What artists would you suggest producers should listen to, to develop a better ear for good music?

Discussion in 'Music' started by RD1LDN, Oct 10, 2020.

  1. Colin

    Colin Producer

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    it's a bit like asking how can I be as good at football as Lionel Messi, or run faster than Usain Bolt, or write better songs than The Beatles. Some things you just can't learn. You either have the natural ability or you don't. Certainly you need to immerse yourself in lots of music, and I mean a lot ... but not stealing it, absorbing it's essence. Top producers are paid a lot of money because they have skills that most people don't and they can get any old rubbish sounding a million dollars and bring a project to completion ... people skills are very important too. knowing when to be a diplomat or when to crack the whip.
     
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  2. RD1LDN

    RD1LDN Ultrasonic

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    I can't say I disagree with all of your points but I'll just leave a quote here...

    “Good artists copy, great artists steal” - Pablo Picasso

    A lot of producers out there who most people would class as good aren't trendsetters for lack of better terminology. They just copy the style of whoever is very popular at the moment. That's pretty much the easiest way for a producer to blow up and get label attention anyway, if they are good enough to copy what is charting at the moment.

    The longer way is to innovate and come up with your own sound but it will probably take years. I am trying to shorten this gap.
     
  3. Bermuda Triangle

    Bermuda Triangle Ultrasonic

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    then why bother listen to influence from past? just copy todays "sound"

    you will not have Milly Sirus on your DAW with old styles! Get that moneys and poison music some more.
     
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  4. Roject

    Roject Audiosexual

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    Björk, The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, MGMT, Massive Attack, Moby, Radiohead, Depeche Mode, System of a Down, Nirvana, Slipknot, Curve, Aphex Twin, Amon Tobin, Fatboy Slim, Boards Of Canada, Vitalic, Ferry Corsten, Placebo, KoRn, Deftones, Blonde Redhead, Terranova, Portishead, Hooverphonic, Oasis, Robert Miles, The Future Sound of London, Safri Duo, Ladytron, Planet Funk, Télépopmusik, Thievery Corporation, Mirwais, The Beloved, Groove Armada, Kylie Minogue, Dido, Faithless, Garbage

    I listen to them 10+ years and I have trained ears as f*ck
     
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  5. Riot7

    Riot7 Platinum Record

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    This seems misguided at best and completely crazy at worst.

    This is not to say it is bad to listen to all kinds of music. Quite the opposite. But if you are into music, you know what you like when you hear it. Asking someone else to tell you what your influences should be is kinda bizarre.

    There are thousands of 24/7 streaming music radio channels available on the internet. Pick a channel and listen. When you hear something that really inspires you, look it up and listen some more. Figure out what exactly it is that makes you like that particular thing. Or whatever.
     
  6. RD1LDN

    RD1LDN Ultrasonic

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    I don’t want to poison todays music that’s the point of this post.

    If I wanted to do that I wouldn’t be here asking for advice, I’d just study the charts and copy their formula.
     
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  7. RD1LDN

    RD1LDN Ultrasonic

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    Thank you very much for a large response. I’m discovering that I know these artist’s songs even though I’ve never heard of most of them.
     
  8. RD1LDN

    RD1LDN Ultrasonic

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    So what would you advise one who wants to improve in melody, rhythm & song structure (in production) to do?

    It was my understanding that you pretty much just have to listen to everything to train your ear or learn theory. Learning an instrument also could help.

    Some of the top producers can’t read sheet music, not learning theory and relying on the ear can mean you’re not necessarily restricted by those rules you learn in theory so one may be more creative.

    Educate me.
     
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  9. SineWave

    SineWave Audiosexual

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    Hello. An old fart with a long experience and love for music here. :) 50 this year. Yeeehaa! :headbang:

    Keep an open mind. Develop a broad taste for music if you don't have one already. At first I was going to recommend to listen to music that's been made by good producers, and I think that's not a bad advice. I generally like music that was produced by: Steve Albini, Flood, Rick Rubin, Butch Vig, Daniel Miller and David Bascombe [there are more I can't recall right now]. I don't think you will find any bad [shallow? stupid?] music they've produced. Well, there might be some. Something they did purely for the money perhaps. We all falter sometimes in our life. :wink:

    So... I kinda have a rather broad taste [I tend to think], but I do lean towards heavier, edgier, deeper, more agressive and depressive music, that to me sounds true, and is made with passion and heart. Having said that, IMHO, to develop a better ear for music you might want to check out these artists, off the top of my head [the list might look weird, mind you]: Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, Laibach, Ministry, Joy Division, New Order, Cabaret Voltaire, David Bowie, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Underworld, Aphex Twin, Infected Mushroom, Bjork, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Click Click, Portishead, The Prodigy, Korn, Orbital, Yello, The Sisters of Mercy, Tears for Fears, The Smiths, The Beatles, Leaether Strip, Massive Attack, Nine Inch Nails, Talk Talk, Talking Heads, Frank Zappa, Rage Against The Machine, Nitzer Ebb, System of a Down, Fluke, Cypress Hill, Run DMC, Tool, Rollins Band, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Siouxie and the Banshees, Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, Marilyn Manson, The Cure, Bush, Air, Jean Michel Jarre, Prince, The Doors, Bob Marley, Glenn Miller, Miles Davis, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Richard Wagner, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Front 242, Eurythmics... Kajagoogoo, Bananarama [joke, the last two :rofl:] speaking of jokes, Killing Joke is a killer band, too.

    I'm sure I missed a lot of other great talents, but they are out there for us to discover, and finding something new and interesting always makes me excited like a little child! :headbang:

    Cheers! :wink:

    Enjoy the path of discovering new great music, be patient, always give it another listen cause in there lie the true gems. :wink:
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2020
  10. RD1LDN

    RD1LDN Ultrasonic

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    Thank you so much for this advice, it has helped a lot. :)
    Do you have any advice in regards to listening? Becuase going in to a career in music we can't just listen for pleasure, we need to analyse.
    What should I be listening closely for?
     
  11. SineWave

    SineWave Audiosexual

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    In my opinion, what you should listen closely to is your heart. Not its beating, or its BPM, of course... hmmm actually there is something to that, too, since good music will get you excited and emotional, thus your heartbeat will start beating faster. :) Anyway, only then, when you can feel it, listen to it multiple times critically and analyse it. Ask yourself what made you tap? What gave you creeps? What gave you goosebumps? What made your heart race? And most important, what made your eyes wet a little, or a little more... for me, it's all about feelings. :wink:
     
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  12. SineWave

    SineWave Audiosexual

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    Try listening to this for example... this one makes my eyes wet every fucking time, the lyrics are brilliant, arrangement is building excitement and the songs grows dynamically and draws you in, ups and downs - dynamics are very important for a great, emotional, exciting arrangement:


    edited because I found even better performed and sounding version of it. :wink:
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2020
  13. RD1LDN

    RD1LDN Ultrasonic

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    This song does indeed change energy and mood in a way I don't see in modern music. Most music now just involves leaving out pieces (breaks) or adding in sound effects to keep the listener engaged (and it creates anticipation). :dunno:

    I think this is to compensate for the shortened attention span of this current generation. Older music was not just a 4 bar loop repeated. Notice most songs nowadays are only 2-3 minutes. The shorter the song, the quicker it ends and this makes it more likely for the listener to replay which leads to higher streaming numbers. Music is much more business orientated now.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2020
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  14. evolasme

    evolasme Producer

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    Jellyfish - Bellybutton or Spilt Milk
     
  15. noise.maker

    noise.maker Platinum Record

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    Steve Strauss
     
  16. realitybytez

    realitybytez Audiosexual

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    can't remember the name of the movie, but it was about the future. popular music had gotten to the point where it was about the length of a radio advertisement jingle or about 10 - 15 seconds. those days are coming soon i think.
     
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