Did you know that there are over 800,000 songs released every single year? If you’re a musician, you know just how hard it is to stand out in the crowd, as music is more easily available to consumers than ever.
Thankfully, as technology advances, the ability to make quality music from your own home gets easier, too. That means that sound production, and creating music at an affordable price, is now possible at a rate that was unheard of 10 or 15 years ago.
In this article, we’ll give you 7 helpful tips for creating music yourself. We’ll help guide you on your musical journey, as well as give you some tricks that you can use to make your studio experiences more positive.
1. Focus Heavily on Pre-Production
When most people think about recording music, they think about the process of tracking audio using microphones and other pieces of sound equipment. And sure, while that’s technically where a song comes to life, it’s not the part of the process you need to spend most of your time on.
In fact, you should focus most of your time and energy on pre-production. Practicing and planning before you sit down to record something is key to getting the idea that you have down in your head out.
This will also lead to you being more comfortable and confident when you record, which you’ll be able to hear back in your music.
2. Practice Something Every Single Day
We get it. Music isn’t all that you have going on in your life, which means finding time to work on it each day can be difficult.
But if you can find an hour or two to work on something music-related each day, you’ll make noticeable improvements in a short amount of time.
It could be something as simple as practicing a riff for a few minutes or watching a tutorial on how to mix a certain sound. Every new piece of information that you can learn will help you become a better musician, which of course is the overall goal here.
3. Master Your DAW of Choice
Regardless of what type of music you want to make, you’re going to need to find your preferred digital audio workstation, or DAW, early on in the process. Once you find a DAW you like, your next step is going to be mastering it so you can remove thinking from your creative process.
For example, if you know how to use GarageBand and all of its features, you can then focus on your music and creating. That way you aren’t being limited by your tools, but only your imagination.
4. Capture a Quality Recording
If you’ve ever used the social media website Instagram, you know that editing a quality photo using filters is much easier than editing a photo that is blurry or pixelated.
The same concept applies to editing and mixing music, which is why you want to focus on capturing quality recordings when in the studio.
Depending on what you’re tracking, a lot goes into the process of getting a loud and clear recording. With that in mind, good equipment and a quiet recording environment is key to getting something that sounds professional.
5. Pay Close Attention to Mic Positioning
Again, a quiet room and a decent microphone are the two must-haves if you want to get a good recording of something. But behind those two things, the next most important part of the recording process is mic positioning.
Depending on what you’re recording and what mic you’re using, this will decide where your mic needs to be during the tracking process. Watch tutorials online of people recording whatever it is you’re trying to record.
Pay close attention to where their mics are, as this is key to learning where a mic needs to go before pressing the record button.
6. Limit Plugin Usage When Mixing
Every single DAW comes preloaded with tons of awesome and useful plugins. On top of that, you can find many more plugins available to you online, all of which are great tools that can take your music to the next level.
With that in mind, it’s important to note that using too many plugins will do more harm than good.
To revisit that Instagram analogy again, it’s very much like adding too many filters to a photograph. After a while, you’re just left with a blurry mess of a photo, which is why it’s a good idea to limit plugins when mixing.
7. Save Your Work Early and Often
As a musician, there’s nothing worse than making something you like only to have it lost due to a computer or power issue. While most DAWs save automatically nowadays, it’s always a good idea to save your work manually as well to ensure your work is backed up.
A good rule of thumb? Every time you record something you like, save your project.
And when you’ve done some mixing that you’re happy with, save it again. That way if something happens, you’re not starting over from scratch.
Sound Production Tips That Actually Work
Well, there you have it! Those are 7 sound production tips and tricks you can use to make creating music in your home studio a much more positive experience.
Remember, the planning process and practicing often is key to becoming a better musician. That, combined with mastering your DAW of choice and learning how to record the right way, will help you make songs that you and the world will love.
Looking for more ways to get the most out of your technology in your studio? Check out our blog for more great tips and advice!
