Learning music production for authentic results

Some thoughts on how to learn using a reference track but not ending up like a someone’s clone

That’s a great question, Doron. I’m in a camp with those who suggest learning and training your ears using a reference track indeed, and I do agree that stores are flooded with similar music with a lack of originality. But I don’t think that using a reference whilst learning is what caused this.

Train your ears using a reference track

You see, there is a difference between analyzing and trying to recreate certain sounds for educational purposes and deliberately copying someone’s else music. When you just start out, you seek answers for the questions that puzzle you: how is this bassline made? Is that a saw or a square wave? Does my lead sit well in the mix? And learning other producers’ music is a great way to answer them. Those who want to blindly copy others’ music will find a way, anyway.

When I started this blog, people often asked me something like “are you not afraid sharing your trade secrets so the others will steal your tricks?”, and I always said, “no, I don’t”.

For example, I shared the way I made the robotic texture and atmospheric effects used in my tracks. There is nothing really fancy about it, it’s all basic stuff for anyone with a decent experience, but for beginners, it might be a breakthrough. “Hm, so he made the texture using a simple noise oscillator and a filter... what if I’ll change it to a saw wave instead? And do this instead of that?” — that type of thinking I would advise you to have when you read a tutorial or when you use a reference track. Think of a general concept, a method that can be implemented in so many ways rather than using any given tutorial or reference as it is. This is how the learning curve goes.

I would also like to talk about two more things: the format and the content.

Let’s take newspapers as an example. Typically, there are some current events printed on low-grade paper, probably with some logo on the top and a big bold heading. You know it’s a newspaper just by looking at it. But I don’t think anyone accuses “The Guardian” of ripping off “The Time” or vice versa, or any other newspaper cloning each other. That’s because a newspaper is just a format of the production.

Now speaking about music, all those kicks, basses, mixdowns, etc. are just a format of some particular genre. Let’s say, you know it’s a Psytrance when you hear a certain tempo and beat patterns. But you shouldn’t solely focus on that alone, and I think this is where many producers fall off.

Beginners forget that the content is what people listen to music for, the same reason why they read the newspapers. And when I say content in terms of music, I’m don’t mean a fancy kick drum but rather a feeling, emotions that this track awakes in you; something that will make you want it to listen again and again. How to create interesting music content is another huge topic, and it’s a talk for another time.

Fellow producers out there, I’m keen to know what do you guys think about it? The comments box below is open for you.