Take The Next Step With Your Music
Join this unique 5 week live and interactive Music Production Masterclass
Focus on Mind & Music
Find Your Own Sound
The sessions are for people who have already mastered the beginners level and can create their own loops and basic arrangements, looking to improve their tracks and take them to the next level
Creative EQ’ing & Sampling
Understand how to use EQ creatively and technically, to make your music stand out from the crowd, and sound better on all speakers including club systems.
Overcome Mental Blocks to Music Creation
Learn how to use meditation and flow state to enhance your music making. Get out of your head and make release-ready tracks faster.
You Must Start Studying Music Theory
There’s no way around this truth. Without understanding the basics of music theory, you can’t write chord progressions, melodies and bass lines, or even create a basic song structure. As you start learning techniques here, start listening as an active participant in music and try to listen for what you’re learning.
You should start at learning about how musical keys and chords work, then how to extract melodies and bass lines out of the chords you choose. Play around with that for a while then add chord progressions into the mix. From there you can start toying with chord inversions.
That’s enough to take you all the way to the top. You don’t have to get into jazz levels of theory or even beyond an intermediate understanding. Because there’s some other tricks and methods you’ll use that will add a sense of complexity and maturity to your songs. The process of learning how to start producing music cannot be separated from music theory.
Check Out Local Gear Shops
Theres one thing all musicians and producers can agree is important: gear. Another good spot to look for a great local music producer is around the local music scene watering hole known as Guitar Center. Shaun Letang from Music Industry How To shares more:
“Music and instrument stores are often great environments for networking, because the owners tend to be well-connected in the music scene. Additionally, the staff are often part of bands and music projects of their own, and some stores have lesson programs, which means they also employ music teachers. Teachers are likely to be involved in the music industry in other ways, so they might know someone that can help you, or some of them might be producers in their own right.”
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Tips For Applying For Music Jobs Online
When doing a music job search, its essential to stay organized. Keep track of all the places where you applied by creating a spreadsheet or document.
This will help when employers reach out asking about other openings. You can quickly provide them with links based on location/job type etc. This also ensures that you dont miss out on any potential opportunities.
Another piece of advice is to be as specific as possible when applying for music production jobs online.
If a job posting asks for experience in audio engineering, state that that you have these skills. This will help the employer see your relevant qualifications and hopefully lead to an interview.
Here are some additional tips to make sure you make a good first impression and land your next music job:
How Do I Know If I Need A Producer Or A Mixing Engineer
A producer is the creative leader of any album or recording. They oversee the recording, mixing, and mastering of tracks, advise musicians on how to play a track, help artists select the songs to record, and more. A mixing engineer does the technical job of blending all the recordings into a finished song.
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Production Samples What To Listen For
The first thing you should do is listen to audio samples and trust your ears. Considering a producer’s creative involvement in the process, samples should be their pride and joy. Here are a few things you should listen for:
Professional Sound
Do the songs sound like a finished product to you? Depending on the budget, experience and source material they were working with, it may be unrealistic to expect every song will sound like a top-10 radio single. But if the arrangement, mix, vocal and instrumental performance are on par with what you want to achieve, thats a good sign. Find out if they mixed the songs they are playing you. Since mixing is an important part of getting professional sound, the sound quality is in part due to the mixing engineers skill. They might be the mixing engineer themselves. If thats the case, you can expect to get broadly similar results with your mix, depending on the quality of input material, and assuming its a similar genre. So pay extra attention to the quality of the mix. If they werent the mix engineer on the song you heard, you want to find out who was the mixer on these songs, and whether they would be working on your song as well. This may depend on their go-to mixers price vis-a-vis your budget. Its always best to do critical listening in an environment you know well – your room, your speakers or headphones.
Production Style
Did the song samples feel natural?
Best Websites To Find Music Production Jobs
Here are the best online job boards to find music production jobs for music producers, musicians, engineers, sound design, and more.
Music production jobs are becoming more and more popular with the music industry booming, there is a high demand for qualified individuals to fill these positions.
The problem is that many people dont know where to look when theyre trying to find music production jobs online.
This blog post will highlight the best websites that you can use to search for music production jobs. It will also highlight some of the different types of job openings available on each site.
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What Is Music Production
Music production is the process of creating professional music. Music producers oversee everything from studio selection to talent sourcing to music composition to sound engineering and editing.
Heres a quick overview of the skills you should look for in music production professionals:
- Music production, composition, and arrangement
- Audio recording, editing, and engineering
- Music production tools such as Logic Pro
- Project management
I Teach You To Make Your Music
Next course starts:
Find Your Own Sound: Make standout music you love, that’s unique to you
Understand the arrangement process and learn tips for quicker arrangement
Understand how to use EQ Creatively and Technically
Use Creative Sampling to inspire new ideas and beef up existing tracks
Remix like a pro, and remix your own tracks as a production technique
The basics of creating a Pro Mixdown
Overcome mental blocks to music creation
How to use meditation and flow state to enhance your music making
Connect with other like minded producers and musicians
Get feedback on your tracks
Super inspiring and motivating
I really enjoyed Ceris production masterclass sessions and would recommend it to anyone whos at a mid/intermediate level and can lay down a track, but wants to take things to the next level in a relaxed and supportive group environment. I found the course super inspiring and motivating and met some really good people along the way too.
Sophia, London
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How Much Money Does A Music Producer Make
How much money a music producer makes depends on your experience and clout. The producer of a chart-topping artist is going to make a lot more than a producer working for a small independent label. According to the 2016 edition of the Music Careers Dollars and Cents report by the Career Development Center at Berklee College of Music, record producers can make anywhere from $25,000 to $1,000,000 per year, or even more.
Explore Berklee Onlines Careers Page to learn more about jobs in music production.
What Are The Advantages Of Hiring A Music Composer
A major advantage of hiring a music composer for your project is that you’ll get original music to complement your efforts rather than a generic stock music soundtrack. You’ll be a part of the music creation process and, working with the composer, you can ensure that the soundtrack comes out exactly as you want in terms of style and mood. Hiring a good composer also saves you time.
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What If I Dont Like The Music By The Composer
Communicate your expectations and success criteria clearly. Otherwise, you risk wasting a lot of time, money and the opportunity to work with a talented composer for lack of proper communication. The process of composing and arranging music is quite complex and no two projects are the same. Make sure you iron out misunderstandings early, examine the work in progress by feeding back on the free demos to assess the sound quality and style in the context of your project.
Finding A Music Producer: Where Youre Likely To Find One
GSol the Producer working with a young rapper, ZMNY for the first time.
Are you planning to launch your own musical album or a record? If yes, looking for a music producer must be the first task on your list!
But as expected, sourcing for a professional producer that will help your music get out there is no walk in the park. Here are some things you need to know about before hiring them:
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Where Do You Find A Music Producer
Local search Check out local bands and artists. Go to clubs in your area that feature the kind of music you want to record. Or look up your local music scene on the web to see whos playing, then check out their music online.
The big clubs will host touring acts on weekends. Look at the schedule for week nights and open mic nights. When you find artists in a style that matches yours, contact them and ask about the producer and musicians they use or look for the CD credits.
Local studios are a good hunting ground, too. Find out who has recorded there. Ask about producers. Get the names of CDs and go listen to the music. When you find the style and quality you want make a note of the producer and musicians.
Online search A producer doesnt have to be local. Its possible to work long distance if youre comfortable with that. Check out YouTube.com and Tunefind.com. Look for independent artists with songs similar to yours. You can usually find contact information for the artist on a website or send a message through Facebook or Twitter to get the name of their producer if its not available elsewhere.
CAUTION: Check out each recommendation carefully. There are plenty of producers who will say they can handle your style. Use the list below in the section Is this producer right for you? to help you decide. Try to keep the production simple, the price low, and give feedback often. Take the producer for a test drive on a single song.
Robin Frederick
Great Careers In Music Production
Are you wondering what are some good careers in music production? Perhaps youre thinking about getting some gear, and taking some courses online. And maybe, youre wondering if its worth making the investment. Even if its a wise investment at all.
Is there a future for you in making your own beats?
What about scoring your own orchestra tracks for film and video game?
And mixing your own music? Is there any future in that?
Maybe you started out just for fun. Or, maybe, youre concern is for a friend or young family member you want to see the best way to output your or their creative abilities. You want to make the most of your investment.
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The Funnest Ways To Learn Music Production
Putting in serious study and practice doesn’t have to be hard and boring. With music production it’s actually a blast. When you get sick of trying to invent new ideas right out of your own brain there are a few things you can do to keep it interesting and turn up new techniques.
Remakes – I recommend first and foremost to try to remake songs you like. That means figuring out their key, chord progressions, orchestration and arrangement, and recreating it the best you can. You can usually find acapella tracks, too, though I recommend performing the vocals yourself.
Remixes – Another fun method is to create remixes of songs you enjoy. Again, you can use an acapella and even time-stretch it to target a different tempo. Taking songs you’re familiar with and turning them into something completely different is a blast.
Challenges – Finally, I love to create music production challenges. For instance, I once challenged myself to make a children’s music EP album from only FL Studio stock sounds, only in major keys, and it had to be in the genre of world music. I learned a ton from that and the songs were great.
The more you restrict the parameters during challenges, the more creative you have to be, which forces you to expand your thinking and your arsenal of techniques. You end up having to study new genres that have a lot to teach you.
Jobs For Music Producers
Most of what was listed above were on the self-made level career building. And, of course, it is not a complete list of whats possible. But they make very good suggestions for what a music producer can do thats just a little outside of the box. You can easily do many of those things on your own, and enter the various related careers in music production from the side door without having to depend on being hired by a company and working your way up a corporate ladder.
However, if youre just starting out, youre probably going to want to make money. And other than some of the options listed in the post on how to make money, there are other jobs that will take on a music producer.
What we list below are just a few of them to consider for the time being.
10 Studio session musician
If you can play an instrument you could be hired as a go-to session musician at your local studio. This is a great way to be immersed in the whole process of being a music producer, and you can even get your foot into the recording industry this way through creative thinking.
11 Work in a backing band
You can be a part of a backing band in your area. Again, youd need to know how to play music. Most likely, youd be playing in gigs for weddings, funerals, parties, bat mitzvahs, and so on.
12 Sound engineer for church, school, etc.
13 Advertising Jobs
14 Events coordinator
15 Music teacher
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Hire A Music Producer
Hire a music producer at Demo My Song® and collaborate with our experienced team of songwriters and session musicians. Our producers can arrange and produce your song from any stage whether its just lyrics, a vocal melody, or an old collection of your recordings that are ready to be brought to life. Lets finish your songs!
How Do You Become A Music Producer
Many aspiring producers intern or apprentice with an established music producer as a production assistant. They handle details such as scheduling, emailing, setting up and breaking down gear in the studio, and assisting in sessions. In addition to gaining experience, production assistants are in the position to make key relationships and connections with engineers, studio personnel, and artists. These are the very people who can give an aspiring producer a career break. While most producers at the top of the field are freelance, many work in-house for record labels and recording studios.
One way that you can start gaining music production skills and experience is through Berklee Onlines courses, certificates, bachelors, and masters degree programs. Not only will you gain the hands on experience, from anywhere, but youll make connections with Berklees renowned music production faculty as well as producers from around the world at all stages in the game.
The above article is compiled from multiple Berklee Online course authors, includingSean Slade, Dan Thompson, Sylvia Massy,andStephen Webber.
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Investigate Bands That Came Before You And Are Now Bigger Than You
Know of a bigger band from your area? Maybe they started local but made it big a few years ago? Search Wikipedia and check their album credits to see who’s listed as the producer. It doesnt guarantee the producer will be local, but chances are good, especially if its an earlier album. Its possible that the producer on the album is so huge now that you wont be able to book time with them , but you might be surprised to know many producers who have worked with bigger bands are willing to work with lesser known groups if theyre local.
This method has the added bonus of aligning your sound with a band you admire or are trying to emulate. Its a lot easier to tell a producer, “Hey Im going for a sound similar to *insert band name* who you worked with a few years ago,” than it is describing several influences the producer has probably never heard of.