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What are some key Music Production Techniques?

Updated: Feb 13


Adam from AM Music explain Music Production Techniques

There are many different music production techniques. Music production can broadly be split into 5 phases; composition, recording, editing, mixing and mastering.


There are many different available techniques involved in each of these phases, I'll break them down in more detail below - although this is far from a comprehensive list:


Composition


  • Understanding music theory - melody, harmony, counterpoint

  • Chord progressions - Voicings and inversions, tension and release

  • Keys, scales and modes - modal modulation, relatives


Recording


  • Microphone technique - the proximity effect, Blumlein

  • Microphone placement - 3 to 1 rule

  • Microphone types - condensor, ribbon, dynamic

  • Multi-miking - stereo, xy, spaced pair

  • Setting Levels - gain staging


Editing


  • Fixing timing issues

  • Quantisation

  • Phase alignment

  • Noise reduction

  • Comping


Mixing


  • Levels - gain, automation

  • Frequency Balancing - EQ, Filters

  • Panning - Stereo based FX

  • Dynamics - Compression, Multiband Compression, gates

  • Time based effects - Phaser, Flanger, Chorus

  • Spatial effects - Reverb, Delay,

  • Distortion - Saturation, Clipping

  • Arrangement

  • Transitions


Mastering


  • EQ

  • Compression

  • Limiting

  • M/S Processing

  • Dithering

  • Metering

  • File formats

  • Exporting


There are many different music production techniques. This is just a list of some of the most common ones. If you need support with any of these areas of the music production process you can email adam@ammusic.co.uk for help.

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