Producers are a big part of the industry. Although there are multiple ways one can be a producer in the industry, we’re going to focus one specific one, beat making, and more specifically how to get better at it. Here are 5 ways to become a Better Producer!
1. Practice, Practice, Practice: Just like anything else in life, you’ll only get better at producing by doing it over, and over again. Make sure that you always have time to make a beat or two as much as you can per week. And when you start doing this, make sure you remain consistent. You’re not going to get any better by practicing three times one week, once the next, and zero for another two weeks. When you’re trying to be better, you should be disciplined and be consistent about it. It could be three beats a week, four, ten or more, just make sure you stick to it to the best of your ability.
2. Watch other Producers make Beats: This is one of the best ways to get in some practice. Watching other producers make beats, whether it’s in person at a studio, or on YouTube, allows you to see cool new tricks, things you didn’t know you could do when making beats. The greats are the best people to teach us, and we learn by listening and watching them at work.
3. Find the Right (D.A.W.): To be able to make beats, you need beat making software, or as it’s professionally said in the industry, Digital Audio Workstation, or DAW, for short. You can do other things in these DAWS as well, such as recording and Mixing, FYI. There are plenty out there for you to choose from. There’s FL Studio, Logic Pro X, Ableton, and plenty more. Each of these DAWs carry their own strengths and weakness, and no one is ultimately better than the other. It’s up to you to do some research on these DAWs, and learn which one suits you the best. These DAWS are going to be responsible for those fire ass beats your making, and how well you function with them plays a huge role in how your beats come out.
4. Watch Tutorials on YouTube: This is the Age of information, and there’s information on EVERYTHING! So, you can get better by watching YouTube videos on beat making. Whenever I have a specific style of beat in mind that I want to create, but don’t know where to start, or there’s a mixing trick I don’t know how to do, YouTube is the first place I always go to learn. Can’t ever go wrong with YouTube.
5. Stick with it and Don’t Give up: Rome was not build in a day. Becoming a better producer takes time. Timbaland, Dr. Dre, Lord Finesse, DJ Premier, Metro Booming, Zaytoven, all of these great producers spent years owning their craft, and they didn’t give up when their MPC was acting funny, or they couldn’t afford a DAW, or they lost a bunch of beats, or their first few beats were sounding like shit. They kept at it, and if this is really your passion and you know this industry is right for you, don’t ever give up or let anybody else tell you to stop.
Be authentic, be persistent, and let your creativity shine!