Music DIY (Part 1): How to Make Music, Not Excuses

Written by Gordon Beck 

Many artists may think professional sounding music is something only the pros achieve with fancy studios and magic gear. In order to achieve that sound for themselves, they must need to shell out the necessary cash to the gatekeepers, right? The truth is that we live in a time where professional quality is within reach for a single person armed with some software. This isn’t to say considerable time, effort, and compounded expertise aren’t central to the process. But as with anything worth doing in life, those commitments are a given. Artists put off their projects for a number of reasons, but make no mistake, if someone wants it badly enough, they are going to get it. Here is how.

I am someone who has been independently producing and releasing music since 2015 - my credentials can be found here. While I’m not Andrew Scheps, I’ve acquired some knowledge I use on every project that could prove useful. Most of it revolves around doing things yourself and doing them for free. Cha-ching.  If no knowledge of music production is present, don’t fear. This is what Google and YouTube are for. I am of the mind that to truly learn something, one cannot be a passive observer. There must be an element of practicality. The learner must be using their knowledge to actively achieve something and therefore become fully immersed in it. This is something traditional education often lacks. Courses and classes are not to be discredited, but in my experience the bulk of my skill set came from setting out to create something on my own volition and hurdling the many roadblocks with only my intuition and whatever resources I could find. Luckily, in today’s age, there is a lifetime of college level material available at your fingertips, one just needs to know where to look. This, in conjunction with actively using these resources to create something in parallel, has the capability of being a masterclass for anyone looking to teach themselves music production. However, listening to any old advice isn’t advised. Good resources only please. 

Here are some recommendations to get started:

https://www.youtube.com/@Producelikeapro

https://www.youtube.com/@mrwev

https://www.youtube.com/@TheHouseofKushTV

https://www.youtube.com/@andrewhuang

One final bit of advice on learning is this; when gathering techniques and concepts, don’t just memorize them. Try and figure out exactly what is going on and what it means on the most basic level, then work your way up. Simply going through the motions of applying what some guy said online ‘just because’ will teach you nothing. If you understand the ‘why’ of their advice and can grasp what it is that is happening, then you are well on your way to expertise.  

When it comes to hardware, it is easy to get caught up thinking the best and latest is essential to compete, but this is simply not the case. As Rick Rubin says, “limitation breeds creativity.” If you are a musician, chances are you already own an instrument, or maybe you sing. In that case, you’ll need an interface and at least one mic to record yourself. But these are not necessarily required to create music. With some open-mindedness, and a love for electronic music being a big plus, all you need is the software on your computer.  Whatever DAW you use - Reaper and Garageband among others being free - then all the essential plugins are provided. Plenty of free synths, effects, and sample packs are floating around as well. Even getting creative with recording on your phone or laptop mic can produce unexpected results. Steve Lacy is famous for producing billboard charting singles entirely on his iPhone. The results won’t sound the same as a $1000 mic, but this doesn’t automatically equate to being inferior. Learning how to use these limitations creatively to make a new or unexpected timbre can be incredibly effective. Keith Richards recorded through an overloaded cassette player. In other words, the vision of what you are creating trumps gear any day. It’s not what you use, it's knowing how to use it. 

Once your song is recorded, sending it in to be mixed or mastered (or both) by a professional is not a bad move. But if money is tight, or you want the learning experience, then doing it yourself is completely reasonable. It’s important to realize that your first finished project probably won’t sound just how you want it, but that’s ok. It takes many projects and learning from each one to build up a skill set and standard of quality you are happy with. Don’t get bogged down in being a perfectionist over learning and improving. 

Once you have something you think is worth sharing, it’s finally time to put it out into the world and gather some listeners. Cue the confetti! The best move in my opinion is to use a distributor like Distrokid or CDbaby so that your music can be found everywhere. Free, albeit more limited, avenues exist as well such as Soundcloud and Bandcamp. Now comes a big part of the process many artists overlook. Promotion is just as important to the longevity of your music as its quality. There are some tried and true practices such as paid social media ads and using services like Submithub and Playlist Supply, but unfortunately many musicians misuse these services by simply shouting out their projects and/or spamming people to listen to it. This is not the kind of attention your music deserves. You have created a work of art designed to say something. The promotion should do the same. Think of promo as an extension of your art, not something to lazily be tagged on. Music videos, skits, and TikToks can all be done without a $100k film crew as well. You can edit for free using Davinci Resolve, and don’t fret about the camera too much. Casey Neistat uses any he can get his hands on to shoot viral videos. Getting creative with what is at your disposal and having a vision is always key.

This only scratches the surface, but the point is to learn as you go through experience. With enough drive and commitment, projects will get finished and start sounding better and better. Never forget that we’re making music here. Let that passion burn the flames of your creativity and the hearts of your listeners. Now go make some people dance.