The Noisey Guide to Becoming a Bedroom Artist

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Thanks to Soundcloud and FruityLoops everyone is now a bedroom music artist or producer. You may even be toying with the idea yourself. But before you get that call from Drake asking you to produce his next track, there are some basics that you need to know.

Don’t Suck
OK so you have all the programs and all the inspiration but don’t forgot to have a little bit of the talent. Too often the term
‘bedroom’ is used as a euphemism for ‘hackneyed amateur’. Before you start any recording, practice, then practice some more. When you have finished, start again.

Don’t Go Overboard On Gear
Don’t stress too much on gear. Get yourself a decent set of headphones and some software plugins but build up rather than go all out from the start. Ask for advice from friends and forums as to what is going to work best for you. Remember you are a musician/producer not a gear nerd. If you like buying expensive dumb shit take up sneaker collecting.

Be An Artist But Don’t Become An ‘Artist’
Don’t freak out at your housemates and tell them that you need quiet as you are working on a new verse. They don’t care. Don’t invite that attractive person home from the bar or party to ‘check out your studio’. They don’t care. Actually don’t tell anyone that you are a ‘bedroom artist’.

Save It
Like any creative toiling away for hours on something that you think will someday be your masterpiece, make sure that you save it. Have you ever experienced that sinking feeling of losing months worth of work? Back that shit up! Sure there are data recovery services but dealing with those guys is almost as bad as losing an album worth of work.

Find Some Work/Life Balance
There is a word for someone who shuts themselves off from the outside world and toils alone in a dark room, surrounded by stacks of pizza boxes and cans of energy drink: loser. Yeah we get that you take your work very seriously but we also get that if you spend too much time alone you become kind of scary.

This article is presented in partnership with JD Future Legends

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