How Often Do You Read?

[massikrbeats]

OK, so I just borrowed the Idiot's Guide to music Theory from the library. It looks like a big yawn but do you guys think its worth reading or shoyuld I just let my music inspirations come natural. There's probably a shitload of good info that could help. I've stepped down from actually bangin beats in teh last few weeks to study increase my knowledge on the effects we all know and love, EQ, compression, etc. I mean really diggin deep in the books in order to understand not only what I'm doin, but how this, that, and the 3rd works.

Do you guys give you fingers a rest from the pads and actually attempt to understand more about your equipment and SOUND. There's some really cool stuff I've found out that has improved my EQing drastically!

HoLLa!

 

[J-ReZyN]

I hear you. Reading up on your trade really could improve your game. I agree some of the more technical books have tons of info but could be really boring and sometimes hard to follow once they start getting too technical. I haven't been hitting the library much but I read a bunch of magazines on the regular: Electronic Musician, EQ, Sound on Sound, Remix, Future Music. Not to mention lots of websites. I just have to be entertained also by what I'm reading or I lose interest pretty quickly. But no doubt, increase your knowledge and you will see a difference in your music.

 

[Elementree]

I think that this is true but the equal amount of fooling around and discovering things by doing is very much needed. Ive read alot about compression but really only have I found out new techniques by fooling around with it myself.

 

[J-ReZyN]

I think that this is true but the equal amount of fooling around and discovering things by doing is very much needed. Ive read alot about compression but really only have I found out new techniques by fooling around with it myself.

Definitely. When I'm reading about something new I always test it out in the lab and try and expand on it and adapt it to how I work. You can read a thousand books but you gotta put it to use and experiment.

 

[krysolite]

yoo i think thats a big plus. reading up on all that, cuz ive learned alot from reading. having knowledge about all that doesnt hurt anyway. wut elementree and rezyn said tho. u gota put ur knowledge into practice.
read alot about it. especially for stuff like mastering, compression or w/e

 

[sYgMa]

I do read a lot about how effect should be chained, how to use EQ and compression... experimenting can only lead you so far... knowledge can make you cross that gap between amateur and semi amateur/pro

 

[KurtisRich]

I read about EQ'ing and Compressions every now and then. I've also tried reading different methods on making beats. But at the end of the day, I still use the same method I started off using. OH, and I also read stuff on illmuzik.com everyday lol

 

[KurtisRich]

I read about EQ'ing and Compressions every now and then. I've also tried reading different methods on making beats. But at the end of the day, I still use the same method I started off using. OH, and I also read stuff on illmuzik.com everyday lol

 

[FTdub]

On a related topic over the course of the last 3 months I have been reading more literature as opposed to the industry, sports, entertainment rags that I used to read. I'm reading a ton of biographies, historical fiction, memoirs, and man it has increased my lyrical writing fivefold. My brain is stimulated by good stories to create poetic verses. My beatmaking has not diminished in the least, and I am not looking for mc's as much to get oan my tracks, cause I have more and more to say.

 

[HDBEATS]

I purchased the same book an it comes with a ear training cd. Good book for sure if you're serious about music definetly is a good read.

 

[afriquedeluxe]

OK, so I just borrowed the Idiot's Guide to music Theory from the library. It looks like a big yawn but do you guys think its worth reading or shoyuld I just let my music inspirations come natural. There's probably a shitload of good info that could help. I've stepped down from actually bangin beats in teh last few weeks to study increase my knowledge on the effects we all know and love, EQ, compression, etc. I mean really diggin deep in the books in order to understand not only what I'm doin, but how this, that, and the 3rd works.

Do you guys give you fingers a rest from the pads and actually attempt to understand more about your equipment and SOUND. There's some really cool stuff I've found out that has improved my EQing drastically!

HoLLa!

definately a big plus. music theory really is intriguing, i think you should keep reading more and applying it where possible.

 

[MarkN]

you will be surprised what you can learn from books, ive been learning theory a lot recently plus sum music business and i also got a power tools for pro tools and one for reason, they have helped me loads i thought i pretty much knew it ll when it came to reason but i was wrong !

 

[kbthakingpin]

you will be surprised what you can learn from books, ive been learning theory a lot recently plus sum music business and i also got a power tools for pro tools and one for reason, they have helped me loads i thought i pretty much knew it ll when it came to reason but i was wrong !

Word. Same here. I read things that I think I kno just to see if there are any new ideas I can test.. Yadidifeelsme !?

 

[dakotathecanuck]

i read everday. The Qur'an, Scratch magazine, and anything else I can pick up.

 

[Hypnotist]

You'll find that the problem with picking up a new book is that you'll be wasting your time with about 60-70% of the book most times, depending on the material. This is if you just go really beginner, and find a "how to" or "for dummies" book. Aside from someone who REALLY knows how much you know, and can make a serious recommendation, it's nearly impossible to just find a book that will benefit you completely.

The trick is to just go to google and type in most of your question and rephrase it 7 different times.

Learning isn't finding the right answers. It's asking the right questions.

Say I wanted to learn how to EQ. Hmmm... Okay, I'll probably need schooling and a few internships and a job in a studio for that. But say I've done it for a while myself, and I can narrow it down to a specific task for today. Maybe I'll type in "sweeping frequency" or "EQ plugin automation" or "narrow bandwidth" or "vocals compete with guitars" (replace 'guitars' with every instrument in your song) or just plain old "frequency spectrum".

Some of the terms you may not know. But you can always search "Equalization" and get some more terms to search, until your search looks like "nyquist theorum with quantization noise from not dithering". This doesn't have much to do with EQ, but I just felt like using digital audio terms to illustrate my point.

Anyway, don't just go and buy a bunch of books without knowing what to buy. For this: don't go online. Go into bookstores. Ask a professional where to start. Pick people's brains. Just don't pick mine if I'm tired.