I think we gotta have a topic like this.
Ok, here it goes: everybody can post here different tips, hints, advices for producers, things they learned within their music-making experience. Some may have been said already, but I think it's good to re-read them. I'll start:

DON'T BE ARROGANT, STAY HUMBLE! The mentality "I'm the best funk the rest" is NOT what you need to progress. In fact, if you think you're the ish, then you might never advance, because you don't want to learn anymore. BUT this doesn't mean you should think "I'm the whackest" because that is not going to help either.
Be real to yourself. Is your stuff dope? Are your mixes good? Do you think people will like your stuff? Be honest when answering these questions, you gotta know where you're at in order to progress.

BE ORIGINAL, DON'T TRY MAKING TIMBO/DRE/DILLA/ETC TYPE OF BEATS! Don't be a wannabe. Be yourself, have your own style, make what do you feel like, not what you set your mind to, let the vibe get you while making the beat, don't try manipulating the vibe, because you'll be like a fake thing - no one likes fakes, and fakes are NEVER as good as originals. So if average people tell you your beats are different, uncommon, it's a good thing, if they criticize you for that say F THEM, because this is what MUSIC needs - originality.

Ok, now Sab, NFX, 2nd Man, Saha, Mart, etc's turn.

STOP IN TIME, DO NOT OVER DO IT:
Do not add things to your beat without a reason!
You do not need that Shawty 808 sound in there, seriously, you don't.
You do not need that compressor on the snare or that uber hot new limiter on the master buss.
No, not true, don't listen to them.. You don't need it.

If at any time during your beat making session your own head stops from nodding and you start staring at attack and dealay values. STOP! Take a step backward or come back to it later.

The single most detrimental thing to alot of beats is what I typed above. Seriously people, don't add that shaker in there just because you think it will fit the norm better, add it because it makes your head nod harder.

And like KTK said, don't try to please everyone. Simply because you never will. Make music because you love it, not because you wan't to be loved by doing it.

Sometimes simple is better. A lot of people overdo FX, drums, and so on.

learn and read and listen... discuss...practise...a lot

Think outside the || box || ... Don't let that damn carboard keep you inside XD...

Honestly... Anyone using a digital setup, don't forget to actually play the music...

Take off that quantize every now and then or stop drawing in notes in your step sequencer and play your drums live just for the hell of it, learn to play melodies, samples, whatever.

Oh yeah. After hearing a lot of the beats in this tournament..

Please stop putting south type drum sounds in eastcoast type beats and try using some rimshots that didn't come out of an 80s drum machine. 

Alchemist said something along the lines of "Once you start doin music for the money, it will funk up the whole way you do music."

As simple as that is it makes a lot of sense. I've been through this myself. Trying to sell beats and then just realizing i do music for me, and anyone who loves the vibes I create.

The money will come with time.

PAY YOUR DUES!!!!!!!!


I STILL GOT TONS OF DUES TO PAY!!! If you even gotta ask yourself, then so do you! haha
-------



But on another type of a tip

If you don't know scales..Use the chord tool in the piano roll and paste a scale in a random MIDI OUT channel that's not connected or ported to any instrument.

Then turn on the ghost note setting and you can free style in another piano roll without knowing the scale in your head.. But it will most definately help you learn.

Have some dicipline, alot of people have a hard time keeping promises they make to themselves.
dont EVER catch yourself going ''ah well, ill just watch some sitcoms and finish mixing that beat later''
sitcoms suck, and on top of that itll make you really lazy, cause youll start doing it more often and at the same time beatmakin will start looking like more of an obligation then a fun way to spend your time.

Try new stuff, lately i've been really lazy with my stuff, always using the same old schales, same old style of drums, same old chords.
you may not realize this, but doing that will completely kill your motivation, cause all your stuff will start looking the same and youll get bored making it.
try to add something different in each beat you make, that way all your beats will be more unique compared to each other.

Music theory, if you are using a midi keyboard of some sort, learn some music theory
its probably been told a million times, but i cant begin to describe how much it pays off.

Kentucky fried chicken, before a studio session, ALWAYS eat some kentucky fried chicken.
their hot sauce contains vitamin F# wich stimulates the part of the brain wich is used for creative thinking.
this part of being a producer is vital, recent studies have shown that kfc regulars produce twice the amount of work compared to a stuck up dietist.
if your questioning this theory, ask yourself, what would you rather be, a fat millionaire or a healthy bum?

Expand your musical horizon, listen to music genres you were never interested in before.
even tho you might still not like em, but theres always different techniques in them that make the genres unique.
listen to beethoven, listen to salsa, listen to deep trance, listen to heavy metal, listen to emo stuff, listen to anything, seriously it helps.
correction, dont listen to emo stuff.. just dont.

spend some monay, if your really serious about producing, invest in yourself. spend that extra 30 bucks on a drumkit, or some bucks to get a keyboard.
or maybe even things like the soundclick expansion. even the smallest of these things make a difference. every penny helps!

Read, read articles on the music industry, read books on audio engineering, read harry potter.
learn as much as you can on what you are doing. theres no such thing as ''knowing too much'' in music.

Posted By Soul Purpose Ent. on 08 Jul 2009 06:34 PM
Have some dicipline, alot of people have a hard time keeping promises they make to themselves.
dont EVER catch yourself going ''ah well, ill just watch some sitcoms and finish mixing that beat later''

*Looks in the mirror*

SPE President !

DO IT FOR YOURSELF AND YOURSELF ONLY!!!! trying to make music to impress just cripples the imagination

r prod dropped some serious knowledge there...especially the not listening to emo stuff XD

It's tme for some producing techniques!

** Notice: I do not take any credits by the following information I'm about to display.. The rights for this article are owned by 'Modernbeats.com'.. .

See the courtesy I have being a customer from 'Modern Beats' I get free top producer tips!

Check out this one I'm about to share wth you. It's called 'Flamming your kicks' .. . Try it out. It's really a nice technique.. ^o^!

Quik Tipz: Flam Your Drumz like tha Pro's
By ModernBeats.com

An advanced hip hop MIDI sequencing technique that many pro's use is what is known as a "flam". The technique is mostly applied to a drum pattern's snare or clap, and sometimes the kick as well. MPCsounds reveals how to create skilled hip hop flams below...
A "flam" is a unique double-slap percussive sound achieved by triggering two samples quickly, side-by-side. Depending on the tempo of your track, this quick double-triggering can be as fast as a 1/32 or 1/64 note (and even quicker for more subtle effects). Also, there are numerous types of flam timbres you can create such as flamming the same 2 samples together (Snare A with Snare A), flamming 2 different samples together (Snare A with Snare B), flamming the same 2 samples together yet each having a different EQ (Clap A high-passed with Clap A lows boosted) and so on! A good example of a flam using the same 2 snare samples together can be heard in BuyaBeat.com's NEbeat23-1.mp3.
Three Main Ways to Control a Flam's Feel:
1) The first way, of course, is the amount of space the 2 flamming samples are set apart from each other such as a 32nd note or 64th note apart etc. As you experiment with spacing, you'll quickly realize the flam's feel varies greatly changing this parameter alone.
2) The second way to control the flam's feel is how you set the note velocity & amplitude of each sample. You can arrange the flam so the first sample acts as a soft velocity "ghost" note that precedes the second sample which is louder and higher velocity/amplitude values. Also, you can reverse the order of velocity settings (loud-soft) to create the complete opposite dynamic feel!
3) The third element of controlling a flam's feel is in the timing & placement of the flam within the drum sequence. For example, you can sequence the flam so the first note of the flam lands directly on the main pulse of any given bar where the second note of the flam acts as a slapback or ricocheted hit occurring after the main pulse. Moreover, you can achieve the opposite feel by offsetting the flam's timing to where the second note of the flam lands directly on the main pulse instead of the first. This effect causes the first note in the flam to act as a pickup note leading into the main pulse flammed sample...
While flams are traditionally used on snare and claps, kicks can be flammed as well. However, due to low frequency conflicts that result when flamming kicks, more care and skill must be applied. Stay tuned for our "Know How to Flam Kicks Correctly" tips email to discover the secrets on creating professional sounding kick flams in the style of 50 Cent and more!

isnt flam some sort of german food...?

no

Next producer tip!

This next one is about finding the kick tonal resonance.
Enjoy!

Quik Tipz: Find tha Kick's Tonal Resonance
By Modernbeats.com

Sometimes it may be difficult to identify which musical note or key the kick is resonating at. For an easier method in figuring which note/key the kick is resonating, temporarily transpose or pitch shift the kick sample to exactly one octave above it's root pitch. This will allow you to more easily identify the kick's key because mid to high frequency pitches are easier to discern when compared to low frequency pitches.
For further clarification of the kick's true key, you can transpose the kick's pitch up 1 additional octave and then sweep its pitch back down in octave-by-octave increments, confirming that each octave reveals the same resonating note/key as the other 2 octaves. With this greater span of referenced pitches across 3 whole octaves, you can be confident you are accurately identifying the kick's tonal resonance and key.
Lastly, upon identifying a kick's pitch, you may find the kick does not resonate exactly 100% over it's closest note or key. We highly recommend adjusting the pitch using "cent" values until the kick's peak resonance lands over the nearest musical note exactly. Repeat the above procedure for all the kicks in your production until you have identified the resonating note of each kick used.
After going through the motions a couple of times, you will no doubt have become a pro at pinpointing ANYkick's tonal resonance! Stay tuned for exciting additional tips on becoming an expert at matching a kick's tonal resonance EXACTLY with a song's key while eliminating hard to find bass conflicts!

lol @ ti finding out what the ctrl+c button does..xD

^ ** Remark evaded, status: uneffected xD **

LOL TI i dont understand the ish what are you talking about -_- sciance fiction damn


<-----stupid kid

Posted By JG Beats on 08 Jul 2009 04:32 PM
Alchemist said something along the lines of "Once you start doin music for the money, it will funk up the whole way you do music."

As simple as that is it makes a lot of sense. I've been through this myself. Trying to sell beats and then just realizing i do music for me, and anyone who loves the vibes I create.

Could not agree more. Ever since I've had a little success selling online, I haven't been as consistent with my music, which is why I've taken a break for now.