14 Music Production Tips for Songwriters (stuff that helps)
Sometime in 2019, after nearly two decades of only writing music with a guitar, I decided to start using a computer.
It was awkward.
Even though I was excited, I felt confused, lost and frustrated — like a creative imposter who would never learn. But I’m absolutely stoked I stuck with it.
So these are my favorite music production tips that I wish I knew earlier on.
Now let’s do this!
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1. Stop Trying to be Perfect
Stop going for perfection. It’s not a place and it doesn’t exist. Instead, do this:
Experiment lots
Write what makes you happy
Don’t wait — start releasing demos on SoundCloud
There are millions of way to produce music. Everyone has their own style and technique.
And no single sound or technique is perfect for every situation or every artist.
For example, Kygo likes to start with the drop but I usually start with a melody or a chord progression (not that I’m in the same room as Kygo lol).
But still, sometimes there’s no plan at all. Things flow and just come out.
So think about how you like to start a song. What’s your style?
2. Produce ‘Big to Small’
I like to produce “big to small” — macro to nano.
It’s like painting. An artist doesn’t bring out their small brushes for details until the very end.
So I don’t worry about stuff like ear candy, dynamics or effects until I get the core direction and melody down.
If I start adding in automations, panning and effects straight away, things get confusing and it’s harder for me to pinpoint issues later on (like a muddy mix).
Also, if I want to change things up, it’s easier this way.
So keep things simple and work from big to small.
3. Step Away Sometimes
Stepping away is my favorite thing to do. It helps with burnout and clarity.
When you’re struggling with a creative rut, decision making issues or you’re not sure which direction to take with a song, it’s best to just step away.
This way, your song can marinate in your subconscious. Often, when you come back, you have new energy and creative direction feels obvious.
So don’t stress if you feel like things aren’t working. Just take a break. Come back refreshed.
4. Use Static Music Production
“I love simplicity. And for music production, this means simpler and quicker music-making.”
Static music production is a technique that emphasizes building out your track using only the basics and core DAW features (like volume controls, aux sends and even a little panning).
It’s your mix before you add all the fancy stuff like effects, compression and EQ on.
The goal with a static mix is to make it sound good, even before you add the finishing touches. If your static mix sounds good, then your finished mix will sound great.
Also, a static mix gives me a better idea for how to layer and choose instruments. I like to avoid panning on this stage also, so I can get a clearer idea of how my song might sound when played on a device that doesn’t use stereo (like a phone).
A static music production technique forces you to focus on the core elements of your track, so you don’t lose the forest for the trees.
5. Avoid Frequency + Vertical Space Overload
If you have too many sounds and instruments playing in the same frequency or pitch, it’ll sound bad and muddy up your mix.
So it’s important to learn about frequencies and vertical spacing.
Here are some quick tips to avoid frequency and vertical space overload:
Be intentional with your sound selection
Watch for too many instruments competing in the same frequency
Use EQ band passes to carve out space
Layer instruments using different octaves
Save space so your lead vocals can sit in the mix
Use the golden rule: less is more
6. Know Which Sounds to Pan
Panning is when you have a track play more out of either the left or the right speakers.
Usually, I like to balance things. So if I pan one sound 30% to the left, I usually pan the same one (or a complimentary one) 30% to the right also.
But if you’re panning just one sound for a creative reason, go with it.
Panning is a staple move in music production. It increases the stereo field of your song and makes things sound wider (so every sound isn’t sitting in the center).
As a general rule of thumb, your bass, kicks, snares and lead vocals ground your song and usually sit in the center of a mix (no panning).
But of course, there’s always room to break these “rules” if it’s a creative choice. Just be intentional with your decisions and listen to how everything sounds together.
Also remember that some speakers (like a phone) won’t provide listeners with a stereo sound experience, meaning your panning efforts won’t be heard.
Again, this why I like the static technique for music production (from tip number one above).
7. Level Vocals Before Compression
“Flatten your audio peaks and tighten up your tracks for prettier sounds.”
Compression lessens the dynamic range of (difference between) your highest highs and your lowest lows.
But often (especially with vocals), that dynamic range is too much for any single compressor plugin to fix — the same is true even using serial compression (which is when you use two compression plugins on the same track).
So that’s where leveling your vocals (before putting on vocal compression) comes in.
For me, I like to just manually automate the volume using a gain effect to take away the *major peaks and valleys in my recording. This will give you a more consistent audio track, so mixing your studio vocals will be a little bit easier.
8. Use Sends + Busses
Here’s how I see sends, busses and aux channels.
Sends are like directions you give to each track. Those directions go to a specific bus. Each bus corresponds to an aux channel where you can add specific effects. And for each track you send to a bus, you can control how much of that aux channel’s effect you want blended in.
This means you can create a main aux channel for each of your core effects and filter them into each track separately, depending how much you want.
You can also send all of your vocal tracks to just one aux channel with your main vocal chain on it (rather than trying to mix each and every track separately).
This makes everything much easier and sounds more consistent.
Although, I definitely avoided this for way too long (let’s just call it laziness). But as my projects got bigger and more complex, I started running into a few problems:
Inconsistent effect settings
Confusion
CPU issues (my DAW kept freezing)
Sends and busses helped remedy some of these issues.
Plus, they’re a great way to glue your mix together and make it sound more professional and cohesive.
So my advice is to learn this stuff early on and get into the habit of using it.
(here’s a helpful intro video to learn more, if you’re using Logic Pro)
9. Watch Other Producers
I love watching other music producers doing their thing.
It’s more passive, but if you stay intentional and actually practice what you learn, it’s incredibly inspiring and helpful to watch more experienced producers make a mix.
Here are a few places to start down your own rabbit holes:
Studio YouTube channel
Kygo has a lot of helpful BTS “making of” videos
Austin from Make Pop Music does awesome tutorials
Jon Bellion is amazing and has some great videos showing his process
10. Avoid Time-Wasters
“Do the things that actually move the needle.”
Music production can be full of time wasters. So it’s best to avoid those.
For example, spending an hour trying to find the “perfect” sound when the rest of your song isn’t even built out yet isn’t making you any better or moving the needle.
(*unless you’re purposely exploring sound libraries to better understand what’s in your toolbox)
So be sure you’re staying productive and doing things that actually having an impact on your growth as a producer.
Here are some helpful tips:
Play to your strengths
Find your time management style
Make decisions quickly
Stop trying to be perfect or “correct”
Stack your cards (a better studio setup, your friends, etc.)
11. Learn From One Step Ahead
If you’re brand new to producing, don’t try to learning advanced technique before you’re ready.
Instead, learn from just one step ahead of your current skill level — not multiple steps ahead. This is working in your zone of proximal development.
You’ll be challenged to grow and improve, but you won’t be challenged too much. It’s the perfect balance.
So produce simpler songs and don’t try to learn everything all at once. Take things step by step. Focus on just one effect, technique, sound or plugin at a time. Master that one thing first before layering another skill or tool on top of it.
After all, it’s a journey to enjoy. So think in the long-term.
Explore more:
➤ Music Production Exercises That Don’t Suck
12. Learn the Staples (avoid shortcuts)
“Leave the fancy plugins (that promise instant glory) behind. Because you need to learn the staples first.”
Plugins and tools can streamline things amazingly — but only if you know the basics first.
For example, LANDR’s FX Voice plugin gives you tons of customizable presets. And while this is amazing, it won’t fix poor quality recordings or tracks that just don’t fit into your mix.
To take full advantage of sexy plugins and presets, you should first know things like:
How to get good audio recordings (without clipping)
How to choose good sounds in the first place
Comping and applying cross-fades
This initial round of mixing will help your vocal preset plugin do its job way better.
So again, no shortcuts!
13. Don’t Be An ‘Armchair Producer’
What matters most is that you don’t just read or watch content about producing without actually doing any producing.
That would make you an armchair producer. So if that’s you, don’t feel bad (we’ve all been there), but it’s time to take more action and work on actual projects (even if especially if you don’t feel ready).
Because tutorials rarely translate perfectly into real life.
So often, I’ll feel totally confident after watching a YouTube video explaining some awesome production strategy, only to find everything falls apart once I try it on my own.
Nuances pop out, questions come up and unrealized weak links in your skill portfolio throw up roadblocks.
The point is this:
If you actually want to learn how to produce music, go out, make bad tracks, learn and slowly get better day by day.
Think in years, not in months.
And of course, have fun. It’s creative play, after all.
14. Find Your Unique Sound
Music production is an epic expression of you. So after you get better at the technical stuff, focus on finding your sound.
Getting good at putting together a track in your computer is only the beginning. But to really stand out, you’ll want to start developing your unique sound and identity.
Musical authenticity is the ultimate goal.
Here are a few things I like to do:
Explore and experiment with new sounds
Look within — be more self aware
Practice intuitive songwriting
Write everyday
Just remember to stay patient with this last tip. Finding your authenticity is the simplest hardest things to do.
Later ✌️
