Ive collaborated with some others in making music in the past. I gotta say it was wonderful.
It was an awesome learning experience. And it had helped me level up. But some collaborative efforts were messy because of difference in skill level and creative vision. Despite this it was still awesome to work with others in making music.
From this i learned when collaborating…
First you gotta agree on the creative vision for a track or for an album.
Secondly you gotta work out who does what. Some people are stronger making drums and bass while others are better at making leads and melodies.
thirdly having complementary samples and complimentary sound design. Finding and creating sounds that fit together is a process and you gotta be able to take feedback.
As for mixing and mastering gotta figure it out between the both of you… again being able to take feedback is critical. Also some just dont have the tools that the other has or they have different methods.
Lastly collaboration works best if you are willing to learn from each other and if you agree on the creative vision.
that is my take on it.
So feel free to share you experiences/or tips for collaborating.
please speak generally and respectfully because this is not a direct review of people that youve worked with…this thread is more so what you personally learned from your collaborative experiences and any creative advice for succesfully collaborating with others.
I’ve never had a good collaboration experience, but that’s definitely my fault. Communication is probably very important, because as someone who has always sucked in that department, everything turns to a complete mess without it.
Having people remix and rework my tracks is probably the closest I’ll ever get to a proper collaboration, because I can’t even finish a remix of someone else’s work to save my life. Needless to say, those results have been so incredibly cool, so you have to appreciate the miracles when you get them
its never easy. I’ve had to let down someone before who had done vocals in a sub par fashion and tell them i wasnt going to use the stuff they’d done. i have to cherry pick the people i use for stuff and i have a high bar for contributing. We’re not kids anymore.
One thing that irks me about some vocalists that i have tried to work with is that some of them don’t even own interfaces, or DAWs or microphones. And they call themselves singers in 2024. They’re several years behind the curve in terms of being able to produce their own music. you need this working functional knowledge nowadays. they’re being dependent on others to form the ideas they want to put forth. I’d rather have someone who is knowledgeable and can record themselves, is experienced at it and can logistically make things happen than someone who is a deer in the headlights when time comes to get your feet wet. This also goes for drummers who can’t play to a click track.
