5 Ways To Become a Speed Learner At Music Production

MY GEAR:
DAW (Music making software): Logic Pro and Ableton Live
Studio monitors (speakers): Yamaha HS8's
Headphones: Audeze LCD X (open back)
Camera: Canon 80d
Computer: Mac Studio with M2 Ultra chip and 2 TB hardrive
Midi controller (keyboard): Komplete Kontrol 61
Interface: Scarlett Clarett 2 pre
Desk: a cheap one from ikea
Chair: also a cheap one from ikea

My favorite plugins that I use the most:
XFER Serum
Sylenth 1
Nexus 3
Kontakt
RC 20
Valhalla Shimmer
Valhalla Vintage Verb
Shaperbox 3
XFER OTT
Fab Filter Saturn 2
Fab Filter Pro C 2
Arturia Pigments
Baby Audio Comeback Kid
Output Thermal and Portal
LABS Soft Piano

Hardware that I use behind the scenes but not in videos:
Elektron Octatrack (my fav)
Elektron Digitakt
Korg Minilogue XD

[frankvet]

One of the few dudes who's using/teaching the latest tech/software to get on track quickly and efficiently. The hardware, tools and software advance so quickly... there's a real time-suck risk if you go down the (wrong) rabbit hole with older tech/software. Thanks bro.

[danielnewman]

Ive been producing for 3 years now. Even though i havent taken your classes directly but i hust wanted to say thankyou my gut. Your videos have hrlped me so much. You still do. Ive released 44 tracks on major platforms out of the 400 ive created. Your advice is gold you have a great way of keeping thevviewers attention.

[LohPro]

something i've found works for me, is to "limit" myself in regards to the gear & options I usually have available. for example, one in a while, I will take a single synth, a guitar & a small recorder & just make music. i have no templates, no room full of gear & options, no internet to distract me, etc. by "limiting" yourself, you really start to think out of the box & more freely, which allows the music & creativity to just flow naturally.

[oliviacolburn]

#4 is fantastic advice for learning any type of skill. On that note, the easier it is to access practice, the easier practicing will be. If the best DAWs are intimidatingly complex, it's completely fine to start on a simpler one with fewer features. It's better to practice with a simple tool than to not practice at all.

[EXTRNLMUSIC]

That last tip is so true, I never gave myself deadlines and I’ve been making music for 5 1/2 years. The last song I just made is probably one of my best and I got it done in less than 3 days. I used to do a little here, a lot there, wait and then go back and change stuff. That deadline is so crucial. Thank you Alex, your content is always spot on and so informative!! Love your channel bro!

[Sundji]

You're so right. I've been getting better at just opening the DAW and making something for 30 minutes. Just feel good about it and forget about it. I need to start doing it daily.

[VentureNW]

Tip 4 is big... I hit Live hard every single day for a good year (probably a bit too long, but I learned a lot) and then took a bit of a break. Getting back into it and it took me a bit to remember my workflow. Workflow is gold and there are a lot of tools out there, such as using templates and, in Ableton, using LES (Live Enhancement Suite). One of the big things that I noticed, as a benefit from taking a break, is that I really didn't like some of my workflow. You come in with different eyes, I guess. I have spent the last month, creating spreadsheets of all of my plugins and ensuring things are up to date and that I have a use for them. Any free plugins that I've downloaded over the last 3 years, better have a use, or they are gone. Cleaning things up and creating a new 2023 sample favs is also important. I now have an archive of samples that I can go back to and possibly link back out to my 2023 list, without having to move a thing, due to the way that Ableton allows you to tag things. Makes it really easy. I have also found a couple of M4L devices that also help improve workflow. Its all about workflow, when you need to just create. So here I am, a month later, still working that out. The good news it just keeps getting better. Don't get too sucked into the newest, latest, greatest plugin, like I did for a bit. Remember what you have already.

[rkit]

Fantastic advice! I've been incorporating everything that Alex has been saying in this video and can confirm that I have made significant progress as a producer from doing everything mentioned in the video. Short, and straight to the point. Thanks Alex!

[jswingle]

Great advise, I’ve been learning a few months now and found not to focus on one song too long while trying to learn….. ive made a habit of grabbing a random audio loop everyday and forcing myself to build chord progressions that work with it. Has made a big difference in my learning! I also like using a few apps that spit out chord progressions and i see what i can arrange with it. Has made my chord building much faster when i build my own😉

[Beans_Le_Bard]

I'm just finding this guy for the first time and WOW, his methods are helpful! I've been producing for years but often find myself at the mercy of perfectionism so I love the deadline routine. Also, he seems genuinely interested in the music and helping fellow artists improve rather than just chasing clout. I am grateful to have stumbled across his videos!

[Chris-cfkp]

It should be noted that chatGPT is not reliable for the creative part of arrangement, and you still have to know what you're doing going into it. It often gets diatonic theory wrong and mixes dominant chords up with those of different keys, and will often get the chord qualities of chord types wrong when you need specific key signatures or you're working in a set of parameters, in my experience. You still need to teach yourself music theory and how those fundamentals work. If you know those basics and the really important fundamentals like essential music theory, you can direct chatgpt to do a lot of cool things though, like making chord progressions, correcting it when it misses the mark, and having it convert sequences into midi data. It can teach you how to do things if you know what that content should generally be that it teaches you - you really have to be conscientious with it and keep it accurate though. It's really good for building yourself flow charts, step-processes, and logical layouts of how to learn subjects though, if you ask it for those things.

[Tridan]

Nothing but great advice here.... thank you very much for taking the time to do this.

[JZ]

Great advice thanks Alex - Especially deadlines and quantity over quality.. Opening DAW every day is a great one too.

[pablolimorte]

This is pure gold made into words, Thanks!! 🙏🏻

[katstark_]

Thank you. What I needed this morning. Great tips!

[hudspace]

There’s some real wisdom in these tips, so glad you posted this one!

[adebayooluwafumbimicheal]

YOU ARE REALLY A BLESSING TO ME. THANKS FOR POSTING THESE VIDEOS

[davidliddell]

BRILLIANT! You always have great information and advice but these 5 tips are spot on. Thank you!

[pedrobrocato]

Alex, your EDM Boot Camp is absolutely amazing!!! Thank you, brother 🙏🏽

[EdKidgell]

Excellent advice! Definitely implementing this approach.