Deep Listening: The Secret Weapon Every Producer Needs

Ever feel guilty about drawing inspiration from other artists? Stop right there. This eye-opening episode dives into why studying musical references isn't just acceptable—it's essential for your growth as a producer, songwriter, or artist.

We explore the fundamental difference between passive and active listening, revealing how the ability to deeply analyze music separates casual listeners from skilled creators. Most people enjoy music while driving or cleaning without truly hearing what's happening beneath the surface. As producers, we must train ourselves to dissect songs layer by layer, understanding the intentional choices that make great productions work.

Rhythm takes center stage as we examine its crucial role in creating musical interest and excitement. Through practical examples of contrasting rhythmic patterns—from simple quarter notes to complex triplets—you'll discover how strategic orchestration builds tension in pre-choruses and delivers satisfying payoffs in choruses. These techniques aren't just theory; they're the exact tools I use in my own productions to keep listeners engaged from start to finish.

The episode challenges the myth that great artists create in isolation. Throughout music history, innovation has always built upon what came before. By studying references and understanding what makes them effective, you develop the musical vocabulary needed to express your unique voice. It's not about copying—it's about comprehending the underlying principles that make music connect with listeners.

Ready to transform how you listen to and create music? Subscribe to Teach One Tuesday, check out my cover series on YouTube at "The Tony King Experience," and listen to my latest single "Greater Love" on all streaming platforms. Together, we'll take your musical journey to dimensions you never thought possible.

Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/@thetonikingexperience7645

Rare Keys Production- https://rarekeysproduction.com

Toni King link: http://www.linktr.ee/toni.king

The Sonic Kingship Art: https://www.rhuffmusic.com/post/it-s-a-big-music-industry-so-where-do-i-fit-in

The Toni King Experience

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Introduction
• 0:30 Importance of Musical References
• 2:05 Deep Listening vs Passive Listening
• 3:37 The Power of Rhythm in Production
• 6:11 Creating Contrast Through Orchestration
• 8:33 Closing and Social Media Links

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hello and welcome back everyone. I'm excited to get into this new episode. We're going to get into that list that I gave you for your references, but before we do that family, let's get into that great theme music. Appreciate you, all right. All right, welcome back everyone to another great episode of Teach One Tuesday podcast. I'm excited to get into this subject today.

Speaker 1: 0:42

So last couple of episodes I gave you a list of references that you can listen to for several reasons. Obviously, music production, songwriting, vocal arranging, mixing, mastering, different aspects of the musical process melody, rhythm, harmony, chords, things of that nature. I provide this list because these are some of the songs that I listen to that have allowed me to write some of the music that I have written, and so I want to just dive in more into that. I'm not giving any more songs, but if you want those songs, those song lists, listen to the last two episodes that I put up, but in this episode I really just want to hone in on why this is so important, why these references are so important and why I believe that it is no shame in listening to other great artists and getting ideas, and I actually I think this is one of the secrets to great songwriting, to just production period. The other secret is is a group, having a group of people, um, that can contribute to what you're doing but out but we'll talk about that in another episode. But, um, one of the great secrets is learning how to emulate or, uh, imitate. Imitate other people's music and what they are doing and the ideas that they have. The ideas are really right there, um, in front of us, you know, and so I want to open your ears to what's happening in this music and really learn how to listen deeply.

Speaker 1: 2:36

I know, um, you know, most people listen to music in a passive type of way, you know, they just feel this vibe and they're just enjoying themselves riding down the street or they're cleaning their house or whatever they're doing. They just live passively listening to it. They're, they're dancing, which is great. But for those of us who want to create this type of music, um, or to create great music, um, we have to learn how to listen very deeply to what's happening in the music. And I'll save, you know, mixing and mastering stuff for later, but for right now, um, what I want you to do with those lists is really take some time to hone in on a specific thing, um, and when I was thinking about this episode, recording this episode, I wanted to hone in on something that I think will be very beneficial. I want to do several episodes and talk about many things, as I'm talking about production and listening to some of those songs that I gave, but today I want to talk about rhythm.

Speaker 1: 3:36

I think rhythm is so important in the production space because I think that it really allows us to be as creative as we possibly could be and it creates, um a place for us to to um create interest, because one of the things we want to do as artists and songwriters and producers is that we want people to listen to our songs all the way through and really desire to hear different surprises and be intrigued by different things that are happening at different times. And for me, I have found that in my own personal experience production journey, that I have really honed in on rhythms not that I haven't before, but I'm really focusing more on it these days because it creates so much, uh, interest and it's exciting to listen to. And you know, of course, we can start from the beginning, starting with quarter notes, and then we can go on to to half notes and then we can go on to, you know, 16th notes and then triplets and different things like that, um, that you can use, that you can use in your production. And you can use different instruments, um, with a different type of rhythm, all right. So say, for instance, um, you know, you have a drum set and they're holding down the beat, they're just they're, they're playing on. Let's see, you know, the kick drum was on one, the snares on two and hi-hat is is is playing all four beats, right, so, very simple, nothing too crazy. Um, you know nothing too crazy, uh, but then you can have some other type of percussion instrument that will, that can play eighth notes, all right. And and and I know I just said I was going to go into mixing and mastering, but just on a mass, on a mixing, on a mixing tip, you know, you can make sure that you place all this stuff in such a way where it all fits together. It's not in each other's way, you know. So you know you could have another instrument playing eighth notes, or you could have, um, some type of melodic, some lead instrument that plays triplets, right, and you can. You can, uh, place these things strategically, whether you're talking about the verse or whether you're talking about the chorus.

Speaker 1: 6:04

Now, for me, um, what, how I'm thinking of this is really, most of the excitement for me is going to be doing the chorus. Right, the pre-chorus can. You can start that excitement in the pre-chorus, but you can. But when the chorus comes in is where the excitement really comes in. You really want to take things to the next level and I think rhythm is a very big part of that. Uh, it's the same thing with keys. You know you can have, um, you can have some type of rhythm going on. The keys, you know, for instance, you know the keys is playing uh, uh, eighth note with a, with a dotted eighth, with a 16th, type of rhythm, if you can hear that. Right, just playing, doing the chorus, I mean, excuse me, doing the verse, playing a dotted eighth with a 16th. You know that type of rhythm, right, it's the rhythm.

Speaker 1: 6:57

And you can have some other type of. You can have the bass, for instance, doing some type of, even doing something simpler. You could just play, um, quarter notes and you know, and, yeah, quarter notes, and then have some type of grace notes leading into the next chord, leading into the next note. You know it's, it's so you can have um, they can be, they can hold the note out for four beats in the bass and then have something, just little something that's going into the next measure for the next four beats. So you know, this rhythm thing is really you know, it's exciting to me, at least it is for me it's very exciting to think about all the rhythms and all the things you can do with all the different types of instruments that you have and create interest by contrasting right, that's really what I'm getting at rhythms and contrasting and um, and a bit of orchestration, and that just means knowing when to bring in instruments and when not to bring them in.

Speaker 1: 7:57

All right, so I'm going to stop here because I want to. I don't want to give you too much upfront, but I just wanted to hone in on this. Uh, number one references. I've given you references to listen to. We do this in mixing and mastering as well. It's very important. But also start thinking about those rhythms and how you want your music to play out. What's happening at what time, what beat, what type of rhythms you want happening in the pre-chorus and the chorus, the space in between the chorus and going back into the verse back into the verse. There's so many things, so I'm going to stop here because I'm going to continue with this and I'll come up with another. I'll talk about another element. Um, as we're listening to our references, I'll come up with another element that we can really hone in on that can take our production to the next level.

Speaker 1: 8:43

All right, I want to thank you so much for checking this out. Before we go family, do me a favor make sure that you're checking out my blog as well sonic kingship art blog. There'll be a link in the description for you to check this out. Also, check out what I'm doing on my social media platforms, but I'll give you the, the main one. I'll give you. It's youtube the tony king experience, where I'm going through a series of covers that I am producing and I'm singing on, all right. So so I want you to, and I want you to check this out, um, not just because I think it's cool, but because you can hear what I'm doing and how I'm utilizing what I'm telling you about. So go and check that out, go and like and subscribe and hit that bell so you know what's happening.

Speaker 1: 9:28

And if you have not already checked out my latest single, greater, greater Love. It is on all streaming platforms. Obviously, the artist is Tony King, tony with an. I Go and check that out and just stay tuned, man, for all the amazing things that are happening and that are going on. I'm having so much fun serving you guys with this information and, of course, do me a favor and tell more people about this podcast Teach One Tuesday podcast. And, of course, do me a favor and tell more people about this podcast Teach One Tuesday podcast. We are empowering our creatives, our producers, our songwriters, our vocalists, our artists. We are helping you to go to the next level and dimension in your musical process and I am just enjoying it. I want to thank you so much for checking us out. I hope you're having a wonderful day. If you're not having a wonderful day, you can change that by your mindset. Thanks so much, tony King out.