Learning music production is like learning a new language: it's difficult to comprehend and can take forever. Although there's only three stages to music production, there are so many tiny details you need to understand in order to get the final result that you're looking for. When I was just starting, I felt like every Youtube video I watched went too quickly for me, so it was a bit harder for me to get a good grasp of what I was doing. It's been several months since then, and now I feel confident with my music production skills—at least as well as I can be as a beginner. If you're just starting out and need any advice you can get, then you're in luck! My three tips for you are: stick to one Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), watch as many Youtube videos as you may need to, and listen to your music on multiple devices before releasing them out into the world.
1. Stick to one Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).
Some experienced producers prefer to use multiple DAWs for certain parts of music production. For example, they might start off using ProTools to record and mix their vocals, then move their project to LogicPro or Ableton. As a beginner, I found it helpful to just stick to one DAW (at least for now). It's good to get familiar with the DAW of your choice, instead of jumping around to see which one is easier for you. I had a conversation with a local beginning at-home music producer (just like me), and he prefers using Logic over Ableton because it is "beginner-friendly." However, I use Ableton, and I haven't had any trouble figuring out where things are or how to use its stuff. Also, if you stick to one DAW, you'll start to feel confident in what you're doing further along the line because you're getting used to how things work in there. Whereas, if you try more than one, it would take longer to understand what you're doing because they are setup differently.
2. Watch as many Youtube videos as you need to.
There are plenty of people who make "how-to" videos on Youtube, so use them to your advantage! I've been watching Youtube videos for music production well over a year now, and it has definitely helped me get used to everything and understanding the 'language' of music production. For Ableton users, I found Warp Academy, Reid Stefan, and Xole to be most helpful for beginners. In Warp Academy's videos, they go over how to mix vocals. In Reid Stefan's videos, he goes over how to add sauce to your vocals. Xole's videos are also a combination of those two, but he also does specific "how to sound like *insert artist's name*" videos, and "how to make *insert genre*." I tend to watch Xole more than Warp Academy and Reid Stefan, because he goes over everything step-by-step. Whereas, Warp and Reid tend to go pretty quickly in their videos, which may make it a bit harder to understand.
The very first music production videos from Youtube that I watched were actually from kkrex. He uses Logic for his DAW, but his videos definitely helped me get in the mindset of production before I even had my studio equipment come in!
Also, be sure to re-watch any videos that you found to be most helpful! I always go back to Xole's older videos just to freshen up on what I learned from his videos. Rewatching videos will make the music production process go smoother after each project or song.
3. Listen to your music on multiple devices.
When you're hard at work and are in your zone, you may tend to just listen to your work on your studio headphones, but it's important to listen on multiple devices. What you hear in your headphones will sound different when you listen to it on your studio monitors (speakers), regular headphones, and your cellphone. Doing this will help you balance your project when you're in the mixing stage of music production.
