Behind The Scenes of a "Seamless" Track

" A good track will sound seamless, otherwise it wouldn’t work. Hence the common misconception that it’s easy, which of course is not the case. "

It is for fact, that the skills and efforts behind producing a good tune, often go unappreciated. Many times I've heard people commenting on how easy it must be to make commercial beats - After all, it's all creative fun, right? Well, part of it certainly is - but in reality, there's a lot more at play than what is perceived by the listener. The "simplicity" you pick up on, is usually deceiving. And it's meant to be!

Truth is, there are a lot of factors and processes involved before the music can hit your headset, in a pleasurable way!

For the producer to scale everything into balance, a solid understanding of many different techniques is required - something that might take a few good years to wrap one's head around..! The selection, modification and layering of musical samples, sounds and instruments - the arrangement thereof, and the polishing ( mixing & mastering ) of each individual track, must all be crafted in such a way, so that the result sounds cohesive, and has artistic significance.

These are all challenging concepts, and require a know how of studio equipment, computer software, a bit of physics and math, and first most - an understanding of music: the harmonies, the theory, the instruments, the "feels". What a modern producer really does, is he simulates an "environment", which can be aesthetically pleasing to our ears and minds.

But then again... Music is known for its power to touch our hearts. Let's not forget this very important angle. Technicalities aside, in most effective tracks, a certain aesthetic “sweet spot” has been reached - as some would say, where “the magic happens”. That is really somewhat of a “far out” place, a space beyond explanation, where the feelings click and the artist merges with the muse.

Consequently, in spite of having to understand scientific concepts and challenging techniques, a musician or music producer, has to be in touch with the realm of creativity and inspiration!

Conclusion

To recap it all, there is a smelting of technical skills with a certain aesthetic awareness, which results into an impactful piece of music. As is of course the case, with every other art form. At the end of the day, it is not the listeners job to identify all the challenges a producer had to face, or how much work was put into a track. So if you thought it sounds "easy", it probably means the artist did a good job!