Guitarist Ryan Doherty has been making music for coming up to 10 years. He chats with us and shares his hints and tips on making the most of the time available to produce music.
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How long have you been producing music for?
I’ve been making music probably since around 2010 when I downloaded a copy of FL Studio. I can’t even remember why I did that as I wasn’t playing guitar at the time. I was making simple beats with synths and sound effects. I wouldn’t call it music production per se.
I’m not sure if that wouldn’t include mixing and mastering which I’m terrible at. Anyway, I made some simple tunes and later started to add vocals. I was living in Belgium at the time.
I didn’t really start playing guitar again till probably 2012 when I moved back to the UK and I found out I could plug a guitar right into my laptop and play through a DAW. That changed everything!
I probably only get a few hours a week to work on music. I try to make it count but it’s not a lot of time.
Ryan Doherty on producing music.
Tell us a bit about your style of production
It’s guitar based song writing. I start with some drums and then play whatever naturally comes out on the guitar. Depending on that either lyrics and the vocal melody write themselves or sometimes it can stand on its own as an instrumental.
I’ve been told many times I should pick a genre and stick to it if I want to “make it” but I’m making the music I like so the range is diverse. From chill out to hard rock, from love songs to metal or wistful blues.
What influences made you want to take up music production as a hobby?
I think back in the day Moby was a big influence. I think I read an article that he basically made all that amazing music in his home. That blew my mind. I’d never really considered it possible before that. Also the range of genres he incorporated into his music never affected his popularity at the time.
Is there a memorable piece of kit you have used that you loved and tell us why was it so memorable?
My first guitar. It’s a black les paul copy my dad bought me for my 16th birthday. The jack is knackered and the pick ups are gone. But it was my first guitar and my dad taught me to play it. My dad passed away in 2014 and was the reason I started making music and putting it out on the internet. The guitar has appeared in a few of my videos as I use it as a prop now. I’ve put green cardboard across the fretboard to produce the greenscreen effects you’ll see in videos for songs like “Show me the way” so I’m still getting use out of it even if it’s not playable anymore.
How much time do you get to spend producing?
Very little unfortunately. I work full time as a network engineer. I work a shift pattern of 2 days, 2 nights and 4 off. That means I start every shift pattern a day later than the previous one.
Otherwise I’d probably have formed a band years ago but this pattern is impossible to practice around. I probably only get a few hours a week to work on music. I try to make it count but it’s not a lot of time.
What tips do you have for making the most of your time?
I’m not on a timescale for my music. The few hours I get to sit down I’m so enthusiastic I usually get the rudiments of a song down in the first hour. I’m just left to work on lyrics and finish off the overall sound as best I can before getting it mixed.
Aside from music production, what other skills would you say are important for amateur musicians in getting noticed?
I think these days unless you’re willing to spend a LOT of money on ads or promotion you need to work everyday building up a following on social media. Indie artists basically promote themselves and if you have no following you have nothing.
You can buy followers cheap enough but you can’t promote to fake accounts so you need to work on finding followers everyday relentlessly to give yourself even a chance of being heard.
Have you considered going all in full time?
Considered yes. As with all creative people though it is exceptionally difficult to monetise it. Bearing in mind to get a cheap mix of a song can cost £60 and you sell it for £1 it is I would expect a loss making hobby for the majority.
I’ve set up a patreon account etc but people can listen to music for free so easily these days. My long term plan is probably give the music for free and look for support via patreon or some similar platform but I need to get a lot more content up there first. I’m working on that at the moment.
What is the dream?
The dream I guess is just to keep improving and learning and building up people that like to share my music. I’m not interested in fame. People appreciating my hobby is enough for me. If a few people a week tell me they listened to a song and it made them feel something or remember someone I’m ectastic.
Dead or alive, who would be the one musician you’d like to work with and why?
I love Paul Kossof’s sound. He died before I was born but he was such a great player. He wasn’t fast or flash, no shredding, he was just a great player with a good blues base and made the guitar really sing. The feelings he managed to express through his guitar make me feel all kinds of things. That’s something I strive to emulate.
Final word.
Ryan has spent a long time honing his craft and has got an almighty following on his Youtube Channel. Getting such a following does not come easily and it takes hard work and time.
Catch the rest of Ryan Doherty’s back catalogue and socials:
Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/artist/1izo73udseGXDPvzhDYeA0
Apple Music : https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ryan-doherty/1242480219
Twitter : https://twitter.com/d0hertyry4n
Facebook : https://facebook.com/d0hertyry4n
Instagram : https://instagram.com/d0hertyry4n
