Selected Music Production Resources to Help You Improve Your Craft as a Producer

The music production resources you'll find listed on the page below has been selected for electronic music producers who are serious about the craft.

It includes a mix of learning, training and other resources which will help make you a better electronic music producer.  There's no reason to list a ton of resources because there aren't that many great resources out there. Simple!

So, I cut out the crud and only include the resources that can really make a difference to your music production understanding and skills.  More signal - less noise!

1. Music Production Videos & Youtube Channels

Pensado's Place

Peek into the minds of the top music professionals on the planet with grammy-award winning mix engineer Dave Pensado's weekly show.  You'll find interviews with hot producers, engineers and other creative pros who work behind the scenes in the business.

The show also has an into the Liar section where Dave reveals tips and tricks to improve your mixes. 

This is definitely one of the best shows available for music producers and audio engineers who are serious about the craft of music production. The show isn't focused on electronic music production in specific but the techniques discussed and the level of the professionals interviewed makes it one of my favorite music production resources to recommend.

Produce Like a Pro

Produce Like a Pro is brought to you by the marvelous Warren Huart and teaches you all about home recording, mixing and just about everything else you need to make your home studio music productions better.  This channel also has some of the best interviews with pro producers and other music professionals who are at the top of the music game. Definitely one of the music production resources you'll come back to time and again.

Sonic Academy

Sonic Academy's Youtube channel has some excellent music production tutorials for you to devour.  No risk of taking advice from clueless Youtube producers here as the instructors are verifiable pros in their respected fields. You'll also find some great high-calibre pro interviews on their channel. This is one of those music production resources you'll want to bookmark for sure.

RecordProduction.com Producer Interviews

You'll find interview upon interview with some of the top producers in the game here.  Again, just like Pensado's Place it's not restricted to electronic music production. This doesn't matter due to the quality of the knowledge you'll find when you watch the interviews.

2. Music Production Web Articles

Sound on Sound Technique Tutorials

It may take you a while to go through the tutorials available on Sound on Sound's site but it will be worth your while! Most aspects of digital music production are covered and it also includes DAW-specific tutorials.  These articles definitely deserve a place in this list of recommended music production resources because of the scope and quality of the writing from expert authors.

Pro Audio Files

Here you'll find a selection of articles and videos written by a variety of top music professionals.   Mixing, recording, producing and mastering is all covered. Definitely a site for producers at all levels to subscribe to!

LANDR Blog

You might already know LANDR as a way to get your tracks mastered by AI, but did you know they also serve up some excellent posts for music producers on their blog? Add it to your favorites today!

Splice Blog

Yes, Splice provides music production software, samples and presets.  They also do a mighty fine job of providing top-notch articles on their Blog.  Expect tutorials, reviews and interviews with top producers and artists.

Be sure to also check out 10 of the best websites for producers here.

3. Music Production Books

"Mixing with your mind" by Michael Paul Stavrou

McCartney, Bowie, Queen, Crowded House, Jeff Beck. The impressive list of artists that Paul Stavrou has mixed for goes on.

You won't find the usual stereotypical mixing advice in this book.  What you'll find however is how to use the force to pull off true Jedi mixing feats.  The Art of Mixing section (Chapter 11) alone is worth the price of the book but I found the chapters on mid-tuning your monitors and compression illuminating.

Unconventional, maybe, but it will get you thinking and improve your mixes if you apply the techniques.

"Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio" by Mike Senior

This book is aimed at mixing engineers and music producers who work in small studios and want to achieve commercial-standard mixes.  It shows you how to compensate for a studio with less-than-desirable acoustics so that your mixes can stand up against the competition.

You'll find my review of the book via the link above should you want to know more.

"Dance Music Manual" by Rick Snoman

This book is great for new and intermediate electronic music producers because it gives you a broad overview of the whole electronic music production shebang. You'll find sound design, mixing, effects, music theory, arrangement, rhythm, gain structure and more covered inside.

If you're completely new to electronic music production and don't know where to start then I recommend you grab a copy of this book right now and work through it.  You'll be able to talk shop when you're done!

"Big Studio Secrets for Home Recording and Production" by Joe Dochtermann

Discover the recording secrets of the big studios with "Big Studio Secrets for Home Recording and Production" by Joe Dochtermann, and apply it to your own home studio productions to achieve better results.

This is a comprehensive book in practical language perfect for beginners who want an overview and intermediate producers or home studio owners who want a refresher course.

"Righting Wrongs in Writing Songs" by Danny Cope

Uncover the most common songwriting issues and mistakes with "Righting Wrongs in Writing Songs" by Danny Cope, and make your songwriting more informed and productive.

You'll find the fundamentals of good songwriting covered and learn where you can make your songwriting more effective.  Save yourself a lot of time by eliminating bad habits and getting the basics of songwriting right.

"The Recording Engineer's Handbook" by Bobby Owsinski

Get the great reference of multiple microphone techniques for a large range of instruments and more in "The Recording Engineer's Handbook" by Bobby Owsinski.

This book has been around for a while.  I think it should have a place on the bookshelf of every recording engineer, producer and musician.

"Mixing, recording and producing techniques of the pros" by Rick Clark

"Mixing, recording and producing techniques of the pros" by Rick Clark reveals exactly what the title says it does. Enough said!

Get into the mind of a range of music professionals and take notes so you can use it to hone your own craft.  Standing on the shoulders of giants!

4. Music Production Online Courses/Tutorials

One-on-one tutoring is likely the most effective way to learn music production but can be expensive and not always convenient.  This is where high-quality video tutorials and courses can provide an alternative way to learn.

MacPro Video Music Production Tutorials

These video courses have a good production quality and the information they give is solid. They focus on Mac users.  The introduction videos to various DAWs are great for beginners who've read the f@&$in manual but still want to learn more.

Groove3 Music Production Tutorials

This site offers courses for both Mac and PC users with most popular DAW and plug-ins covered and, with over 10 years experience in the game, they do it in great style. The customer support they offer is really good too.  You even have a toll-free number to phone when you need help.

ProducerCode: Studio Flow

Do you only release new tracks every now and then, once in a while, every blue moon?  This course by RenegadeProducer.com's own Marius van Dyk shows you how to make more music, faster and on a consistent basis.

The entire 1st module is currently part of the free trial so make sure you don't miss out and get it right now.

Music Production for Beginners

Learn how to produce your first track. This comprehensive online music production course by Black Ghost Audio takes you through studio set up, writing, recording, mixing, mastering and distribution. Great design and excellent production quality makes this course a perfect option for new producers.

Production Music Live

Apart from a selection of samples, templates and presets, PML also has an excellent selection of high-quality online production courses available. These are step-by-step music production lessons that cover pretty much the entire music production process from start to finished mix and master. You get lifetime access for a one-time payment so you can complete the courses at your own pace.

5. Music Production Training

IZotope's Pro Audio Essentials

Part video course, part producer ear-training app. All done in your browser. This is one of the best free music production resources to help you improve your critical and analytical listening skills.  This is a good place to start if you're not yet ready to invest in ear training software.  You'll train yourself to get better with both EQ and compression.

TrainYourEars

This is ear training turned into a game and it's quite addictive! You learn to recognize different frequencies so you can hone in on and fix issues in your mix in less time.  You can train yourself with some noise and a filter of course but without the game element it's less fun and slower.  TrainYourEars is one of my most highly-recommended music production resources for beginners and seasoned veteran producers alike.

Hooktheory

Gone are the days where learning music theory was boring and bland!  With Hooktheory you can learn how to write good chord progressions and melodies while learning the music theory vocabulary you need as a music producer or beatmaker.  It's done in a fun, interactive way with 2 books and Hookpad,  the musical sketchpad software. A real must-have for any music creator.

Syntorial

You probably already know by now that good sound design and synth programming skills are essential for modern music production.  Using and tweaking presets can only take you so far and doesn't contribute to the cultivation of your own unique signature sound. Syntorial teaches you everything you need to know to program your own synth patches by ear on any synth.  Best thing is it's gamified which means learning synth programming becomes even more fun if you can imagine that!

Check out my review of Syntorial right now to learn more.

6. Cloud Backup for Music Producers

Backblaze

You probably already know by now that backing up your sessions, samples and other essential data is crucial.

Yes,  it's by far not the most fun part of music production, but your backup strategy is one of those things you want to get right before you need it.  The alternative of not having one is never a good move.

You can make cloud data backup a set-and-forget operation with Backblaze.  I recommend only Backblaze to producers because, having reviewed the most-used available cloud backup options, they come out tops in terms of ease-of-use, safety, security and value for money.

Other music production resources?

I add new music production resources at my discretion so this doesn't become yet another "59 resources you absolutely must have..." page (rolls eyes).  If you know of a resource that makes or has made a real difference to your production skills then please share it so others can benefit.

Do you feel there is a resource which should be included here?  Let me know right now!

I will review your suggested music production resources and if it fits then I'll add it here. Again, I try to be strict with what passes so please note that only a few music production resources will make it onto the list.

I hope you find the music production resources in this post helpful!  You can check out some great services for the admin/music distribution side of things here too.

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