Thread: Maestro

<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Whats Up DP?! It's<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">Maestro</span> </span>checking in. What is Maestro doing on the DP forum? Well...I was 'off' for longer than I've been 'on' but I've always had big respect for the Dynamic Producer movement. I was blessed with the opportunity to be a part of it so I'm here to add my 2 cents. Feel free to ask me questions, make comments, or point me in the direction of a topic I should keep my eye on. I'm here to help, contribute, and make Dynamic Producer the best it can be for all of us! I only have 1 request...if you respect my opinion enough to ask for it, respect me enough to accept it!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I may post links in response to some questions you may have instead of typing a full response. DON'T TAKE OFFENSE. I learned alot that has helped me succeed by reading and researching; I think its fundamental for others to do the same. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Another thing, I'm not here to compete for placements, to get attention, or to steal anyone's shine. With that being said...What's up DP?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">(In case your sitting there wondering "Who does this Maestro character <em>think</em> he is?"... <a href="http://bit.ly/maestro">Get Familiar!</a></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>

<p>What's poppin Maestro!&nbsp; Guess your honorary DP fam now.</p>

<p>yessurr...now i just gotta get my post count up and jazz up my little area! Can I get some stars in this joint? Or do I have to be Jaay Peso 1st name last name to be a 5 Star Stunna?</p>

<p>LMAO!!!&nbsp; yeah, u gotta have a first and last name to get 5.&nbsp; But if you holla at Mayday, he may be able to throw you 4 stars in good faith that you'll up that post count later, lol.</p>

<p>Welcome aboard Mr. Grammy.</p>

<p>What's going on Maestro?&nbsp; I heard you the other day on Jawar's radio show talking about "Being in the right place" really just means being prepared for any opportunities that may come your way.&nbsp; Can you tell us some of the things that you did to prepare and be ready for the "right" opportunity to come along?</p>

<p>thats whats up.....what it doooo (in my B-more Voice...lol)</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.pmpworldwide.com/Rick-Vicious">www.pmpworldwide.com/Rick-Vicious</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.myspace.com/RickVick2k">www.myspace.com/RickVick2k</a></p>
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What's good Maestro...yo what's up with your guys FMG (Futuristic Music Group)? I was talking with Siah of FMG (met @ Apache Cafe, in ATL) trying to do business with ya'll. How ya been?

<p>whats popin meastro? it is what it is. i see you</p>

<p>Yo...who is Maestro?......lol...thanks in advance!</p>

<p>Maestro's is a new-age classical music composer who also plays keys in the punk rock band "Death Leprechaun".&nbsp; He also won an Oscar for his portrayal of George Washington Carver in the movie "Peanut Butter Jelly Time".&nbsp;</p>
<p>In his spare time he invented the Sham-Wow, and sells them for 19.95.</p>
<p><img src="http://tonybruno.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/shamwow.jpg" alt="" width="390" height="400" /></p>
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<p>haha...classic!</p>

<p>Peso, I swear to God your going to kill me one day.&nbsp; I am gonna see some shit you wrote, and keel over with the frozen happy face like joker victims in the first batman.</p>

<p>What's up Maestro good to see you here, I'm changing my snares right now&nbsp;more beats lol.</p>

<p>LMFAO @ Shamwow!</p>
<p>Didn't he get arrested for like battery on a prostitute or something? No, really....</p>

<p>LMFAO!!&nbsp;&nbsp; yeah, i'm probably gonna need to apologize in advance to the homie Maestro for affiliating him with a shady ass prostitute abuser who sells glorified table cloths to overworked soccer moms.&nbsp; Damn, I didn't know the shamwow dude got down like THAT....... but look at him (scrolls back up to look at previous picture).......he looks like a sex-deprived pedophile with OCD.</p>

<p>He probably threw the Shamwow over her face in an effort to remove all blood stains.</p>

<p><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.&nbsp; YOU TWO DO NOT NEED TO BE IN THE SAME FORUM TOGETHER.&nbsp; I CAN SEE ME CHOKING ON MY LUNCH NOW!&nbsp; </strong></span></p>

<p>@Mr. Kraft Singles I'm not even gonna lie......that comment was kinda creepy, lol.&nbsp; "Ooooohhh, this shamwow soaks all the blood RIGHT ON UP(in high pitched voice with eyes open wide)!!!</p>
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<p>OK, but I digress......... we gotta stop the threadjack....the point of this was for anybody that has any questions or comments for Maestro.</p>

<p>Tell me dude doesn't look like a chameleon in that picture. LOL.</p>

<p>in an attempt to stop the threadjack i started....i won't answer that, lol.</p>

<p>* Welcome to DP ,my question for you is which one of your many tracks would you say is your best and how long does it normally take you to create one track ? , just the creating part not tracking out and all the other timely tasks .</p>

<p>MKS...thank you very much, happy to be here!</p>

<p>MJG...I put my time into learning how to be extra responsible with money, learned multiple production setups, developed my piano playing abilities, and worked on strengthening a character that could withstand all that this business has to offer. Those skills can help with a 50 dollar track sale, a 50 cent album placement, and ensure that i'm not broke 50 years from now. So what are you doing to be prepared?</p>

<p>RV...chillin man, whats good out in B more?</p>

<p>EMG...we've been good. Siah's been working - producing, recording, networking, and trying to get with the program. We got his first placement on the "Next Day Air" Soundtrack...we've got some big things poppin for the next quarter...its all good!</p>

<p>@S5P @CD12 i'm happy to be here...ive been watching from a far for a long time, so its good to be on the other side of the fence now...@BT...new snares are great for bringing new energy</p>

<p>@TS honestly, my FAVORITE tracks are works of art. I create art for my self but produce records for the masses. My production is a science.&nbsp; As for the time it takes, i have a question for you before I answer....Why does it matter? I don't mean that in a rude way, but i've never asked anyone how long they take on beats, but its the one question i'm asked the most! So i want to know from you...why is it important to know how long it takes someone else to make a track?</p>

<p>shamwow guy wins</p>

<p>@Maestro&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; agreed......i think this is a result of the whole era of producers who brag about how they can "make a track in 15 minutes", and then producers on the come up feel like they have to make beats in a certain time frame.&nbsp; I remember when I first started out hearing an established producer who was one of my production influences say, "the beats that take him the longest are never as good as the quick ones", and it set me back a few months.... where I actually put time limits on my beatmaking (ridiculous right).....thankfully, i was smart enough to realize that didn't matter at all.&nbsp; If you take a whole day to make a crazy classic beat, aren't u still better off than the guy that can make 10 beats a day and none of them are really special?&nbsp;</p>
<p>"I make them joints in like 15 minutes" apparently is the "I don't write my rhymes" of production quotes.&nbsp; Nobody cares if you don't write your rhymes if your rhymes are wack.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>* time it takes doesn't really matter , i'm sure you create at different times and the vibe or mood we're in kinda helps with the creating process. sometimes I can just make up a melody other times depending on the vibe around me it takes a little longer . positive vibes normally lead to good quick creations for me but all in all you are right time it takes doesn't matter the goal is a good finish product .</p>

<p>all that being said, years later i fully understand what he truly meant back then...and it wasn't that every good beat is done quickly. Its just that the ideas seem to flow quicker once you catch a dope initial idea.&nbsp;</p>
<p>BTW i'm not knockin anybody who's gifted enough to make dope tracks in 15-20 minute, i'm just saying take however long you need to take to make it dope whether that's 15 minute or 15 hours and any time in between.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>@ Track Surgeons&nbsp; Yeah, some days its like your an absolute genius, and other days, it seems like you have to WILL a beat to dopeness, lol.&nbsp; As long as the final result is dope, it's all good.</p>

<p>Okay Maestro I have some good questions for you...</p>
<p>1) When you heard you got placement on Wayne's album, what was your initial reaction to that and did you ever think it would take off the way it did? Was it at all surprising?</p>
<p>2) Earning the Grammy? Wow. How was that like? Did you get a plaque for it or did you get the nice trophy they hand out on Award night? And did you attend the award ceremony? Stuff like this inspires us and makes us strive to do better in hopes of one day that'll be us.</p>

<p>Jaay Peso , very true man , just asked the time question because we all do hear it a lot .Somedays are just blank days and others are just good creating days and our goals are to someday reach the level of getting something we produced placed . . .&nbsp;&nbsp; good luck everyone take however long you need to make your hits .</p>

<p>True that time doesn't matter but establishing good timely fashion habits is always a plus. Especially in this business when certain things have to be turned around in a few days if not hours. You've got jump through every open window out there.</p>
<p>You've got to be able to put the finishing touches on tracks at a certain pace. And you have to learn how to ensure quality on a routine basis. That's the only way you'll learn to develop your sound not just beyond yourself but beyond everyone you're competing with.</p>
<p>Being punctual in this market is a necessity, don't ever leave your clients waiting.</p>
<p>So time does matter...</p>
<p>Sometimes it takes me weeks to find the right touch though. That's my nack.</p>

Maestro, thanks for replying first of all. Glad Siah and FMG are getting what they work hard for!

My questions:

1. How does one go about submitting for placements?
2. And how does one SEARCH for placement opportunities?

We have that industry sound, and have the business sense, image, and talent to carry us far..we just need the opportunity to succeed. Don't get me wrong either, we constantly grind. I'm a college student, the other two in my company are a high school student and a grad student. We grindin' all the time!!! WE JUST NEED ADVISE

Also,

My band, WildKard, (yes band, hiphop/r&b/alternative rock with drummer and guitarist, 2 rappers, 1 singer) are big fans of your production. EMG has produced all of their work, but I want them to be blessed by a Maestro track. How do we go about this? Thanks again!!!

MYSPACE.COM/ECSTACYMUSICGROUP
MYSPACE.COM/WILDKARDOFFICIAL
ECSTACYMUSICGROUP@GMAIL.COM

<p><span style="font-size: small;">Sorry about this guys... OH MY GOD THAT SHAMWOW THING WAS HILARIOUS!&nbsp; Kraft, you're such a retard for that one... I damn near choked on air I was breathin' in!&nbsp; I see u n Jaay need not be in any thread together, or its instant jokes from the gate... n Jaay, you're a retard for the description of homie n then puttin' the pic up of dude!&nbsp; THAT WAS CLASSIC!&nbsp; I think DP needs a "Classic Moments"&nbsp;blog n this should be a post in it!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Oh yeah, I see u tryinna get your post count up postin' one at a time Maestro - lmfao!&nbsp; SMART!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Ok, now that the laughs are out from thinkin' bout alllat as I was typin', time does not matter really.&nbsp; Its all about the quality of the trax.&nbsp; If u can do it in 5 min. n its hot, great.&nbsp; If it takes u a whole day, great.&nbsp; Just do wha u do.&nbsp; The quality of the material is what's key, as well as other things like composition, chord progressions, song structure (or as I like to call it... editin'), etc.&nbsp; It just all has to sound RIGHT, not HALF WAY RIGHT, HALF ASSED or WRONG!</span></p>

<p>i'd first like to greet maestro with my personal welcome, because i wasnt able to do it earlier... whats good, maestro. im drape. havent been with DP as long as everyone else, but im already starting to kind of fit in (I THINK).. im glad a pro like you is on DP helpin us rookies out to get ready for the game. im really looking forward to asking for your advice and taking notes of your wise words in the future, i can already tell you can be a help for me and many others on DP. SOO... HELLO so far, we'll deffinetly conversate on the forums in the future. 1</p>

<p>@ JAAY &amp; MAESTRO ABOUT THE TIME LIMIT ON TRACKS... BOTH YOUR WORDS ARE TRUE FACTS..AND I STRONGLY AGREE WITH ALMOST ALL OF IT, BUT MANY PEOPLE (INCLUDING HEADS ON DP) INFORMED ME ABOUT HOW STRICT THE GAME IS WITH IT'S DEMAND OF CONSISTENCY.. EVEN ON THE INDUSTRY OPPS ON DP, I'LL SEE A OPP POSTED ON MAY 25 (FOR EXAMPLE) SAYING IT NEEDS 3 HOT TRACKS THAT ARE SIMILAR TO FAT JOE'S SAFE TO SAY, WEEZY'S LEATHER SO SOFT, OR CASSIDY INNOCENT MAN.... FOR THE SAME FUCKIN OPP. BUT THEY'RE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BEATS!! AND IT'LL BE DUE IN LIKE TWO DAYS IF NOT THE NEXT DAY.. NOTE THAT THIS DOESNT ALWAYS HAPPEN, JUST HAS BEFORE.. AND THAT FORCES (US) TO MAKE A BEAT THAT WE MAY HAVE NEVER DONE BEFORE, IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.. NOT THAT IT'S NOT A GOOD THING, I REALLY FEEL THAT DP HELPED ME BE MORE CONSISTENT AND ADAPTABLE&nbsp;SOLELY BECAUSE OF&nbsp;IT'S INDUSTRY OPPS. BUT WE DO NEED TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE BEATS AS FAST AS POSSIBLE, AND MAKE SURE IT FITS THE STANDARDS BEING DEMANDED BY THE LABEL WE'RE TRYING TO GET SIGNED TO!!&nbsp; SO ITS NOT GOOD TO MAKE A BEAT IN 15 MINUTES JUST SO U CAN SAY U DID IT SO QUICK, BUT EVERY PRODUCER (IN MY OPINION) NEEDS TO LEARN HOW TO BE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE WHEN IT COMES TO SUPPLYING "THE MAN" LOLZ WITH HEAT.</p>

<p>wow i just realized that cheese basically said half of what i said before me. iight you beat me on that 1</p>

<p>Man...when vibin', it seems like a beat just flows out and other times it seems like no matter what happens, this dang beat ain't gonna work....then there are times when I come back later and catch a vibe on the "ain't gonna work" beat...a beat is ready when it is ready...5 minutes/5 months...I feel you Drake on the opps requiring quick turn-arounds...sometimes that pressure alone helps in getting something moving...other times, I grab something I have already and try to freshin' it up and go for broke...got nothing to loose...</p>
<p>Yo, Jaay and Maestro have that Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda Star Wars thing going on when they answer questions....after I read the answer, I feel like I have to use the force...but I gotta stop calling myself Luke....lol</p>

<p>@Drape</p>
<p>Its true that it is advantageous to make beats fast.&nbsp; If you can make 10 great beats in a day, its better than 1 great beat in a day, but I believe people should produce in the moment.&nbsp; You shouldn't let the last beat, or the next beat, or the time it takes, or how many you made that day/week affect the beat your making at that moment.</p>
<p>Speed comes with practice and experience and you begin to save time because certain things become routine.&nbsp;&nbsp; Working fast is fine, because we all try to optimize our workflow and improve our skills so we can do things quicker, but that should never be prioritized over quality.</p>
<p>Honestly, I think the most useful skill is defining your sound first (what that truly means would require a whole other thread) then if you want to chase opps you can wrap YOUR sound around that particular opp.&nbsp; I could take ANY great&nbsp; producer and make an example of this, but lets go with the Neptunes.&nbsp; Go listen to their music.&nbsp; They worked with a ton of artists, but you can hear similar elements in a large majority of their tracks (i.e. the custom drum sounds and live drum feel, the clav keys, the way they program baselines,the strings with the phaser effect, the percussion).&nbsp; They moulded their sonic preferences around artists.&nbsp; Even tracks where they went away from that formula, they would still have at least a few of those elements that defined THEIR SOUND.&nbsp; They were selling the artist on the fact that they were taking them, "where they need to go next".&nbsp; Same for timbaland, dre, (so on and so forth).&nbsp; Take any great producer and listen to enough of their tracks, and if your ears even half decent, the things that define their personal sound will jump out at you.&nbsp; The neptunes are just one example, but I could have used almost anybody.</p>
<p>So with the development of that sound comes routine, and speed.&nbsp; People will only value you for YOUR sound.......because they feel they can't get it from somebody else.&nbsp; If you never define that sound, you end up a jack of all trades but a master of none.&nbsp; How do you think Primo's still around?&nbsp; How do you think 9th and Alchemist are still eating?&nbsp; Why do you think they pay Justice League and Danja those prices?&nbsp; Dopeness, and consistency and branding.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>@curtdog12&nbsp; I had to make up for my previous threadjacking attempt by actually trying to be helpful, lol.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>Now use the force Drape!!!!</p>
<p>On the real, I feel what you are saying Obi and it kills me when cats ask me for tracks that sound like such and such...I have made tracks off of the feel of some of those great producers mentioned hoping to find me in the mix so I am not knocking another man's hustle...but creating OUR own sound is where we all should be heading...</p>

<p>@Curtdog12 lol, agreed&nbsp; i've got a few random thoughts.</p>
<p>1) Isn't it disrespectful to come to a producer and ask them for a beat that sounds like another producer.&nbsp; That's like asking your girlfriend, "could you wear this dress, it looked dope on my last girlfriend".&nbsp; But you gotta try not to burn bridges despite the ingnorance of the person, no matter how bad you want to tell somebody, "if you want a f****ng whopper than take your ass to Burger King".&nbsp; You may take that from an A&amp;R or major artist.......but damn if I would take that from any local or independent rapper wit no budget.&nbsp; Just me tho.</p>
<p>2) With the juelz santana opp, the def jam connect told Mayday they wanted a record that sounds like TI's "live your life" record if i'm not mistaken.&nbsp; Am I the only one that immediately heard that as industry talk that translates to "Mayday, i'm gonna be honest here.......I have no clue what I want.....but I need a SAFE hit so I can keep my job".&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>Could be wrong, he could just want a track with an uplifting feel for the summer.....but I digress.....I understand that these industry cats have families to feed too.&nbsp; Not badmouthing the def jam rep at all.&nbsp; Now back to the Maestro questions.</p>

<p>@cd...wasnt sure if you were joking, but here's info on me <a href="http://bit.ly/maestro">bit.ly/maestro</a></p>

<p>@ts...i'm glad my response started some dialog but i owe you an answer. tracks take me between 5 minutes and 5 days or 5 weeks. sometimes i can go in, pull up loops from tracks i've already done, pull up presets from favorites, and make a bangin loop that i can sell right away. other joints take more work and time. Its all about making your production a science. The more of a science and formula you have to your production, the faster it gets.</p>

<p>@jp "Am I the only one that immediately heard that as industry talk that translates to "Mayday, i'm gonna be honest here.......I have no clue what I want.....but I need a SAFE hit so I can keep my job". ABSO-EFFING-LUTELY!! thats whats wrong with the business right now. or maybe its whats right...</p>

<p>damn, i see my name, what i miss</p>