if you're a producer/beat-maker/rapper/singer/guitarist,etc whatever... you need to enjoy what you're doing and find passion in it. don't worry about what other people think (to an extent). you need to be consumed in your artform,craft, etc. to the point where it's not only your image, but its something that you enjoy regardless of success, fame, money, etc.
+MagmaGruntMichael music theory isn't required for beginner music making (though it becomes more helpful the longer you play). Start wherever you want to. Karaoke, rock band (drums), start messing with a DAW, learn keyboard/piano (probably the best if you want the classical music/"pro gigger" path), get a cheap squier guitar or bass, play in your school band/orchestra if you're in school, choir if you're in school/church, get a pocket operator or novation circuit, get some free phone apps, mess with some free software like seq24 or bosca ceoil or sunvox, get a used instrument of any variety in local classifieds (and clean it before use lol). Get some bongos or tamborine and learn to play along with a metronome and/or backing tracks. The possibilities are endless.
Depends what you want to do. If you want to start making beats, then you can get Fl studio pretty easily (if you know what i mean *wink *wink). RU-vid is a great education source, there are tons of tutorials and such to get you up to speed. You can also learn music theory on youtube so there is that if you ever decide to pick up a piano or guitar.
Right now I have an acoustic guitar and FL Studios, Im taking an intro guitar class and Fundamentals of Music next semester. Hopefully I can spend this summer learning both the guitar and FL Studios and then using my classes next semester to improve my knowledge, its just hard because I dont have a direction of where I want to go. I think its just getting over the frustrating stage of learning where its hard to enjoy what your doing
I recently quit making music at the age of 30 (after around 13 years) because I was delusional about both my abilities and my aspirations. Looking back, I wonder how much I ever enjoyed the process of making music, and how much of a factor prospective personal recognition was. It was an egotistical thing to do, to pursue an art with more of an interest in myself than my work - but I did it. Don't do what I did. If you love making music, you'll never feel like you wasted time or energy on it. If you don't love making music, though, you're robbing yourself of becoming the person you deserve to be - the real you, and the happiest you.
Really appreciate this comment and the self honesty. Takes alot for someone to look at something they once wanted, most likely more than anything, and accept that 1) its probably never gunna happen 2) my heart was in it for the wrong reasons. Im 25 and at a similar road. I genuinely love making music but I also love the idea of being noticed for said thing. Hope youre doing well in the 2nd phase of your life.
Yeah, As an aspiring musician myself, Sure it would be cool to become famous, But that's ultimately not what I'm trying for. If 100 people, Or 10 people, Or even just 1 person that I don't know discovers and enjoys my music, I view that as a success.
If you like it, do it. Also, as a sidenote, there's a "Wesuckatproducing" subreddit, where people are reviewing each others mixes/productions. Would be great if more people join and provide feedback to others :)
I’ve been producing and composing ambient music for a couple months now and I’ve lost a lot of motivation lately. I really think I needed to hear this. Thank you Melon
motivation comes and goes in my experience. The best advice is really to sit down, think about a weakness you have that's making it hard to produce, and get better at that thing. You'll have a goal set that you can overcome, some sense of progress, and that can help get you back on track
Like I’ve posted some of it onto my soundcloud, any feedback would be much appreciated soundcloud.com/fvhrenheit/while-she-sleeps soundcloud.com/fvhrenheit/alone
Just a suggestion but you could make like a segment called "I Review Your Music" and it could be like the "It came from bandcamp" series. Where it could be a once a month thing or whenever you feel like it. Idk.
We all want to be that person who is so creative that nothing will stop them. It's kind of a fantasy though. In reality even if you enjoy making music, it can be incredibly tedious. For example altering the velocity on each drum hit trying to make it sound real. A large part of the satisfaction is when someone tells you how much the song you made means to them. The other day my friend told me he listened to one of my songs for an hour on repeat. When I get compliments it really spurs me on and make me feel like what I'm doing is important. (even though I know it's not important.) When I upload a track and no one listens it makes me feel it's pointless. If we make music just for ourselves there would never be a need to record it. I could just play it on my head or be happy with a dictaphone demo. (Oh and just in case someone is curious and clicks on my channel those songs are OLD and I've improved since then so don't judge me.)
I used to be. I truly believed I was going to be famous and everything I recorded would be discovered as canon. Then I actually did get a taste of success and got fucking DESTROYED. People are assholes in the music biz. And I hit 30 and said wtf am I even doing. And my music writing / recording hit the skids and now I write maybe 10 songs a year instead of 100.
You ever feel like when you listen to music the stars and the planets align? Everything is perfect in those short few minutes and maybe you not only want to listen to it but make it yourself and hopefully give someone else that feeling? Or maybe you just like it? Go for it and keep at it. That's what I feel like and It's what I want to do
Many people believe "talent" to be this magical ability you get (or don't) when you're born, they often forget getting good at anything takes time, work and motivation. Glad to have one of those good old inspiring videos again, Anthony.
It's just what I've always wanted to do. I've always loved hearing it, and I've always enjoyed playing and making it. I want to affect lives through it.
i think the big thing pushing driving me to "become successful" is i have spent most of my time doing it and ive lagged behind in school. at this point, if i want any college or anyone to consider me for a decent paying job it would be near impossible to do(yet still that slim chance). i know that if i dont make something work, ill be on the streets or suffering with my folks. i get jealous of younger, more talented artists who have thousands coming in every month because once they get out in the world, theyll have a safety net. i have sort of dabbled in graphic design, video editing, and sound design, but i feel like if music really doesnt work out ill be stuck. i want to make music, but i want respect/approval/impact this started as a question but really its a cry for help/vent
This video is REALLY IMPORTANT. Not only for music but for art in general. I see thousands of "photographers" who think if they have a nice camera, they will have thousands of followers and become famous. Thanks again fantano
"Even if people did not pay you to make it, you'd be making it anyway." Excellent point. It's important to highlight how fun making music can be and doesn't entirely have to be profit-motivated. As long as it's something you're into, don't stop. Music has much more value than how well set it makes your bank account.
If anyone asks that, the answer is no. Making art is fucking hard, but no one will make that decision for you. Ridiculous. You should keep going, even though it's hard and you'll second guess yourself constantly. Everyone second guesses themselves, even the greats. But they kept going.
Dom's Sketch Cast your answer is kinda contradictory but I agree with the point you are trying to get across. You make music because you have to. Plain and simple. That's the absolute simplest way to put it. You do it because it is just not an option to NOT make music.
I make music because I enjoy it, I can play a bebop scale on piano for hours until I find the licks I want, I enjoy experimenting with different sounds and unorthodox techniques. It's just fun dude, that's why I make music idgaf if it's good, I NEED to make it
I make music because I love doing it. I listen to music almost the entire day and it’s basically my life. I love composing melodies, beats, riffs, writing lyrics and mixing. It gives me joy. I also don’t fix on just one genre or subgenre. I make whatever I want. Yesterday I made a black metal song, today I started a melodic house track. I love it.
Idea for a video or series: you review music of not very well known musicians. Your viewers get to find more amazing music, and the musicians get some free promotion ^^
Frank Zappa mention, loved it, and the ending note was spot on, finding yourself takes time, real effort and deep thought but its hella worth it when youre thinking and creating for yourself. Takes time
I hear you. If you’re a true musician from the heart, you turn to your instrument, no matter what. However: if you never even get close to the game, if no booking agency is interested, no one buys or even downloads your music from Bandcamp, then yes you can tell yourself „it’s just cause I’m not a 16 y old girl bc that’s what the industry wants right now“.. but either way over time you get bitter. And bitterness is a fn harsh taste in your mouth. So apart from the total SLAM!-reaction of making music as a recluse to never measure your music by the ignorance of the outside world, what is there?
Thanks dude, I've been realizing recently that I've been worrying too much about the quality of what I make but this really confirmed it. I'm just gonna have fun and hope I improve.
my idea is this: when starting off you should have fun and get to know your tools, nobody is good at the start and thats okay your learning but when you decide this is what you want to do then start taking it serious and putting in the time. Realise there is so much competition that its not about trying to flood the market but instead making stuff that is genuine and can identity with you
Slowly trying to become a great artist by learning how to produce music and learning instruments and also trying to better my vocals. I always find myself watching your videos a lot and I enjoy them. I hope to meet you one day Melon boy.
M E L O N!!!! I could say the same about any kind of art to be honest. You gotta keep doing it for the passion & love you have for that craft & if money & fame came then good.
Keep making music only if it makes you happy. I’ve listened to your old music from 2008. It’s still good because it’s raw. I personally enjoy your music.
I like when you said don't make music to be famous. And don't consider yourself a failure if you didn't make it. It's also about adding what you made to the pantheon of what came before. And archiving your music properly for people far off into the future to enjoy.
I totally resonate with this. I've had so many moments of self doubt I'm my songwriting and instrument playing, where I know that I suck. I even look back on some of the older songs wrote and I cringe a little lol. I think I'm just above the point of making garbage songs to the point where I'm making bad songs. I think at this stage I'm just experimenting with a bunch of ideas and finding what works.
You should do a video about good ways to reach out to blogs/critics as a small time independent musician, based off of the good/bad demos you've been sent.
Absolutely agree. Practice makes perfect but you can't practice without the drive to do it. I always practice even for a little bit despite the lack of time I have, although I don't practice as much as I should. If I practiced more I would probably be great.
I've never really paid attention to your score at the end I see what your reviewing if I haven't heard it yet I check it out and decide for myself I thank you for opening a lot of doors for me and that's why I watch we are all different... But yeah I don't care what they say bout you Mellon your alright...
I do respect the content you put out of course. I'm on the fan wave. But I do believe your doing all of this because you would want to do it without the recognition. I do hope however your using this experience to move to a different platroom. I really could see you doing well in a radio side of media or something along that. But thank you for the video.
im a hiphop/rnb producer but im not trying to do the usual way of putting some mainstream beats on youtube and hope ppl buy my shit im looking for artists and help them do some great songs and then hope that one of them goes viral and ill just keep doing it until people appreciate my work
I make music because I like to. Something about it makes feel good (weird I know). I just feel accomplished when I can finish a track and get to listen to it after. I'll bump my own tracks for awhile then make something new. I like to make things i want to hear.I try genres I like even tho I'm not that good right now, but in time I'll be better. It's a hobby right now but I want to do something with this. I want to have a future with my hobby. It will take a while and some hard work but I'm down to do some grinding. For now I just like making nice beats.
Hey Anthony, sure you get this question a lot, but it would be amazing if you reviewed independent musicians work. I'm talking about musicians with a very small fan base, it could be great exposure for them and exciting for you. Please like this comment, I need Melon's attention
I dont agree with every review But I can respect your opinion and have a great respect for your ability to express yourself using examples and critical thought
