NFX posted on February 21, 2007 09:21
Judge and Improve. Study and Grow. Participate.
Anyone who wants to be great at anything must work for it. I read a study that stated it took on average a minimum of 10 years for someone to become an expert at something. Now if you're sitting back and not worried about learning your notes or scales then it is probably going to take more than 10 years for you. If it ever happens.
One of the most important things about any creative endeavor is
not the final product but the journey. If you are a creative person there will be many products that serve as markers of your development. Picasso used to do regular 'academic' style art work before moving into his "Blue Period" to "Africanism Period" then to "Cubism", the period in which he made some of his greatest work.
With regards to audio production careers it works the same. Dr. Dre started doing electronic dance beats, sampling James Brown like every other DJ (at the time), and has progressed to where he is today with his solid production. Dre never attended any audio production classes either.
Getting and giving feedback is important for growth. It can help you to see areas you should improve. If you make awesome drum patterns with crappy drum sounds you need to know.
The easiest way of getting feedback is to use this
forum where you can submit your tracks and receive feedback from other participants. If you do this, make sure you participate in
GIVING FEEDBACK after receiving it. Anexcellent place to do this is by using the
Beat Feedback System we have here at Warbeats.
You'll be amazed at how much you start to learn from other peoples work as you listen to it with a judgemental ear. It's beyond "that beat is wack" or "that beat is fire". When you start noticing how a snare is too loud, or a sample isn't looped right, or the transition from verse to chorus is rough, you are starting to get into the expert zone. Most people can't express these things in those terms. To most listeners, it's good or bad, but they don't know why. When you start to know why, you start to apply that knowledge to your own compositions.
Don't forget there are a ton of resources out there to help you learn. Take advantage of them. You can usually build a good deal of sites after finding one or two good 'producer' oriented forums. The forums here are always filled with links to other information, and participating in the beat feedback system is a great way to get your start. Of course Warbeats.com has a lot for you so don't sleep on it!