Top 5 things beginners miss in music production

Wish someone had laid these out for me when I was starting out!

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Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:43 Miss #1
1:41 Miss #2
3:48 Miss #3
5:36 Miss #4
7:16 Miss #5
9:43 Final thoughts

[andrewhuang]

Leave a comment if you have more tips to share or if there's anything you want me to cover in the future!

Some links for you:

[CaptainTedStryker]

The thing I like most about Andrew is he genuinely seems to enjoy sharing his vast musical knowledge. He wants everyone to love music as much as he does.

[quantumphlo]

A few of the tricks I like to use:
1. Have a secondary vocal track that emphasizes certain lyrics. I often make this layer wide with the lows cut to support the lead.
2. Add background ambience to your track to put it into a "place" like a beach or forest and then use filters/eqs/reverb to create natural sounding risers/down lifters.
3. Subvert people's expectations with song arrangement. Don't fall into the pattern of or
4. Add an instrument solo or call and response style licks to compliment your vocals/lead melody. I often "respond" to my own vocal with a guitar riff or synth lead.
5. Use negative space to create anticipation prior to choruses/drops. The absence of sound prior to a drop makes the drop hit much harder and builds the feeling of anticipation for it.

[BrokenScreen_desu]

I think there's one tip that many people miss: Don't be afraid to automate stuff. Whether it's a simple volume automation, a 6 minute long filter cutoff automation, or turning on and off 8 different effects in the span of 2 bars. Automation can be really useful to add variation, and if you use it right, you can make one sound turn into a completely different sound in different sections of the song! I use that for kicks for example. In one drop I'll have a kick, and in the second drop I'll have the same kick but with a lower pitch and more distortion. Really useful stuff!

[stachemo]

Tip #1 IS SO TRUE! Use random stuff like a pan or whatever to make grooves so much more interesting!

[winst]

I haven’t felt inspired in over a year to make music but these tips made me really excited to get back into it again!! Thank you!! 🌟

[xmgaming]

Tips 1 and 2 can both be done with the right kind of foley sounds, by the way. And they don't always have to be the highest quality if they're buried in the mix, just take your phone and record random things around your house or whatever. The offbeat and unpredictable nature of a lot of these sounds make textures that would be hard to deliberately create with a synth or recorded instrument.

[endresac]

1:39
ANDREW HUANG! A PERCUSSION 101!! DO IT!!!

[bruoche]

What I love most on the topic of chorus and repetition is when what's repeated is recontextualised rather then just changed, both via lyrics and instrumental by having the same idea repeated but the evolution of the song or the emotions linked to it giving a new meaning

[aaronrobinson]

Andrew's songs I always come back to:
- Liftoff
- Dorian
- Bookmobile
- Miracle

And now Julian, was just listening to it this morning.

[SUBCHVRGE]

The fit is giving 90's Madonna and I'm here for it

[reset_rt]

Very big on Miss #5! I like to use something loose called Rule of 8, where something different occurs every 8 bars, either by adding/taking away a track, changing what the instruments are playing, chord progression, etc... just ANYTHING

[BrokenScreen_desu]

I'm only 5 seconds into the video but HOLY SHIT THAT OUTFIT!!!! I'm so jealous!!!

[MilesKvndra]

Great tips - I’d add automating more parameters in general of sounds using automation lines or modulators like LFOs to keep the sounds interesting and evolving.

[yomega]

The difference between the ear candy at 3:17 and without it at 3:30 is SO STARK that's wild! So helpful to have them in comparison thank you for such fantastic educational content!

[ralphstaal]

Dude, I cannot fathom how clearly you can explain things - where were you all my life. Thank you

[namjahs]

man these vids are a public service, thanks for being a gateway into the music creating world for so many (including me!)

[BradyBeatsandTheTokenGirl]

First video we saw of you…. Went to your YouTube expecting more outfits lmao 😂

[vvlvmusic]

Great selection of misses, thanks for that.
My counter-miss would be: leave room for something. Not every section of a song has to be as dense as possible, with layers upon layers of ear candy and harmonies and effects. It can be very effective to deliberately focus on a single element or on a very reduced version of a section.

[BobbyDoesMusic]

Andrew's mom said they could be anything they wanted, so they became a disco ball (respectfully; it looks great!)

Fantastic tips! Thanks, Andrew!