Best Record Producers Who Shaped American Music
Born: October 30, 1925February 19, 2008
Years Active: 19532008
Genres Produced: Jazz, classical, third stream, orchestral jazz, fusion
Essential Albums Produced: Bitches Brew, Kind of Blue, Time Out
Quick Bio:
Attilio Joseph “Teo” Macero was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. He was a producer at Columbia Records for twenty years, and most notably co-produced, with Irving Townsend, Kind of Blue, the Miles Davis album which is the highest-ranked jazz album on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
What Laptop Should I Buy For Music Production
Finding a suitable laptop for music production use, basically boils down to a few important factors, which digital audio workstation you plan on using and what operating system you prefer to use is the most important.
Firstly let us take a glance at some of the recommended specs for 3 of the most popular DAWs
Steinberg Cubase
+ 64-bit operating system + Intel or AMD Multicore + 8GB RAM + 18GB hard drive space
Logic Pro 10
+ MacOS 10.12 or later . + 2.3GHz i5 or higher. + 6GB install disk space, up to an additional 57GB for the full sound library.
Ableton Live
+ Windows 7/MacOS X or better. + 64bit Intel or AMD multi-core . + 4GB minimum RAM, although 8GB recommended. + 3GB basic installation, 5-76 GB for additional sound content.
As you can see each DAW will have its own individual set of specifications required to run it, but sometimes that doesn’t take into account any add-ons you might need to run or external plugins you may use. VST instruments can become difficult to run if they are heavily layered and this is especially true of orchestral suites.
The samples and loops you use will also need a large amount of space to store and ideally, this should be from a solid state drive as they can open and access much more efficiently.
The majority of popular DAWs will not run on anything less than an i5, 2.3 GHz dual-core processor. So the processor your laptop has really is paramount to its performance for audio production.
Top Strength: West Coast Style
Few producers have had such an illustrious career as Dr. Dre. His style started out as what we might call G-Funk, then quickly moved into gangsta rap and continued to evolve with the new wave of West Coast artists like Xzibit and The Game.
The pressure has become so high for him to continue to change the game that his next album has been scrapped and restarted many times and likely will never see the light of day. Thankfully the best tracks of each potential album end up being released as singles.
Notable Credits: N.W.A., Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eazy E, 2Pac, Eminem, Xzibit, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, The Game, The D.O.C., Nate Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, G-Unit, D12, Above the Law, Busta Rhymes, Warren G, Young Buck, and tons more…
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Are There Any Particularly Good Places In The United States For Music Producers To Find Work Opportunities
ChristopherVaneman
Director of the Petrie School of Music Associate Professor of Flute, Converse College
As far as place, performers and composers have been pouring out of Brooklyn and Manhattan for more than six months now. “Place” is online in 2020 and 2021. All those with the online skills to prepare audiences for themselves in ’21-’22 will find audiences all over the country waiting for them, and eager to gather in concert halls again.Show more
Top Strength: Sampling & Time Stretching
The RZA launched himself into the big time as the lead artist and producer of the Wu-Tang Clan, going on to produce all of their solo records as well. He’s a veteran of the Horrorcore sub-genre as well due to his work with the Gravediggaz.
He’s since enhanced his skills to the point that he’s been scoring films, TV shows, and video games as well, such as the Kill Bill movies and many more. His orchestration skills grew out of his masterful sampling of soul songs and martial arts movie soundtracks.
Notable Credits: Wu-Tang Clan, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Jay-Z, Earl Sweatshirt, Kanye West, Notorious B.I.G., Gravediggaz, Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, and many more…
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Steinberg Cubase Elements 10 Music Production Software
The best DAW recording software will be worth every penny, and the Steinberg Cubase definitely is. It gives you options that other DAW recording software – even the best DAWs – don’t. Thats why it’s used by many professional producers. Some of the features that are rated so highly include the easy-to-use Chord Pads, its intuitive MixConsole, and Groove Agent SE, which you can use as a drum machine.
The Steinberg Cubase DAW is split into three main workstations, which are the Groove Agent SE, the HALion SE 3 workstation, and the prologue synthesizer. Although this DAW isnt the easiest software to use right out of the box, after a little learning, youll be able to make the most out of the startling number of features that it offers. You’ll soon have the tools you need, whether you’re in the studio or performing live.
Pros: + Very Versatile + Premium, Professional Software
Why We Liked It – THis DAW is the choice of many high-profile, respected producers because of the breadth of options that it offers. Its a complete DAW recording software that you can do just about anything youd want, whether you’re just messing about or want to perform live – that’s what makes it one of the best DAWs.
Advent Of Recorded Music And Radio Broadcasting
At the dawn of the early 20th century, the development of began to function as a to the commercial interests which published sheet music. During the sheet music era, if a regular person wanted to hear popular new songs, he or she would buy the sheet music and play it at home on a piano, or learn the song at home while playing the part on piano or guitar. Commercially released records of musical performances, which became available starting in the late 1880s, and later the onset of widespread , starting in the 1920s, forever changed the way music was heard and listened to. Opera houses, concert halls, and clubs continued to produce music and musicians and singers continued to perform live, but the power of radio allowed bands, ensembles and singers who had previously performed only in one region to become popular on a nationwide and sometimes even a worldwide scale. Moreover, whereas attendance at the top symphony and opera concerts was formerly restricted to high-income people in a pre-radio world, with , a much larger wider range of people, including lower and middle-income people could hear the best , , popular singers and opera shows.
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Connect With Musicians On A Deeper Level
As a music producer, it is your job to get musicians to bare their emotions and weave them into the music they are recording. This is not easy because many people hold back their emotions, especially amongst people they are not 100% comfortable with. There is an element of psychology built into producing meaningful music tap into that.
Are There Music Production Courses & Schools
There are a lot of music production courses being offered nowadays, most of them online. Some great schools to check for music production courses are Berklee, Point Blank Music School, and Icon Collective.
Of course, there are also a lot of free tutorials and courses online that you can gain a lot of knowledge from, and sometimes, thats all you will ever need. Make sure you search on places like YouTube. Plus, put your skills to practice regularly.
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Do I Need A Music Production Degree
Nowadays the most important thing for a music producer is a great portfolio to showcase your work. That being said, it doesnt mean a music production degree wont serve you: by going after a degree you will learn and put into practice your skills and meet a lot of people, but dont rely solely on it.
Which Daw Is Best For Electronic Music
When it comes to electronic music, the choice of the DAW becomes increasingly important. DAW helps musicians produce beats and input mixes together. For modern music producers, it’s hard to imagine life without a DAW, but the ultimate question here is: which one should you buy? We’ve decided to compile the best choices for readers who’re making an entry to electronic music production, and for those who are already a pro in the field.
Ableton is easily one of the best choices for electronic music producers. With its modern features, Ableton is specially designed for electronic music. Electronic music producers can do almost everything with this software because it sounds just as good in live performances as it does in the studio.
Cubcase is probably one of the oldest DAWs for electronic music producers. While this software might not be as easy to learn as some of the others, once you master it, the sky is the limit.
FL Studio can also be your best friend if you’re producing electronic music. It’s one of the favorites of the industry, especially if youre a hip hop fan. This great software is only available for Windows, however. Hard luck for Mac users here.
Now lets move on to different music softwares for different skill sets.
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Top Strength: Throwback Synth
Timbaland busted on the scene and climbed fast with hit single after hit single for big artists. Even in the past he had his own unique style, but in the 2010’s he re-invented his style to include a lot of 80’s influenced synth hits and melodies. From there it was all history as he cemented his slot in the top 10.
Very few producers have a truly unique style that took them to the top. Even among this list, Timbaland is the only who’s carved out his own niche. There was a period of time where at least half of the songs you’d hear on the radio included one of his instrumentals.
Notable Credits: Ginuwine, Aaliyah, Missy Elliot, Jay-Z, Bubba Sparxxx, Justin Timberlake, 50 Cent, Beyonce, Nelly Furtado, Magoo, Lil’ Kim, Pastor Troy, Fatman Scoop, Xzibit, LL Cool J, and tons more…
Top Strength: New York Style
Like the RZA above, DJ Premier is a master of the East Coast sampling sound mixed with old school boom-bap. His samples of choice tend towards the soul, funk, and jazz genres mixed with turntable scratching.
Preem got his start as half of the group Gang Starr with Guru. Since then, he’s not only produced beats for the top artists across the decades but he’s lending his skills to all of the notable up-and-coming rappers as well. He cares about the culture and will work with anyone proving they’re authentic as well.
Notable Credits: KRS-One, Big L, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep, Nas, Royce da 5’9″, Mos Def, Notorious B.I.G., Gang Starr, AZ, Big Daddy Kane, Common, Rakim, Snoop Dogg, Jeru the Damaja, Slaughterhouse, Blaq Poet, Anderson .Paak, and many more…
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Bonus: Span Signal Analyzer
What it is: One of the most important tools in a producers kit is often the most overlooked. Equalizing -EQing- your tracks is vital to producing professional-sounding songs by sculpting and filtering out specific tones from your track.
Why You Need it: To EQ a track accurately, a signal analyzer plugin is essential to isolate and identify particular sounds that need to be corrected. SPAN is a free tool that delivers precisely this. Using SPAN, a producer can check the precise frequencies present in a mix, isolate undesired tones, and use their equalizer to reduce or remove problematic bands of sound.
What Are Some Good Options: SPAN offers multi-channel/stereo analysis, peak/clipping identification, A/B grouping, and more. For those looking for higher-end signal analyzers, Izotopes Ozone 8 offers exact multiband editing as well as automatic clipping removal and programmable tone sculpting.
Dell Xps Thin And Light
This model from the Dell XPS series makes for a superb 16gig, touch display laptop. It would be well suited to audio production use as it is admirably fast. It has 7th generation Intel quad-core processor and a faster memory which together deliver unbelievable speeds.
It is on the slightly bigger side at 15 .6 inches. It has 2 USB 3.0 slots as well as a Thunderbolt 3 multi-use port. This one is a much more versatile choice and will be more compatible with modern audio interfaces. It makes for an exemplary option and is more than capable of dealing with even the busiest workloads in your DAW.
This one has a price tag double that of its 8 gig predecessor we have reviewed but the ram has doubled and the SSD storage alone more than makes up the difference. It also has other fantastic features which make it a great laptop on the whole for a range of general uses.
Pros: + Good I/O options. + Terabyte SSD storage.
Why We Liked It – The response on this one is amazing it boots and resumes in an instant. The terabyte of SSD storage is almost unprecedented and needless to say a highly desirable bonus, ensuring plenty of space for saving works in progress.
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How Rick Rubin Influenced Music
- His seven Grammy wins stretch across all types of music, from rap to metal and country.
- Run DMC, Slayer, and the Dixie Chicks are just three wildly diverse acts from an astonishing number that owe him a serious debt.
- His ability to blend genres can be found throughout hip-hop production and indie rock production.
- Along with Russell Simmons, he is the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings. He also established American Recordings.
Associated Acts: AFI, The Avett Brothers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Black Crowes, Jazzy Jay, Dixie Chicks, Slayer, Beastie Boys, Weezer, Jay Z, Adele, Kanye West, Metallica, Etc… etc.
Rick Rubin Quote
Born: May 17, 1965 New Castle, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Years Active: 1982present
Genres Produced: Industrial rock, industrial metal, alternative rock, post-industrial, synth-pop
Essential Albums Produced: The Downward Spiral
Quick Bio:
Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor has been draping his industrial squall over the music scene for the better part of three decades. Usually with NIN, but most notoriously with Marilyn Manson, for whom Reznor helped create his dark sound. NINs debut Pretty Hate Machine was a proto-grunge shot in the arm for hard rock, fusing industrial noise with samples, forming an unlikely hit. Greater success followed as Reznor honed a warped pop sensibility, changing what was deemed “radio-friendly.”
These Are The Biggest Music Producers Of The Past Decade Till Now Including Rick Rubin Max Martin Andrew Watt Scott Storch & More
Behind every hit song, theres an army of people who helped bring it to its final form. The global charting single Uptown Funk featuring Bruno Mars was the result of over 30 peoples work a team effort from songwriters, beatmakers, mixing, vocal engineers, vocalists, and musicians, all tied together by music producers. Fans have always known the names of the chart-topping artists that dominate the radio waves and tour the globe performing to millions, but the producers behind their greatest hits went unknown.
Despite their crucial role in the development of an artists songs or albums, music producers often lived in obscurity with a lot fewer zeros in their bank account balances. In the past two decades that has changed considerably, the top producers in the industry have commonly been getting featuring credits and gone on to embark on careers of their own, releasing start-studded albums.
Every music producer has their own unique methods, strengths and skills, but the greatest producers are often multi-talented musicians who can envision every element of a song and know how to put all the pieces together. The top music producers play a pivotal role in creating the end product and often do a little bit of everything. They perform, program, write, engineer, arrange instrumentation, create sounds, find samples and guide vocalists in a way that will bring the artists to work to the next level.
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How J Dilla Influenced Music
- Dilla’s resume is long and varied. He’s worked with everyone, from Erykah Badu to MF DOOM.
- His signature sloppy kick drum laden beats inspired great drummers like Questlove to experiment more with off-time and arhythmic beats.
- Dilla’s akai mpc is in the Smithsonian museum. He revolutionized sampling by refusing to quantize his beats. That means that his performances would vary, bringing humanity to the electronic.
Associated Acts: Slum Village, Soulquarians, Common, Bilal, Mos Def, Questlove, Erykah Badu, The Ummah, A Tribe Called Quest, Madlib, MF DOOM, Dwele, Guilty Simpson, Frank n Dank, Phat Kat, Black Milk, Waajeed, Beat Junkies, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, The Pharcyde
J Dilla Quote
You dont pay attention man/thats why your money is the size of your attention span.
J Dilla
Genres Produced: R& B, soul, neo-soul, hip-hop, folk, reggae
Essential Albums Produced: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Quick Bio:
How Teo Marcero Influenced Music
- Macero produced Davis’Bitches Brew, and Dave Brubeck’s Time Out.
- The freedom he gave his musicians led to new developments in the jazz genre.
- Bitches’ Brew and Kind of Blue influenced generations of producers from jazz to hip-hop.
Associated Acts: Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck
Teo Macero Quote
Born: March 14, 1933
Years Active: 1951present
Genres Produced: Rhythm and blues, funk, soul, big band, swing, bossa nova, jazz, hip hop, rock and roll, pop
Essential Albums Produced:Thriller
Quick Bio:
With 55 years in the business, Quincy is about as legendary as they come. He was the guy responsible for “Billie Jean” and “Thriller”, but he did so much more, including 33 film scores. He’s a multifaceted jazz and pop figure who became the most Grammy-nominated artist in history with 79 nominations and 27 wins. He began his career with his Seattle teenage friend Ray Charles, who interested him in arranging. He played trumpet and arranged for Lionel Hampton, then worked as a freelance arranger on many jazz records. He served as musical director for Dizzy Gillespie’s overseas big-band tour , worked for Barclay Records in Paris. This influences would lead Jones to become one of the most iconic and unique voices in pop.
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