Post 8: Genius — Deconstructed

For about 6 months now, I have been obsessed with music production. Alongside producing music everyday, I have been watching this youtube channel called, “Genius.” They have a series called, “Deconstructed” which I love. Basically, they take popular modern songs and they bring in the producer who produced them to break down every sound that they used as well as some insight on the process all in about 7 minutes.

This is so interesting to me because I’ve always wondered, what goes into creating these masterpieces that I love listening to? Now you can find out too. And by watching these videos as well as livestreams of people creating music, it made me realize just how much I actually enjoy the process of creating something from scratch. This is what made me want to start producing in the first place. It’s super satisfying to me to start with a single note, and eventually ending up with a full song. Once it’s done, I can really just sit back and enjoy what I just made.

One of my favorite things about these videos, is that the majority of the time, these amazing songs only use a few sounds to create the vibe of it. Most, if not all, of these producers can agree that simplicity is best when making a classic. It’s not just for the vibes sake; it’s also for the artist who will sing on it. Watching tons of these videos, I’ve learned that the number one thing in the minds of these producers is to leave plenty of room for the artist to sing over. It’s so tempting to just add more and more layers when producing, but if the artist doesn’t feel that there’s plenty of musical room for them to record over, they won’t want it. They have to want to sing on it. Now, I always keep in mind that the artist should be #1 priority. Because if they’re happy, you’ll get work and therefore be able to do what you love for a living.

After watching plenty of these videos, I now have more of an insight into what it means the be a music producer as well as how great songs are made.