No doubt, this has been asked before but live feedback is easier. I'm comin in from down under, Australia, hip hop is absolutely ish down here and i wanna change that. So what does everyone think it takes to become a good producer, in terms of experience. Knowing the piano is a must, yea, no? Plus DJing, does it make a difference other than knowing what sounds good or not? The heardest thing for me would be blending in different instruments, how do you get the flow of merging different sounds to make feeling in song and all that, what would make that easier

On a side question, anyone know how dr Dre started out, i know he did some DJing aswell without taking any music classes, does he even know how to play notes or does he have naturally good choice of tones ha

Im usin FLStudio by itself and thats it, so ya know. I made one decent beat so far. West Coast is what im goin for, towards g funk. Whats som advice on that.

dedication and a good ear...... learning as much as you can will also help you

Noone knows the exact answer to this question.

I could tell you now that you need to learn basic music theory like scales, chord progression bla bla bla, and invest money in HQ Sounds and so on and so on. Everybody will tell you the same thing.

But if i were you, i would look after a "Plan B" first. Hip Hop bizz is damn hard nowadays...you have to think realistic. So many ppl out there who are trying to make it in the game. And in times where record labels don't make much profit because of illegal internet mp3 downloads it's hard to find someone, who wants to pay for your beats. You should really care about some kind of a back-up plan first and than concentrate on your music career. Because it's more about how much luck you have getting discovered, rather than how good you are. If you don't have some kind of a music genius in you, you'll need something special and unique to separate you from the rest.


If you already have all this i would start off local. You can hustle through internet sites like soundclick.com, myspace or whatever and sell your beats there. But you won't get many face to face collabos over the internet.
Try to reach for some local artists in your hometown or somewhere near. Give out some beat mixtapes so that ppl hear about you.
Just ignoring the local hip hop game only cuz you think it sucks isn't the right way...you never know who could actually make it one day. Maybe it's some random dude from your hometown lol.
Just try to work with as many rappers as possible,  get to know ppl. Build some connections. They will help you in the future somehow.

ish all u need is a good cracked version of FLStudio and warbeats.com and ur on your way

dedication and hard working

Stay humble..
Unless you're the king of RnB and the sax god lol!

Posted By =_WeMo BeaTz_= on 09 Sep 2009 06:58 AM
ish all u need is a good cracked version of FLStudio and warbeats.com and ur on your way

correction. all you need is a bought copy of FLStudio and warbeats

about the Dre thing, he composes most of his beats, and if he uses a sample he will more than likely get it replayed so he can add it it he has said on a number of occasions he doesn't really like samples cause they limit his creativity lol.

Also, atm he is learning sheet music so he can eventually compose music scores and more 'classical' pieces for when he gets a cotton top head and goes all grandad on us

just make beats & research ....you well get better and better and never stop learning new things and uptade ya swagg...t.i. also stay humble.....i would agree on that

You need to stop reading stuff on some random ass forum and get workin.

my words of wisdom when working with people...be nice, but don't kiss @$$.

Posted By 2nd Man on 09 Sep 2009 12:46 PM

Posted By =_WeMo BeaTz_= on 09 Sep 2009 06:58 AM
ish all u need is a good cracked version of FLStudio and warbeats.com and ur on your way

correction. all you need is a bought copy of FLStudio and warbeats

spelling mistake on my behalf i meant "copy"

lol...

serious producer : the correct mind set

successful producer : knows the craft, be professional, know how to manage people and give directions... If you're beat are fire, people will be encline to follow what you say no matter what... Read A LOT ! Recording, mixing, arranging... Because while it was different disciplines in the past, nowadays a producer has to be able to do it all.

One thing that is really important is vocal coaching ! Producers (especially in rnb) should be able to do that... and it's not easy.

thanks for all tha advice but i think i shoulda used skilled instead of serious..musically, what can be done to get a better flow of music, like recreating songs and just studyin on beats, thats what im asking..is there a such thing as a producer who doesn't know scales and chords. I know what your sayin with, keep on making beats and youll get better, important thing for me right now is learning how to put a bass line with something like a piano and strings with a funky guitar strum or som ish that have got their own sound going, you know what i mean, its overwhelming thinking of how to match these beats together to make one beat, you know, thats my problem and question, does the skill come along as you produce or do i keep on observing as many songs as i can and try and recreate them is what i thought of unless you come up with a repetetive simple beat that catches on like Hard Liquor by Game.

With the dre thing, im talkin in his NWA days, anyone know if he knew piano back then

Posted By notoriouswog on 09 Sep 2009 11:06 PM
thanks for all tha advice but i think i shoulda used skilled instead of serious..musically, what can be done to get a better flow of music, like recreating songs and just studyin on beats, thats what im asking..is there a such thing as a producer who doesn't know scales and chords. I know what your sayin with, keep on making beats and youll get better, important thing for me right now is learning how to put a bass line with something like a piano and strings with a funky guitar strum or som ish that have got their own sound going, you know what i mean, its overwhelming thinking of how to match these beats together to make one beat, you know, thats my problem and question, does the skill come along as you produce or do i keep on observing as many songs as i can and try and recreate them is what i thought of unless you come up with a repetetive simple beat that catches on like Hard Liquor by Game.

With the dre thing, im talkin in his NWA days, anyone know if he knew piano back then

Everything comes with practice. This means you need patience...a lot of patience.
I doubt there is a major producer out there, who doesn't know scales and chords. Basic music theory is essential for doing this. There are ppl who have perfect pitch or can play 100% by ear. But without that, you need to study some theory. Atleast the basic theory.
How fast you will improve depends on the talent and dedication. Without that, there is nothing that sets you apart from the average. You need to understand how music works and what's essential for creating good music.

And about Dr. Dre...many sampled base producer back then didn't know music theory...everything came with time. BUT that has nothing to do with your situation right now cuz it was much easier to get in the game back then, than it is now.
I'm sure Dr. Dre would have a harder time to get discovered now, than in times of NWA.

Just keep in mind that you need to bring a lot more to the table nowadays.

There *are* producers who don't know any music theory at all. It is possible. I too am one of those people. I've been producing for about 7 years now and I don't know any chords and scales and all that ish. I play by ear and have always done that. *My advice* to you would be to learn scales and all that ish... Playing by ear doesn't work for anybody, and I takes alot more time x)..

passion and determenation and belive in yourself
....for example...when i started.....i was listening 2 some people beats and i was WOW and asked myself "i wonder after how much time and work will i be able 2 make ish like that"....so in no time i have made it(dont get me wrong i still have loooooooooooooooooong way 2 go LOL )