Random music production tips that have helped me over the years!

1 - Choose your samples and instruments wisely. Source sounds will have the single most influence on a mixdown. Find sounds that work well together right off the bat. Don’t be afraid to audition many different kicks, snare and play around with a variety of tones (at the right stage of the process, of course).

2 - Focus on songwriting first and foremost. It's 100% the most important skill when it comes to making music. It can be super easy to switch over to engineer mode while creating a song, but remember most people won’t notice those tiny details we obsess about. They’ll mostly be focused on how the music makes them feel which is usually because of the composition (structure, melody, harmony throughout the piece). There’s no point in getting a perfect mix if your song doesn’t leave a lasting impression on the listener.. Think how many legendary songs might not have had the “best” production vd how many "great sounding" song are forgettable.

3 - The fastest way to improve is to write a ton of music. Constantly consuming information will NOT get you where you want to be. That’s not to say tutorials, tips and tricks aren’t useful, they certainly are, but you need to put what you learn from them into practice. If you have 2 hours of free time I would suggest using 1:45 working on music and 15 minutes learning something. This is exactly what the entire Workflow Wizardry system is designed around, taking massive action.

4 - First impressions are important. Make sure your tracks captures the listener and hooks them in right away. If someone loses interest in your song and stops listening, or worse yet skips it, it doesn't matter how good the chorus or the drop is. With the sheer amount of music out there and short attention spans this is so important!

5 - It’s important to have fun. You will learn the most when you are in a creative flow and enjoying yourself. However, you might not always feel as inspired to work on your projects. At this point focus on something that really excites you. Whether it’s learning a new skill like sampling, learning an instrument or exploring a different plugin in your DAW.

What's one of your best tips?

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