Top 10 YouTube Channels for Music Production
Finding the right Youtuber to help you progress in your musical journey can be challenging. We’ve all scoured the internet for the right tip to make our drums more dominant in a mix or show us the way with EQ’ing our vocal chops… so we all know that there are too many YouTube tutorials to count.
Since the first lockdown, the number of producers on this journey has grown dramatically. To give you the best help possible, we’ve shortlisted the top 10 YouTubers who bring quality & character to their music production tutorials. The production gurus you’ll find in this article bring tricks that can be applied to all D.A.W’s.
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Being the most renowned in the space, Andrew brings a platter of knowledge to his viewers – as well as his notorious challenge ‘4 Producers Flip the Same Sample‘. Andrew dives deep into music composition & theory and turns these complicated areas of music into super accessible lessons, as well as exploring sound design techniques and showing us how hardware synths & software plugins can allow us to create new environments with our music creation – and that’s not even the half of it. His videos of creating a beat from Donald Trump’s sniff or an entire song from a kitchen pot are just two of his videos that showed me, personally, the possibilities there are in the music creation world.
If you like to get down into the nitty-gritty with a VST, look no further. Letsynthesize is your one-stop shop for your basses, leads, pads… you name it! Whether you’re looking to learn how Noisia do their thing, learn to layer your Neuro basses, create powerful Techno or even create like Mefjus… this is the channel to satisfy that synth tooth that’s been nagging at you. For the longest time I felt stuck with my sound design because it’s not easy to learn what the maze of knobs do or what the weird moving lines do in the strange OSC boxes (what does OSC mean again?), but Letsynthesize puts SO much knowledge into one place and you bet I wish I had found this channel when I first started playing with soundwaves.
Are you after better drums? Maybe you would like to know how to navigate Serum? What about finger drumming? InspirAspir knows how to do all of this and is fantastic at keeping his content light, informative & funny. If you’re looking for a safe space to explore and learn how Lofi is created, if you’re after some fun new equipment or even if you’re after some general entertainment, you’re looking at the channel for you.
This one is for the technical peeps out there. SoundKiller provides some of the best walkthroughs if you’re learning heavy bass genres such as Dubstep and can really break down the daunting feeling we all have when we begin our sound design journey. Ever wondered how to make that supersonic synth, that Virtual Riot is renowned for, in Vital? SoundKiller’s channel is orientated around Dubstep, but don’t be fooled! You can carry the skills you learn here, such as what PC components you need for a music computer, how to make growls, or how to make drums in Serum, into any electronic genre!
Time to get inspired. Did you know just how creative you can get with white noise? If you’re looking to learn the rules and then break them immediately after, Will Hatton is the teacher that you may be drawn to. From creative advice on turning your 8 bar loop into a song, how to create with Ableton, how to get that sweet punchy kick… you name it! If you’ve ever wondered what a creative process would look like as a YouTube channel, here you go. Did you make some samples recently? Remix them!
Some creators need that little bit more from a music production tutorial. When you go to the cinema, are you amazed by the music that expresses the scene more than the visuals do? Would you like to make it? Have you ever wondered what Bitwig can bring to your creative process? Or, maybe you just want to sit down with a coffee, vibe, and create some chilled music. Venus Theory brings a galaxy of opportunities to your screen and gives you some of the best production lessons on the internet… as well as being a down to earth guy.
Creating music with a mouse is one thing, but creating it with your hands is a whole other dimension. Actually getting down with the music you’re making and playing it from the soul turns the dial up to 111, but finding a creative place that compares the latest beat machines isn’t the easiest task. Are you drawn towards Maschine or Moog? Why not tickle your music senses with Arturia? We haven’t even mentioned Akai yet. If you’re after some inspiring hardware, check out Accurate Beats’ channel right now.
Let’s get to the specifics. When you’re starting out, you might be in the mindset of sounding like artists you spend your free time dancing to and and that’s okay. Are you into Martin Garrix? What if you wanted to turn up the pace with Bass House? There’s a Chain Smokers track for all of us, but Melodic Dubstep is a vibe to create too. Elation is dedicated to the music community with his YouTube channel and his sample label Elation Sounds. He’s turned a small hobby into a passion – let alone a career. His knowledge bass (see what we did there?) captures the entire up-tempo bass music sphere, and the practical tips he offers will propel you forward.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t get enough of dynamic enhancing plugins, resampling (like turning snares into risers and risers into snares) or find as many exciting bass VST’s as possible.
Okay, we did break our own rule here. Most of the tutorials by ROBN are exclusive to FL Studio, but what’s important is showing you just what is possible inside your D.A.W. There are no limits.
A channel that offers incredibly helpful tips to beginners, ROBN is fantastic at showing you what doors are available to open so that you don’t waste any time making silly mistakes. We want you to be making music you’re confident to release right now, so you need to put your music into context and reference against other music, you should to know how to organise your arrangement and keep track of your progress.
Okay, we’re sort of breaking our rule one last time… but this time with Ableton Live!
Let’s get down with 4 2 The Floor. Acid House? Seemingly dedicated Techno hardware? All You Need is Live walks you through the best hardware presets from Moog, easy lessons in Ableton Live plugins, how to make those euphoric synths we like to get down to at the after parties and so much more! Bringing all of the knowledge from Europe, this channel is dedicated to Techno. But, just like SoundKiller’s channel at no. 4, you can apply these skills to any genre at any time.
So, there we are. 10 channels that take you through the whole electronic sphere and demonstrate a range of techniques for you to absorb, recreate and turn into something truly unique. Now it’s up to you to learn, try, fail, and then succeed. We look forward to hearing from you real soon!
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