- Focus on how everything sounds like together. - Production is reduction. - If it sounds good louder then it's wrong. Make it sound good quiet and it will sound amazing loud. - Don't Focus on a single sound for longer than what frustrates you. - Spend your time in developing your skills in mixing and arrangement as well - Finish that damn track no matter how bad it sounds, it's well worth it - Your first track is supposed to be shit. - Don't worry about other people's feedback. Feedback on forms isn't going to help really - If you make an amateur track with a 100 things wrong with it you've already accomplished something not a lot of people can do THE GOAL IS TO GROW AND GET BETTER EACH DAY Go print this out and stick it near your Computer. Say these phrases out loud every day. Then make a video for Sadowick in 15 years where you tell him how much you love him because he gave such great advice back then.
Good points. I don't agree fully about listening to signals only at low volume. It's important to critically listen at all volumes, mainly to account for the fletcher-munson effect.
Same here, bit of ADD, what helps is put out a structure template, that forces you to fill in what is needed. It helps me to be motivated to finish, I almost finished a track in Reason 9..
EEK! Yeah I think...... I am watching it now I have seen all the 10 parts but it's not complete song although it is enough for tutorial but I want that song to be complete and yeahhh it helped me alot thanks bro love from India 😘
4:30 get used to produce in -6 db (dont go above -6 db. Dont turn the master volume down. Keep it at 0.) 1. You give headroom for your master 2. As he said if it sounds good in quiet shape it sounds amazing when you turn it up Btw amazing video!
I like what you said about mixing quiet. It's also noticable to point out that as a starting producer, the environment you put your speakers in also matters and the more you turn it up, the more 'excited' the room becomes. Mixing quiet helps reduce the reflections in the room too!
Was this the quote you were talking about at 12:35? “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Your advice is so highly underrated, not only that but its also applicable to life in so many ways. Never stop making my man, ill never stop watching :P
@@caligaselcabron Thanks! Two years later and I'm getting interested in modular synths, but that's a rabbit hole I'm gonna stay away from for a good while, hardware synths are so easy to get obsessed with, I feel broke by even thinking about going the modular "euro rack" tour.
I first started out producing music when i was 15, it was rough. I found music of a genre i really liked and found out some of tracks was done in reason daw and thought to myself if they can do that so can i, like actually gives me some meaning to life even though it's a hobby i was sooo bad, then i went to dubstep back in the day and learnt myself so much about sound design sometimes you need to peak into other genres and be like hello? you'll learn new things..
I just wanted to say thank you for reminding me that mixing louder isn't better. Like most I have the natural tendency to smash my headphones or monitors when getting into a track. The results from producing/mixing quieter are instant. Thanks again.
I have immediately applied two advices from you sadowick. One, finish the track which to me is to bring it to the end of themastering stage ready for release and two MIX IN LOW VOLUE! I have never imagine how there could be so much energy at such a low volume. When I turn it up loud the mix sounds absolutely incredible!!! Thank you sadowick! Absolute golden nuggets in this vid. Couple of Which has already been.proven to me cos I just got of 4 hour mixing session and I feel soo accomplished and great! Kudos, much love 💜
Forgot one! Last but definitely not the least "Production Is Reduction" I religiously followed this advice for the last 4 hours lowering other instruments rather than turning up an already balanced part of the track. Which naturally enabled me to differentiate between situations when to eq and/or compress. Such a great advice!
Don't know why this was suggested to me... but thanks, thanks. :) Such good advices ! We all know these... but to hear them again... especially the "production is reduction" and "finish that damn track" :) Pure gold !
Real good advises. I only add one that change me a lot recently. - "Think like an amateur." The word “amateur” comes from a French word meaning: "lover of". An amateur is someone who does something because they enjoy doing it. - There's to much pressure going on to get trakcs done.. to make the next hit etc etc.... as soon as we get rid off that pressure and start to do things like when we began .. the better. Learn , do, fail, repeat.
The best thing I did in the last couple of years was remove almost all the rockwool acoustic panels I made and installed in my studio. I was under the impression I needed these in my 10x10 room based on misleading forum information I read over the years. I spent years getting no results musically because I was fighting against the panels eating up all the transients and depth in the sound my monitors were making. I tried different monitor setups, angles and anything you can think of, then one day I took all of them out and it opened up the sound of the room completely. It sounds incredible to my ears now. If you have a similar setup as I had and are struggling, try simplifying and reducing and see how it sounds for you.
Goddamn, bro. You just hit me with so many points right in the face! You know, one always watches those videos where someone designs a sound, makes a tutorial about something etc. etc., but this video is as helpful for me as it can get: It hits the most important things i should always be aware of because I'm making stuff wrong. I'm feeling blessed that i found and hit this video. Big thank you, Sadowick!
Thank you for those very inspiring and educational points. I'll be rewatching numerous times until the muscle memory retains your 15yrs worth of struggle. Much...Much appreciated!
Also add. It's ok and helpful to collaborate, even though we don't want to. A lot of popular songs are duo. Then there are the musical genius that only work alone
‘Make it sound good quiet and it will sound amazing loud’ is a tip I live by. I can only produce music at around 9-11 at night because I’m super busy during the day. I have to mix quiet so that I don’t wake anyone up. So when I get the chance to use my monitors and listen to the track loud, it sounds great!
I believe that balance is important. Sometimes you have to compare your work with others, sometimes you have to feel confident enough not to care about opinions and comparisons. This idea of balance could be applied to everything you said and to everything in life. We are human beings and we are meant to change and evolve, and when we fear an idea, we are blocking our power to evolve. However, this fear is also necessary to be able to overcome it and feel heaven. Life is balance.
I've been Producing music for almost 13 years now, and this is sound advice! And at the end of the day we get to be proud that we stuck with our passions! In music, and art, there is no limit, and there is no maximum skill level. There is always another goal, technique, or skill to conquer! Love your video dude!
Really appreciate you sharing here. Such good content. We're about the same age and I started screwing around with production and loops at about 16. Very relatable and producers should watch this.
Great inspirational video. I have a Mac and logic Pro X and Live and Studio One but ended up using Cubase 9.5 pro the most. And came to the conclusion: It's not about what buttons you have, it's about knowing when to push them.
Good advice. Thanks for always being genuine.. I’ve always had a hard time figuring out music production, and it was your Ableton tutorials that really helped get me going. Thanks for all you do
these tips are absolute gold and a lot of people don't talk about these things. I've been working on finishing tracks lately as I noticed it wasn't my forte, and i'm definetly improving as a music producer.
You are spot on. I would word one of your principles this way: finishing a bad track is still educational. It's as educational as finishing a great track. That's just the fact. As for listening at low volumes: yes. There's a great story told by David Guetta about his first success. The producers who liked it listened first at normal volume, then they turned the volume way down, so low David could barely hear it (and he was very young at the time). They said, ok, great. Let's take it to the label and get it out. So, if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for you.
Thankyou for this ! Seriously buddy... I've taken on board a few of those tips and your right, BIG TIME!! quiet producing is so true. And production reduction too. I understand what your saying but this will take some trial and error. Again, Thank you for ALL your videos. You've personally helped me more than you'll know. Hope your feeling better too. Your a soldier and I salute you. Steve, West wales. U.k.
To add to your 3rd advice, sometimes we have to worry about the Fletcher-Munson curve. The curve states our psychological perception of lows and highs increase more quickly than the midrange (usually vocals and string instruments). Meaning if you are working with a midrange component, you have to be able to hear it well even at quiet volume. If the listener turns up the volume and your midrange is attenuated, that means they have to listen to very bloated bass and amplified highs to hear that midrange. Another reason is that good majority of listeners use shitty earphones. And such earphones already have a tendency to have a dip in the midrange and amplify 70 - 200 Hz and sometimes even have very hot highs.
I would like to share my opinion on mixing quietly. Our ears have a different frequency response for different volumes. That's why it's important to check your mix at several volumes. Especially at around 85db! What you want to happen is that when people turn up your tracks, they sound the best. Make sure they sound good on lower levels, but make sure to check them loud. The listener should not be punished for wanting to turn up the volume. In my opinion.
Great advice I've subscribing to for awhile. That being said, remembering to follow said "great advice" when writing or mixing is another. Lol.. That's why I love listening to these types of videos. Keep carrying the water to remind me to quit micromanaging myself to stop with the damn perc saturation before you have a song written. Great stuff Sadowick. Something maybe to add to the list. Using all my self control, I didn't purchase or use a third party plugin till after the first year of getting my DAW. I just focused on learning basic EQing and compression with stock plugins. Maybe a bit sadomasochistic but it's awesome to hear how these plugins work when you come with proper mixed tracks. Just subscribed to the channel...cheers!
just to add a note to the third point; do please keep in mind that when you turn the volume way down, you'll perceive high frequency content to be louder than it really is because human hearing is more sensitive to about 4K
This video encouraged me so much! Great advice for someone like myself who’s fresh out of audio school. I’m working hard to develop good habits and break bad ones.
Watched and subscribed thanks what you said will really resonate with everyone whos wanting this production ish, Ima keep finishing my dead beats until the hits come with every every beat I make it's like I'm breathing in life to a Banger in the future 💥
Good tips. I've heard "production is reduction" used when arranging, where you often start off with too many tracks and ideas or keep trying to add new elements, which can quickly lead to a disjointed track. The solution is often to reduce, stick to common themes, and reuse things in different ways to create variations that are familiar.
Love your channel. I'd like to add something to the point at 4:30. It's very important to understand your specific monitors' handling of different levels. For instance, my Yamaha HS8s have an inbuilt soft-knee limiter. It squishes things the moment you're at 55% gain on your interface. The effect was most noticeable on the layered snare, which was actually louder than my ears told me, although at around 60% gain, everything sounded very well-mixed.
