What Is Music Production?
Music production refers to the process of creating, developing, and refining recorded music for public presentation. It represents the entire lifecycle of a piece of music of a song from songwriting, recording, and mixing to mastering. The activity combines creativity, engineering, and artistry to produce a complete musical piece.
Where Does Music Production Come From?
Music production has been around as long as there’s been music. However, it wasn’t produced on computers until the mid-nineties due to the rapid development of digital devices and computer technology. Before that, all recordings were done with analog devices, which was very time-consuming and cost prohibitive.
Recording a song once was an all-day affair. Today, any skilled musician can create a quality audio product in less than a day without spending much money.
What Does a Music Producer Do?
A music producer is the one who provides the vision, manages the talent, and directs all music production activities. Their responsibilities include providing advice on songwriting, composing, and recording and representing their ideas to potential employers.
They often deal with many people and are instrumental in obtaining all the necessary resources, including studio time, talent, and budgeting.
Pillars Of Music Production You Need to Know
Music Production Equipment and Software
You can’t get started making music without some proper recording equipment. The two most essential pieces of software you need to use to produce a music project are Ableton Live and Logic Pro. These software applications have been used for professional music production for many years and are extremely easy to use.
You can purchase a wide range of additional software depending on your individual needs, but those two programs alone will allow you to start making music immediately. You will require a computer with a compatible sound card, headphones, and microphone.
Producing Music in A DAW
Using a digital audio workstation (DAW), an electronic musician can capture, edit, apply effects to and arrange pieces of recorded sound using a computer. If you have not used them before you will take some getting used to, but they are an essential part of music production.
The technology allows you to record and playback multiple tracks simultaneously; you can record audio alongside MIDI data and apply any number of effects like Graphic Equalizers, Compressors, and Reverb units.
Songwriting And Composition
A composer is the one who creates music. They are typically the ones who write the lyrics to a song and make the melodies and harmonies. Songwriters employ music producers or bandleaders to help create music for their songs. Each piece of music is unique in that it carries its emotional sentiment, but all pieces share many common elements. Thus it’s essential to learn the basics of songwriting and composition.
Conclusion
Music production is an essential part of any musician’s workflow and should be incorporated into all stages of the process. By incorporating music production into your musical work; you can produce a quality product.