How Many Hours a Day Should You Produce Music?

This article will discuss how much time you should give to music production daily. 

Music production is creating, recording, mixing, and mastering audio tracks to make a final product. It involves various steps, including selecting and setting up the equipment, recording sound sources, editing and arranging the recorded tracks, mixing and processing the audio, and finally mastering to ensure the audio is suitable for distribution.

Practicing music production involves learning and honing the various skills involved in the production process. This may include learning music theory, understanding sound and acoustics, becoming proficient with music production software and hardware, and developing a musical ear. It also involves developing one’s style and aesthetic as a producer.

To practice music production, one can start by producing simple tracks, experimenting with different production techniques, and receiving constructive feedback from others in the industry. Studying successful producers’ work and attending workshops and music production courses is also helpful.

Consistent and dedicated practice and continuous learning are key to improving one’s music production skills. However, sitting for long hours producing music can also cause ear fatigue, also known as listening or audio fatigue. It is a common issue faced by music producers and audio engineers. Hence, one should not over-practice it. With that in mind, let’s arrive at the main question.

How many hours a day should you produce music?

Irrespective of your professionalism and skill level in your music production journey, practice is required at every step. There’s always something new to learn and new levels to achieve. I do not believe in capping the amount of practice, but giving it 2-8 hours a day should be safe and sufficient.

Depending on the goal you have in mind, your schedule, workflow, and personal circumstances, you can decide on what kind of time you wish to give to it. If you are just starting, one tip is to create random beats and transcribe the beats and compositions of the songs you like to understand the DAW and the entire process.

Transcribing, especially, helps with songwriting, ear training, and music theory a lot! Re-creating beats and songs allows for sound selection. But before that, let’s understand the basic framework of music production and what skills and knowledge you need to develop to practice it.

A step-by-step guide to learning music production

I will try to give a step-by-step guide to producing music. After you’ve familiarised yourself with the basics, we will discuss further steps. So, here’s a detailed step-by-step guide to learning music production:

• Familiarize yourself with the basics

Before diving into music production, it’s important to understand the basic concepts of music theory. Study the elements of music, such as scales, chords, melody, and rhythm. Familiarize yourself with different music genres and their associated instrumentation. This will give you a solid foundation to build upon as you progress in your music production journey.

• Choose a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)

The next step is to select a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) that you’ll use to produce your music. Some popular options include Ableton, FL Studio, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, and many more. Choose a DAW that meets your needs and fits your budget. Take some time to research and compare different DAWs to find the one that is right for you.

• Watch tutorials and take online courses

Once you have chosen your DAW, start learning how to use it by watching tutorials on YouTube or taking online courses. Plenty of free resources available online can help you get started using your chosen DAW. Practice with the tutorials to solidify your understanding of the software.

• Start with simple projects

Begin with simple projects to get the hang of using your DAW and creating music. Start with a basic beat, add a melody, and then experiment with adding different sounds and samples. As you get more comfortable with the software, you can move on to more complex projects.

• Experiment with sounds and samples

Explore different sounds and samples to find your unique sound. Try out different instruments, synths, and samples to find what works best. Experiment with varying production techniques, such as layering, effects processing, and sound design.

• Learn about mixing and mastering

To ensure that your music sounds professional, it’s important to understand the fundamentals of mixing and mastering. Study the concepts of equalization, compression, and limiting and how they can be applied to your productions. Watch tutorials and take online courses to learn more about mixing and mastering.

• Collaborate with others

Collaborating with other musicians, producers, or singers can be a great way to gain new perspectives and skills. You can learn from others and develop your style by working on projects together. This can also be a great way to get feedback on your work and improve your skills.

• Keep practicing

Consistently practice and work on new projects to improve your skills and develop your style. Don’t be discouraged if your early projects aren’t perfect, as the goal is to learn and grow as a music producer. Keep experimenting and pushing yourself to try new things.

• Stay updated

The music production industry is constantly evolving, so staying up to date with the latest techniques and trends is important. So I recommend attending workshops, reading articles, and watching tutorials to stay informed and inspired.

So, if you are a beginner who knows nothing about music production, your first step would be to learn music theory and get familiar with any DAW. That should not take more than 30 hours, which you could distribute daily based on your goal. For example, you can dedicate three hours per day and learn that part in about ten days.

Next, suppose you are a practicing musician and already familiar with music theory and the basics of a DAW. In that case, you can learn about aspects like Sampling, Sound Designing, and Recording. To know that, the first step would be to know the fundamentals of the physics of sound, like frequency, amplitude, decibels, etc.

The basics of sampling should take less than 10 hours to learn, sound designing should take about 30 hours, and recording should take less than 10 hours to learn. Mind you, this is the time you need to give to learn them; practicing can go on far beyond.

Further, you can learn about mixing and adding effects. You should know some important effects: EQ, compression and other dynamic processors, reverb, delay, phaser, flanger, and other time-based effects, distortion, saturation, and other harmonic processors. These concepts should take less than 20 hours to learn.

Further, you can study mixing and mastering as a whole. Several online mixing-mastering courses can take weeks to a year to research and learn with proper exercises and examples. Mixing-mastering concepts can be learned in less than 30 hours, but that’s not enough if you want to get good at it. Continuous practice and practical experience are necessary, and that’s true for the entire music production process.

Process	Time required to learn its fundamentals
Music Theory and basics of DAW	< 30 hours
Sampling, Sound Designing, and Recording	< 50 hours
Effects and mixing	< 20 hours
Mixing-mastering	< 30 hours

So, depending on your goals, level of knowledge, schedule, time availability, and skills you want to learn, you should know how much time you need to give to music production every day.

Tips to avoid ear and eye fatigue and mental/creative exhaustion

It’s also important to keep your physical and mental health in check, as the process could be quite straining to your ears and eyes and can exhaust you creatively and emotionally. Hence, here are some tips and tricks for music producers to avoid ear fatigue, eye strain, and stress:

• Take breaks

Regular breaks are important to prevent ear fatigue and eye strain and relieve stress. Make sure to take a break every hour or two, and get up from your workstation to stretch, move around, and rest your eyes and ears.

• Use high-quality headphones

Investing in high-quality headphones can help prevent ear fatigue and provide better sound quality and accuracy for your mixing and mastering work.

• Use a comfortable workstation

Ensure your workstation is ergonomically designed to prevent eye strain and back pain. This can include a comfortable chair, an adjustable monitor stand, and good lighting.

• Manage your time effectively

Avoid overworking yourself and schedule your time effectively to reduce stress. Make sure to take breaks and allocate time for other activities and hobbies to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

• Use proper posture

Maintaining proper posture while working at your workstation can prevent eye strain and back pain. Ensure your monitor is at the correct height, and keep your head and neck in a neutral position.

• Limit exposure to bright screens

Avoid prolonged exposure to bright screens, especially in low-light conditions. Use an anti-glare screen filter and adjust your monitor’s brightness and contrast to reduce eye strain.

• Use soundproofing

If you are working in a noisy environment, consider using soundproofing materials to reduce the amount of external noise you hear. This will help prevent ear fatigue and provide a more accurate mixing environment.

• Manage stress

Regular exercise, good nutrition, and mindfulness practices can help manage stress and maintain overall health. Make sure to take care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally to avoid burnout.

• Meditate
  Meditating helps regulate thoughts, focus for longer periods, increase overall focus, manage moods and stress, and creativity. Meditation is recommended to better your mental health and be more creative & focused.

Tips to get better at music production

Lastly, we have created a few pointers by which you can get better at producing music. These will help you understand what you need to do and set your goals, and finally, decide on the amount of time you need to dedicate to achieve those goals. So let’s dive right in.

• Practice regularly

Consistently practicing and working on new projects is critical to improving your skills as a music producer. Make sure to set aside dedicated time each day or each week to work on your music.

• Experiment with different sounds and samples

Try out different sounds and samples to find your unique sound. Experiment with different instruments, synths, and models to see what works best.

• Learn music theory

Understanding basic music theory, such as scales, chords, and rhythm, can significantly enhance your ability to produce music. It will give you a better understanding of how to structure your compositions and produce interesting harmonies and melodies.

• Study mixing and mastering techniques

A well-mixed and mastered track can make a big difference in how professional it sounds. Study the concepts of equalization, compression, and limiting and how they can be applied to your productions.

• Set targets

I used to create one beat per day, no matter how long it took. It used to take about 2-3 hours on average, and that time slowly reduced to 1-2 hours. Similarly, you can set a target for yourself, like creating a beat a day or a beat every two days, a song every week or month, etc. Whatever suits your workflow, life, and personality is the best practice.

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Conclusion

When it comes to creative processes like music production, mixing, mastering, songwriting, sound design, etc., there are no hard and fast rules. Some great producers have only been producing for a year or so, and some have been practicing it for years and years. Hence, it’s a journey you must figure out for yourself.

It’s good to take help and get tips, tricks, and suggestions from more experienced producers and engineers. Hence, you can listen to podcasts, watch interviews and tutorials, and read books to get familiar with them. But note that every producer has their techniques and processes, which they have discovered, and I encourage you to find your own.

The most important part is to take the first step, which you already have, by reading this article. Lastly, I do not recommend producing for more than three hours at a stretch. You can take short breaks every hour or thirty minutes and longer breaks every 2-3 hours. Practicing more than 8 hours may result in fatigue and exhaustion.

But that’s also an occupational hazard; the more you do, the better it will get. I hope the article was of help and answers your question. Thank you for reading.