We’re back with another FAQ Friday and some more great questions!
Today’s featured question is: What would you recommend for me to begin learning in my DAW so that I have a bit of fun but still get an acceptable result without needing to dive into every bit of detail?
If I were starting all over again or if I was mentoring someone in a one-on-one situation, the thing I would be encouraging them to do before they do anything else is LISTEN!
I strongly believe that one of the faults that I have learned and that many of us learn is to learn all the tools too early. We think that we need to learn how to edit everything perfectly right off the bat, but what we really need to do is listen to the track!
There have been many times when I have seen a drum track recorded, and then it is edited tight, and then the same is done with the bass, guitar, and so on! That is not listening, that is just editing. What you should do instead is simply get your drum track, play it down, and listen to it. Then, when you hear something on top or behind or something else that does not feel quite right, then edit it. The same thing goes for every other instrument in the track! If there is a part that is just slightly out of time, just nudge that part, or if there are a couple of notes that are slightly out of tune, just tune those couple of notes, rather than the whole track. You don’t want to edit just for the sake of editing!
So, if you are starting from scratch with ProTools or whatever DAW you are using, just take some recordings and start listening to them and learn how to manipulate the things that you hear an issue with, rather than just learning all the complicated tools to edit everything “perfectly” right away. It is much better to learn why you are using the tools, than to just learn them but not know where to properly apply them.
In short, using your ears will teach you how to use your DAW. I think that if you use your DAW as a recorder with editing capabilities, rather than an editor with recording capabilities, you are going to be in a great spot!
Watch the video below to see the full answer to this question, and the answer to some other great FAQs!
