Lately all I've been listening to is trance and other related forms of EDM. I enjoy rock and metal but don't really listen to it much now that I'm producing.

Do you think its a good idea to keep your ears 'stimulated' by listening to other forms of music or do you think as a producer it shouldn't make any difference and you should listen to trance and EDM whenever you can?

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If you're willing to limit yourself to that little dogma of being an edm producer, then by all means do, and only listen to trance or whatever you're trying to make.

My thoughts put simply are, that if you want to be a good artist, musical diversity can't be bad for you.

Though, getting into the mood of making something specific by listening to the type of music you want to make is obvious, imo.

There's not a person here that's going to tell you it's a good idea to listen to nothing but trance.

Listening to one genre non-stop would drive me bat-shit.

I don't listen to, nor do I create, one genre exclusively, but I also don't consider myself an "EDM producer" per se. I'm definitely in the jack-of-many-trades, master-of-none camp. That's not to say that it's the "right" way. There are advantages to be both a specialist and a generalist, but I personally think that, when it comes to the arts, you're better off having some diversity.

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wow really

quote:

Originally posted by MeltdownZA Lately all I've been listening to is trance and other related forms of EDM. I enjoy rock and metal but don't really listen to it much now that I'm producing.

I'm guessing that when you say "lately", you're referring to the last few weeks or months??? I think maybe some people are misinterpreting this as "I plan on listening to nothing but trance for the rest of my life". Don't worry, it's just a phase - we all go through it when we discover something new that we really like. You'll be back to listening to your other favorites, as well as the music that you grew up listening to at some point.

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No, it is not.

In fact I would go so far as to say that you should listen only to the specific sub-genre you intend to create. If you want to master the techniques particular to your intended style, listening to other sounds is kind of a waste, at least as far as developing your production skills is concerned.

quote:

Originally posted by Vector A In fact I would go so far as to say that you should listen only to the specific sub-genre you intend to create. If you want to master the techniques particular to your intended style, listening to other sounds is kind of a waste, at least as far as developing your production skills is concerned.

Those are kind of the lines I was thinking along..

Maybe I should re-phrase my question...

Do you think listening to other genres can in any way enhance the production of the music you make?

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Hmm in the past 5 and half years I listened in the 99.99% of the time only trance, the rest of the 00.01% is F. Chopin. I admit I am a tranceaholic! I'll never get tired of something that is good.

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quote:

Originally posted by MeltdownZA Do you think listening to other genres can in any way enhance the production of the music you make?

Yes.

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Originally posted by JEO Yes.

+1. Focusing on one single sub-genre is going to leave you pretty pigeon-holed in terms of production skills. If your goal is to be a follower and simply try to recreate what others have already done, or if you are very new to production and just trying to figure out the basics by limiting your learning process to something that is manageable, that's fine, I suppose. But, if you want to push the envelope in any meaningful way, having a broader range of production skills will only help, not hinder, that ability.

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quote:

Originally posted by cryophonik +1. Focusing on one single sub-genre is going to leave you pretty pigeon-holed in terms of production skills.

Makes sense. Lets take a simple example, if you listen to a lot of trance, then decide to listen to some good ol jungle music (no beat, just jungle wind instruments for instance), there's a good chance you can incorporate some of those influences into your music.

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