We are all looking for people to give feedback to us as a way to improve, but giving feedback to others is also an amazing way to develop your music and your network. A couple of thoughts on that…
4 THOUGHTS FROM ME
1. Learn from other’s people mistakes while also helping other producers to grow. When you’re giving feedback to other producers, you’ll start to detect issues on songs that you’ll point out as part of the feedback that you’re giving, and that you could also later avoid when making your songs as well. For example, I often point out on feedback that the songs are sounding too stereo, or too mono, so that’s one thing I ALWAYS check when working on my songs since I know I don’t like when this issue happens. In addition, I often mention about arrangements being too repetitive, so I always make sure to check if my songs are not sounding too repetitive as well. One thing I highly recommend is: for every feedback you give, make a list of things that were wrong or sounding strange to you and later use this list when doing your songs. This way you can avoid things that you noticed as issues in other people’s tracks, or get a list of things you need to learn how to avoid, and in both cases you’ll end up with more knowledge and making your tracks less prone to issues.
2. Get inspired by what other producers are making and also develop your tracks by implementing things that you liked. This is one of the main reasons why I love giving feedback. Feedback is a way that you can not only learn from mistakes, but also learn from what other producers are doing well, which might help you develop your music even more. Recently, one producer shared a track on my feedback livestreams and I loved how he used his percussions, so I implemented a similar concept to my percussions as he was doing, which is something I would have possibly never seen if it wasn’t for that feedback. The purpose is not to copy others, but to steal like an artist from others by using their tracks as ways to get inspired and learn what they think is fresh and new. In addition, you’ll also be able to identify trends in the market that you could start to follow, and also of things that are being overused so you can avoid it, but both will help develop and inspire your music in a different way than you would if you didn’t give that feedback. Therefore, when giving feedback, make sure to listen to the song with a mentality of ‘what is this producer doing that I could start doing as well’ and you’ll learn and develop a lot!
3. Give feedback as an opportunity to network in the industry and it will open MANY doors for you. Giving feedback is the easiest way to meet new producers and make more connections in the industry since most people will appreciate your help, and some will try to later connect with you or offer you feedback in exchange for the help you’ve given to them. That will happen because people are much more prone to help or talk to someone who has selflessly helped them, so the amount of stuff you could gain from helping others is insane. However, you should never give feedback expecting things in return because that will easily make you look bad and will leave you frustrated at times, but the more you selflessly do it, the more opportunities will miraculously open to you. For example, I’ve met collab partners by giving feedback; I’ve met people that later hosted me in their houses when I needed it; I’ve met people that later introduced me to label A&Rs that later signed me, and so on. In the end, the more people you help, the more people will be willing to help you back when you need it, and that’s always important in music. To start doing this, go to our discord server and give feedback to someone, and I’m sure that, if you try to, you’ll be able to start a conversation with them, which could later become a collab, or a music producer friend that will help you when you need feedback as well.
4. Learn how to talk about music in a way that others understand you, and that will make your life a LOT easier when working with other artists. Collaboration, with producers or vocalists, is almost inevitable for all producers since it could help you enhance the quality of your music and expand your reach, but learning how to express yourself when giving feedback to your partner is crucial for a productive and constructive workflow. Not only this, but as you grow as a producer, you’ll have labels doing mixing and/or mastering for your tracks, and you’ll need to be able to communicate your thoughts in a constructive manner to help them improve the end result. This will also help you better understand when you receive destructive or vague feedback and take something positive out of it since you’ll be trained to understand ‘beyond the lines’ of the feedback. Therefore, give feedback to others as a way to enhance your speaking skills when trying to translate your thoughts and visions of a song into words, and this will help you to tremendously improve your collaborations with any other artist as it will make them more constructive, objective and, therefore, enjoyable as a whole.
1 QUESTION FOR YOU
Why are you not giving feedback to other producers?
1. ‘My music is not good enough for me to give feedback’. Well, you listen to other songs and you know what you like about them, right? Well, just tell the artists upfront that you’re still a learner, but this is what you’re feeling about their songs and what you would do if it was your song.
2. ‘I don’t know where to find songs to give feedback’. Well, you can join our discord, as mentioned before, to not only ask for feedback, but also to selflessly give feedback to others as well and meet other producers.
3. ‘I don’t know what to say when giving feedback’. Try to comment on the song as if he/she was a friend and in a way that would help them develop. For example, “your track sucks’ won’t help them much, but ‘your track sucks because the kick is too loud, and the bass is crowding the mix a little bit’ will already give them something to think about. Here’s an article I really like about giving constructive feedback.
