Improve your EDM production skills with close listening
Whatever your style of music, understanding how great music is crafted, layer by layer, will help you become a better producer. The technique of close listening can help. Read more.
record producer
Actively test – and improve – your listening skills
Making decisions that improve the quality of your final product – based on what you’re hearing – is the basic skill underlying all successful music production. Here are some strategies for improving your listening skills. Read More.
Prepping for the recording studio, Part II
While rehearsing your musical parts is one key to success, these other considerations will have a huge impact on your time in the recording studio. Read More.
The people who make music, Part II: Artists and producers
I divide the people who make the music into five categories: musicians, songwriters, engineers, artists, and producers. Part I looked at the first three. Now we explore the artists and producers – and control freaks. Read More.
The people who make music, Part I: Musicians, songwriters, and engineers
I divide the creative entities who make the music up into five categories: musicians, songwriters, engineers, artists, and producers. In this post we’ll look at the first three. Part II will explore the artists and producers. Read More.
Different types of record producer deals
While the role of a record producer is typically understood by most artists, the business aspects are more confusing. What follows is a brief rundown of when a producer may first get involved in your career and how the deals are structured. Read more.
Are you ready to work with a vocal producer?
Traditionally, a record producer is tasked with the big picture – the entire recording process. A vocal producer is a specialist who concentrates on getting the best vocal performance possible. We spoke with David Pramik to learn more about the role of a vocal producer and what benefits an artist receives when working with one. Read more.
A record producer’s pre-recording prep work
It never fails to amaze me that many people who identify themselves as record producers commence work on recording projects without knowing anything about the songs or artists they’re going to record. Yep, people are getting paid to make records without knowing a single note of the music they’re going to be working on. Read more.
The record producer and pre-production
Record production is comparable to a wide variety of jobs – from office manager to school teacher to film director to lion tamer (and clinical psychologist). But at its core, record production is mainly about being a conduit that helps the entire creative process flow – a record producer’s primary directive is to help the artist excel. Read more.
Butch Vig on record production
Butch Vig is synonymous with the sound and legacy of alternative rock. His work with Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and Smashing Pumpkins rewrote the rulebook for guitar-centric rock production. Vig sat down with iZotope to talk about his creative process, production philosophy, and his affection for iZotope’s Trash plug-in. Read more.
How to find and manage session players for your studio recording
Recording your own music can be an amazing and challenging experience. Case in point, your band’s newest tune is begging for a raucous fiddle solo or a cool cello line, and none of you have worked with either sort of instrumentalist before. How do you find the right player? Read more.
A study in record production: Miranda Lambert and Beck
As you prepare to self produce your next recording project, take time to study record production that inspires you. The role of a record producer is critical to any successful recording project, it’s the creative guidance and vision of what the finished recording will sound like that makes a producer most valuable. We take a look at tracks by Miranda Lambert and Beck. Read more.
Psychology and the music producer
What’s the most important thing to focus on as a music producer? Enthusiasm. Even if you’re telling them it’s not a great take, be enthusiastic about the fact that you think they can do a better job. You have to be good at focusing the artist and getting them to do the best they can. You have to make sure that nothing is condescending and that the tips and feedback you give are constructive. Read more.
Home studio posts – recording tips for producers, engineers, and musicians
This post was updated September 2018. Ready to learn how to record your music in your own home studio? Looking for advice on recording and music equipment, acoustics and mixing? We’ve got a ton of guides, blog posts, and articles we’ve published over the past few years, and we’ve collected most of them here for you. Read more.
In the studio with Trevor Horn
Trevor Horn is rather unique among his peers in that he enjoyed a highly successful career as a musician before moving to the other side of the glass. As half of the eighties pop duo the Buggles (he was the one with the nerdy glasses), he co-wrote, co-produced, and sang lead on their smash hit “Video Killed the Radio Star,” perhaps best known today as the first video ever played on MTV. He and co-Buggle Geoff Downes were then briefly integrated into prog-rock kings Yes (an experience he later described as “awful”) before he made the decision to end his touring days and focus full-time on record production. Read more…