What Nobody Tells You About Producing Music

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

If you're interested in our mentorship 👉 www.producerdvlp.com/work If you wanna join Producer Accelerator before we shut it down (70% off) 👉 www.produceracceleratorcourse.com/the_end_sale If you are in PA already then nothing changes and you will not lose any access!! Community and FBF is still there!

[@mainsailsound983]

Makes me so happy to hear somebody actually say that dragging and dropping loops isn't really producing.

[@longlemusic21]

Yup 😅 the internet makes think its too easy to produce music

[@NobodyImportant-ef3de]

facts

[@bboymac84]

“You can make a hit song with a great song and a terrible artist, but you can’t make a hit song with a bad song from a talented artist” -Quincy Jones

[@Hazybunk]

What do you mean can you explain for me please

[@bboymac84]

@ you make a great song anyone can get in the song and it can become a hit song. But if the sing sucks, not great artist can save it.

[@Hazybunk]

@@bboymac84 u mean writing a good lyrics and singing good vocals! OK got it 👍

[@bboymac84]

@ no if your great artists a bad song will destroy you. The song must be dope 1st.

[@mazy-beats]

Same with great movie scripts and bad and good directors and actors

[@panagope]

i'm a bedroom producer that i started 1.5 years ago working with a DAW and making songs. Before that i knew music theory and play piano. What no one tells you is that you need at least one thousand (1000) hours to learn how to make acceptable songs , not yet to a pro level, but approaching slowly. 1000 hours with no watching videos or passively learning included. Just actual song making. It is very difficult because there are many things to know at the same time : learning your daw, learning your plugins, song selection to fit , chord& melody syncopation, music ideas, arrangement, transitions, production techniques ( sidechain, masking etc) , mixing , mastering. All these need a lot of time. If you want to reach pro-level music, radio ready and easy to listen to, then you need about 1800-2000 hours. That is about 4-5 years / 1 hour-per-day ACTUAL music production ( no passive learning). This is my experience.

[@FrancescaBettiMusic]

👏

[@halfbee7886]

The amount of hours would be insignificant if you don’t know what to do in the first place. Structured learning is far better than self-studying by tweaking things randomly.

[@SqueakyPhilosopher]

​@@halfbee7886any suggestions? I've taken lots of paid courses but they never helped me. Putting in those hours did.

[@joshuacurtis1631]

Agree, just one observation. I personally don’t care if the performance is on the grid, some notes can be off by a little, obviously very little but if the drums for example aren’t spot on it’s ok. For me they sound a lot more natural that way

[@WeCreateMusicTV]

I get that! A little imperfection can definitely make things sound more organic and human, especially with drums. Some of the best grooves come from that slight "off" feel. It’s all about finding that sweet spot where the vibe feels right to you.

[@SToXC_.]

thats stating the obvious, its not humanly possible to be perfectly on grid, its not happening

[@marcusp5345]

The imperfections improve the song if they are natural, like small delays in hitting a note then making a chord change on a guitar. Steady beat mistakes still sound bad though.

[@machinemademan]

the two things that helped me the most were taking lessons from a certified trainer and going backwards to using hardware ..you learn what things do youre forced to actually play the instruments are designed to sound good in a mix and when youre recording live youre forced to be mindful. then when you take that back to a daw you know what you want to achieve

[@kougan_music]

Lots of great points 1. Amateur's emphasis on tools instead of focus on making good music/arrangement 2. Performances have to be the best possible (inspired, feeling, timing, pitch, intonation, sounds machine-like due to velocities, etc) 3. Sound selection, has to sound good before getting to mix stage 4. Producing is hard (having to worry about the whole stages of song making, musical and technical, vs focused on one single instrument)

[@christophertrusty9733]

If we stop following the crowd, and be original and unique. once we have the foundation of a songwriting, lyrics, performance, harmonic rhythm, pretty much the whole stage that we can make good and unique songs without worrying about what other people are saying. an artist is an artist, and will never be like someone else because we are unique and original

[@fredw2016]

If producing your own music, one of the best things you can do is to practice your instrument/singing. The better you are at that, more focus can be on the performance. As a musician and music listener I'd have a great performance that makes me feel something with a few errors, before a lifeless technically immaculate performance any day. Practice also with a backing track or drum beat to improve timing. For virtual instruments, perhaps a good thing to familiarise with them, and maybe even identify key sounds for various purposes. Easy to build up a massive library and then perhaps not knowing where to start when needing to find a sound. These are my thoughts anyway. Thanks for great advice, Nathan.

[@WeCreateMusicTV]

Great points! The performance and emotion behind the music definitely matter more than perfection. Practicing with a backing track or beat is key for timing and flow. And you're spot on about virtual instruments-building a library is helpful, but it’s important to get familiar with what you have so you can quickly pull the right sounds when needed.

[@steveSticksE]

Your videos are amazing and how your mind works in melody!! Many people who are coming to the industry will get so much out of them! Training is definitely needed

[@deyvidpetromusic]

The moment that I started purchasing high quality, not necessarily expensive VSTs that sounded great out of the box that did not need much mixing was a game changer for me. It allowed me to focus more on my arrangements than getting the mix to sound good because it was already pretty much there.

[@stevescooking]

I have good Black Friday deals on Spitfire chamber strings professional and Berlin strings. If you had to pick with library would it be? Thanks Steve

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

I'd do Berlin over CCS personally if it's a choice between the two

[@PIZZAdayisback]

I usually use stock sounds because I'm really bad at actually making custom kicks hit. It always either goes too low and sounds bad in cars or it's too high and sounds like a tom. Could you make a tutorial on how to make good drum sounds from.. say... A couple of synths and some FX?

[@MiloTheFerret]

"to play ( or sing) a wrong note is insignificant. To okay without a passion is inexcusable" - Beethoven

[@MikeNeedlerMusic]

Get the Producer Accelerator!! One of the best investments I’ve made in myself and my production skills have increased greatly. Plus Nathan is genuinely a really good dude

[@lucabilly]

Hey bro, awesome content! You explain things super well, and your videos are really dynamic. I think you should take the time to invest in adding a Spanish audio option to your videos, like some KZbin channels do. The way you speak would totally connect with Spanish speakers, and that could easily double or even triple your subscribers. Sending you a big hug!

[@jayrathod2995]

the realest music production video probably, tweaking that EQ to dragging loops not producing man these are facts

[@Ownstyle_Music]

Pitching in about the plugins, the other day, I made a Logic project for a reviewer to review the M4 Mac power. This reviewer didn't have any third-party plugins, so I had to stick with plugins from just Logic. This was odd initially, but Logic has an amazing library of plugins. It will take you a bit more time to go from A to B compared to using an extensive library of plugins, but in the end, you really can't hear much of a difference.

[@mr.rsg_music]

If it’s shut down, we won’t be able to access Producer accelerator if we bought it effective in the new year?

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

If you are in it you'll keep all access and nothing changes for you!! ❤️

[@mr.rsg_music]

@ that’s great news thanks Nathan, I was worried for a bit 😅

[@davidasher22]

This is great advice Nathan! I started on a 4 track cassette machine and I've never really had these problems. mixing had always just been getting the levels right for the print. I think its a good idea for new producers to occasionally limit themselves (technically). that way you can learn how to capture the song in a real and honest way. Like limiting your track count and printing your effects. At least as a learning exercise.

[@Dcyaboi33]

This addresses some fundamental details about producing I should've thought about sooner. Great video ♥️

[@jzuzakmusic]

Hi Nathan, I completely agree with you. I was actually super lucky though to get your PA course before I was very experienced with producing. It was so funny how I though plugins would be so important until I actually mixed a couple of songs. Now I'm like plugins really don't matter as much! Definitely invested into sounds with NI though from your advice and it was totally worth it.

[@SqueakyPhilosopher]

Can you give me a review of the PA course? I've taken courses from Andrew, Blake, ryan tedder and make pop music but I'm not completely satisfied as they were mostly for beginners. What stuff does the PA course cover?

[@jzuzakmusic]

@@SqueakyPhilosopher Basically everything except mastering... there are separate modules for guitar, vox, and stuff. Also cool to see him go through mixing sessions in full and work with artist recording.

[@SqueakyPhilosopher]

@@jzuzakmusic I see. That does sound cool! I personally struggle with finding the right instruments for making pop music... laying down counter melodies and that kind of stuff... Does it cover that?

[@GavinPotter]

So refreshing to hear such honest advice!!! Congrats and thank you

[@neiloldfield1217]

Thank you for the video. I've subscribed based upon your presentation of some obvious, but overlooked, common sense. One of the biggest hits during the last few years is "As it was" by Harry Styles and although the track resonated with many, many folk (and has rightly become a modern classic) the production (although interesting) doesn't strike me as being 'state of the art'..... does create an ambient, textured framing of the song & performances.

[@fadisoueidi4127]

great video and you hit all the right notes. one thing that irritates me is the hundreds of youtube channels trying to convince you that this is the Reverb you need, this is the compressor that ends all compressors etc... they are just trying to sell... in all honesty these days we have much more technology than what we need for making great music. thing of the Beatles for God's sake...

[@dandtintennessee7675]

It certainly is much more difficult than I anticipated. And yes I found that most stock plug ins suck. I was excited to upgrade to the paid Studio One so I could use third party stuff.

[@christophertrusty9733]

Making a song there's a foundation, building a house there's a foundation, making a car there's a foundation, mixing you have to have the foundation of a mixed balance, everything is a foundation once you have the foundation then you could be whatever you want, nothing's is hard once you have an imagination and put in the hard work to be an original artist and don't care what other people thinks.DONT FOLLOW THE CROWD

[@eliramposner]

Great video! Why r u closing pa???? Also is the mentorship free?

[@Bashanvibe]

I’m a fan making sure the performance is great for the mixing to be effortless!!! From calling the right musicians and singers who can give me a professional sound!!!

[@anneparfitt2799]

This is so refreshing, thank you! Back to real music hurray!!!

[@Daumat_]

If you have drip plugin and a unison chord pack you can become the next Mozart. Trust me, they say so in the ads.

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

😂😂😂😂 always trust the ads!

[@FLAMEREEPER25]

Such a great video. A lot of these topics are things I have been thinking about lately

[@alleyway3215]

Ideas, motific development, harmonic language, counterpoint, orchestration - yep, they matter:) I think part of why music making (aka: beat making) is pushed so much is because these companies want to expand their target audience.

[@randyschmuki3173]

Absolutely!

[@jruff8253]

I agree that the Artistry is slowly going by the wayside! And putting in the 10,000 hours is just the start . I tell younger producers that in order to achieve what you’re going for, you have to understand how to get there. 👍🏻

[@skywolf1036]

Again! Great advice as always! So you’re shutting down? Like even if we’ve already purchased it, are we still having access to the community and FBF?

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

If you are in PA nothing changes 💪

[@binladen5299]

Yes I’m focused on eqing the snare for 2 hours lol

[@definfected]

Excellent video!! Thanks for sharing!! Much ❤️ Nathan!!

[@tanukibrahma]

This is really good advice.

[@MelRog]

a lot of producers are not in music for the same reasons. people just want to get paid. technique does not matter.

[@MrJazsol]

Well said young man 👌🏾

[@samsmusic2995]

great video, learned so much ;)

[@sharonlitwak9610]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[@mukeshpathak7302]

Thanks a ton 🙏❤❤

[@hambernat6444]

I installed EQ bc I bought new premium headphones for 500$ and they didnt sound so much as my previous headphones. I think I really missed high pitch sounds and vocals, R&B works good enough for me. Also had ear infection and my ear clogged up bc of this, so i needed rebalance L/R volume. Bc all of this, I had reflection about my music experience, so I thought I can have much more fun with music if I would be able to personalize. Also not gonna lie, I have thought in back of my head about starting creating music some day.

[@klaatuklaatu1]

How do you know when tracking a bass or guitar if the sound will be professional enough? So many times you can pick a good sound for live performance but it just does not sound good enough on a pro sounding studio project.. So tough man…

[@rozaymiller2143]

Don't tease me anymore with that sample that was 🔥🔥🔥 😂😂

[@lunevenus]

True !!!

[@austin2594]

i like this train of thought

[@Harmony4jaaz]

Very very very true.

[@john-vv1ln]

💯 the other fact is that most pro producers were pro musicians first.

[@christophertrusty9733]

LYRICS,MELODY, HARMONY, ARRANGEMENT, FORM, BEAT, PULSE METER, STRUCTURAL PHRASE, MELODIC PHRASE, HARMONIC PHRASE, HARMONIC SEQUENCE MELODIC SEQUENCE, VOCAL PERFORMANCE, original no autotune and too much effects affects the original artist

[@dnic.b]

If I join PA now, I have the content forever or is there a limit in the content available.

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

@@dnic.b you'll get lifetime access - nothing is going away!

[@longlemusic21]

Totally agree

[@johnreed1025]

I was working with a young vocalist on my songs...proper songs...verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus...pop/rock stuff...he played it to a guy from a record company and was told ...''its too complicated''...I told him if this guy was going to give him a record deal then he should listen to him otherwise its just an opinion...a wrong opinion...next thing I know he wanted to pull all this things off KZbin and Spotify ...

[@RandomVelocity]

Yeah, the plug-in industry must be a multimillion dollar industry maybe billion I don’t know but you have everything you need in your DAW if you have talent ..

[@harveynorth3977]

That sure took a looooooooong time for someone to say this! People sing for 6 months, buy some plugins and blame the plugin....or the daw...or there's something wrong with the mic they bought, or the preamp they have. It seems people don't understand that you, the artist, have to be the special sauce. It can't be bought.

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

Haha yep... I will say - I've been saying this for like... YEAAARRRS LOLOL

[@harveynorth3977]

@@NathanJamesLarsen Hear hear. I've been trying to do the same thing, but it's like talking to a brickwall. Maybe now, the world is ready to hear it. If 10% more people learn this, it's a good thing. The "problem" with this for alot, if not most, of the people that gets into music is that it takes time, and practice...and it's not really something to show off. Which seems to have become a basic need these last few years. "Join me today when I totally fail trying to mix my vocals", "Today I learned a lesson; It takes time, years to perfect my voice, and no plugin can bypass that fact", "I spent $2000 dollars the gold standard of plugins, but I'm still broke, can't carry a tune, and my Spotify songs is a member of the subthousand club". These videoes will probably not get many views, at least wouldn't get many views. Maybe the world is ready for them now

[@rozaymiller2143]

Super hard it's not easy

[@noahleethatsme37]

“What are we making?” ***ad plays*** while I was waiting for the five seconds to be up I said to myself “money!” That’s all anyone cares about anymore unfortunately

[@carriesolomonmusic]

So Producer Accelerator is shutting down, but will you still be doing weekly feedback on people’s music??😬😬😬 Hoping I didn’t miss out on that by being broke lol.

[@IcemanTheDj]

I really hate when producers have videos with bad sound quality! When you teach about sound, shouldn't you have a minimum of quality in this chapter in your clips? My 2 cents! Can't listen...

[@savagenotaverage1980]

Can you do a remix of high speed removers from Captian Phillips sound track

[@slackstarfish8133]

What they don’t tell you is to get the smallest level of dynamics, glue, and detail that you often just overlook in music takes a shit ton of processing and makes a HUGE difference in how professional your music sounds.

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

Don't disagree but there's basically a zillion people talking about that already. No amount of processing is going to fix what I've talked about

[@WeCreateMusicTV]

Exactly, the small details really make a big impact. It takes a lot of processing to get that tight dynamic control, glue, and polish, but when it's done right, it separates the pros from the amateurs. It’s easy to overlook, but those elements are what make a track feel finished and professional.

[@hit.wxnder]

@@WeCreateMusicTV Agree and disagree, there's tons of older music that doesn't sound nearly as polished as music today but is way better and connects with people way more (i.e music from the 60's, 70's, 80's. etc) so that has nothing to do with EQ's and plugins more about the talent and the MUSIC. the mixing is lowkey terrible but still cuts through the soul

[@theperiidot]

​@@hit.wxnderThat's the difference between songwriting/production and mixing, they're 100% right about the difference it makes to a mix

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

Your mouth is to close to the mic brother you don't have to have it so your pushing air into the mic. As for what you actually said, I agree, people trying to do everything and fail, I just watched a vid where guy talks about the nightmare of mixing or mastering for clients. He says the client's ask for multiple revisions and change there minds multiple times and My response is that if some one is paying Me to master they should trust what I say or go find someone eles. If they dont believe I can make there song sound good and just leave Me to do My work then I'm not interested in there money.

[@Nebvla]

1:15 hehe how about feedback synthesis and fft

[@jamclass]

I was with you until you started talking about how it “has to be quantized to the grid.”

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

Basically every professional record made for the last 20+ years does this.

[@hypehouse7271]

Stash Kits > Soundbanks

[@tasenova2717]

I sort of disagree. not that I think people care what plugins people use. but it's basically how I view coding. music is problem-solving. and while every person is worried about the technical know how, there are barely that understand what to use it for. a conversation between harmonics and odd harmonics and the human experience is a rare occurrence. So while maybe people don't always care about what gear you use. but mix-engineers, master-engineers, producers and artist all have the same goal. to resonate with the listener which is, the human experience and music application can do that if people know so again, I half disagree with you.

[@Faithaven]

Argh that mic is very poppy and hard to hear.

[@MarkMillions-i3k]

For me it is, never ever snap it to the grid! 😉

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

Why?

[@MarkMillions-i3k]

@@NathanJamesLarsen 4 the feeling

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

@ think it's a misconception that snapping to the grid removes feeling. Feeling is way more than time. But you do what you feel is best for your music - just sayin almost every pro record made in the past 20+ years does this

[@PIZZAdayisback]

I usually keep things on the grid because I make house and techno among other things

[@MarkMillions-i3k]

@@PIZZAdayisback ok then it makes sense 🙂

[@flamesintheattic]

Production, mixing, mastering, instruments, recording, your vision, your ideas, the genre or anything else doesn't matter if you don't write a song that connects with people. Performances don't necessarily even matter if the song is good. Half of the world's greatest hits have whacky production, obvious errors, weird instrument choices and countless other non-standard things.

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

Yes this 💪

[@felixneun]

i want to tweak my snare all day long okey

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

Haha

[@thysweetlord]

Personally, I think producers should take some time to venture into song writing first or that it would be one of the most bang for buck time investments. A really well written song can shine even with poor source audio and a decent arrangement. Obviously mixes werent “bad” per se back in the day but compared to the plump, full-spectrum, modern mixes of today, you could say the modern mixes will be of a higher fidelity. But despite having less technology and tradition around the recording arts, the quality of the music shone through and is why they remain in a position to stand up to todays music and many prefer the old still. People are hungering for other people, not a sensation from amazing sound design or mixes that are “perfect” and “fat”. New tech is fun, new genres, innovation, revolution, all that is exciting for sure but is typically a short fad. Amazing songs are the antithesis of fads and producers would do well to study their favorite artists/producers/engineers. Go through your favorite albums and pick them a part bit by bit. Who was the producer? Recording engineer? Mix engineer? Master? What unique vision did the artists front-load unto the project and how did this affect what came of it? Where were these artists at in their life? It’s amazing to see how many of bands best work was early on, when they were still sharing ramen and using broken instruments to record. They were impoverished but they were so ALIVE! It was do or die and somehow this allowed them to let go of all apprehension and create freely. This rawness starts to show you how all the “perfection syndrome anxiety” or whatever is really a luxury that is removed when you’re back is against the wall and have run out of time to fiddle into infinity. I guess we’re talking specifically production, but I think as a producer, you should start pooling knowledge bit by bit in the categories your role is adjacent to. A producer should learn some song writing and mixing, mixers would do well to produce and even song write if it isn’t too foreign to their natural talents and inclinations. Embracing your “suck” at a new skill in the record making ecosphere, well, sucks but once those new skills start to intertwine with whatever base skills you’ve started to develop, you really start to see your potential and how your creative horizons become clearer and maybe even sunnier. But I suspect many producers might be apprehensive to start song writing because it’s a part of the art that can be very exposing or make one vulnerable, which is understandable. That’s why there is a lot of bravery required in this game too. To grow and fail, and have people say “I told you so”, to seemingly go forward 5 steps and fall back 500 and then get up and have some faith to move on. God Bless ❤

[@DawnHub666]

over produced clickbait.. speaks too fast

[@jackgolden5006]

I agree 100% A good performance is so important,.The more prominent the element the better the performance should be. Though right now I'm experimenting with Bad perfomances as a texture....

[@sdecario5736]

For a pro producer you have a lot of ‘plosives’ in this video…

[@colinowenuk]

Hmmmm, all that experience and talking too close to the mic...

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

Yeah, you're right - was too close. Literally just bought it the day I filmed and didn't test it before recording. That's on me. I was expecting it to behave like my other one like it. But - is what it is.

[@davebops2478]

I think he's ironically illustrating his point - what he has to say is awesome, passionate delivery; not brilliant recording...😁

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

@@davebops2478 haha!!! I am being completely geniune when I say - I KNEW someone would say something about the proximity to the mic LOLOL. I was also under a time crunch to get this video done - hence why I decided to go with it. If someone disregards what I say simply cause I was a bit too close to the mic - that's their problem not mine.

[@jasoncruizer]

Number 1 advice. Never trust a producer who cant play an instrument. If they cant play an instrument, they down know music theory and they will not know enough to be able to communicate ideas to musicians. All the best producers can play instruments, Dr Dre who is probably the greatest producer of the past 30 years, is a classically trained pianist. At minimum a producer should know basic piano/keyboard and some basic music theory.

[@ufopilotFPV]

Rick Rubin disagrees

[@jocimusic3660]

One tip for a youtuber is to get a mic you dont need to cover your face with, like professional videomakers use

[@NathanJamesLarsen]

lol I have one - was just trying out this mic but thanks 😉

[@jocimusic3660]

@ was meant like helpful criticism, not complaining 😁