How I Produce Music (+ 11 tips that made me way better)
Sometime in 2019, after nearly two decades of writing music on my guitar, I decided I wanted to learn how to produce music.
It was awkward.
Even though I was excited, I felt confused, lost and frustrated — like an imposter who would never learn. But I’m absolutely stoked that I stuck with it.
So I’m here to share my process with you and the tips that helped me grow the most.
This is how to get good at music production (and actually enjoy it).
Let’s get to it!
Table of Contents Show
What Is Music Production? (and why should I?)
Music production is the process of creating, developing and (usually) sharing music. And there are a lot of moving parts involved.
From recording techniques and sound design to the creative songwriting process, music producers are multi-talented creatives as well as wizards in tech.
But don’t worry, anyone can learn it. You just need the right guidance, mindset and patience.
Music Production Benefits
Greater creative control over your music
It’s a strong source of creative pride
Boost your musical and creative confidence
It’s a skill you can monetize
Expand your music-making skills, perspectives and toolbox
Improve your active listening skills (i.e., you’ll hear music differently)
Release more music
Save some serious loot
How to Produce Music (my process)
There’s no right or wrong way to produce music. Everyone has their own style.
For example, Kygo likes to start with the drop but I like to start with a melody or chord progression. And sometimes, there’s no plan at all.
No single workflow works for every situation — contexts change and creativity and mood are fickle things.
Still, here’s my typical process.
I Usually Start With the Songwriting
With music, creativity always comes first for me. So I like to start by playing around and having fun.
In this first stage of producing a new track, I’m really not concerned with sound selection, making mistakes or if my timing is off.
I’m just trying to find the “soul” of the song.
I look for that spark or core idea that excites me and that I can build a song around.
Sometimes, I already have an idea in my head or something saved from a voice memo. Other times, I just start with a simple chord progression or play around on my MIDI controller until I find a cool melody, riff or progression.
It’s all pretty intuitive. But my goal is to just find the basic direction, structure and layout of the song.
Once I have the core direction down, then I start pouring the foundation.
I Produce “Big to Small”
After finding the main direction for a new track, I build out the frame of my song.
I produce “big to small” — macro to nano.
It’s similar to painting. An artist doesn’t bring out their smaller detailed brushes until the very end.
Similarly, I also don’t worry about final-touch stuff like ear candy, dynamics or effects until I get the core stuff out of the way.
I focus on building out the core song structure, sound and instrument selection and tracking vocals.
If I start adding in automations, panning and effects straight away, things get confusing and it’s harder for me to pinpoint issues later on (like why my mix sounds “muddy”).
Also, sometimes I want to change things up. This is easier to do if my tracks aren’t riddled with effects and plugins.
So keep things simple and work inwards from the bigger picture.
This is part of a static music production process (which I talk about more in the first tip below).
I Step Away for Fresh Ears
Stepping away is my favorite thing — especially when I’m in a creative rut.
While I love those times when I’m in a creative flow and can power through a song start to finish, stepping away and building things in steps and micro moments works for me.
It gives me clarity about things and my song can marinate in my subconscious. Sometimes, things just write themselves from there. For example, the right melodies will come to me and creative decisions feel more obvious.
So my biggest takeaway is don’t stress if you have unfinished projects or feel like you need to take a break.
Avoiding creative burnout is just as important as creative focus.
How to Get Good At Music Production (11 tips)
Ready to produce music better? Epic.
These are my favorite tips that actually improved my production chops.
1. Use the “Static” Music Production Technique
I love simplicity and minimalist strategies.
And for music production, this means less confusion. That’s why I like to use the “static” approach.
Static music production is a technique that emphasizes building out your track using only the basics and core DAW features (like volume controls, aux sends and even a little panning).
It’s your mix before you add all the fancy stuff like effects, compression and EQ on.
The goal with a static mix is to make it sound good, even before you add the finishing touches. If your static mix sounds good, then your finished mix will sound great.
Also, a static mix gives me a better idea for how to layer and choose instruments. I like to avoid panning on this stage also, so I can get a clearer idea of how my song might sound when played on a device that doesn’t use stereo (like a phone).
A static music production technique forces you to focus on the core elements of your track, so you don’t lose the forest for the trees.
2. Avoid Frequency + Vertical Space Overload
If you have too many sounds and instruments playing in the same frequency or pitch, it’ll sound bad and muddy your mix.
So it’s important to learn about frequencies and vertical spacing. This will make your mixes sound more professional and cleaner.
Here are some quick tips to avoid frequency and vertical space overland:
Be intentional with your sound selection
Use EQ band passes, high passes and low passes to carve out space
Layer instruments using different octaves to let sounds shine through
Remember to save space for your lead vocals
Remember the golden rule: less is more
3. Know Which Sounds to Pan
Panning is when you have a track play more out of either the left or the right speakers.
Usually, I like to balance things. So if I pan one sound 30% to the left, I usually pan the same one (or a complimentary one) 30% to the right also.
But if you’re panning just one sound for a creative reason, go with it.
Panning is a staple move in music production. It increases the stereo field of your song and makes things sound wider (so every sound isn’t sitting in the center).
As a general rule of thumb, your bass, kicks, snares and lead vocals ground your song and usually sit in the center of a mix (no panning).
But of course, there’s always room to break these “rules” if it’s a creative choice. Just be intentional with your decisions and listen to how everything sounds together.
Also remember that some speakers (like a phone) won’t provide listeners with a stereo sound experience, meaning your panning efforts won’t be heard.
Again, this why I like the static technique for music production (from tip number one above).
4. Level Your Vocals Before Using Compression
Compression tightens up your tracks and your master mix for a more consistent output.
Put another way, it lessens the dynamic range of (difference between) your highest highs and your lowest lows.
But often (especially with vocals), that dynamic range is too much for any single compressor plugin to fix — the same is true even using serial compression (which is when you use two compression plugins on the same track).
So that’s where leveling your vocals (before putting on vocal compression) comes in.
For me, I like to just manually automate the volume using a gain effect to take away the *major peaks and valleys in my recording. This will give you a more consistent audio track, so mixing your studio vocals will be a little bit easier.
5. Learn How to Use Sends, Busses + Aux Channels
Here’s how I see sends, busses and aux channels.
Sends are like directions you give to each track. Those directions go to a specific bus. Each bus corresponds to an aux channel where you can add specific effects. And for each track you send to a bus, you can control how much of that aux channel’s effect you want blended in.
This means you can create a main aux channel for each of your core effects and filter them into each track separately, depending how much you want.
You can also send all of your vocal tracks to just one aux channel with your main vocal chain on it (rather than trying to mix each and every track separately).
This makes everything much easier and sounds more consistent.
Although, I definitely avoided this for way too long (let’s just call it laziness). But as my projects got bigger and more complex, I started running into a few problems:
Inconsistent effect settings across different tracks and instruments
Confusion
CPU issues (my DAW kept freezing during playback or recording)
Sends and busses helped remedy some of these issues.
Plus, they’re a great way to glue your mix together and make it sound more professional and cohesive.
So my advice is to learn this stuff early on and get into the habit of using it.
(here’s a helpful intro video to learn more, if you’re using Logic Pro)
6. Watch Other Producers Produce
I love watching other music producers doing their thing.
It’s more passive, but if you stay intentional and actually practice what you learn, it’s incredibly inspiring and helpful to watch more experienced producers make a mix.
Here are a few places to start down your own rabbit holes:
Studio YouTube channel
Kygo has a lot of helpful BTS “making of” videos
Austin from Make Pop Music does awesome tutorials
Jon Bellion is amazing and has some great videos showing his process
7. Do Things That Actually Move the Needle
Music production can be full of time wasters. So it’s best to avoid those.
For example, spending an hour trying to find the “perfect” sound when the rest of your song isn’t even built out yet isn’t making you any better or moving the needle.
(*unless you’re purposely exploring sound libraries to better understand what’s in your toolbox)
So be sure you’re staying productive and doing things that actually having an impact on your growth as a producer.
Here are some helpful tips:
Use a creative workflow or system
Play to your strengths (and fix or outsource your weaknesses)
Study time management (I’m currently loving the Flowmodoro technique)
Practice discipline
Make decisions quickly (perfection doesn’t exist)
Stop trying to be perfect or “correct”
Create more, at scale (quantity over quality, in the beginning at least)
Stack your deck (create a better studio setup, hang around other producers, etc.)
Simply keep showing up
8. Build Skills From One Step Ahead (not multiple)
If you’re brand new to producing, don’t try to learning advanced technique before you’re ready.
Instead, learn from just one step ahead of your current skill level — not multiple steps ahead. This is working in your zone of proximal development.
You’ll be challenged to grow and improve, but you won’t be challenged too much. It’s the perfect balance.
So produce simpler songs and don’t try to learn everything all at once. Take things step by step. Focus on just one effect, technique, sound or plugin at a time. Master that one thing first before layering another skill or tool on top of it.
After all, it’s a journey to enjoy. So think in the long-term.
Recommended: My Favorite Music Production Exercises
9. Learn Your Staples (don’t rely on fancy shortcut plugins)
For this tip, leave the fancy plugins that promise instant glory behind. Because you need to learn the staples first.
Of course, plugins and tools that streamline things can work amazing — but only if you know the basics first.
For example, LANDR’s FX Voice plugin gives you tons of customizable presets. And while this is amazing, it won’t fix poor quality recordings or tracks that just don’t fit into your mix.
To take full advantage of sexy plugins and presets, you should first know things like:
How to get good audio recordings (without clipping)
How to choose good sounds in the first place
Comping and applying cross-fades
This initial round of mixing will help your vocal preset plugin do its job way better.
So again, no shortcuts!
10. Don’t Be An “Armchair Producer”
What matters most is that you don’t just read or watch content about producing without actually doing any producing.
That would make you an armchair producer. So if that’s you, don’t feel bad (we’ve all been there), but it’s time to take more action and work on actual projects (even if especially if you don’t feel ready).
Because tutorials rarely translate perfectly into real life.
So often, I’ll feel totally confident after watching a YouTube video explaining some awesome production strategy, only to find everything falls apart once I try it on my own.
Nuances pop out, questions come up and unrealized weak links in your skill portfolio throw up roadblocks.
The point is this:
If you actually want to learn how to produce music, go out, make bad tracks, learn and slowly get better day by day.
Think in years, not in months.
And of course, have fun. It’s creative play, after all.
11. Find Your Unique Voice
Music production is an expression of your authentic musical self.
I like to imagine myself as being like a scientist or an adventurer discovering things. Exploration, experimentation, lots of practice and self awareness are key.
Because getting good at putting together a track in your computer is only the beginning. To truly shine, you’ll want to start developing your sound and unique voice.
Becoming your authentic self is the goal.
It’s also an advanced move for music production, since it requires being able to work in a flow state and use your intuition.
This means you have the skills required to produce without thinking too much about what to do and how to do it.
So stay patient with this last tip. But keep it in mind, because it is the ultimate goal.
Recommended: How to Find Your Sound
Later ✌️
Music production is a lifelong endeavor. It’s full of ups and downs.
One good day may be followed up by two bad days. Creativity is fickle as it is. Throw in the technical learning curves associated with producing music and we’re bound to hit a few snags.
So don’t get discouraged and remember, at the end of the day, what matters most is your enjoyment of the process and creative intention.
If that means not including a bridge or panning your lead vocals left and write in a pre chorus for dramatic effect, then awesome.
Rules are meant to be bent and even broken sometimes.
So have fun with it and keep moving forward!
Want More? Okay. Here’s More.
