Producing music is a hot job right now. There are tons of people out there who want to begin producing music, making it hard to get a job as a producer. Anybody can producer music at home these days, but making music isn't all that music producing is about (even though it sounds like it.
If you really want to make it as a professional music producer, you are going to need to market yourself. If that means burning your beats to a CD and just going out on the corner and selling them for $10 a piece, then thats what you need to do. One thing I would recommend doing is getting backstage passes to some of your favorite artist's concerts and having your CD ready to give them to listen to. I also suggest always keeping a CD handy (you never know who you might run into at the supermarket,You also need to learn the idea of marketing yourself.
If you plan on being a professional music producer, you need to act like one. Be polite, dress nicely (maybe not a suit and tie, but you understand what I am saying). Attend as many concerts as you can, forget about the genre, you can always learn a thing or two about music at concerts, and some may give you brilliant ideas. Go listen to local DJs and get ideas from them, and when they are done performing, give them a copy of your CD, it can't hurt anybody
As for the business part of producing music, read some books on business. A great place to start making a little money is online. You can always sell beats for $30 or $40 each online, but if you are selling beats like hotcakes, you may want to expand. If you ever do decide to expand, it is going to take a lot of work to get to the top. There are thousands of people out there, who are really good at producing music, that want to become professional music producers. They say that street smarts is very important, and I believe that business smarts is street smarts, so you need to be more business savvy if you really want to make it.
Keep producing, work hard, but most importantly have fun. Producing music may be hard work, but it shouldn't be something that you dread doing every day.
LEARN HOW TO PRODUCE YOUR OWN BEAT HERE
Starting a Band
What is the definition of a band?
A band is when you get together with one other person or more to play music. The more people you have in your band the more fun you can potentially have. You should start by trying to get together with your friends. If none of your friends are interested put advertisements up at your school, university or paper.
What is the most important part of a good band?
I honestly think the most important part of a good band is being able to have fun with the other members. I have played in many bands were the music we made was pretty average, but I had a lot of fun.
Do I need to be a good musician to play in a band?
No. Get out there and if no one wants to play with you start your own band.
What is the minimum amount of talent for the other musicians I will play with?
None. Music is about having fun, especially when you are just getting started. Just try and be creative and keeping everything simple. There are so many songs that sound good and are easy to play. Don’t worry about surrounding yourself with experts.
Overview of a basic band
The typical rock band has one singer who may or may not be the guitarist, a bass player and a drummer. However often there can extra guitarists or a keyboard player. Don’t feel restricted by these general rules. If one of your friends plays the violin or some other instrument get him down and try and work some thing out.
What makes a ‘Band’?
More than anything it’s the music that you make together. It is the songs you make and play together as a group. It is an amazing feeling to play together and grow as musicians.
Your very first band
Your first band will probably be made up of your friends, but starting a band can also be a good way to meet people with common interests. You should act like a musical support group. Gently encouraging your co-members to practice and improve. Desire is the most important characteristic for the members of your first band. If you are motivated and keen to play you can achieve you musical goals.
What kinds of songs should my band play?
If your band is made up of your friends then there is a good chance that you will all have similar musical tastes. If you do have different tastes in music then it is important to reach a compromise that keeps everyone happy. Try playing songs in a style that all of you like, if that doesn’t work, each of you can choose a few songs that you can play as a band.
Playing in a band is a lot of fun and I strongly believe that it is never too early to start out playing with other people. As long as you still have time for your own practice try and play with other people as much as you can
Warming Your Hands Up Before Practice
If you have ever played any sports you will know about the importance of warming up. It is important to stretch your muscles and ligaments before you take part in any strenuous exercise. Playing the guitar is no exception to this rule.
When you play the guitar you can put a lot of strain on your hands, fingers and forearms. For this reason it is important to warm up your fingers before you start playing. The reason this is important is that it can prevent overuse injuries, which will hurt your playing.
If your hands start to hurt then it is time to stop playing. Stop playing and identify the pain and assess how serious you think it is. If you have a severe aching pain in your hands or wrists you should take some time off and rest your hands. Next time you play remember to warm up properly.
The most common way that people warm up is playing scales. The best way to do this is pick a simple scale and run up and down it a few times. You should do this slowly at first and build up to full speed.
Also it is a good idea to warm up with some slow chord changes before you get into playing as hard as you can. Try and slowly build up your repertoire of warm up chord changes.
This is not totally related to warming up but when you are playing or warming up try and maintain good hand and body position. This will make a big difference to your playing and reduce the chance of you having any problems with pain from playing.
Warm up and practice hard and enjoy your playing but play safe.
Developing Your Own "Sound"
When you first begin learning any instrument it is important to develop a clear picture of what you want to sound like. What I mean by this is having an idea in your head of what your kind of style you want to be playing. Also you can save yourself a lot of time if your playing has a clearly focused goal. For example there is no need to learn ‘Stairway to Heaven’ if your dream is to become a Country and Western guitarist.
Though I believe developing a clear picture of what you sound like is important you should never take that to mean being close minded of other styles and their techniques. I think it is important to try to develop an individual sound, but you should spend at least a portion of your time at least listening to other types of music.
In your musical life you will probably change styles at some point this is relatively natural and it is a sign that you are developing as a musician and as a guitarist. When I first started playing I played Folk music and Beatles songs these days I play mostly Hard Rock. So though I believe you should have an idea about what you want to sound like be open minded about changing.
What do I want sound like?
This can be very difficult or very easy depending on the individual in question. Some people are inspired to play the guitar by an individual or a band: for these people their chosen style will generally mimic their favorite player. Also if you’re fond of a particular style you can learn the songs and techniques that fit that style.
For people who don’t particularly want to sound like anyone has a bit more work to do in finding and defining there style. The best way to do this is listen to a lot of music and try and play as many different styles as you can and see what you find the most enjoyable and rewarding for you.
Finding a sound that suits you can take some time. For some people this could be years for others it could be a split second decision that comes from hearing a particular player.
For others it may take some serious listening to a lot of different music to decide what they want to sound like.
How do I sound like I want to sound like?
Once you have decided on your style then it is time to learn how to play like that. The best way to do that is learn songs that are classics in the genre you want to emulate. This means learning a few of the most popular songs from the style you like and becoming familiar with the techniques used in these kinds of songs. It is a good idea to learn songs by a few different bands instead of just one. This is so you get exposed to a few different guitarists playing style.
Related to this is using the right kind of guitar for the style you want to play. You don’t need to be too worried about playing the exact same axe as your favorite player. However you should have a guitar that is common amongst players of the genre you are trying to emulate.
Can I make songs in my ‘style’?
I am a firm believer in the idea that it is never to soon to start writing your own songs. Even if you can only write the most basic songs I still think it is worth trying. You should try and add elements from the songs you have learnt. You may find yourself writing stuff that is quite derivative initially, but that’s ok. Just keep working on your playing and trying to get the sound that you imagine in your head into your hands and played on the guitar. Don’t get frustrated if you have trouble some players spend their entire life trying to get the sound they want. Writing your own music is very rewarding and will give you another direction in your musical life
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