Advice for beginner producers *specific question*

[Brutedub]

Hello everyone! First off I would like to say hey to everyone and I love these forums. I have been checking out the different posts and tutorials but I have a question. I am beginner producer who wants some tips and advice on how should dive into my production software to better understand it. It isn't enough to just watch tutorials when I want to understand every nook and cranny. What would you all suggest as a great way to best get to know your software inside and out (other than a course which I plan on doing eventually)? I am running Reason 5 on my pc. Looked for a thread about this in a few places but could not find one. Thank you all for any and all advice!

[xTherebythetrees]

Hm, I would suggest that you read the manual.
It sounds cheesy, but it really explains a whole lot!

[Rmonik]

This isn't my idea of a "specific question". Quite on the contrary, this question is open, and everyone has had a different workflow to get where they are now. Honestly, if you're motivated enough, you'll find your own ways to improve your production. We can't tell you how to become a good producer. We can help you with specific questions, about the aspects of production (but since there are so many, we can't give you the total package). So, are there any problems you have encountered?

[Viktor]

I think it is very important too be hard on yourself with critique and don't be lazy, I'd say you just keep producing tracks the best you can and keep reading as much as you can about production, you really have to try and try and try over again before you'll finally get some stuff actually sounding good, there will be a lot of frustrating moments before you get to that point but when you're there you'll notice you really know how to use you're tools and you will be able too make stuff that sounds good consistently. It's also very important to listen, listen to tracks you like and especially ones that you think are well produced. Try to remake elements out of these tracks. While doing all this without too much focusing on 'I have to learn how to use my DAW' you're actually learning a lot. That's basically how I learned (and still learning) to how use Reason well.

[Gastly]

I think it is very important too be hard on yourself with critique and don't be lazy, I'd say you just keep producing tracks the best you can and keep reading as much as you can about production, you really have to try and try and try over again before you'll finally get some stuff actually sounding good, there will be a lot of frustrating moments before you get to that point but when you're there you'll notice you really know how to use you're tools and you will be able too make stuff that sounds good consistently. It's also very important to listen, listen to tracks you like and especially ones that you think are well produced. Try to remake elements out of these tracks. While doing all this without too much focusing on 'I have to learn how to use my DAW' you're actually learning a lot. That's basically how I learned (and still learning) to how use Reason well.

^^This

[ReSet]

I think it is very important too be hard on yourself with critique and don't be lazy, I'd say you just keep producing tracks the best you can and keep reading as much as you can about production, you really have to try and try and try over again before you'll finally get some stuff actually sounding good, there will be a lot of frustrating moments before you get to that point but when you're there you'll notice you really know how to use you're tools and you will be able too make stuff that sounds good consistently. It's also very important to listen, listen to tracks you like and especially ones that you think are well produced. Try to remake elements out of these tracks. While doing all this without too much focusing on 'I have to learn how to use my DAW' you're actually learning a lot. That's basically how I learned (and still learning) to how use Reason well.

+1

In a nutshell, just keep writing tunes, trying out something new each time. Practise makes perfect, as they say

From my experience, playing around and making cool sounds and routings is also useful and a bit of fun, but if you keep cranking out the tunes, it's practise not just for the software but also your musicality, and will help define your own 'voice'.

[mmGhost]

Okay:
1. BIAB.com
2. YouTube
3. YouTube
4. YouTube
5. http://audio.tutsplus.com/

In all seriousness, there are some amazing tuts on YouTube, no matter what DAW you use. A DAW is only a tool, so don't forget to practice your scales, and memorize your music theory! (chuckles )

[JellyAdotMeyer]

my suggestions are 1. make a crap ton of music, don't worry if it sounds cruddy at first, took me several years before i felt i could show my work to anyone(and i'm still a rookie). this will help you figure out whats important and whats not. 2. make tutorials of what you learn along the way, i was into 3d animation before music and making tutorials for that forced me to learn the concepts of that field more quickly (applies to music too) 3. when following tutorials don't try to follow them exactly if you see a cool patch or something see if you can come up with something similar without watching the tutorial right away, if you see a cool ableton live tutorial see if you can replicate it in reason(i do this in reverse fairly often).

[Pokey]

Don't stop listening to music, it will kill your creativity. Everything in here is important. Just keep working and you'll get there...