feel like i've listened to decent amount of music, but never got to understand true music theory.

any suggestions for diving deeper into understanding compositions (general production, arrangement, keys, etc.)?

pick up an instrument

Learn an instrument or learn music production

nuralink

studying the tomes

@Brave

is piano the best instrument to learn as a beginner?

ya easy to pick up hard to master

Music is ethereal and disposable. Don't waste your time on that. Don't waste your time on writing either. Gaming is the only future.

dont and just f*** around

at least don’t go crazy like jacob collier and just have no discernible musical or artistic talent besides reading a bunch of books about rules for music

you need to feel the music inside you

music friends, internet, experimenting & books

This.

Plus, I used to rap on Soundcloud myself with a producer friend and discovered quickly that I was a better battle rapper than I was a songwriter.

I was trying to copy Wayne so hard in my music even biting some of his mixtape bars and it was tough trying to capture his essence. Made me appreciate lyricists who can make good songs even more.

I exclusively listen to KTT approved music

I took a class in college on music history and learned a lot about MJ, The Beatles, basically all the biggest stars of the 90s

I also used to play a few instruments but havnt really touched them in years

Piano is by far the easiest,

Alot of music writers/composers use acoustic guitar or piano to write their music

Buy a keyboard, and check out some youtube tutorials

If you want to get into beatmaking and production, then buy a keyboard midi controller and teach yourself in a DAW

Outside of fundamentals, self experimenting is probably the best & most important

Followed by finding people irl that also do music

Rap caviar playlist!

recreate your favorite songs from scratch and then you’ll find out how talented you really need to be

I don't make music, but make visual art. in addition to the great advice in the thread, finding a teacher that taught your favorite artists and building a relationship with them changed my life. Also duplicating and memorizing how to make artwork that inspires you, so you can apply the tools they used to your own.

The streets

Saw this scene from Hustle & Flow at the ripe age of 9 and it changed my life forever

But did google, YouTube, forums, and trying to turn what I learned about the music making process into my own methods. And ofc learning from what I make

listen to different types of music styles and know there history or the artists history behind it