- When producing/mixing and especially when mastering, be sure to listen to your track on multiple headphones and speakers to get a decent idea of how it'll sound to the average listener.
- You can simulate certain audio setups: https://www.instagram.com/p/COA1puuM0n-/
- If your mix feels "muddy," remove some bass with an EQ (it's easy to make your reverb muddy if you leave in too much bass).
- Using an automation in your DAW to lower the volume of your track 1 db right before the chorus and then snapping the volume back as the chorus hits helps add some extra power to the chorus.
- Try to keep 3-10 db of headroom on your master track (meaning keep the peak volume at -3 to -10 db) during producing. Get the volume back in the mastering phase using compressors and EQ.
- Make your bass elements mono so they don't take up unnecessary space in your mix
- Slap a lowcut on your kickdrums (sometimes as high as 500 hz with a shallow slope) to help them pop.
- The more bass sounds you cut, the more room you'll have in your mix for other things.
- When importing audio samples in Ableton, be aware of the "autowarp long samples" preference. If your audio seems slightly off key or a bit jittery, check to see if Ableton automatically turned on sample warping for that sample.
- Read the Berklee Online Songwriting Handbook
- Try to be specific in your songs; more generic songs actually connect with fewer people than a song that's more specific
- See how quickly you can imply a story in the opening lyrics of your song
- Sometimes starting with setting the physical scene of the song can help
- Turn a chord into a melody
- Personify your feelings and write a song about that "person"
- If you download an audio file from Discord, it will likely be compressed in a way that Ableton will not like. You can use
ffmpegto reconvert it to fix the Ableton "this file has DLC or is corrupted" message.