
David W. Pontius
Member
Hello,
(Brief legal disclaimer, this is my personal opinion, not a guidebook on how to make a zillion dollars in the music industry.)
I am somebody that has spent Way too much time on the internet learning about things in the most inefficient manner possible (by being a jerk who tries to do it all on their own and is "surprised" when they don't succeed), and am here to give you some Genuine Advice:
Short version:
P.S. - The reason I say all this is because all I ever Really wanted to do in Life was make my own "perfect" audio/music production software and hardware, from the ground up; even the human-readable language used to create the manual would be proprietary, if I had my way.
P.P.S. - Not to sound sappy, but this is basically my letter to my past self.
(Brief legal disclaimer, this is my personal opinion, not a guidebook on how to make a zillion dollars in the music industry.)
I am somebody that has spent Way too much time on the internet learning about things in the most inefficient manner possible (by being a jerk who tries to do it all on their own and is "surprised" when they don't succeed), and am here to give you some Genuine Advice:
Short version:
- Figure out what One, or maybe two, steps you want to do in the audio/music production process by exploring the different roles (musicianship, recording/mixing, mastering).
- Develop a reputation for keeping your word (Very important for doing business with others) and get good at doing those One or two things.
- ???
- Try to make money. (Not necessarily enough to live or retire off of, just enough to help cover bills.)
- I tried to learn how to do Everything from music theory/composition to playing piano to recording to mixing to mastering [and even some about computer programming], while being a complete jerk who kept on breaking their word; this is highly Not recommended.
- It is by FAR easier to figure out the One or two steps you want to do by trying new things a handful of times
- For me, that would be First mixing and second music theory.
- Then, find people and resources that tell you What those things are, Describe the methods and tools which can be used to get the tasks accomplished, And lets you practice getting the work in.
- For example, the part of YouTube that DOES know what it is talking about (some people on there are complete idiots, no offense), Wikipedia, Home Recording, SoundGym.co, etc.
- Get your practice in.
- Then try trading your skills for some money (not a ludicrous sum, just something).
- If things work out, learn about the Laws pertaining to the industry.
- Otherwise, know that you didn't do what I did and tried to learn about Everything from how the 1's and 0s work on a computer to freaking Pythagorean tuning on your own.
- Success is never guaranteed in life, so, instead of choosing to think of everything in terms of absolutes (to succeed is to win vs to fail is to lose), think of it more like I gained knowledge and experience that is either Accurate vs Inaccurate.
- The more you know how to do correctly, the less you cannot do for yourself, and, even if things Don't work out in the long run, the real value in doing anything Difficult is not the Destination, it's the Journey.
P.S. - The reason I say all this is because all I ever Really wanted to do in Life was make my own "perfect" audio/music production software and hardware, from the ground up; even the human-readable language used to create the manual would be proprietary, if I had my way.
P.P.S. - Not to sound sappy, but this is basically my letter to my past self.
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