Why do your songs don’t sound professional, and how to turn this around?

A lot of producers get frustrated that their songs don’t sound as professional as the ones from their favorite artists or labels, and it can sometimes lead to freezing and losing motivation because of that.

Therefore, here’s a list of corrective steps that you can do to solve this…

4 THOUGHTS FROM ME

1. Clear out the mud and the junk.

The first common mistake is muddy and overcrowded songs, and that can happen in multiple parts of your production stage. This can happen because we:

• Didn’t EQ our elements properly, or;
• We just overstuffed with more and more elements to make our songs fuller.

Here’s what I’ve learned and suggest you do:

1. If you can’t hear an element, delete it. Let’s start by clearing the junk, and if you turn an element off and then back on, and you can’t hear it, delete it as it’s just taking space in your mix;
2. Define the frequency range of each element. Every element in the song has a main frequency range, and other elements that also play in that same range will be secondary, right? For example, let’s talk about low mids. If you have a LOT of mid bass in your low mids, then low cut (or create bell dip) your piano, pads, other basses, arps, leads, or any other element that might also play in that range.
   But, how will you know when you’ve done it enough? Create a frequency range isolation EQ. Cut everything with a 48db/oct low cut at 150hz, and another high cut at 600hz. Now apply this to your track, and your reference and try to match its loudness;
3. Focus on three main elements at a time. When listening to music, we normally concentrate on three elements at a time, and if there’s more than this, it can sound crowded to us. Therefore, when making your music, make it in a way that, at most, three elements are in the spotlight. It’s not that you can’t have other elements, but they won’t be the core of your song;
4. Don’t overcomplicate your song. When building your song, try not to add elements just for the sake of adding. Everything needs to be there for a reason since otherwise, you can cause more harm than good to your song. But how to know when you’re doing too much?
   • Watch project walkthroughs from experienced producers that you admire and see how many layers they often had for elements that you feel you’re overdoing;
   • As said before, mute stuff and if doesn’t make a difference, delete them.

2. Tell a hell of a story in your track through your elements and your mix.

A good song doesn’t only come from the idea that you have, but also from the elements that you select and how you play them through a song. It’s similar, for example, to a movie… (a) the main character doesn’t always show up, (b) the pace and excitement of the movie grows as the movie goes on and (c) you need to find the right actors to play your story.

So, for your songs:

1. Don’t keep your elements playing throughout the whole song. Give breaks to your elements, even to the most important ones so people can ‘get a relief’ from them, and ‘get a boost in energy’ from them when they reappear. For example, a bass or a main lead, it’s often nice to get rid of it at the start of the break, and then come back with them later on. This adds contrast to your song, which is always helpful to reenergize your listener;
2. Find the right sounds to play your story. You need to find the sounds that play into the vibe that you want your song to be in. For example, you need aggressive drums for an aggressive song, or more organic and chill drums for a calmer song. Now, pick 3 tracks you like in your genre and check the most commonly used sounds and presets. Go to your sample and preset packs and try to find what they are and/or learn how to make the main synth sounds so you can quickly find the right elements when looking for them;
3. Manage the excitement and energy of your songs. The start of your song can’t be as exciting as the end of it since we want to make the end more energetic than the beginning, and you can manage that in a lot of ways:
   • Add more elements to the start of your drop two to make it bigger than drop one;
   • Drop the energy of your breakdown by taking away the main leads and the bass;
   • Filter the bass right before the drops to make the drops hit harder;
   • Add risers and fallers to create tension and release before the drops;
   • Don’t add all the elements you have in the start of the drop or it will be harder to keep on growing it.

3. Add the elements that nobody will notice, but that will make your song fuller.

Another reason why your songs might not sound professional is the lack of background elements throughout your song. I’m not just talking about ambiances, but elements that will not be the core of your song, but that will make it grow and develop, and here are a few of them:

1. Make your percussions grow throughout the song. A way to make your song fuller as it progresses is just by adding more to your drum. Not necessarily adding more of the core drum elements, but background elements that contribute to the swing and groove of your song.
   You can start with the Kick, Clap/Snare, and Hat, but then you can add toms, shakers, 16th hats, tambourines, foleys, and if you add one new element every new 8 bar, it will always keep your song growing and enhancing its energy;
2. Add elements in the background of your melodics. You can also add melodic elements to make your song fuller, wider, and also ‘not empty’. For example, vocal beds, atmospheres, nature textures, arps, and pads.. Again, add them as your song progresses to fill the gap of areas that could sound too dry, but EQ them as well to open space for the main melodic elements of your song;
3. Place these non-core elements in strategic positions of your mix to make them fuller. For example, if you have a pad and a lead playing at the same frequency range, you can make your pad wider so it opens space in the center for the lead to shine, and the same can be done with drums. If you have a 16th hat already playing in the center, you can add a Haas effect to a shaker or tambourine and place it on the sides.
   This will not only open space in your mix but also make your songs fuller and wider.

4. Learn how to REALLY use reference tracks.

How much is too much background elements? Or when you’ve cleaned so much of the mud that it now sounds empty in the low mids? A lot of that can be done with the help of reference tracks, something I use and abuse in all my songs. For example:

1. Learn arrangement, structure, and excitement with tracks you love. Don’t know what else to add to your drums? Listen to a reference, or multiple, and take ideas from what they are doing into your tracks. Same thing with melodic background elements…Do these reference tracks have less/more than you have? Then take out/add more according to what you hear in them.
   Reference tracks can be ‘maps’ to help you know what else you have to do next… it’s a matter of whether you use them as such;
2. Compare the loudness of different frequency ranges. Are you afraid your mids or low end are too loud/quiet? Put your track and the reference at the same loudness, and listen only to that specific range you’re worried about. You can even use a free tool like Youlean Meter and check if your range is the same LUFS (loudness unit) as the reference, and adjust as such;
3. Learn where your elements shine. Pick an EQ and make a 48db low-end cut, now go swiping it up. Notice what goes away when you put the cut at 80hz, 160hz, 500hz, 1khz, 3khz, 5khz, 10khz. Now, do the same, but now using a 48db high-end cut instead. When you learn what shines in each region for your reference, you’ll learn what you need to shine within these ranges in your songs, which can help you low/high cut/dip the ‘non-core’ elements of that region.

All the songs you love are willing to give you tips, it’s up to you to grab and take advantage of them to make your songs better

3 QUICK TIPS FOR YOU

What else could be making you sound amateur?

1. Learn to copy! Oops, sorry… to ‘steal’.
If you copy the structure and elements from one song, you’re copying it, right? But if you’re copying the structure from one song, and the elements from two other songs, you’re still copying, but it would be a lot harder for someone to find out.
So, you should abuse copying from other songs until you know what to add and how to arrange a song, especially when you’re still learning since that’s what will lay the foundation for you to be unique in the future;

2. Think one step ahead of the production stage you’re at.
Adding a huge lead to your song? Now, anticipate the problems this new element could create in your mix and do it right now. Adding a lot of elements to the same section of your track?
You’ll need to sound design them differently to make them all play in harmony. In essence, make sure to always think of the consequences of the decisions you’re taking now, or they could cause you issues as you progress with the song;

3. Don’t let this feeling sink in for too long.
If you’re not happy with the stage you’re at, you MUST be doing something to figure out how you can solve it, otherwise you WILL get frustrated. Find a mentor, ask for feedback, go to YouTube, and try to find a tutorial, but don’t let this feeling stay there. Make a list of why you think you’re not sounding as professional as you can be and make solving this list your highest priority