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Email question received - How important is a degree for a career in music?

Hey conrad i have an interest in music production/recording and need some advice if you have the time. Im thinking about school at mtsu outside of nashville and i was wondering about job oppertunities and the long hrs was a concern. Is it long hrs no doubt or does it depend on the area of study? Is a degree a must?

Response:

A degree or certificate sure looks good on a resume when you’re starting out. Many people I work with that have good positions for their age have some sort of degree or certification. That being said, I don’t have any - but I studied very hard for years at different universities, workshops and with many artists. If I had to do it again, I may have jump started with a degree instead of learning everything the hard way.

Email question received:

I am trying to get into a good music school for music production, vocals and maybe even to have my own music label. I’ve been singing for 8yrs and my goal is to make my own music and sing for a living, I LOVE IT. It’s my passion. I was wondering if maybe you had a good choice of school for these specialties.??

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Email received:

Hello. My english very bad, because i’m russian. I must have $2000 to the
end of this month.  I have $1500. Please help me. Contact me

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Email received:

I am partially sighted and a person of special needs and a quiet person. I would like you teach me to be a good music producer, would like to join you as soon as possible. If there tuition fees to paid i would like to give me full scholarship. Please help achieve my dream.

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Email Received:

HEY MY NAME IS ANDY, I AM 22 YEARS OLD AND I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MUSIC PRODUCING. I AM LEARNING HOW TO MAKE BEATS WITH FL7 PRODUCER EDITION.

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Email received:

iam looking for arecorder perducer to record my song and pay me for it i have been writein songs but i cant find the right recorder perducer

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Email question received:

Hello there Conrad I’ve been following ur work and website for a long time.

I’m a music producer and i want to know how i can find successful jobs in
music business it self in the industry.

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Email received:

Hey, I am looking at becoming a music producer and found your article on “How To.” But you never really specified what they actually do. You just said to start immediately. What is it that you should start?

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Photos of characters playing Mayzie La Bird from Seussical the Musical. Click for full size.

Received this question about the character Mayzie La Bird from Seussical:

I’m trying out for MAYZIE LA BIRD and i was wondering what song i should sing? and what vocal range does she need?

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In Seussical the Musical, Mayzie La Bird is the antagonist and well experienced city girl. She’s the “Bette Midler” of Seussical. She’s brassy and street smart. Her counterpart is Gertrude, the innocent ingenue and protagonist.

For an audition song for the part of Mayzie, I would suggest something brassy and/or big traditional broadway. A song that says “Here I am!”. Look for any songs Bette Midler or Liza Minelli would have done. “Cabaret” would be a great song.

We had a great Mayzie for our production, Ashely Henning. She sings great traditional Broadway. After doing Mayzie she had leads in “Little Women” and “Evita”, to give you an idea of the character. Mayzie could be played by a wide range of ages - but she does have a baby, so take that into account. Younger actresses might go for Gertrude, or if you have a powerful bluesy voice you could tryout for the Purple Kangaroo (a very fun role).

Mayzie’s songs in Seussical the Musical are what I would call “Torch Songs”, and usually played by a mature voice (18 years and older).

Hope you have fun. Seussical was a very fun musical to perform. Musicians that have worked with me count it as one of their favorites. In fact I recently received an email from a cello player who says it’s bar they use to judge the fun of all other musical productions.

Auditioning for a musical is one of the hardest processes to endure. The more you do, the better you’ll get at it. The first couple auditions might be (read “probably will be”) bad experiences and embarrassing, just keep doing it if you want parts.

Mazy Suessical Muiscal Mazee Mayzee Soosical Seusical

Email received: Can you help rap?

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Hi,

For help in elevating your rap skills please visit www.RapDogs.com - I set that up as a study and support tool for hip hop artists. There is an international community on that board, but primarily US, Canadian and UK artists.

Hi Mr. Askland,

Thank you so much

*****************

Good question.

1. Play your ass off.
2. Be nice to people.
3. Find people that are doing what you want to do, and find out how they got there.
4. Take responsibility for things not going perfect and figure out how to keep it from happening again.
5. Do not join a cover band, play private parties, weddings or casuals.
6. Be nice to people.
7. Play your ass off.

Pretty simple, huh?

Received this email today:

I would love to major as a music producer.

My reply: So would I, but my degree in exotic dancing has been a nice backup.

Email Received:

Hey, big guy! We need a professional’s opinion…

We saw a surprising video tonight - Celine Dion and Anastasia singing “You Shook Me All Night Long” - quite different from everything else we’d ever heard Celine sing before! (Quality of video is poor, but holy cow, talk about two power voices) Apparently most people hate it, but we loved it. I know it’s not the type music you usually listen to, but we’d like a pro’s opinion!

********************************

Watch the video on YouTube at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=TytsReHWoRI
Or search YouTube for “Celine Anastasia Shook Me”

Politically Correct Answer:
This song works well in live performance and is an easy crowd pleaser most bar bands do late in the night. It pumped up the audience so that’s a keeper for the live Vegas show. I don’t think it’s something that would get a lot of radio play because it’s a straight cover - no remix or new rendition.

The OTHER Answer:
Hey, this is a DUDE song. Get your grubby hands off our AC/DC memories. If they ain’t gonna be singin it, ain’t NOBODY should be singin it. They made it into a chick song? EEGADS! Ok, when you go to Vegas, you all can do the girls night out with that stuff and then watch Sleepless in Seattle. Me and the guys will be waiting for you at the blackjack tables. Take your time…

*MEN STOP READING HERE*

PS - Celine, you know us men love you too, we just can’t admit it in front of the women. It’s a guy thing. You’re in good company, we don’t admit to liking Streisand either.

Email question received:

Aiight… my lil brother right he listens to alot of music and shit.. he knows his stuff, ya feel me… He heard some of my new beatz and he was like that it’s good and shit.. but, that I need to listen more to rap and shit.. since my beatz are more towards rap.. ya know.. i was wonderin if this is true or not.. I know that if I listen to it more… I know that I would get influenced, of course.. it’s only natural.. but, if i’m tryna be unique.. wouldn’t listening to them only make me unconsciously duplicate their work.. if you understand what i mean… with most of the shit that they play on the radio.. I hate…some of them… not al of them.. like shit like walk it out, and other shit like that.. ya know.. and my brother is like I don’t like the whole rap industry.. I don’t know where he got that from if I only hate like a few songs… ya know.. now if I don’t listen to rap and can make ill rap beatz.. is that wrong.. if I was to produce my stuff. would I be to some inadvantage because I don’t know the names of other rappers.. and stuff like that.. i mean.. i’m open to suggestions.. ya know.. cuz.. I might be gettin serious into the beat makn and shit ya know.. hopefully to produce.. but, if I can bring somethin fresh and new.. ya know.. without listenin to other peoples stuff.. where is the problem in that.. If I know how much work I put into a beat, and sell it for what it’s worth.. after doin my financial homework.. then what is the problem? If I have someone who.. might just be fresh and new, and can sing or rap on my shit.. and is good.. and I get someone.. to open us to the world.. ya know.. then what is the problem.. the problem with the world is that.. they get all high off the stuff that’s played on the radio.. and that’s not all the music in the world.. ya know.. on myspace.. you have alot of fresh artists.. i mean fresh.. my only problem is that I can’t name them because that’s just me.. I don’t be studiien them ya know.. same thing with rap.. I hear music.. I like the beat.. but, I don’t go findin out the name of the rapper and stuff.. cuz.. I don’t c the need.. if I know is name wow.. how does that help me.. ya know.. but, I should know the producer.. right?

that’s basically my dilemma.. can you help me?

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REPLY TO EMAIL

Your wording is just a tad verbose, but it’s actually a very good question. I THINK your two questions are:

1. For me to be successful producing a certain genre, is it important for me to listen to that genre?
2. Is it important for me to know the specific names of artists and producers that I am studying?

Yes and No to both.

When people first approach a new style of music, they usually think it’s very easy and they have it nailed. The reason is that they don’t listen to it very much, so they don’t realize how far off they are. I can’t tell you how many times a new client came to the recording studio all excited about their new country song - To me, someone who listens to a lot of country music, it was NEVER what “real” country was all about. It was very obvious it was a songwriter THINKING they were country.

Same with hip hop - have you ever heard a rap performed by someone who doesn’t listen to rap or hip hop? It’s a hideous thing to listen to.

The bigger concept here to grasp is that people usually only can see what they don’t know as it sits on the outskirts of what they DO know. Imagine a circle that represents your knowledge. Let’s say it’s Calculus. You just started studying Calculus so your circle of knowledge is small - and so is your knowledge of what you don’t know about Calculus. It seems like you’ve almost mastered it. But someone who has studied for twenty years has a much larger circle of knowledge - and with more knowledge also comes more knowledge of what you do NOT understand. The body of unknown knowledge sits on the outskirts of knowledge.

Short read: If you just started learning something it may feel like you’ve already mastered it. Don’t delude yourself. You haven’t mastered it yet.

On the flip side of all this - often times great strides in artistic changes to genres come from people outside the genres. They don’t know all the rules yet, so they break them without even knowing it. A good example of this in country music was Garth Brooks. He just came out of left field and updated that entire genre single handedly. There are many examples in every genre of music.

Is it important to know names of artists and producers. I don’t think so. BUT, if you are really into a certain sound then you’ll probably want to make a note of their names so you can track other projects they’ve done. For instance, my favorite composers and arrangers are Howard, Besterman, Jones, Dre, Morricone, Bach and Elfman. These are all people I’ve tracked to get as much as I can out of their work. If you are really studying them - you’ll just automatically know their names.

More important than knowing names is to understand the elements of the groove and arrangement - on two levels. The first is to understand the theory and technical aspect of the work. The second is to understand what hits you in the gut and makes you say “I LOVE THAT”. The two are seperate entities. When you can produce both technical and emotional response yourself from scratch and other people are also saying I LOVE THAT! - I’d say that’s the point you become a master artist. It will happen so slow you won’t even notice it (unless you’re Sean Combs!).

Tip: When I am working on a project - it’s normal for me to totally immerse myself in that style and listen to ONLY that around the clock. Especially when I work on shows, I listen to the soundtrack exclusively. For me, that’s what I need to get uber-focused.

Let the other people memorize names - you just tear into that groove aiight.

Conrad

Question received via email about finding the right tempo:

Hi there
I am a song writer who is having trouble with finding the right tempo. Many of my songs are constructed on basslines, drum beats, riffs or vocals and I feel that everything is recorded at it’s most suitable timing. However, something lacks in either the drums or percussion where I begin to feel song’s ‘dragging’ or too quick, and I NEED to know if there’s something I’m overloooking. Is there a certain ‘off beat’ thing for percussion, half time hats, attacks on notes, etc.? Help me if you can please - it’s really frustrating me.
Thanks.

***********************

This email is a follow-up to my post:
“What is the best tempo for a song”

Let’s see if I can answer this coherently at 3am…

Try to follow me here. A good friend of mine is a session Sax player in Los Angeles. He does a lot of sessions at many different project studios, so he has a great bird’s eye view of what’s going on. In the early days of my mixes he encouraged me to think of frequency ranges, whereas I tended to think in terms of counterpoint. He’d say, “you need something in the high frequencies” on this mix, so I’d add a flute….it was thinking in terms of sonorities instead pads and layers. And I’d have to say he was usually (if not always) right. Thankfully I stayed employed, because although he had the ears for these things, he didn’t know how to execute them - which is how music producers stay in business - knowing what to do and when.

This same thinking can apply in terms of rhythm tracks. Tempo is speed - and from your email it sounds like tempo isn’t really your problem, it’s groove. If I was listening to your track I it would be easier to give specific suggestions - but not having that we’ll take the long way around the horn here. So think in terms of the rhythmic layers - you might need a stronger anchor like a kick, or a higher subdivison like a shaker.

SOME REASONS A SONG DOESN’T GROOVE

1. Do the lyrics really fit the melody well, or are they kind of scrunched in there to make it work.
2. Are you writing melodies on paper, or doing it by ear? I’ve found that if you rely on the visual of printed music too much, the groove can get lost in the translation. Try to hear it in your head first before you put it down, this will give you a more natural feel. Most of the great classical composers heard the music, then put their ideas to paper - not the other way around. Just my guess, I don’t have a source on that.
3. Are you sequencing drum tracks? Using samples or live players will give you a better groove if you’re not a percussionist. I’ve sequenced MIDI for over twenty years now and am pretty strong at it, but I always prefer a samples groove of a live player - or better yet use a real human that knows how to play well.

EXAMPLES OF GROOVE PROBLEMS - AND CORRECTIONS
Here are actual examples I’ve encountered just in the last week that had to do with pieces not grooving, and how I fixed them. The specifics of each probably will not apply to you, but will give you an idea how a very small element can be the make or break for a groove. Every song has a groove, doesn’t matter the style. Yes, even orchestral music has a groove. If you haven’t found the groove, you’re not ready to play the song (read “you have no business playing the song!”).

1. “Once In A While” from Rocky Horror Show - Didn’t have a legit 70’s country groove. Bass rhythm was dotted quarter, eighth to quarter (One-twoAND-three-four) - bass player was rushing the dotted rhythm a bit, once he layed it back the song fell into a nice groove pocket.
2. Original song by Christian artist - Straight 4 groove with a feel a little like “Venture Highway”. Original guitar track by artist was a little blocky, had session guitarist overdub double time syncopated strumming over the top. Artist had a live recording and wanted me to duplicate guitar parts, but failed to recognize that their live recording and our studio recording were two different tempos (like 110bpm compared to 135bpm). If I had gone ahead and duplicated what their slower tempo had, the artist would have been happy out of the gate, but there would have been no groove at all to the song. Artist is happy and likes new sound. *Note* - Artist set tempos for both renditions, so that’s what I had to work with.
3. One Day At A Time - song for church service. Southern style country waltz. Singers were singing with a classical waltz style: ONE-two-THREE, or kick-blank-snare…..not cool for a laid back country waltz. Change snare to beat one on every other measure for KICK-blank-blank SNARE-blank-blank, etc. Like the groove in “Here’s a Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares”. For country waltzes, there’s also a syncopated sixteenth note hit after beat one that gives it a little lift.
4. Brigadoon - Orchestral Dance - Waltz section. Opposite of country waltz, for this I wanted a Viennese feel - where beat three has a little lag in it. When you hear it, your mind goes “Aha, that’s Strauss!”. Once the musicians understood about delaying beat three in a Viennese style, the song had the “groove”, or to say it was more authentic to the style.
5. Church choir - a classical church choir singing a gospel song. Was way to square - had them put their music away so they could feel the rhythm. Wasn’t quite like “Sister Act”, but it improved the feel. Musicians that are used to reading music and aren’t seasoned pros, will often get lost in the red tape technicalities of the printed music. Remove that barrier by letting them feel it.
6. Vocal track - artist was singing to blocky. Used several different visualizations with them. The one that clicked for this artist was to imagine they were soaring above the land, like in a helicopter shooting the opening panorama for a movie. It let them give their mind something to occupy itself so they weren’t as stressed with singing each note technically correct (the recording studio is note a time to practice technique).
7. Violin recording session - Overdubs for an album project. Player was doing quarter note and eighth note movement of a busy track; they were trying to cover anticipations and suspensions all in their one part rather than let the tapestry of the instruments unfold. I had them switch to whole note movement, so the busy parts moved around them instead. It helped the groove the have those anchoring “pads” in the music, and still created it’s own anticipations, resolutions and suspensions - but at a slower pace that gives the ear more rhythmic dimensions to entertain it.
8. Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring - Piano student learning to play this song which is in 9/8 time. The playing was mechanical, no flow to the line. Had them accent first group of every three notes (first note of every triplet) and used dynamics for rise and flow of melodic line. Yes, very simple and rudimentary. But giving simple tools like that is much more affective than giving the nebulous instruction of: “Play it with feeling”. After a short time they were getting the music “off the paper” and feeling the movement of the music.
9. I Will Survive - preparing song for a drag show. Band played song too fast, it was apparent they had not actually ever danced to the song before. This song needs that steady four on the floor club beat that is slightly restrained, feeling like it is held back a bit. Let’s the vocal push against that restraint to create the classic club, or “house” groove.
10. Plainsong Chant - for church service. Kind of a”Simple Gifts” type melody. My pick for the culprit was the lame piano arrangement, which was blocky in quarter notes. I improvised a drone on eight notes and let the choir take the lead on the melody, so my piano because harmony and rhythm drone. Saved the song.
11. Cirque Du Soleil - practice piece from Dralion. Very simple sixteenth note rhythm on string synth part - realized I was using the wrong patch and needed a volume pedal for dynamic swells into the downbeat.
12. Medium tempo acoustic rock song - needed a little pickup and delineation for the chorus which wasn’t present enough in the drum track. Added a sixteenth note shaker. Sometimes a trite thing to do, but worked well in this case.

Simple stuff. A note here or there. The trick, as in most things, is to specifically identify what needs to be changed and know how to change it. What’s the right way to do it? I don’t think there is - or there might be 20 different “right” ways to do it. It comes down to what sounds good to you.

Question received about what keyboards to use for Seussical the Musical.

I am musical directing an upcoming production of Seussical TYA, and we are trying to figure out what sort of keyboards to rent. We are doing the production with two keyboards in the pit. On the Instrumentation page on the Musical Theatre International website, I’ve noticed that there are some very specific instruments (ie: “Doing” or Bird Fart) to be played on the keyboards. What brand and model of keyboard(s) would you suggest using?

Thanks.

*******************

Hi,

As I remember it, there are two main keyboard parts for STM for two different players.

1. Piano - any 88 key weighted keyboard.
2. Synthesizer - Sounds needed are typical to any mainstream synth by any major manufacturer (Roland, Korg, Yamaha, etc.)

There are sound effects for Seussical and I have a download pack available for free here on my website. Use the search function on my blog for “Seussical Sound Effect”. I triggered the sound effects using a virtual keyboard on a laptop using the Kontakt software. I love setting that up, but most people find it super geeky. You could also have someone run these sound fx on CD. I also have detailed notes on Seussical sound fx here on my website. (I’m not posting links to all those things because links on my website change over time - please use the search function).

I’ve done a fair amount of musicals and I have to say that Seussical was the most challenging, and also the most fun, of any musicals I have done. The orchestrations are wonderful. I also have detailed notes on the person who did the orchestrations. Check out the “Seussical” section here on my website.

Rock on!

Conrad

http://www.zoominfo.com/search/PersonDetail.aspx?PersonID=2835876

I fell upon this link and am in awe of your bio. I love that you are passionate about us here at Rapdogs.com. As someone who loves music from the smallest seed of its creation…I find that sometimes those with such experience as yourself do not consider “us” (emcees, turntabilists, beat miners) as real musicians.

I think what i want to say is…reading this bio made me realize that a passionate and genuis voice like yours is a blessing to have behind us. That ..the fact that you run this for us and recognize our importance in music history is just really nifty.

no suck up intended…just being real.

meg

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Sweet! (Meg is our leading “femcee” commentator and article writer for RapDogs and very involved in the Northeast Canadian music scene).

RapDogs.com is actually my offering and begging for forgiveness of two errors in judgement I have made in my life. The first was back in 1984. I was 18. My best friend Jerome and I were in Denny’s after a night of clubbing. He told me that rap was the next major audio art form and was here to stay. At the time Sir Mixalot was cutting edge and rap was just starting to emerge in the dance clubs in Renton, WA. Being so smart and knowing everything, I told Jerome that “people won’t even know what rap is in two years. It’s a fad.” Kind of funny to think of that in retrospect. Since that time I’ve produced and mastered hundreds (probably over a thousand) of hip hop tracks and artist demos.

To me, hip hop is currently the leading edge genre for freedom of speech in the audio arts Most artists I have recorded take it VERY seriously - it is their high art. They do not approach it with a pedestrain attitude - their conviction is inspiring to me. As hip hop has matured, many artists are questioning and revisioning how hip hop can be used for a message that challenges and uplifts us. I like seeing that emerge.

Second mistake. It was 1987. I was 21. There I am playing a grand piano in a tux (all classical) and a lady comes up to say, “Can you play any Patsy Cline?” I was SO offended. I stopped playing, looked at her and said, “M’am, I play REAL MUSIC.” At the time I was totally serious. Country was not even considered music in my book. It was something people listened to because they were uncultured idiots that just didn’t know any better. Liking country music told me all I needed to know about someone. Well, after that I ended up playing on the Southern California country music circuit, grew to love country. Eventually even played on TV at the Grand ‘Ol Opry and was with Freddy Fender when he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (crossover artist: Country, Latino and Pop).

I’ve grown to love Country music - especially early country from the 1930’s to 1960’s. It’s a horrible thought to think I could have lived my life without knowing so many of the classic lyrics of country music.

So why do I write about hip hop and country in the same post? They have a very strong connection. Both styles are all about the story. The music is there to bolster what the lyrics have to say. Turning a clever phrase, finding a new way to express situations and thoughts that are universal - Country and Hip Hop share that lineage.

Those were two main paradigm shifts for me and my views of music. Now I feel that if someone doesn’t like a particular style of music, it might very well be that they just don’t understand it. Read that sentence again.

There is no shortage of people that are eager to tell us what is “real” art and what is not. Although their intention is to show how cultured they are, to me it is a sign they haven’t been around the block much.

So my message to emerging artists: Don’t make any calls on what is valid art and what is not. Do not make light of the styles that are not your own. Do your thing, push the envelope and don’t follow others down the path you’re “supposed” to take. Make your own way. Say what is on your heart, because it is YOURS to say.

I think you’ll find that if people have done a closed set of musical styles for most of their life, or make their living withing a closed genre - those are the ones that will be more likely to make derogatory comments on art styles outside their sphere of influence.

There’s no time for fellow artists to make calls on the validity of artist expression. There’s far too much work left to do…..

Email Question: Advice for a Budding Music Producer

Ok i have been talking about becoming a music producer for some time now i am 24 i have no music talent what so ever but i have a real passion for music and i know alot about it i wanna start my own record lbel and see what happens if you could give me some advice i would like that thanks for.
you time

Mike

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Hi Mike,

I have several responses to questions like this here on my website. You can find them by entering “Music Producer” into the search box. Or here are some links:

How To Get Started as a Music Producer

Legal Requirements to be a Music Producer?

What is the best Tempo for a Song?

General Music Production Questions

How To Be a Record Producer

I Really Want to be a Music Producer

How to be a Professional Music Producer

How Do I Become a Music Producer?

On my other responses I’ve talked about resources and approaches to learning the technical side of producing. This time I’ll answer your question in a different way by talking about the social interactions that I think will benefit you on your road to producing music.

The way you get your next project, is by exceeding the client’s expectations on the last project. Notice I didn’t say that you exceeded your OWN expectations - it’s all about pleasing the client. It’s important to understand what the client’s expectations are before you start so you know what your restrictions are. A big red flag is if you don’t know the client well and they say “Do anything” - if you start working on that then there’s a good chance you’re going to be re-arranging ad nauseum.

Music production is a design art, much like designing graphics, custom home building or interior design. You are taking your talents and experience to the table in order to bring the client’s vision to life. And EVERY client does indeed have a vision, even if it’s not very defined.

First step - talk with the client and just listen. Listen carefully to what it is they are looking for. Think the project through and think of all the elements needed to make it happen for them. Make sure you know you can bring the project together. If you can’t do it, don’t take the project. It’s more important to get a track record of SUCCESSFUL projects than it is to get a track record of lots of projects. “Successful” means the client is happy with the final project.

After you know what the client wants and you have an overall idea of what needs to happen to complete the project, then figure out what you need to make that happen. Make sure you have the funds, time and desire to do the project. There has to be something in it for you. If it’s a project that will give you notoriety or rare experience, you might want to lowball your price quote. If it’s something you’ve done dozens of times and you already have a rep for doing it, then stick to your price.

If there’s not something in it for you - you will do a poor job. At least that’s the way I work. For me a project either has to garner me Money, Experience or Fulfillment. If the project does not have at least one of these three elements, I don’t take the job.

Starting out you’ll want to take every job you can that comes your way. Think experience. Do your best on every project, and each one will have it’s own list of demands that will force you to learn new things. Important note: You cannot think your client is stupid. If you do, you can’t do your best work. Respect your client. I seperate a client’s vision from the client themselves - for me it’s not so important to “click” with a client as it is to “click” with their vision.

What if you seriously don’t like a client? Don’t take the job. With music production you are likely going to have a lot of interaction with this person. On the rare occassion where I truly and simply did not like a client and did not want to do anything for them, I just said “I don’t think I’m the best person for this project.” When they still press, which they will, then say “Your project will be done better by someone else.” I say this gently and respectfully. I’m saying the truth and not being rude. You are letting the client know that your #1 priority is that there project be the best it can be, whether or not you do it.

If you can click with the client’s vision, see a compelling reason to engage in the project and you have the tools and resources to deliver - THAT’S being a music producer.

TRUST - Once you have committed to the project it’s important to have the complete faith and trust of the client. That’s how I need to work anyway. Once working on a project if a client is second guessing me or jumping in and muddling things up, I’ll simply say to them “You hired me for this job, you need to let me do it.” or I’ll say “You need to throw me the ball.” I say this gently, because I am truly ASKING them for this. With rare exception, client’s understand this and step back to let the work carry on. I’ll usually tell clients upfront once we agree to go forward that I need the space and creative trust to do it. I would say that overall, to me this is the single most important part of working on a project. It doesn’t mean there won’t be changes from the client, it just means you have that creative wiggle room that makes you go “Ah, this is the best project ever!”

And a final note is on the term music “producer”. Music producers “produce” no matter what. There is no excuse. People want to know that you will get it done.

I hope that helps.

Conrad

Hello Conrad,

My name is Kaylee and I am doing research for my 8th grade school assignment. We where asked what was our career choice and I chose music producer.

I wanted to know how you got started as a music producer and what advice can you give me? I have been taking piano lessons since I was seven and music is just a big part of life.

Thank you for my time,
Kaylee

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Hi Kaylee,

I got started as a music producer by doing a series of telephone on-hold music libraries for GTE and Contel. That was my first “pro” production assignment. This was back in 1989 - MIDI had just been released. The telephone company wanted classical music but didn’t want to pay royalties of MUZAK fees, so I sequenced Bach, Beethoven, Vivaldi and Mozart on my computer. At the time there were no midi libraries available like they are today, so it was a little cutting edge for corporate use back then. It started with one full length CD and ended up being a four CD library that was sold by a third company. By the time the project was done I had used all the money from those projects to buy computer gear. Inadvertantly I had started building a recording studio.

For the first CD I just did the programming and a seperate engineer and studio did the mix-downs. By the fourth CD I was doing the mixing and engineering myself.

My advice is to get serious with your piano lessons - study theory and as many styles as you can. If there’s a style of music you don’t like, that just means you need to study it more. Keep your eyes open for the opportunities that are around you. If you don’t see opportunites, then study and practice until you do.

Hope that helps.

Conrad

This question about the Ave Maria by Franz Schubert is in reference to my previous Ave Maria Lyrics post.

Great post! Just the info I was looking for.

I am getting married in a Catholic ceremony in a few months, and my soon to be wife had the idea of me singing Ave Maria during the ceremony as she presents Mary with flowers. In my searching the intarwebs, I came across someone who posted that Ave Maria is rarely sung by tenors and practically never by baritones.

My questions are:

1. Is this really true?
2. Is it inappropriate for a male to sing Ave Maria due to the original context of the lyrics?
3. If it is, does it even matter these days because it is more widely known in it’s Latin incarnation?
4. Is it ok for me to actually do that? (by “that” I mean do the singing during the ceremony while my wife does her thing with Mary)

Thanks for any help you can throw my way. I’ll be subscribing to your RSS feeds!

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Hi Tony,

Here are answers to your questions. I am Protestant, not Catholic, but I don’t think that should have much bearing on my answers since the piece was originally secular.

1. Is this really true?

Yes. The Ave Maria by Franz Schubert is most commonly sung by a female voice. But there is no reason it cannot be sung by a Baritone or Tenor. Common Baritone key for Ave Maria is A flat major. Most of the great tenors have recorded this piece at one time or another. When performing this piece with the Latin lyric text there is no definition of gender for the performer. Either female and male can sing the Latin text.

2. Is it inappropriate for a male to sing Ave Maria due to the original context of the lyrics?

If you are singing this song in a church setting, you should probably use the Latin lyrics. The Latin lyrics were added later for this purpose.

3. If it is, does it even matter these days because it is more widely known in it’s Latin incarnation?

See answer to #2. The original German lyrics makes it a secular piece, part of a song cycle. The Latin lyrics make it appropriate for use in a church service.

4. Is it ok for me to actually do that? (by “that” I mean do the singing during the ceremony while my wife does her thing with Mary)

Unless there is a Catholic-specific reason not to do this, then yes I would think it to be ok. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like this piece. Although it’s commonly associated as a Catholic piece for obvious reasons, it’s performed just as much in Protestant and non-denominational settings and to my experience always welcomed with open arms.

So my vote, from a Luther-loving Protestant, is to do the piece. What a great thing to share during the wedding!