If you want to be an accomplished music producer, you must be prepared for the long process regardless of whether you aspire to be a top-notch producer or you are looking for ways to up your music production at home.
You can improve your music production in various ways, but knowing what pitfalls to be on the lookout for can help you achieve this with ease.
Here are a few simple tips to help you improve your music production to a professional recording studio level.
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5 Tips to Improve Your Music Production
1. Master Compression Techniques
One of the mistakes that might be preventing you from advancing your music career or achieving full sound during your music production is not ticking the right boxes – frequency, panning, and volume.
Perhaps, you are afraid the audio may clip as you layer more sounds together, so you turn it down but the outcome is quietness. Mastering the compression and mixing can help you address this problem.
If you get it right, compression helps you achieve the right balance between audio’s lowest and highest gain levels. With this done, you can increase the volume without worrying about any form of clipping.
2. Use EQ to Address Muddy Sound
It would be a good idea to remove frequency below your track’s elements. For example, a frequency of 30-40Hz only causes a low-end rumbling on your track that has a high probability of clogging the mix when adding more elements.
You can roll off all your element’s frequency range for clarity and more space with an EQ. You should expect a “muddy” sound whenever a mix has several overlapping frequencies.
Being mindful of the frequency ranges at each part can help you avoid mud instances. However, given that frequencies will always overlap, it is advisable to stick to using instruments with the same frequency spectrum such that you can use EQ to deal with the lows on one instrument and the highs on the other.
3. Understand the Aspect of Presets
The process of making music is involving but knowing what buttons to press and the knobs to turn can help you produce great music. Understanding how to use presets is vital in better music production. While some presets are ready to add to any track, you may have challenges when using them alongside other big presets.
Usually, such presets will fill up the high and low ends unnaturally. If you don’t use EQ to carve out any clashes in frequency, you will end up with muddy and muffled sounds.
Alternatively, you can address this problem by programming a synth. While learning how to perfect your sound may appear time-consuming, learning to find an original sound is a crucial aspect of success in music production.
4. Improve Your Timing
If you have challenges achieving tight bass lines or banging beats with a MIDI controller, the chances are high that you produce loose rhythm.
The scenario becomes even worse when there is a delay when generating the sound. If you want to produce hit songs consistently, you must improve on your timing.
First, you should learn how to reduce latency in your setup. Another way to deal with latency is to opt for quantisation. However, unless your track uses a computerised or mechanical drum, avoid quantising everything to 100%. It is advisable to opt for 75-90% quantisation, as this allows you to maintain a human feel.
5. Use Accessories To Your Advantage
In the world of music, there are a plethora of accessories to make your life easier. Or to change the sound of your music completely. For example, what are you to do if you play guitar, but don’t have anyone to play drums as an accompaniment? Thanks to technology, you can use the Best Drum Machine For Live Performance. So you have backing beats that sound legit. Or the accessory you need could be as simple as a cable tidy.
The point is, improving your music production is about streamlining. Not about using every single accessory there is under the sun. But researching each item and only going for the ones that amplify the talent you already have. Doing this means you’re using accessories and add-ons to your advantage. Rather than using them just because other people do.
Final Thoughts
Learning to produce great music isn’t something you can do overnight. It takes patience and practice to master the art. Take as much time as possible to research and invest in your art – you will be surprised how much it pays to practice often!
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