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. RD1LDN

    RD1LDN Ultrasonic

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    I’ve heard that one should listen to pre 21st century music more. Any names?

    Also, I hope by listening to these artists to gain inspiration and insight in areas such as melody, rhythm and song structure.

    I'm looking for artists I can listen to and take something away from their music and use it to better my own production.

    I'm trying to get in to production of modern music but you can't make good music listening to what everyone else is currently making.

    I don't want to make generic music that copies another producer's style.

    My question is open to any genre.

     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2020
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  3. phumb-reh

    phumb-reh Guest

    Frank Zappa
     
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  4. rudolph

    rudolph Audiosexual

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    Johann Sebastian Bach.
     
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  5. RD1LDN

    RD1LDN Ultrasonic

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    You're sure classical music will help my ear with production of modern/ contemporary musical styles?
     
  6. rudolph

    rudolph Audiosexual

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    Don´t doubt it my friend, not for a moment.
     
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  7. RD1LDN

    RD1LDN Ultrasonic

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    Thanks
     
  8. rhythmatist

    rhythmatist Audiosexual

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    Eric Clapton. The "Pilgrim" album. released in 1999. John Mellencamp-1998 One of the best sounding rock productions I ever heard. I kind of use these two as my reference listening. Remain in Light -Talking Heads-some of Bryan Eno's best from the 80's. Anything by Little Feat-Richie Heyward was one of the best rock drummers ever. Robert Plant's solo work. For vintage-Who's Next...1971. Miles Davis-Kind of Blue one of the best recordings when one stereo track was all there was. Rudy Van Gelder was a master of mic placement in the jazz records he produced. Anything produced by T-Bone Burnett or Don Was or Mitchell Froom. Weather Report. Return to Forever, Herbie Hancock-When "jazz rock fusion" was just getting started. Pink Floyd albums always sounded amazing.
     
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  9. Kinghtsurfer

    Kinghtsurfer Audiosexual

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  10. rhythmatist

    rhythmatist Audiosexual

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    I saw Frank 4 times.
    a true trailblazer and inspiration.
     
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  11. Colin

    Colin Producer

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    have a look round Google for tracklists that high-end hi-fi manufacturers use to demo their products. Check out some youtube channels to what tracks and albums audiophiles listen to. For genre specific or more modern stuff, just listen to whatever moves and inspires, or makes you think, wow that's really cool.
     
  12. RD1LDN

    RD1LDN Ultrasonic

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    Thank you so much for an in depth response. I've taken notes, I am building a list of artists to listen to.
     
  13. Kwissbeats

    Kwissbeats Audiosexual

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    totally on the other end of the spectrum, Peter tosh.
    Because it is to easy to say Bob Marley, but as a ex wailer the productions are top notch.

    However it's hard to get the full experience which I recommend and that is not to consume this on YouTube the quality there of most of the reggae catalog is disappointing to say the least.
     
  14. RD1LDN

    RD1LDN Ultrasonic

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    I'm not really listening for clean mixes, more for inspiration on creative direction on areas such as melody, rhythm and song structure. Modern music is based on the past, I'm sure the top producers in the world rarely consume 21st century music. They say to predict the future just look at the past, nothing is new under the sun. This is me applying this to music.
     
  15. RD1LDN

    RD1LDN Ultrasonic

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    Yes of course, I will be using Spotify Premium with the Music Streaming Quality set to "Very High". No problem with Reggae and other world music like Afrobeat on the other spectrum it seems most people so far have commented only Rock artists. My ears are open to anything even the unorthodox.
     
  16. mercurysoto

    mercurysoto Audiosexual

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    3 great sounding records of these few years and also great arrangements.

    Mike Gordon - Overstep (2014) - I find this album useful for an influence on acoustic, organic instruments. Things I pay attention to: sound Layering, spatial distribution across the frequency range, acoustic guitar tones, use of reverb

    Charlie Puth - Voicenotes (2018) - I like the modern sound on arrangements that borrow somewhat from the 80s. That's the way I figure a classic 80s top-40 tune would sound if released now. Things I pay attention to: Vocal layering, spatial effects, bass sound, mix levels, mix balance.

    Walking Papers - WP2 (2018) - This is an album with a very rocking vibe. The bass guitar is high on the mix, but it's not masking everything else, which is a hard thing to achieve. I pay attention to distortion on the instruments, the rather subdued vocals, and how the bass drives the song, yet the mix sounds balanced.
     
  17. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    Pink Floyd, Toto, Queensrÿche, Micheal Jackson.
    If you're after rhythm and song structure beyond the reach of normal human beings, Dream Theater (up to more than 100 time signature changes per song), for instance.
     
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  18. realitybytez

    realitybytez Audiosexual

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    i would add rush to that list. spirit of radio comes to mind immediately, but there are a lot of other creative uses of dramatic song structure.
     
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  19. Kinghtsurfer

    Kinghtsurfer Audiosexual

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    Change of Seasons by Dream Theater is one of my all time faves... was fortunate enough to see them perform it live... Absolutely insane musicianship... :phunk:
     
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  20. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    I was with some friends of mine at one of their concerts. During the half-time break I asked one of my friends, who had heard them for the first time, what he thought and he said that he was still processing the notes of the first three songs. :rofl:
     
  21. Colin

    Colin Producer

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    yeah, but you can't learn that! either you are creative and musical or you aren't. anyone that tells you otherwise is just wasting your time.
     
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