Understanding Music

 

Understanding music is such a broad term; it’s impossible to condense it into a few sentences. To give a somewhat dramatic analogy, you don’t need to be a deep-sea diver to enjoy the ocean. We mean that whether you are dipping your toes in or 50ft down, you are technically still in the water.

 

In musical terms, that means you can be a producer with a little knowledge or a producer with a lot. The more you understand the many facets of musicianship and the industry, the more you have to offer as a producer.

 

Here are some of the areas in music that it pays to understand well.

Music Theory: Theory is a divisive topic and one that, quite frankly, often comes with some musical snobbery. So, we will start off by saying this; you don’t need to be a theory expert to be a great musician or producer. Many musicians/producers have little more than a basic grasp of theory, yet they have been able to do amazing things in the music industry. They were able to do amazing things because they are creative and innovative in using the knowledge they do have.

 

The flipside of that is that the more you know, the more options you have. Music is a language, and the wider your musical vocabulary, the more you can say. A basic understanding of harmony will tell you if a chord should be major or minor; a deeper understanding will tell you how to make a major/minor chord more interesting by adding extensions (7ths, 9ths, and so on). The same can be said for scales and modes, the more you know, the easier it is to write melodies that fit the chosen harmony. It also brings results much faster when you aren’t fumbling around the notes until you hit the right one.

Arrangement: Arrangement is one of the most beneficial aspects of music for a producer to understand. Most musical genres have a standard formula when it comes to arrangement. By no means do you have to stay within a set formula, but it pays to be familiar with them. That way, you are in a position to make arrangement suggestions during the production process. For example, if a track is becoming too repetitive, you might want to middle eight to break things up.

Instrumentation: Understanding instrumentation is huge as a producer. Artists will often come to you with an excellent track, a great arrangement, but something isn’t quite right. The fix could be as simple as taking the piano out, replacing it with an electric piano, or replacing a synth pad with real strings. Having the knowledge to make these suggestions will go a long way.

Musicianship: You don’t need to be a fantastic instrumentalist to be a producer, but it helps. It gives you the option to play an instrument (or multiple) on a track without hiring another player. It also helps you relate to the artists’ performance on a higher level, enabling you to pick out any issues, no matter how small. Experience in playing an instrument lets you make suggestions that go beyond theory, into feeling and expression.

The Industry: A good producer should understand how the business side of the industry works. At least to the extent of knowing what’s marketable, and more importantly, what isn’t. An artist often doesn’t look beyond their own music, but if they want a hit record, it has to be something that will sell. It also has to be radio-friendly if commercial success is the end goal; no 10-minute prog-rock singles.

Beatmaker Or Producer?

There is often debate about the difference between a beatmaker and a producer. Some people will tell you that a beatmaker isn’t a producer, yet making a beat is, in fact, producing music, confusing, right?

 

You can be a beatmaker with or without being a producer in the industry-standard sense of the word. The defining aspect is when your involvement in the process ends. If you sell your beats to artists but have no further involvement in their project, then, yes, you are producing music, but you are not a producer in the industry-standard sense. We say this because once an artist has your beat, there is still a lot of work to do before they have a finished track. That extra work could be in arrangement; maybe the A-section needs to be longer, or perhaps more subtle changes like only bringing in the hi-hat for the second half of each verse. It could even be adding entirely new sounds or thickening up existing ones, like adding an 808 under the existing kick to make it punch more. Whatever needs to be done is part of the production that leads to the finished track. If you see that process through till the end, you are a producer, and no one can say otherwise.

 

The only other thing left to work out is what level you are at in terms of your overall production knowledge.

People Skills

Dealing with artists or bands means dealing with different personalities and egos. A producer has to know how to get the best out of those different personalities. It could be playing the peacekeeper between arguing bandmates, motivating a vocalist struggling for confidence, or reading the riot act when you have to. If something isn’t good enough, the producer has to say so. If a producer decides to keep quiet in fear of the artists’ reaction, they are doing the artist a massive disservice. The key is knowing how to approach it; the producer is the glue that holds everything together.

Be Tasteful

We can’t stress this enough; you need to be tasteful. Knowing how to do everything isn’t the same as knowing how to do the right thing. We mean that it doesn’t matter if you know every chord in the book when the track only needs three. Never overdo it just because you can.

The Artists Vision

Some producers are hired because they have a signature sound; others are hired for their versatility. Either way, the producer’s job is always to maximize the artist’s and the project’s potential. That might mean following the artist’s vision fully or asserting your influence to create the best version of their vision. It’s also in a producer’s remit to think logically as well as creatively. That means keeping an eye on things that the artist won’t, like time and financial restrictions.

Conclusion

 

Producers come in many forms, spanning many ability/knowledge levels. Never let anyone tell you that you need to know everything to be a great producer. Never limit yourself by thinking that you know enough, every day is a school day, for all of us.

 

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