A music producer is the artistic, creative, and technical leader of a recording project. (There are also live show and concert producers, but here we will focus mainly on creating recordings.) The producer is the project manager who oversees the entire process. They have a say in choosing or writing songs, determining arrangements and overall sound, and coaching the artists to deliver their best performances.

Producers may also take the role of recording engineer, and may also make decisions about budgets or promotional strategy.

YouTube Channel “Produce Like A Pro” has useful tutorials on all aspects of music production. Here’s a short introductory video with links to other important topics in music production and engineering:

Some artists are self-produced, but most rely on an experienced producer to get their music recorded and released. The producer in music is sometimes compared to the director of a film. An executive producer might finance a recording, but most producers are hands-on when it comes to shaping the recording through all phases of production. It’s the producer’s job to make the decisions that matter.

There are many kinds of music producers. Some create beats or loops or make music in a studio. Some record in their bedroom or capture performances from the concert stage.

Producers can wear many hats. Some are specialists in one genre while others are generalists, recording many styles of music. Music producers play an important role in bringing music to listeners.

It’s a long road from those early-career moments when you’re just discovering your passion for recording to becoming a GRAMMY winner. But everyone needs to start somewhere.

Harvey Mason jr. is a GRAMMY-nominated record producer and the long-time President/CEO of the Recording Academy. He has written and produced hit songs for industry legends Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Elton John, Justin Bieber, Beyonce, John Legend, Ariana Grande, Justin Timberlake, and Chris Brown.

A sampling of his production and songwriting credits in film and TV music includes Jesus Christ Superstar Live!, Sing, The Wiz Live!, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Shrek, Straight Outta Compton, all three Pitch Perfect films, Dreamgirls, Get On Up, and Over the Moon.

We were lucky enough to ask Harvey Mason jr. a few questions about getting started as a music producer. Here’s what he had to say.

Here’s a video explaining all the equipment you’ll need for producing music, the best options for your budget, and how to get it all connected so you can get started right away.

Many of today’s top music producers have access to fully-equipped recording studios where they record live bands or orchestras, and oversee a sizable production team including engineers, arrangers, line producers, and assistants. They manage the many large and small details of major projects, along with budgets and project timelines.

Some others might work solo out of their own studio or a home studio.

If you are getting your start by producing music at home on your own, you will need a computer and a digital audio workstation, typically called a DAW for short.

Here are some of the most important components of a home studio:

Apple Macintosh is the best choice for computer because of the operating system (OS), which is ideal for music and media production. Plus, the Mac OS is more intuitive than a Windows system, and you won’t have to deal with endless system updates and driver installations.

While the computer you already own may already have what you need, you should check to make sure that at minimum it has the following:

• 64-Bit Operating System
• 8 GB of RAM
• 4-Core Processer
• Solid State Drive (SSD) as primary operating hard drive with 1TB internal storage
• Hard Disc Drive (HDD) as secondary storage, can have more than one

SSDs are more expensive and faster than HDDs. To stretch your budget, use the SSD (with minimum 128 or 256 GB) for the computer’s operating system and the slower (but cheaper) HHDs for backing up large files, and storing music libraries.

PCs are cheaper than MACs, but a MAC will come already configured to optimize for recording music. Desktops will give you more for your money, but if you need to be portable you can buy a laptop with everything you need.

The portability comes with an extra cost. Most electronic music producers prefer MACs but there are some who use PCs.

Popular choices are GarageBand, Logic Pro X, Ableton Live, Pro Tools, Cubase Pro, FL Studio, and Reason. GarageBand comes free with the Apple computer, so it is a good place to start. Logic Pro X is considered the big brother of Garage Band, so you can easily upgrade to that when you are ready. The software is the brain of the DAW.

These should be specifically designed for audio production with flat response across frequencies; they are also called reference headphones. Some of the better brands are AKG, Audio Technica, Sony, and Beyer Dynamic. Avoid popular consumer and fashion headphone brands as they aren’t designed for music producers.

A MIDI controller device allows you to manipulate and modify the sounds from the virtual instruments that come with your DAW software. (MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, and is the universal standard for how computers and digital musical instruments communicate with each other.)

MIDI controllers come in different forms such as a keyboard, or a pad controller, and allow you to add and edit notes or chords, or manipulate synth and signal processing parameters to modify sounds.

The audio interface is an external device that connects to your computer via USB or thunderbolt. A USB interface is a good choice, since the USB protocol won’t be discontinued and is a universal connection type. If you are using loops, beats, samples, and MIDI sequences (as opposed to recording live room audio), Apple’s built-in audio interface will work fine. Almost all of today’s popular music uses loops, samples, and sequences.

There are many types, brands, and models of microphones to choose from, but either a dynamic microphone or an inexpensive large-diaphragm condenser microphone is a preferred choice to start. These can capture sound in great detail, whether it’s voice or an acoustic instrument.

You will also need a boom stand, XLR cable, and a pop filter with your microphone; these accessories can add significantly to the cost but your microphone can’t function without them.

2-Minute Tips is a video series that offers simple and effective mixing, mastering, and music production tips.

Studio monitors or reference monitors connect to the audio interface and let you hear exactly what is happening in the production. They are supposed to be flat, meaning they don’t color the sound in any way. Studio monitors are more transparent compared to hi-fi speakers.

You should consider the acoustics in the room where you set up your DAW. Most spaces require some acoustical treatments such as carpets or other absorbent materials like foam on the walls, so that frequencies don’t reverberate, cluttering the sound and making it difficult to adjust and match the volume of different instruments in the mix.

If your space is rectangular in shape, set up your workstation and monitors on the short side of the room. High ceilings work best, and you want to contain your sound in the space to avoid disturbing any neighbors. To learn more about home studios and how to set up yours, see our article on how to build a home studio on a budget.

Pro Tip: You will not need to buy a dedicated mixer, since the audio interface and DAW software provide all the functions of an audio mixer that a home studio needs. Using an external mixer can actually degrade the quality of your recordings.

When it comes to cost, the sky’s the limit, but it’s possible to put together a basic package for a home studio for less than $700.00 (not including the computer). An upgraded package might cost twice that. The equipment has improved greatly over the last few years and prices are lower, meaning you can get a lot more bang for your buck than previously.

Now, let’s turn to what a producer actually does, and examine the audio production process more closely.

Pyramind is a great online resource for learning more about the processes and workflow of Music Production, here’s a sample video.

The stages of music production will vary based on preference, experience, and equipment. At some risk of oversimplification, I’ve broken it down into the following steps: pre-production, production, and post-production.

Starts with conception. Ideas matter.

At the start of a project there is almost always a song, a composition, or visual cues (e.g., for videogame or film composers) that the producer starts with. Sometimes, the producer might also be the songwriter or composer, but regardless, most projects start with a song, a composition, or by manipulating various beats or loops.

Producers have the ability to imagine the finished product and how it will sound. The producer might be working in a specific genre, or have reference tracks to describe the particular “vibe” they are looking for.

There may be other components related to what will be recorded on the track (such as beats, loops, or sequences), but in essence, production is always about bringing a song or a composition to life. At this stage, the producer starts to map out the process for completing the recording project.

Pro Tip: It’s important to take the legal ownership of the song or composition into account when choosing music to record. If the song is a cover and intended for release, permission from the song copyright owner must be secured in advance.

GRAMMY Award-winning musician and producer FINNEAS examines his creative process while working on some of the biggest hit songs of the past couple years.

Next, the producer will consider the instrumentation for the track, and if using live musicians, decide who will be performing on it. Arranging a piece of music means adapting it to a certain setting, and involves many decisions about the form, the key, the length, and the style of the piece. There are times where a producer might create an arrangement on the fly, and other times there may be a written arrangement already created in advance.

Some of the greatest songs in history were greatly enhanced by having a new and different arrangement, and the arrangement is a very important aspect of any musical production to which a good producer pays close attention.

There are many more decisions to make during the pre-production process. For example, choosing a studio, the budget, the timeline for production, an engineer, scheduling rehearsals, deciding which tracking method to use, transportation of musicians and instruments, catering, and so on.

Producers working with a label may already have a budget and a pre-determined plan, but in most cases, the producer is responsible for planning the project fully in collaboration with the artist or other interested parties, such as sponsors, studio director, or the band manager.

Pro Tip: Pre-production can sometimes take the longest of the three stages of production. Many artists take as much as a year or more in the pre-production stage to make a record, and it always seems to take longer than you think it will.

Where the rubber meets the road.

This is the heart of the process, and if you’ve done careful pre-production planning you should be well-prepared to capture the music. The producer oversees the process from start to finish and makes decisions throughout that determine the direction and outcome of the recording.

Making recordings is fun, but can be fraught with frustration when unanticipated problems arise. Usually, the problems are technical in nature, which is why having an experienced audio engineer to assist can help to lower stress.

The recording process includes all steps to get the music “on tape” (a holdover term from pre-digital times) and includes basic tracks, layering and doubling tracks, editing, and most of the overdubs.

Things usually don’t always go as planned, and during recording you should listen back to your work frequently. Whether working solo or with a group, there will always be small and big things you hear that you want to change. This means going back and re-recording, or perhaps deleting or muting some tracks to better hear what’s wrong and decide how to fix it.

Sometimes a wrong note can be fixed with the click of a mouse, but other times you may need to start over and re-record an entire track. These decisions are based on the experience and skill of the producer and usually made in collaboration with the artist and the engineer.

Pro Tip: It’s a smart idea to record more songs than you actually need, this way you can keep only the best work. When a song doesn’t come out as you intended, you can put it aside and use the ones that came out the way you wanted. If you need 6 tracks for an EP, plan to record at least 10-12 to start.

This is where tracks are overlaid with the basic tracks, for example, lead and backing vocals, doublings, horns or strings, handclaps, and solos.

It’s all in the mix.

Post-production begins after the tracks are recorded, with mixing, or “the mixdown.” Tailoring the mix requires many decisions, with each one impacting the sound of the final recording. For every note on the recording, the producer works with the mixing engineer to determine the level, timbre (tone), effects, panning, and all parameters of the mix.

People all hear music differently, so it can be challenging to create a mix that most people will like. Sometimes the producer is also the engineer and produces the final mix as well. It’s a good idea to listen to final mixes on different sets of speakers and headphones, to get an understanding of what end-listeners will hear.

Pro Tip: Always mix with a set of “fresh ears,” meaning you should not be tired or have listened to the tracks too much on the same day. Sometimes the ears need a rest; generally, it’s impossible to work on a mixing project for more than six hours a day, even with frequent breaks.

The finishing stage of the recording, mastering, is usually done by a specialized mastering engineer. Mastering requires even more decisions, such as: How much silence should there be between (multiple) tracks on a record? What will be the overall volume and dynamic range? Are some songs louder than others, or are all at the same level?

The mastering engineer makes sure that the dynamic range is appropriate (that the songs aren’t too loud or too soft), that all the songs fit onto the disc with a small bit of silence between them (if making a physical copy of the recording), and that all tracks are matched for the levels. It’s not quite as easy as it sounds.

While the original recording engineer might mix the work after it’s recorded, it’s crucial that the mastering engineer be different from the mix engineer, as a fresh set of ears is essential for mastering.

Mastering can also be done online. The producer oversees the mixing and mastering process and has input into decisions affecting the sound of the final recording.

Pro Tip: Mastering engineers usually charge by the song.

Besides mixing and mastering, post-production decisions made by the producer might include duplication (if there is to be a physical CD), artwork, jacket design, photographs, liner notes, and any promotional marketing strategies for the release.

Don’t forget to include metadata on your recordings, so that they can be searched for in sound libraries and by performing rights organizations (PROs) that track for royalties.

The final step of producing a recording should always be to listen and enjoy! Producers always try to do better than their previous work, and continually improving your skills in music production is a worthy goal indeed.

Fortunately, there are many great programs in audio engineering and music production available from the top music schools today. These programs vary in scope and length, from taking a single online course to 4-year bachelor’s degrees and even graduate degrees at some universities.

Not long ago most music producers either learned on their own or apprenticed with an established producer. Students today have the benefit of comprehensive programs offering a wide range of courses taught by accomplished faculty who are leaders in the music industry.

Most, but not all college and university programs require students to have a music background and to study music. Options for music/audio production programs leading to a bachelor of arts in music (B.A.), a bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.), and a bachelor of music (B.M. or B.Mus.) will require playing an instrument and major core music studies, while for non-musicians earning a bachelor of science in audio engineering (B.S.), a 2-year associate’s degree (A.A.), or a certificate is an option.

Many of the music production and audio engineering courses offered online don’t require students to play an instrument, and a few music schools accept the computer as a principal instrument, dubbed the digital musical instrument (DMI) or electronic digital instrument (EDI).

After completing a certificate, diploma, or music production degree program, most graduates get their start in the business by interning at a studio, perhaps working alongside an established producer. This provides the chance to build the connections you’ll need, continue learning, and should lead to professional opportunities.

Becoming an in-demand music producer takes hard work and preparation in order to gain the required skills and contacts. For the determined, it will be worth the effort, since it’s a growing field and a offers great career opportunities for those who come well-prepared.

As a bonus, check out Spotify’s state-of-the-art recording studio complex in Los Angeles, as covered by Sound on Sound Magazine.