1: Learning experience was VERY slow. I still feel like I’m playing catch-up, but I can be proud of what I put out now. DAWs have a very steep learning curve, then it flattens out for a bit, then gets steep again as you start to realise just how little you know!
2: I have had no musical training whatsoever, so it took 6+ years of playing around and teaching myself through experimentation to get a track signed.
3: Most important thing, and something I still struggle with, is to focus on the music. It may sound silly, but when you’re a producer, you’re doing everything from start to finish. So it’s easy to get caught up in the production, in the technicals, or even in trying to get a specific style down — sometimes you have to step away and listen after a week so you can go “oh this is actually musically interesting”.
4: Most recent is taking advantage of macros and modulation to give sounds character and slight imperfections, such as a randomised LFO on a cutoff filter that changes the texture slightly throughout :)