If you’re interested in making music, you might be seeking out music production tools, particularly if you’re looking to capture and share the music you create. This being said, there are a ton of different options on the market, and it can be hard to figure out what you should be using, especially if you’ve only recently gotten interested in music production tools and so haven’t been listening to the subtle effects of them in your favourite tracks. To help you out with this, the following will look at a few crucial considerations you might want to keep in mind if you’re searching for music production tools.
Understand Output Options
Before you start going crazy with effects, instruments, and tools, it’s important to understand what final product you’re looking to create with your music production tools. It might be a digital recording you want. It might be a vinyl record you’re hoping to create. Make sure that as you look at the different tools available, you keep in mind the final form you want your music to take. This can help eliminate several options very quickly. Of course, never assume that you can’t convert one output into another form using additional tools. Be prepared, though: each thing that touches your music is going to leave a mark on it.
What Alterations Call To You?
When searching for music production tools, you need to understand that every tool will impact the sound of your music, even if only just a little bit. Because of this, you need to be focused on the impacts you’re interested in. Whether you’re looking at creatively using distortion effects or wanting to capture the murmuring of the audience before a live show begins, every alteration can help contribute to the completed song. The tools you use are part of your musical style, and you need to be thinking about how they’re going to do that.
You also probably want to think about the effects you don’t like and want to avoid. By knowing this, you can skip over the music production tools that impact your sound in a way that doesn’t resonate with you.
Listen
You might also want to spend some time listening to music. You’re likely someone who does this anyway, but for the next little bit, pay special attention to any effects, echoes or impacts you can hear within a given piece of music that you like. Many musicians think about the effect of music production tools as the texture of a song. Research what tools were used to create the textures you like the feel of. Many artists share their process on their social media pages or in interviews. Sometimes they’re also open to answering questions about their work in their DMs. It’s often far easier to figure out what went into a given song than you’d expect.
Likewise, think about the song textures you dislike and what you dislike about them. Research what was used to create these effects as well, so you can avoid the impacts you don’t want your music to suffer.
Play
Music is an abstract language that almost surpasses the very concept of art because it’s so intuitive. It’s something that communicates directly with our subconsciousness. And for some reason, this language responds really well to the concept of play.
Why not take your time to rent or borrow tools or go to a music store that allows you to fiddle with things before you buy them and play with the different tools available? Why not use those 7-day free trials for digital music software? Experiment.
It’s best if you partake in this play without having watched tutorials or read guides on using a particular tool. This can help spark creativity and let you know whether a tool is right for you and your creative process or not. As well, by seeing what you intuitively do with a given tool, you leave yourself open to making some cool or creative discoveries that can positively influence your musical skills and tastes.
Makeshift
Makeshift refers to making something out of whatever is on hand. It’s a wonderful practice in all the arts, but especially within music. If there’s a particular sound you’re looking to capture or create, you might want to try using the wrong tool on purpose. Take something you already have on hand and see if you can get it to make the sound you’re aiming for. Chances are, you won’t get 100% of what you’re seeking, but you very likely will discover a new sound that you like just as much, if not more. By experimenting and misusing music production tools, you can stumble upon some really spectacular musical avenues that can help shape your style and sound.
This is particularly important if you’re going through a musical phase where you want to sound like a musician you admire. Copycats almost never stand the test of time with their art, but that doesn’t mean mimicry isn’t an important part of the process of you finding your own unique sound. See if you can recreate their sound with different tools; this can often result in you presenting your own twist on a cool vibe or sound, carving out a little niche for you as a musician in the process.
Go Back To Basics
Every so often in your musical endeavours, it’s a good idea to go back to the bare essentials—just you and the most basic instrument you can find. That might mean humming or clapping; it might mean the memo app on your phone. By stripping your music down every once in a while, you have a better sense of what your work sounds like when it’s ‘naked.’ This can help you better understand how different music production tools ‘dress up’ your work and let you feel each of those tools more completely.
Hopefully, the above information has gotten your creativity flowing and has you excited to pick up and try out different music production tools. When you’re making your final choices, be sure to search online for any discount codes before you purchase. You can sometimes find remarkable deals if you think to Google them before making an online purchase.
