Production Advice

The Production Advice Community on Twitter

I think this is a great idea. It’s not my idea, but it’s a great one.

It’s simple – people like you share hints, tips and advice over Twitter as part of the Production Advice Community, including offering opinions about each other’s music.

All you need to to is follow @prodAdvice on Twitter, and get involved. Here’s how it works:

• Send a link for a track you would like some Production Advice on to @ianshepherd (That’s me)
• I’ll take a listen, and post a free (but very brief !) piece of Production Advice to Twitter – kind of like a “Top Priority Lite” service
• I’ll also post the link to your track on Twitter, so anyone else who would like to can take a listen, and offer their opinion, too
• People can read all the opinions, and reply, if they like
• All those comments will be re-tweeted, and also stored on a special Tumblr blog I’ve set up for the purpose
• You can see if you agree with the comments, and put them into action to improve your recording or mix

Together, everyone involved helps create a powerful tool for sharing information and advice.

So why do I like the idea so much, and whose is it, originally ?

Well for one thing, it gets you quick, free advice to make your mixes sound better. Unlike the Production Advice Special Introductory Offer, it’s not a “one-per-person” deal – you can submit as many tracks as you like (but only one at a time), and I’ll always give you a free (140 character) reply – plus lots of other comments from the many clever, talented people on Twitter.

But I think it’s a great thing to participate in, too.

The idea is stolen borrowed directly from @RavenousRaven’s fantastic Twitter Songwriter’s Community – exactly the same idea I’ve described above, but focused on songwriting rather than recording and production. I’ve been lurking there for a while, and recently started taking part – if you’re a songwriter, I wholeheartedly recommend you follow @RavenousRaven on Twitter now and get involved.

Why ? Because it’s a great way to improve your own skills.

In the heat of writing, recording or mixing, it can be hard to stay objective about what you’re working on. After all, these are creative processes, and they’re tough – it takes a great deal of optimism and determination to get from an empty hard drive to a finished song.

You want what you’re working on to be great, and it can be difficult to switch this way of thinking off.

Listening to someone else’s work though, we don’t have this problem ! We listen much more clearly and objectively, so the process of explaining why we think something is good or bad, or works and doesn’t work, comes more easily.

And I believe that this process is an invaluable rehearsal for listening critically to our own music. Not many people can offer comments without comparing to their own material to see how it shapes up, and that’s the magic ingredient, I think.

Everybody wins !

So, here are the details of how it works:

• Follow @prodAdvice on Twitter – all the comments will be posted there
• Check out the Tumblr blog to see (and hear) which track people are commenting on – I’ll post a link to this on Twitter, updated on a regular basis
• Send any of your own comments to @prodAdvice, making sure to include the” hashtag ” label of #paComm (which stands for Production Advice Comment) and the specific tag for each song – this will be something like #paC_012. It will always be included with the link to the song. (The hashtags are important – without them, your comment might get missed)
• Feel free to also send hints and tips to help other users – join the conversation !

I hope you like the idea as much as I do – if you do, please spread the word – blog it, tweet it or just tell your friends about it – the more people are involved, the better it will work.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to exchanging opinions with you soon !