YOUR EAR IS KEY

Always try to bend the rules, use whatever tools you have in unorthodox ways, but do it with your ear and by trusting your ear. Training the ear is probably the most important part of anyone’s process to become a great producer. There are of course tons of resources out there to tell you how to use a certain plugin or sound, but once you’ve tried those, start breaking the rules and trust your ear. There’s no right or wrong way of doing things and by using stuff differently, you can create your own voice. Your ear is your best instrument. Don’t care about anything else: experiment.

Dynamics are vital

Dynamics is probably the most important aspect of music. It’s an important way of conveying the mood of your music and your use of dynamics is a marked element of your performance; it adds variety and contrast. This applies from the very first note that you record on your DAW up to the mixing and mastering process; shifting from quiet to loud moments and vice versa makes a huge impact on the listener. Get creative and figure out how you can apply it in your music. As Debussy once said “Music is the silence between the notes”.

Being organised

Organisation is one of those subjects that a lot of people might not focus on, but as much as it’s not technical advice, I think it’s crucial to consider this. Some people might even say that artists are crazy and messy by nature. This could be true to some extent, but for me personally this has been the most important factor of my creative process. From keeping my studio clean to organising my files and folders in my computer and making backups, I think having a nice and tidy environment where you’re creating your art is crucial because it keeps your mind off of any disturbance and then you can only focus on your music. This has been psychologically proven.