What is Music Production: A Simple Overview
Thursday, July 04, 2024
Key Takeaways
- Music production encompasses the skills required to take a song from its written form to the recorded form that you may hear on the radio.
- The role of a music producer can include, selecting the songs, creating and shaping the sound, overseeing the recording process and getting the best performance from all artists involved.
- When performed well, effective music production enhances the listening experience for audiences and can have a significant impact in contributing to the success of artists and their careers.
- To get started in music production it is useful to find a trusted teacher or course, and start with the gear you have as you likely need less than you might think!
- Music production encompasses the skills required to take a song from its written form to the recorded form that you may hear on the radio.
- The role of a music producer can include, selecting the songs, creating and shaping the sound, overseeing the recording process and getting the best performance from all artists involved.
- When performed well, effective music production enhances the listening experience for audiences and can have a significant impact in contributing to the success of artists and their careers.
- To get started in music production it is useful to find a trusted teacher or course, and start with the gear you have as you likely need less than you might think!
What is the Meaning of Music Production?
The term music production encompasses the skills required to take a song from its written form to the recorded form that you may hear on the radio. Essentially it includes the process of creating, recording and shaping music using various techniques and tools to bring musical ideas to life and capture the magic of what makes a particular song special.
What Does a Music Producer Do Exactly?
The main aim of the music producer is to bring the artist’s musical vision for a project to life by using their skills to capture and enhance the project. A highly skilled music producer not only has the technical skills to achieve this but also the emotional skills to get the best from others involved in the project while keeping the best interest of the artist and the song at the forefront.
The role of a music producer requires a number of different skills and can include some, or all of the tasks below depending on the project.
Selecting the Songs
If a band is working with a music producer to create an album for example, the producer may help the band to shape the album by selecting the best songs for that album out of a selection of their music.
Creating and Shaping the Sound
It is also the responsibility of the music production to shape the sound of the project that they are working on. This can include creating the sound using virtual instruments in a Digital Audio Workstation in the case of electronic music or selecting and directing musicians.
Overseeing the recording process
Depending on the budget of the project, the music producer may contract a recording engineer to record live instrumentation and the vocals or they may choose to undertake this process themselves. The aim of this process is to get the best performance from the musicians which involves creating the surroundings necessary to facilitate a comfortable session for all the performers.
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Why is Music Production Important?
Without music production, we would not have high quality music we have to listen to!
Music production helps to capture the essence of the music across different genres and present it to the listener in the most appealing manner.
When performed well, effective music production enhances the listening experience for audiences and can have a significant impact on contributing to the success of artists and their careers.
How to Start in Music Production?
When we talk about getting started in music production we often think about two things, where do I start learning and what do I need to start? So let’s look a little more closely at these two things:
Education
With the plethora of knowledge online, it can be difficult to know where to get started in learning to produce music. It can also feel like learning with the numerous free educational tutorials on platforms such as Youtube is the best place to start on a budget. Although this may save you some money in the short term, it can cost you a significant amount of time and result in many gaps in your learning.
On the other hand, learning through a college degree can be extremely expensive, time consuming and less targeted in starting to get hands on experience.
To learn in a digestible and methodical manner, it is recommended to find a reputable teacher or course and learn from them whether in person or online.
If you’re confused about where to start, MPW runs periodic free Intro to Music Production classes which is an excellent place to take your first steps as well as offers a free 2-week trial on it’s Intro to Music Production Course which not only provides excellent quality learning but also a warm and welcoming community to learn in.
Equipment
Many people may feel that getting started in music production, if you’re not using a studio, requires a signifiant investment in expensive equipment. This is surprisingly not the case! Spending money on expensive equipment before you need it is not only costly but also hinders the learning process by giving you more tools than you are ready for, which can confuse rather than inspire you!
We recommend starting with the very basics such as a laptop and a pair of headphones and adding to your set up as you need. Here is a useful checklist of gear you need to get started in music production to help you save some money.
Like with any skill, learning to produce music takes time and patience. The learning curve is always steepest at the start, so take those first few steps and continue to persevere. It does get easier, I promise!
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CEO Of Music Production for Women
I'm so glad you're here with us! If you're interested in learning to produce and are finding it overwhleming then I know how you feel and am here for you.
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