- Mar 24, 2025
Producer Mindset Mistake #4: Thinking you’re advanced because you abandoned the basics
- ZW Buckley
At the start of the year, I asked my newsletter subscribers what they wanted me to discuss more of and the highest ranking answer was "musical artistry (how to stay inspired, mindset, and creative practices)." So let's talk mindset.
As a private Ableton Live coach and faculty member at Point Blank Music School, I have worked with hundreds of producers. These are the four most common producer mindset mistakes I see over and over again:
Mistake #2: Overstuffing a song because you're insecure about the core idea
Mistake #3: Believing the mix (and somebody else) will save your song
Mistake #4: Thinking you’re advanced because you abandoned the basics
Over the next four weeks, I'm going to address each of these mistakes and offer a practical way for you to address them in your own creative practice.
Today, let's wrap up this series and return to basics.
Have you abandoned the basics?
Music producers,
I see this mistake all the time: producers think they’ve outgrown the fundamentals.
You might have learned some advanced techniques—maybe you’re designing complex synth patches, warping drum grooves beyond recognition, or stacking effects chains with intricate processing. And you assume that because you’re doing high-level things, you must be an advanced producer.
When I say this, it isn't meant to diminish the hard work that you've put into the skills you have developed. It's to draw attention to the point that music production is an inescapably broad skill set. There are many sets of basics that must be be learned.
This is why the truly advanced producer never abandon the basics. The truly advanced producer is devoted to the fundamentals.
The best producers in the world return to the fundamentals constantly. Why? Because everything—sound design, mixing, arrangement, songwriting—stack the same core principles over and over again.
Take for example, the octave. If you do not understand the concept of the octave then you can't truly understand:
Scales and key signatures
Filters and EQ
Song arrangement
FM synthesis
The topics I just listed cover songwriting, arranging, mixing, and synthesis with lots of crossover. Each of these skill sets have their own basics that are as connected as they are distinct.
Devotion to the fundamentals isn’t a sign of inexperience—it’s the mark of a producer who knows what they’re doing.
Does this sound like you? Then try this:
No matter how advanced you are, pick your weakest area—synthesis, songwriting, sampling, drum programming, etc—and spend an entire week studying it as if you were a beginner. Watch beginner tutorials, read articles, and apply what you learn.
You’ll be surprised how much you missed the first time around. Any time I revisit the fundamentals, I pick up something new.
And if you’re ready to get serious about mastering the fundamentals in synthesis, one of the most important areas of music production, I’ve got something coming next week that you won’t want to miss. Stay tuned.
Til next time,
ZW