Improve your music producer skill-stack:
Top music producers stack a wide variety of skills which spread across the fields of music A Music Producer Skill Stack includes writing/composition, programming, tracking/recording, editing and mixing. In this Blog we will breakdown the whats and hows of how to look at your existing SKILL SET and what to do to improve it. There are really two real ways you can improve your music producer skill-stack:
Quality: Mastering the skills you already have
Quantity: Expanding by adding new skills to your stack.
When starting as a producer, it’s important to concentrate on getting good at one thing at a time. This helps to build confidence and help you progress into new areas with more common production knowledge under your belt. Some believe that quantity is more important than quality, however in my opinion I think to expand your knowledge on what you already know is an easier and more logical way forwards.After mastering the fundamental skills required to be a competent producer, it’s essential to constantly expand your skill set while also enhancing the abilities you already possess. Remember that the quality of your music production skills is equally crucial alongside the sheer quantity of skills you accumulate.
Key fundamental Music Production Skills you should stack and improve
Music & Production Tools:
Music Studio Software: Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) and plug-ins (Audio manipulation tools).
Music Studio Equipment: Studio monitors, outboard equipment, microphones, Audio interfaces
Music & Production Practice:
The Production Process: Involves conception, writing, composing, recording, arranging, editing, and mixing.
Music Production Exercises: These include activities like listening to referencing, and analysing songs and mixes, ear training.
Music & Production Theory:
Basic Music Theory: time signatures, beats, bars, notes, scales, intervals, chords, and chord progressions. Basic Arrangement Theory: Focuses on song structures, sections, and melody.
Basic Production Theory: Recording, synthesiser programming, equalisation, compression, reverb, gating, delay, phasing, distortion, editing, and mixing.
A deeper look into Music & Production Tools:
These days your musical production journey can start in your own home studio .Both your music production software and hardware come equipped with a built-in set of skills to master. These music production abilities add up to a crucial part of your overall producer skill-stack
Music Production software: Digital audio workstations and plug-ins.
The Digital Audio Workstation, or DAW, is the core of most home studios and is the priority skill set you need to master. There is a decent selection of incredibly professional DAW’s on the market providing more than enough technology to produce industry standard professional results. Logic Pro, Pro tools, Cubase, Ableton, and FL Studio are the industry leaders however all feature different strengths in different regions. Both Logic Pro and Cubase offer the best allrounder experience due to the flexibilities they offer in Audio recording / editing / mixing / production and midi options, whereas Pro Tools is far more focussed on Audio recording / editing / mixing / production and Ableton more on Midi / mixing / production.
The same goes for the plugins you use. It’s paramount to have a set of plugins that you become familiar with, however master I can't stress how important it is to first be very selective and restrict the amount you start with. This ensures you remain focussed on building the foundations of your skill set. I find it best to select industry standards first because they show you the roots of audio manipulation in the most familiar form which then in turn makes it easier to move into the more strange plug in universe down the line. Obviously your DAW will come with a sufficient set of in the box Plugins included however if you want to further your skills from the get go, I would recommend checking out SSL who for me have been at the forefront of both the analog and digital realm since I started to Engineer and producer. They offer incredible presets which help you learn and understand the fundamental backbone of how to manipulate audio professionally. Don't go mad on building a huge collection of plugins and synthesisers, first learn about a couple at a time and when you've really got them mastered move on to building that skill set
Music Production Hardware: Beyond software, familiarise yourself with your hardware and outboard gear. Read manuals, experiment with functions, and understand how each piece contributes to your sound. Whether it’s monitors, microphones, or audio interfaces, knowing your gear inside-out will elevate your production skill set. Why would we even consider hardware in the modern day when we can emulate so many things in the box? It's going back to the previous blog on the beauty of error and the same applies to hardware because it involves circuitry (transistors, capacitors ect) . When comparing a Manley compressor with the Plugin version I honestly couldn't pick out any difference sonically however when comparing a second hardware version the colour was different in the sound, and this was due to the fact that the identical hardware was in fact not identical under the hood. This was due to a component not being correct or exactly the same. The digital version (Plugin) that had been emulated off one of the Manley EQs did not offer that random option to compare to several different Manley EQs which is no biggy, but not a perfect representation of the romance of hardware that is never exactly the same in comparison
What is a Capacitor?
Capacitors are essential components in audio circuits, and they play a crucial role in shaping sound quality. Let’s explore how capacitors impact audio engineering and why audio-grade capacitors are specifically designed for highend audio applications.
Traditional Audio Circuitry: How Capacitors Affect Soundsome text Capacitors store electrical energy and are present in nearly all modern electronic devices. In audio amplification applications, capacitors couple the constant DC signals with rapidly fluctuating voltages that drive speakers. This coupling helps create a smooth sound. Larger capacitors work better for creating bold and clean sound. They decrease the audio circuit’s impedance, reducing noise between the power supply and the audio driving circuitry, resulting in clear, unaltered sound.
What is a Transistor?
Transistors: Definition: A transistor is a semiconductor device that can amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power. It consists of three layers of semiconductor material (usually silicon) and can function as an amplifier, a switch, or an oscillator.
Applications in Studio Equipment:
Mic Preamps: Transistors are used in microphone preamplifiers (mic preamps) to boost the weak microphone signals to line level. Mic preamps often use discrete transistor circuits for their warm and natural sound.
Amplifiers: Transistors are essential components in audio power amplifiers. They amplify the line-level signals from preamps to drive speakers.
Equalisers: Transistors are used in active equalisers to adjust frequency response. They allow precise control over the audio spectrum.
Compressors and Limiters: Transistors are found in dynamic processors like compressors and limiters. They help regulate audio levels.
Mixers: Transistors are used in mixer channels for signal routing, gain control, and summing.
Effects Processors: Transistors play a role in various effects units, such as reverb, delay, and modulation pedals.
Analog vs. Digital:
While digital technology has become prevalent, analog studio equipment with discrete transistor circuits continues to be highly regarded for its warm and characterful sound. Many classic recordings were made using analog gear with transistors, contributing to their unique sonic qualities.
Historical Significance:
EMT 140 Plate Reverb: In the late 1950s, the German company EMT introduced the EMT 140 plate reverb, which used transducers and metal plates to create artificial reverb. It became a staple in recording studios, adding a distinct reverb sound to countless iconic recordings from the '60s and 70s.
Lexicon 224 Digital Reverb: In 1978, the Lexicon 224 digital reverb unit was unveiled, becoming one of the most ubiquitous high-end studio reverb units in pro audio history. It was the brainchild of nuclear physicist Dr. David Griesinger and marked a shift toward digital processing
A deeper look into Music & Production Practice: As a music producer, the journey from approach to final output involves various stages: Idea Generation, Songwriting, Composition, Tracking, Organization, Refinement, Blending, and Polishing. What's the real secret to mastery we all ask? The more you immerse yourself in production, the sharper your skills become, and after you’ve got the basics down, it’s all about creating relentlessly. Consistent practice across the full spectrum of production nurtures your overall expertise. Engage in music production drills such as active reference listening / analysing songs and mixes from productions you A) you respect and B) are relevant to what you're working on. I can say from experience that the amount of referencing that goes on when producing and mixing records is a very important part of the whole process. It can inspire and help you realise you're on the right track especially when you are literally living inside the creative process. We all need to sit back and check it’s all in the right place compared to your references sometimes!! Honing your listening abilities is not just a pivotal aspect of your production toolkit; it’s a skill that can be refined with dedicated practice. For insights on enhancing your aural skills, consider reading up on ear training.
TIP: listen to records and pick out all elements, by dissecting the audio piece by piece. Focus training isessential, check everything that makes the track what it is, study the hi hats and their balance in the mix, the bass, the vocals, the everything like you were literally deconstructing the entire composition. Practise it and then try working with it on your productions.
TIP II: Study how people use Pan positioning to create sonic space.
TIP III: Equalise things to work harmoniously. Like Pan, you can put things in their own space by making sure they have their own area in the Spectrum. I often use a Spectrum analyser to also visualise the balance and make sure that there's no areas of clash
A deeper look into Music & Production Theory: Basic music theory: Time signatures, beats & bars, notes, scales, intervals, chords, chord progressions. Essential Music Production Skills for Beginners:
Basic Music Theory Vocabulary: Starting out, all you really need is a basic understanding of music theory. This knowledge can be essential for any music producer who is looking to go into a more advanced kind of production like working with bands who seek advice on their musical chord structures, or the best key that works with the vocalist's voice range. It can help you transition from being competent to proficient more quickly. Advanced Music Theory? Not Necessarily!: While advanced music theory isn’t required for most styles of music production, it certainly doesn’t hurt to know as much as possible. Keep building your music theory skills as you continue to develop as a producer.
Arrangement Theory: Understanding song structures, sections, lyrics, and melody is crucial. Analyse releases you respect and get under your skin to learn how different song structures work.
Production Theory Basics: Dive into digital music production theory. Understand acoustics, analog and digital audio, and digital audio processing. Master skills like audio editing, MIDI, and synth programming.
Synth Programming: If you’re producing electronic music, explore synth programming. While presets are useful, learning to program your own instrument patches allows for more creativity. Consider using tools like Syntorial for in-depth learning.
Equalisation and Compression: These are bread-and butter skills. Mastering equalisation and compression takes time, but it’s essential for professional-quality production.
Effects Skills:
"Experiment with effects like reverb, delay, phasing, and distortion to add depth and character to your tracks."
A basic music theory vocab is all you really need to get started. That bit of music producer know-how is essential. It will help you go from competent to proficient as a music producer, faster. Do you need advanced music theory to produce most styles of music? Hell no! It cannot however hurt to know as much music theory as possible though. So, keep stacking the music theory skills while you continue to develop as a producer. I've written about the basic music vocab producers need here.
Basic arrangement theory: Song structures, sections, lyrics and melody:
Musical arrangement is another one of the most important music production skills you need to add to your stack. The easiest and best way to do this is to study and analyse commercial releases that already work. It's also helpful to learn about different types of popular song structures and figure out why they work.
Basic production theory: Audio, MIDI, synth programming, equalisation, reverb, compression, gating, delay, phasing, distortion, editing, programming, mixing.
In terms of digital music production theory you want to make sure you have the basics of acoustics, analog and digital audio and digital audio processing down. You must have digital audio skills like audio editing and processing in your stack. The same goes for MIDI skills. You want to delve into synth programming if you plan to produce a decent level of electronic music. Yes, one can use and abuse presets. To really use synths for fun and profit you want to work on your own ability to program your own instrument patches. Equalisation is of course a skill you cannot leave out of your stack. It's a bread and butter skill right up there in terms of importance along with compression. These two skills will take a while to master as you can imagine, but master them you must!
Then there's effects skills like using reverb, delay, phasing, distortion and other processing. All essential music producer requirements if you want interesting, dynamic, polished and exciting mixes. As a producer you need to make sure that you're on very much the optimum you. You're only as good as your weakest point, so to expand your skill set is the most important part of furthering your ability to conquer anything that you endeavour. You are after all the conductor of the results, the emperor of the project and that's a lot to have on your shoulders but its worth it because to gain the ability to .
