How To Start Producing Your Own Music
- Music Theory and Software Education
- Melody Creation And Writing
- Developing A Schedule To Practice Producing
There are many aspects of producing music and all people have different skills when it comes to creating.
Music Theory can play a big role, but you do not need a degree in music to learn any of these things.
Some of the processes of producing include: writing, developing melodies, software understanding and arrangement, and a passion for music and connecting with others.
As singers we tend to want to make our own songs but have no idea where to start. Here are some tips that can help you get started.
Music Theory And Software Education
Let’s start with understanding Music Theory. To be a producer you don’t have to know all music theory. It depends on what genre of music you plan to make.
Music theory is important when working with instruments and vocals because it’s best to have a map.
Music Theory tells us what notes sound good with other notes. There are many free courses on Youtube, and cheap courses on Udemy that can help get you started. Music theory is like learning another language, so the hardest part will be your tenacity to keep learning.
If you use any producing software like logic, fruity loops, pro tools, garageband you will find that if you know the relation of notes, you can easily add in notes from a piano and create your own songs.
This allows us to use virtual if not live instruments to arrange notes without having to spend hours trying to figure out what sounds good with what. Knowledge of how to use software can be found on Youtube as well.
Try to get in the habit of looking up things you don’t understand. Try to look at starting music production in the long term.
At first, it may feel like a process, but in a year you could be producing much faster.
Melody Creation and Writing
Do you have a knack for creating melodies or writing music? A melody is a sequence of single notes that is musically satisfying.
Some people find it easy to come up with melodies using a beat, and some find it easiest to write it on paper before recording.
The melodies of a song are what makes the song groove. Melodies are not limited to vocals and can be used with instruments to help a song through transitions. Pick a melody that fits your topic and your beat.
If you get hung up on how something sounds; take note, because this is your brain telling you “you can come up with something better”.
With that being said, try not to lose your creativity, as artists when we write music and get stuck, try starting with a fresh beat.
If you open a beat and feel like you can think of a ton of melodies, that’s the beat you want to use. Try to keep things consistent with what your ear likes.
Develop A Schedule To Practice Producing
Have you ever heard of the 10 thousand hour rule? You must spend 10,000 hours of intensive practice to achieve mastery on whatever skill you are trying to gain.
You may not have all the pieces to the puzzle in your first song. That could be the vocals, the transitions, the arrangement of the verses and choruses.
Just know that the quality of your vocals and arrangements are entirely in your control. And if you feel it isn’t, it will be, the more you work on your own songs.
Try spending 15 min a day producing. Keep track of new things you implement so you can continue passionately building on the skills you already have.