Pointerz
Tips, advice, and guidance on several facets of the music industry to help better career opportunities and individual growth.
I’ve heard and have read numerous times where some people think because a music producer does not play an instrument or physically tap out a track on a MIDI keyboard or drum machine, that this makes them not a producer. Wrong!
Although some music producers may not always physically play, they simply hire professionals to do it for them. Some music producers are often very familiar with music composition, arrangement and the use of various types of instruments. They are savvy about the music business in hiring and paying union wages to musicians and conducting the necessary paperwork for production, clearances, studio scheduling, etc. A good music producer has a great ear and understand the elements of pulling the masterpiece together. The project becomes their new-born and they nurture it through its infancy to platinum/gold plaques on the wall.
There’s a certain level of development and education in the music-making process, (and I’m not talking just classroom). I’m talking exposure and experience. Music production is more than just a room of equipment. It’s more than a rhythm track followed by an ego. It’s a process, a discipline, and an effort of understanding the full spectrum of the studio environment, the music business, and more importantly, the art of working with artists in bringing out their best where they compliment the music and vice versa.
So in essence, music producers vary, yet with one common goal; and that is to bring fruition to a project that was once an idea, whether they physically play the notes or not!
Spectrum analysis is basically a visual reference of sound. It’s a great assistant in monitoring your tracks and or instrument placements in the mix. When during a mix-down, it’s good practice to identify and separate similar frequencies as much as possible yet maintain the best signal-to-noise ratio. In other words, you want to stay clear of muddy bottoms, yet create warmth, and not too crispy highs. You want to reduce the frequency clutter because several instruments in the same frequency range can cause dis-tasteful results.
Many are afraid or often intimidated by the audio spectrum analyzer because they don’t quite understand what’s exactly going on. The following video gives you a brief demonstration of how to view the spectrum analyzer in PT8.
The 1st step to understanding how to read a spectrum analyzer is to first know what frequencies are and how your mix is spread out across the spectrum. Here is a great interactive frequency chart to help you better understand the various types of audible frequencies and their ranges. (Simple mouse over the designated area to find more details.) Here’s another great chart you can purchase.
Remember, these are just guides in giving you an idea of where certain frequencies lie. Personally, I don’t depend on the spectral analyzer, however, it’s a great visual if I’m particular about a certain placement. Your ears should be the determining factor in what works for your application. So in other words, there are no set rules as to how you cut or boost your frequencies and or use your equalizer.
Here Are a Few FREE Spectral/Frequency Analyzers
Blue Cat’s FreqAnalyst
iSpectrum (For Mac users)
Voxengo
MultiInspectorFree
Music is a strong force in our living! It dictates our moments, our artistry, and our vibe. As a music producer, we must first determine early on what our role is, and understand why we chose this path and what it takes for us to strive for overall excellence.
- Know what you want to achieve from making music. What genre you want to produce and perfect? Understand that ‘alternative, country or sampling’ may not be your thing, but your R&B piano skills are flawless. As music producers mainly produce tracks and record their artists these days, traditional producers may not only make music, but also oversee the project including budget, song selection, etc.
- Stop stealing music, software, ideas, etc. This creates a trickle down effect and results in the music mess we have going on today. This music production thing is not for everybody! Invest in yourself and know what you want from your music. Research and buy the best tools for you. Also when you buy, you are supporting the makers who keep us in supply of our favorite production tools. Please note: Karma is real! There’s no way you are expecting to sell music if you’re not buying any, right? There is certainly no way you are expecting support if you are not supporting others, right?
- Understand the difference between a music producer, composer, and arranger. The latter two are often knowledgeable in music theory and more than likely fluently play several instruments. As a music producer, it’s a super plus to have the same knowledge as an arranger and or composer; however, it’s not a must. But please don’t think because you throw together a few waveforms, or a boxed loop or sample makes you a music producer. To earn such a title, you need to put in work in all aspects of the term. Also note: many arrangers, composers, and songwriters are super music producers.
- I’ve said this one a trillion times: Thin skin, easily hurt feelings, and an over egotistical attitude are reasons you will fail before you are off the ground, especially these days in the midst of music madness. You’ll end up so quick in that big pond of little fish trying to make your way. Spend that high altitude of an attitude into creating good music, getting along, and understanding the business of a music producer.
- Just because someone doesn’t produce on the same type of gear you do, does not make them inferior to you. Stop bashing the gear of others, you may look up and find their tracks are hotter than yours!
- If your online conversation is always about you and the artists you are working with… that gets old. Support other producers and artists as well. Attend their shows, visit their pages, blogs, leave comments, and spark conversation. You never know what could come from it.
- A music producer has good ‘sound and production’ skills. Read that line again! You can’t just get away with producing a hot track to have it sound raggedy, out of tune, and over-processed. Take pride also in the vocals that go over your tracks. Just because an artist has skills may not mean they sound good over your productions. In other words, you can’t collab with just anybody. Music producers care deeply about the end-product of their pieces.
- Your reputation, credibility and reliability sticks with you. Practice what you preach. Meet deadlines, appointments, meetings, and studio sessions in a timely manner. Return emails and phone calls. The opportunities you ignore could be a goldmine for the next one. Maintain professionalism when it is appropriate including avoiding Twitter/Facebook brawls which are commonly ill marketing tactics these days. Understand that your conversation goes a long way in interviews. The person that fans you could very well be the one that prevented you from obtaining that platinum record status.
- Build a catalog of quality music, and have it ready to present at all times. The keyword here is ‘quality’ meaning your good stuff. Don’t present anything you have to make excuses for. Be cautious of who you are presenting to. Research the person and or company that is interested in hearing your catalog. Not just anybody should have that opportunity. It’s also a good idea to have at least 5 albums ready.
- Producing music is a business. It involves various contracts, agreements, copyrights, invoices, royalties, publishing, and licensing. You must have a strong knowledge of these areas to function successfully as a music producer. You should also have an attorney on hand.
- Too proud to beg? You shouldn’t be. Ask for what you want. Reach out to your goals. Very few have them just show up at their front door. The same applies with asking questions to help you sift through your process. If you don’t know, it’s okay. Find someone you are comfortable with that can mentor you. Someone you trust to guide you. There is nothing ignorant in searching for clarity. The ignorance only remains when you don’t.
- Listen to various types of music, old and new, across genres, your grandmother’s music, your parent’s music, and your children’s music. Gain an appreciation for your favorite styles, and not so favorite. Collect various types of music and listen closely to the instrumentation, the vocals, and the elements that pulled the pieces together. This will make you aware of aspects of the music making process and an appreciation of the art. Having knowledge of a wide field of music just makes you another great asset to the music production industry.
I often hear mixes whether they are instrumentals or full songs that have that muddy bassy clumsy sound and distorted high end, so I felt a simple solution for starters would be to write this post!
To answer the question in the heading… Stay out of the RED!!!! The peak level indicator is there for a reason. Perception of the ear is amazing through numerous types of speakers BUT watching that sound through your channel meters clearly keeps you out of trouble.
Your speakers will trick you if you are not accustomed to how they play back your sound. So in other words, get to know your speakers first! See.. I know the scenario… You’re trying to make that bass thump, and your speakers (depending on what you are using) may not reflect that bang – therefore you pull that fader up to the skies, and the end result becomes drastic!
Another helpful tip is to consider similar frequencies (kick-drum/bass-line/bottom-keys) and spread them slightly into the panning field away from each other. It’s also golden to apply subtle EQ/dynamic processing to color them differently so they don’t beat each other up in the end process. The same goes for similar high frequencies.
Also keep in mind, if your track is hot when you mix it down to 2-channel… and then you go to master it by stretching out that waveform i.e. brick-walling… simply equals total disaster! Also note analog recording is a lot more lenient in handling the signal above 0, however even it too becomes a ‘hot mess’ when pushed too far.
Hopefully this is helpful for you. If you have any further questions or comments… I’d love to hear from you. Also, if you ‘like’ this post, please click or retweet below.
To write song lyrics and get them to the next step seems like a simple task when technically it’s a process in this music business. As a songwriter, it’s also helpful to learn the fundamentals of the creation of music because many songwriters also write music. While this is not necessary to sell a hit song, it keeps you abreast of the industry leading songwriters and knowing how to speak their music lingo.
As many are confused in the process of what’s next after the song is jotted down on the notebook, on a napkin, or inside the palm of your hands; here are a few simple steps in copyrighting your work.
Copyright and Ownership - Having a copyright is important for legal reasons should you have infringement issues down the road. Of course you are aware that once your piece is written that by law you own that particular work. However, in the court of law, having an accompanied document to prove your ownership weighs heavily and accurately.
U.S. Copyright Office Online – Simply go here for more information on filing a formal copyright application (US Copyright Office) using the new CO form. It replaced the PA, TX, VA, SE and SR forms. Submit your lyrics and a sketch of the audio of the song on CD. To save on the copyright fees, it’s a great idea to copyright several songs under one fee as a collection of songs and/or compilation of work. Here’s a PDF tutorial in the online filing process.
Important to Know
Lyrics and Melody: If you wrote the lyrics and a music producer contributed the music, then the copyright’s entitlement is split 50% between you and the music producer or composer, or whatever amount you all agree upon. On the old copyright forms this would fall under the PA form.
Sound Recording: As this is often confused with the production of the song; a sound recording is usually owned by the record label or the entity that releases the record. This would fall upon the old SR form. In the instance of the sound recording and with so many home studios and indie labels out there, it’s common to find one entity or group owning the lyrics, melody and sound recording provided there are no publishers involved which holds the copyright or partial rights to the lyrics and the melody only. However, if there was a separate deal to come about with a major label, they often seek copyrights to the sound recording. ***It’s always best to speak with your attorney to fully understand these aspects before signing any agreements.
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