Devon James 5 Things Producers Need to Know

Summary

In this video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of defining personal success and setting individual goals. They share five key pieces of advice for producers: 1) Don't be a perfectionist and take risks. 2) Claim your space and seek opportunities. 3) Work with people who share your values. 4) Be true to yourself and define your own path. 5) Mix quietly to maintain dynamic range and protect your hearing. These insights aim to help both budding and experienced producers navigate their creative journeys effectively.

Takeaways

• 😀 Define your own success: Understand what success means to you personally rather than letting others define it.
• 📋 Create goals and lists: Set clear objectives and track your progress by crossing items off your list.
• 🔍 Take risks: Don't be afraid to try new things in both DJing and production. Experiment and learn from the outcomes.
• 🚫 Avoid perfectionism: Don't let the pursuit of perfection hinder your creativity and output.
• 🏆 Claim your space: Assert yourself and seize opportunities instead of waiting for them to come to you.
• 🤝 Work with valued people: Collaborate with individuals who align with your values and philosophy, rather than seeking temporary hype.
• 🎭 Be true to yourself: Stay authentic and follow the path that truly resonates with you.
• 📉 Mix quietly: Ensure your mix sounds good at low volumes to preserve dynamic range and protect your hearing.
• 🌟 Value dynamics: Embrace dynamic range in your mixes rather than pushing for loudness.
• 🔔 Engage with your audience: Encourage viewers to like, comment, and subscribe for more content and further engagement.

Q & A

What is the key to defining success according to the speaker?

The key to defining success is to define it for yourself. You should not let others decide what success looks like for you. Create your own goals and follow the path you want to be on.

What advice does the speaker give about perfectionism?

The speaker advises not to be a perfectionist. Avoid letting perfectionism stand in the way of putting things out or taking risks. It's important to try new things and be in the moment.

Why does the speaker believe it's important to claim your space?

The speaker believes it's important to claim your space because waiting for others to give you opportunities might result in missing out. Announcing yourself and claiming a space ensures you don't miss potential opportunities.

What should you consider when choosing people to work with?

You should work with people who value you and align with your philosophy and morals rather than just choosing those who might give you temporary hype.

How does the speaker recommend defining personal success?

The speaker recommends creating goals and lists, crossing things off as you achieve them, and ensuring you are following the path you want to be on rather than what others expect of you.

What mixing advice does the speaker give?

The speaker advises mixing quietly to ensure your mix sounds good at low volumes, which helps preserve dynamic range and prevents hearing damage.

What is the importance of taking risks in DJing and production according to the speaker?

Taking risks is important because it allows you to try new things, and being in the moment can lead to new and creative outcomes. Sometimes things work, and sometimes they don't, but it's part of the process.

What philosophy does the speaker have about planning DJ sets?

The speaker prefers not to plan DJ sets too rigidly. They might choose a few songs but avoid overthinking transitions, allowing for spontaneity and new ideas to emerge during the performance.

Why does the speaker emphasize not overthinking production?

Overthinking production can prevent you from putting out music. It's important to release your work even if it's not perfect because waiting for the perfect moment or perfecting every detail can hold you back.

What is the overall message the speaker wants to convey about following your own path?

The overall message is to be true to yourself, define your own success, and follow the path that you want to be on rather than conforming to what others expect or what you think you should do.

Outlines

00:00

🎯 Defining Success and Overcoming Perfectionism

The speaker emphasizes the importance of defining success on one's own terms rather than letting others dictate what it means. They stress the need for setting personal goals and following one's desired path. The speaker also introduces a series titled 'Five Things Producers Need to Know,' which offers advice that could range from DJing tips to life lessons. The first piece of advice is to avoid perfectionism, encouraging creators to take risks and not let the fear of imperfection hinder the release of their work. They share personal experiences of improvisation in DJing and production, advocating for trying new things and embracing the moment.

05:01

🔊 Mixing Advice and the Importance of Dynamics

In the second paragraph, the speaker shares additional advice for producers, including the importance of claiming one's space in the industry and not waiting for opportunities to come. They advocate for working with people who value mutual respect and align with personal philosophies and morals. The speaker also stresses the importance of being true to oneself and defining what success means individually. The final piece of advice is a technical tip on mixing music quietly to ensure that the mix sounds good at low volumes, which helps maintain dynamic range and prevents hearing damage from loud monitoring.

Keywords

💡Success

Success is a concept that is often discussed but is subjective and personal. In the video, it is emphasized that success should be defined by the individual and not by external standards. The speaker encourages viewers to create their own goals and lists, and to follow the path they want to be on, rather than what others expect. This is central to the video's theme of self-determination and personal growth.

💡Perfectionism

Perfectionism is presented as a potential obstacle to taking risks and releasing work. The speaker advises against being a perfectionist, suggesting that it can hinder progress and creativity. Instead, they advocate for embracing imperfections and using them as a stepping stone to growth, as seen in the script where they discuss the importance of putting things out and taking risks.

💡Risk-taking

Risk-taking is highlighted as a crucial part of personal and professional development. The speaker encourages viewers to not be afraid to take risks, whether in DJing or production. This is exemplified by the speaker's own approach to DJing, where they do not plan their sets in advance and experiment with new ideas, accepting that not all risks will pay off.

💡Claiming Space

Claiming space is about asserting one's presence and taking opportunities. The speaker talks about the importance of not waiting for opportunities to come but actively seeking them out and making a claim for one's own space in the industry. This concept is tied to the broader message of self-advocacy and initiative.

💡Collaboration

Collaboration is presented as a valuable aspect of growth, but it must be with the right people. The speaker emphasizes working with individuals who value you and align with your philosophy and morals, rather than those who might offer temporary hype. This underscores the importance of meaningful partnerships over superficial ones.

💡Authenticity

Authenticity is the concept of being true to oneself. The speaker stresses the importance of discovering what is truly important to the individual and pursuing that path. Authenticity is linked to defining personal success and not being swayed by external pressures or expectations.

💡Goals

Goals are mentioned as a tool for defining and achieving success. The speaker suggests creating lists of goals and working towards them, which is a practical way to measure progress and stay focused on one's path. This concept is integral to the video's theme of personal development and self-motivation.

💡DJing

DJing is used as a context to discuss risk-taking and spontaneity. The speaker mentions not planning their sets in advance and being open to trying new things during performances. This approach to DJing is an example of the broader theme of embracing uncertainty and innovation.

💡Production

Production is another context where the speaker discusses the importance of not being a perfectionist and the need to release work even if it's not perfect. This relates to the broader message of taking risks and learning from the process, rather than striving for unattainable perfection.

💡Mixing

Mixing is discussed in the context of audio production, with a specific focus on the importance of listening at lower volumes to ensure a balanced mix. The speaker advises against mixing at loud volumes to preserve hearing and to maintain dynamic range, which is a practical tip that ties into the overall theme of quality and craftsmanship.

💡Dynamic Range

Dynamic range refers to the difference between the loudest and softest sounds in a piece of music. The speaker mentions the importance of preserving dynamic range in mixes, which is a technical aspect of audio production that contributes to the overall quality and listening experience.

Highlights

Success is a personal definition and should not be dictated by others.

Creating goals and lists is essential for personal success.

A series called 'Five Things' is introduced for producers and DJs.

Advice on not being a perfectionist to avoid hindering progress.

Risk-taking is encouraged in both DJing and music production.

The importance of not overthinking and being in the moment.

Putting out music and claiming a space in the industry.

The necessity of taking opportunities and not waiting for them.

Working with people who value you aligns with your philosophy and morals.

Being true to yourself and discovering what is important for personal success.

Mixing music quietly to ensure a good balance and dynamic range.

Listening to mixes at low volume to check for clarity and balance.

Avoiding loud mixing to prevent hearing damage and maintain dynamic range.

The 'Five Things' series provides a range of advice from life to production tips.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of defining success for oneself.

The final highlight is about the technique of mixing music quietly for better sound quality.

Engage with the content by liking, subscribing, and sharing thoughts in the comments.

Transcripts

I think a lot of people talk about

success but you can't really talk about

success until you've defined that for

yourself you have to be the one to

Define what success looks like for you

you can't let other people decide oh

well you're successful when this happens

and when this happens you know like

create you know create goals create

lists you know cross things off those

lists and um and and just you know make

sure that you're following the path that

you want to to be on okay

um on my YouTube channel my other one we

have we have a series called five things

producers need to know I thought I'd get

you on this series basically is five

things you might tell your younger self

or kind of other producers are long kind

of going along a similar Journey or just

a couple and it could be anything from

DJing could be life advice it could be

production tips some people have gone

super heavy on the production some have

gone super heavy on the DJing because

obviously produces a big term these days

so

to get your five things but you just

need to know number one so number one um

I think don't be a perfectionist

um try try not to like get up get caught

up with that and be a perfectionist but

don't get caught up and like don't let

that stand in the way of putting things

out or taking risks

um you know part of one thing I you know

in both in both DJ and in production

like I'm always trying new things always

taking a risk

um you know when I DJ I don't plan my

sets I might throw a couple songs in but

I'm not thinking about oh I need to Loop

this one well this transitions here you

know I try new stuff and then sometimes

things work and sometimes they don't and

you know that's just like part of you

know what we're doing is be in the

moment

um

um so yeah first one is just like you

know don't don't overthink

stuff um and and that with production

too that's like you know I think for a

while I uh wasn't putting stuff out

because I wasn't happy with like the

caliber of music that it was at the time

but I think um you know it's kind of

important you know announce yourself to

to claim to claim a space

um because if you wait for other people

to give you opportunity

um you know it's just gonna go by and

you might not get it so you know learn

to learn to

um to claim your space yeah that's I

think that might be number three

number two number seven next so we're

already at number seven yeah

um

number one number one would it be yeah

don't don't um don't be afraid to take a

risk number two will say to claim your

space you know to

um to to like make sure you know you're

you're taking opportunities for yourself

to

um you know ask for opportunities I

think a lot of people just you know like

I said wait for things to come to them

number three so mine my number three is

to work with people that um you know you

value and that value you over you know

something that might give you some hype

for like temporarily or something like

that you know that's just a big thing in

general to me is with music or or you

know people or whatever it's like I'd

rather I'd rather work with um you know

people that are

you know in in line with what I believe

my philosophy my morals you know I think

it just depends on well we'll get more

into philosophy stuff later we'll just

focus on the

on the on the different things so number

four

um number four I mean be yourself I

think is just be like be true to

yourself you know find so this actually

is what I was about to say but you know

like find out what is important to you

and

um you know I think a lot of people talk

about success but you can't really talk

about success until you've defined that

for yourself

um and you have to be the one to Define

what success looks like for you you

can't let other people decide oh well

you're successful when this happens or

when this happens you know like create

you know create goals create lists

um you know cross things off those lists

and um and and just make sure that

you're following the path that you want

to to be on not something that you think

you know other people want you to do or

like what you think you're supposed to

do you know just try to try to be true

to yourself and figure out what you want

um because then I think once you do that

things tend to be a lot easier

um and then my final time my five this

is about mixing and it's to mix quietly

I have too many friends who mix so loud

and just listen to stuff so loud like I

like to listen to it loud but you know

you want to listen make sure that your

mix sounds good uh when it's quiet so

one thing I always like to do is just um

you know basically turn my volume down

knob down all the way and then just

bring it up so it's slightly Audible and

if you can hear everything when the

volume's really low

um you know you're you're in a really

great space with um with your mix so try

not to to you know just push the

loudness on things because you're gonna

make yourself go deaf

and we like Dynamics we like dynamic

range so

that's cool that's a big five well those

five things great let me know in the

comments what's your favorite and your

biggest takeaway from this video also

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I'll see you in the next video cheers

bye-bye