Toughest Music Genre To Produce

[Mpache]

So lets get a discussion going.

As you know one of my arguments is Bachata, and every producer I've talked to and personal experience agrees with that. The music itself is very tough to make. Perhaps requires the most guitaring skills more than any other genre because the whole song is essentially a solo. That's why people like Romeo don't sing with the guitar, it's simply not possible. Not only that but singing is just as tough. I've tried making a few songs and it's very difficult, I had to scrap one song and switch to another genre for the time as a result. It requires pitch perfect breathing and perfect technique, and it also requires you to sing quite high up. Especially with how demanding the Dominicans are in such a successful music country, it's not easy.

As @nudge said, classical music is up there if not the toughest. If it's just the original classical music with just instruments, that's already hard enough, but Opera makes it even more complex. Orchestra is demanding.

I'd also argue Rock and Roll is up there. It's not as complex instrumentally as Bachata but the rock legends are the popular ones and rock fans demand a lot, especially to sound like in the old days where there wasn't the technology we use now. If you use any autotune you get crucified. So you pretty much need a great voice to survive in the genre. @Dr. Gonzo.

Lastly, Hip Hop/Rap isn't tough per se, because you can use autotune and get away with it, but if you want to go all Eminem, pronouncing everything pitch perfect ain't easy.

[Mel81x+]

For me, there are really only two genres that are super demanding not only on the musicians but also on the producers when it comes to mastering and tracking. These are.

1. Classical Music Orchestra
2. Jazz Orchestra (personal experience has taught me this)

There is something almost vicious about these two genres because they demand absolute perfection when it comes to sound mastering and instrument usage. The amount of energy and time spent on making sure an instrument sounds just right and the length and work that is put into reproduction of those sounds in the sonic-scape is terribly hard and its why these musicians spend more time practicing and less time playing just so that the producer isn't wasting studio time with them when it comes time to record.  

This is not to say that other genres don't have their own level of complexities to overcome whether its rap, pop, rock, metal, etc the list can go on. Its why so many producers hail certain records as true pieces of art because they visualize so much more than just instrument layers and sound engineering. The real double-edged sword in Production these days is how accessible the technology has become to the masses and why we see such a split down the center for how musicians go about producing their own content for distribution. We think it sounds right but you put it in the hands of a sound-engineer/producer and they really can work wonders with an existing track. 

[Azeem]

[Mel81x+]

1 hour ago, McAzeem said:

Coke Studio Pakistan is a terrible guilty pleasure of mine. Some of the work those people do is outstanding and your rock scene is superb as well.

[Dr. Gonzo]

On 18/01/2021 at 22:35, Mel81x said:

For me, there are really only two genres that are super demanding not only on the musicians but also on the producers when it comes to mastering and tracking. These are.

1. Classical Music Orchestra
2. Jazz Orchestra (personal experience has taught me this)

There is something almost vicious about these two genres because they demand absolute perfection when it comes to sound mastering and instrument usage. The amount of energy and time spent on making sure an instrument sounds just right and the length and work that is put into reproduction of those sounds in the sonic-scape is terribly hard and its why these musicians spend more time practicing and less time playing just so that the producer isn't wasting studio time with them when it comes time to record.  

This is not to say that other genres don't have their own level of complexities to overcome whether its rap, pop, rock, metal, etc the list can go on. Its why so many producers hail certain records as true pieces of art because they visualize so much more than just instrument layers and sound engineering. The real double-edged sword in Production these days is how accessible the technology has become to the masses and why we see such a split down the center for how musicians go about producing their own content for distribution. We think it sounds right but you put it in the hands of a sound-engineer/producer and they really can work wonders with an existing track. 

I'd go with this as well.

If we include recording as part of production, which I'm not sure we should... but we could - I think the more important room acoustics and microphone placement are in a recording... the more difficult the process. It's fairly easy when you can record to record a direct signal for some instruments (like guitar) - it's not so easy with drums (and drum mic placement, imo, is a pain in the arse). I can't imagine how hard it would be with something like piccolos or some shite like that.

So in this regard, classical and jazz orchestral recordings are going to be more difficult for production because you've got to set the room up to record the instruments in the most effective way possible to be properly mixed, while also needing a pretty much perfect performance from the musicians. There's certainly an art to getting that right.