When starting out as a brand new music producer, it can become overwhelming with all the information that you have at your disposal.
Many of these resources will tell you to purchase a new sound library, a different audio interface, or even some paid course on how to become a
music producer.
While these are certainly excellent resources if you have the budget, the truth of the matter is that beginner music producers generally will want to limit their expenses as they're getting better at their craft.
I am all for investing in yourself and your business, but it is unnecessary at first when you’re just starting out.
As your music production income grows, then it might be a good idea to spend money on additional resources like new gear, software, or items for your music studio.
With that in mind, I want to talk about some of the best free resources for a new music producer.
Free Sound Libraries
It is amazing the number of free samples and sound libraries that you can take advantage of as a music producer.
That’s not to say that paid plugins and libraries are of no value. They have their place if you have the budget.
But if you’re just starting out, these are some of the resources I would look into.
These are some of the best Free Sound Library and sample resources that not only are great for beginners but also ones that I use to this day.
PianoBook
Pianobook is run by a small group of dedicated volunteers but with the whole community contributing at large by creating and sharing musical demos of the different instruments so users can browse sounds.
After launching in 2018 it soon became clear that not everyone was in a position to have an access to a piano so the team decided to open the flood gates to all “instruments” from poorly played flutes to fire extinguishers.
Spitfire Labs
An infinite series of FREE software instruments, made by musicians, for musicians — for anyone, anywhere. Presented in Spitfire's dedicated, award-winning plugin, it's easy to use and compatible with any DAW.
Freesound
Just a giant database full of free sounds of all kinds.
Looperman
An awesome library of free instrument loops across many different genres.
Create Pro-Mixes, Faster
Click below to download my free song-finishing checklist to help you create radio-ready songs without taking months to complete them.
Free DAW Options
To be serious as a music producer, you’re going to need a decent laptop or desktop computer.
Once you have that out of the way, you can easily make music on your laptop for free with the help of some free DAW options.
If you’re not familiar, a DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation. This is essentially the recording software that you’ll be using for music production or beats.
In most cases, a lot of these software companies offer a “free” or “lite” version of their software.
While these are okay for starting out, they severely limit the things you can do in that software.
The good news is that there are a few different choices for DAW software that are completely fully functioning recording studios.
Here are 2 free DAW options that I can recommend:
Cakewalk By Bandlab
Tracktion Waveform Free
Get Your Songs On Spotify Playlists
Click below to download my free guide covering a simple formula you can follow to get your songs on Spotify playlists and explode your streams without spending a dime!
YouTube Tutorials
For new music producers, YouTube tutorials are a blessing. You can find almost any type of tutorial for a genre of music that you’re trying to create and in most cases, in the DAW that you’re using.
The only downside to YouTube video tutorials is that you don’t really know if the information provided is accurate since there’s no real quality assurance.
However, this can be an advantage to you as a music producer. You can find a solution to this problem (which is what can make music production a lot of fun), or better yet, make your own Youtube tutorial that is even better than the one with mistakes.
With that in mind, here are a few YouTube Channels I can recommend to help you get better at music production for free.
Splice YouTube Channel
Hop Pole Studios (Reaper DAW Tutorials)
Ocean (Hip Hop Music Production)
Orpheus Audio Academy (Synthwave Production & More)
There are literally thousands more, but these have been the most helpful in my career as a music producer.
Orpheus Audio Academy (This Website)
Orpheus Audio Academy is an amazing resource with tons of free information to help you become a better music producer.
When I was working on a 1980s inspired track last year, I needed to learn how to create a synthwave style beat inspired by that decade.
After a quick Google search, I found this extremely helpful article:
How To Make A Synthwave Song: The Ultimate Guide to Synthwave
It really took a lot of guesswork out of building a foundation for my track.
Not only that, it was extremely well written and easy to understand.
Whether you need help mixing and mastering, recording better vocals, or any other music production skills...
Create Pro-Mixes, Faster
Click below to download my free song-finishing checklist to help you create radio-ready songs without taking months to complete them.
A word from Reagan...
I just want to give a big thanks to Nick for writing this article for Orpheus Audio Academy.
Be sure to check out his website over at HomeMusicStudios.com.
Once there, you'll be able to find a bunch of guides and tutorials to help you on your music journal.
A couple articles of his I especially like are:
About the author
Nick Hazleton
Nick Hazleton is a music producer, freelance writer, and blogger. His website, Home Music
Studios, helps new music producers build the best home recording studio on a budget.
