful synth sounds, it also helps to have a strong knowledge of music theory.
Additional Training Resources
Of course, there are plenty of websites, articles, and forums where you can learn all about the ins and outs of music theory, but the best way to learn about music theory is to simply learn how to play an instrument like a guitar or piano and become well-acquainted with the basics, because as you progress further and further, coming up with catchy leads and melodies will become second nature as you work on your tracks.
Of course, training to become a world-class pianist or the slickest guitar player probably isn’t necessary for becoming a great producer, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to apply the same methods and techniques that professional pianists or other musicians have used to fine-tune their skill sets and take their musicianship and performance abilities to the next level!
