Music producers don a lot of hats across the music industry, from overlooking the recording process to writing the song lyrics and mastering production techniques.
The job role requires you to coordinate with a wide variety of professionals from independent artists, sound engineers, and even studio managers.
With such an expansive list of responsibilities, the job of a music producer requires a hefty list of technical, marketing, and people management skills. While music production courses and industry exposure can build some of these skills, you might have to put in some additional effort if you wish to be a successful music producer.
Fortunately for aspiring music makers and producers, there’s no dearth of resources and music production courses available in the market. Let’s explore some of the best books on music production that can give you specialist knowledge on the subject.
Do musicians and music producers need to read regularly?
Absolutely yes! Music producers in today’s day and age need to be aware of multiple aspects of music creation, from music theory to recording techniques. Reading new books on relevant subjects is a great way to keep yourself updated on the latest trends and events dominating the music industry.
There are additional advantages of picking up a book on music production instead of a YouTube video or a blog. Videos and blogs offer shorter content that might not provide a complete overview of the subject, whereas a book is more likely to do so.
Plus, reading a book hones your critical thinking and visualisation skills which can, in turn, boost your musical creativity.
What kind of books should you read as an aspiring music producer?
While practice can make you perfect at music production, it’s sometimes good to dive deeper into the theory to deepen and broaden your knowledge. You can explore a lot of genres as an aspiring music producer, from textbooks on sound mixing to autobiographies of musical artists.
7 must-read books on music production that you ought to read in 2022
While there are lots of good books out there, here’s our list of must-read music production books in 2022.
- Modern Recording Techniques by David Miles Huber and Rober E Runstein
If you want to learn how songs are created from scratch to finish professionally, this book can provide excellent insight.
Whether you intend to work as a music producer or are just passionate about music, the book can help you learn about the entire process of music recording, mixing, production and mastering.
2. Mixing with Impact by Wessel Oltheten
Sound mixing, often deemed a technical skill, is actually an art and requires a lot of creativity and musical insight.
In this book, Wessel Oltheten provides useful advice to aspiring musicians and music producers by borrowing from his industry expertise. The book allows you to get a broad overview of sound mixing along with its many practical aspects.
- Mastering Audio: The Art and Science by Bob Katz
This is one of the most comprehensive resources on music mixing and mastering and can give you an in-depth idea of the area without having to complete a formal degree.
While the language can get technical at times, you can find every little detail that you need to know as an aspiring audio engineer.
- How Music Works by David Byrne
While this book doesn’t technically qualify as a textbook, this New York Times best-seller is a must-read for any music producer.
The book dives into the emotional aspects of music production and what it takes to produce soulful music. The author, David Byrne, also gives his unique perspective on different elements like context, set design and technology in the production of good music.
- Making Music: Creative Strategies for Electronic Music Producers by Dennis DeSantis
The rising popularity of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) has led a lot of youngsters to want to become popular EDM artists and producers. This book is a must-read for you if you want to make your name in the genre of electronic music.
The book addresses different creative problems that you might face in the EDM world and gives you practical solutions to overcome them.
- Music Theory for Computer Musicians by Michael Hewitt
Getting familiar with the basics of music theory is probably the first step to becoming a music producer. With the rise of digital music, it is all the more important to understand the process of creating music through computers.
This book can provide you with all the information you need to know about digital music theory explained in a lucid manner.
- Music Habits: The Mental Game of Electronic Music Production by Jason Timothy
Another must-read for EDM enthusiasts, this book delves into the mental clarity and focus required for EDM projects.
While this doesn’t cover technical aspects of music production, it does give useful tips on how to stay focused on the creation process and get out of creative limbo.
Here are some more noteworthy titles that can help you delve deeper into music production theory
- Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio from Sound on Sound
- Get More Fans: The DIY Guide to New Music Business (2019 Edition) by Jesse Cannon and Todd Thomas
- The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook by Bobby Owsinski
- All You Need to Know About the Music Business (9th Edition) by Donald S Passman
If you’re excited about this reading list and want to explore more, we suggest you try out a music production course in the UK. Most music production courses in London from reputed music schools often have extensive reading lists covering a wide range of musical topics and subjects.
The London College of Creative Media (LCCM) offers a great MMus in Music Production that can get you started on music reading. The music production degree in the UK includes a wide range of modules, including post-production sound mixing and songwriting.
The programme will not only introduce you to excellent literary works from the music industry, but it can also help you build an impressive set of production skills. This can boost your career prospects as a music producer in the UK.
Click here to enrol for the music production programme at LCCM today!