What are the top three tips that you'd give to a producer with less experience?

[VOIID]

2. Presents are fine

Of course presents are fine

[ANDRAViDA]

1. Be yourself and be the best producer that you can be

- There's nothing wrong with learning from other producers but straight up comparing yourself to already established producers will leave you discouraged

2. Learn what works for YOU

- Your workflow is yours and understanding what type of environment you work well in is important

3. BE ORGANIZED

- Starting out this might not seem like something that you need to do but if you are organized now (with your projects, samples etc.) it will save you so much time during the creative process when you are looking for samples etc. and it's hard to put a value on that

[Mushroomizer]

Well.. A lot of awesome advice has been posted so far.. But may as well give it a go!

Basically, just never stop doing stuff. Need a fancier way of wording it, but basically just never stop working towards your goal. If you have a spare hour or two, make stuff! Just filling up the little gaps in your day with music making can make you improve so much faster.

Aside from that, also don't worry about trying to make your own style. Your own style will come just from making stuff that you like and combining it all in your own way. It just happens naturally, you don't need to force it

[Four Leaf Clever]

don't think so much
walk a lot
dance a lot

[Mussar]

dance a lot

I think this is especially important because so many of us are dance music producers, but we often are not listening to it on a dance floor. The dance-ability of your track can only be measured by someone dancing to it. That first test subject is you!

[flashsapphire]

1. Learn your DAW, learn how to use the plugins, manipulate them, etc
2. Learn sound design...watch as many tutorials as you can on youtube, or if you want really good tutorials, pay for a subscription to adsr (I currently do this, it really helps)
3. Spend time trying to make your music reflect your emotions. Emotional music is very powerful and helps you grow as a person.

[vinceasot]

when i first started i sucked shit i couldnt even program a 4 by 4 kick drum lol

im not a professional but my music has taken a next level, I feel the music inside me but i dont have the knowledge yet to transfer it completely to a DAW, this is what i am stuck on atm

1. PRACTICE, you have to look and read everything, you have to be hungry for knowledge, I found that my skills increased when i put in more hours and watched how the professionals created their music. Practice everything, from arranging, creating a different snare build up, sidechain techniques, mixing.. re-creating a track you like, etc.
2. First you have to know the rules, then you can break them, that means that you have to copy some of the producers out there first, and then bend it to make it your own.
2. Learn Music theory, this is a must, because you have to write a catchy melody , i found that my favourite tracks were written in the minor chords
3. Limit yourself with plug ins, sylenth, massive and vengeance samples are what i enjoy using.
4. stay motivated by watching your favourite DJ, listen to their music, interviews, radio shows etc.
5. Producing is more valuable that djing, but also try to be a DJ also, its good to meet people, try play at a friend's party or something, and then try get a club gig, producing is much more important than djing remember!
6. Take breaks, its important to take time off the screen or you'll go crazy, go and play playstation, get some food, go and read something, exercise, etc and then come back.
7. Focus! you have to cut off distractions, dont go on social media too much and dont waste time by doing useless stuff, keep your eyes on the DAW 
8. Remember just have fun and be a sponge, soak in all the knowledge you can     

[aspenfox]

Some things that haven't been said yet, and I feel are important...

1) Don't be afraid to nerd out while you're learning. Take notes, write down your ideas. Mix things up - don't just watch tutorial videos - reading helps too! If you're not sure where to start with reading material, googling something like "best books on [insert specific subject here]" or searching for books on Amazon and making decisions based on reviews/ratings usually does the trick for me. Apps are something else that I feel are over-looked, but also worth considering, especially if you're on the go a lot - Apple's app store has some pretty good ones on music theory and ear training. Value your time teaching yourself, be an explorer, be relentless. Don't feel too cool to take on the seemingly mundane, little tasks that make you roll your eyes every once in a while.

2) Keep it minimal. Try not to second guess yourself so much - your first idea is usually your best. If an idea seems to flow out naturally and effortlessly - it's probably a winner and shouldn't need an ungodly amount of tweaking. Sometimes it's easy to get carried away and over clutter a song with unnecessary tracks.

3) In life as in music - rests are just as important as the notes around them. Give yourself a break every once in a while. Long, dedicated grinds are awesome but your ears get tired, and become accustomed to sound fast. Work in increments - and if it works for you, don't be afraid to jump around between projects. Keep your mind sharp and your ears fresh!

[Red X]

1. Fast decisions
2. Limit your distractions
3. Goals

I find it easy for me to get distracted if I spend so much time trying to find the "perfect" sound that I eventually check my facebook then get lost in seeing all the funny videos my friends/family liked which is also why I suggest fast decisions focus more on the creative part and come back when you are done with the track a lot of people don't even finish a song.
I set goals like learning to mix I'd spend a day learning about panning and applying panning to my tracks what ever my track lacks in is the goal I'd set. Track muddy in the low end? learn why do research then apply

Don't spend your life on one track, keep digging for gold.

[sammatla]

1. Be consistent

It's tempting to do all-nighters and act like a hero, but you truly progress when you make music day in and day out. Produce in a consistent manner, even if it's just for an hour per day.

2. Deconstruct

Professional writers deconstruct novels and articles. Professional painters deconstruct and analyze art. Music producers should deconstruct professionally made music: study the arrangement, listen to what sounds are being used and how they interact with each other, etc.

3. Read more

A lot of music producers are averse to reading books. I believe this is a product of the age we're living in.

YouTube tutorials are fantastic, but books give you a deep understanding of concepts and help you think. Read books on technical aspects of production like music theory and mixing as well as books on creativity and psychology.

[deathy]

YouTube tutorials are fantastic, but books give you a deep understanding of concepts and help you think. Read books on technical aspects of production like music theory and mixing as well as books on creativity and psychology.

Oh, man, I would kill for more text tutorials these days, everybody wants to get that sweet YouTube royalty check, but most of the time, I would rather read how to do the thing I am trying to learn.

[InnerPhase]

Some fantastic advice on here that has definitely been apart of my work flow over the years. Although my tips are a little "strange", so here it goes.

1. Get fucking crazy with it. When I hit a wall, sometimes I will slap so many gates,delays,verbs,glitches that it totally morphs the sound into something I never expected. Thus sparking an idea or a moment of "OH MAN! That right there, if I just did (this or that)" *gushy feelings and excitement ensue*

2. There are no rules... Yes there are guidelines but that's all they are. It has been said many times before. LISTEN! If it sounds good I don't care what order my chain or busses are in.

3. If your having a hard time putting an idea from your head into your computer think about singing/beatboxing/humming a recording. Michael Jackson and MANY other very successful and creative individuals did this. Later you can go in and make the correct sounds and start layering. This has helped me and my clients immensely as I am instrument challenged... I have good ears not good dexterity... 

Well, I hope my wacky tips have helped some of you budding producers out there

[Still_Thrills]

Bounce a lot, especially if you're running on a toaster

[UsernamesGiveMeAnxiety]

1: Learn what all the basic filter types and wavforms sound like in combination with each other.

So many questions I get about sounds end up being the simplest things just because a person didn't experiment enough to know what a square wave sounds like with a bandpass on it.

2: Learn what everything sounds like with distortion.

So many questions I get about sounds end up being the simplest things just because a person didn't experiment enough to know what a square wave sounds like with a bandpass on it that was then distorted.

3: Learn every combination of every setting that makes a super saw.

High pitch spread, low spread, high phase spread, low phase spread, distorted, not distorted, a chord, an octave, an octave and a third. From my own observations, 70% of all sound design is just super saws. Learn that, and you're 70% of the way to learning everything.

This is great advice, thank you! I know I've fallen into the trap of thinking things are WAY more complicated than they actually ended up being.

[Bertie South]

1. You shouldn't necessarily be afraid of being formulaic or 'unoriginal'. Some formulas are important, and changing something just so it's not formulaic isn't a good idea. Besides which nothing is truly new, and every person who creates is ultimately recombining things that already exist, in one form or another. Sometimes you'll think you've come up with something great by yourself, only to later discover that it's already been done or that it came from something you heard before. It doesn't matter.

2. A track can feel like it's missing something because the quality of the sounds you're using isn't good enough, or they're not interesting enough, rather than because there's not enough going on in your track. If you add several more elements to a track that seemed to be missing something and it still feels that way, this is probably what's up.

3. After trying mindfulness for a while, I found that I noticed new things in music that I'd listened to dozens of times before. There's not definitely a link, but never assume that your awareness of things is as acute as it could be, and find ways to improve it.

4. The key to just about everything: focus, patience, persistence.