Productivity Archives

Do Something

I’ve met many budding music producers who tell me they need to learn more before they finish anything.

They need to a course, learn this or that technique, or watch more tutorials.

While these are (occasionally) useful activities, they are only useful in the context of actually doing what these hopefuls are learning about!

Believe it or not – if you want to be a music producer (and not a sound engineer or music production tutor) – then you must produce music.

Not just learn about producing music. Do it first. Do not get caught in the tutorial trap.

Because experience is always the best teacher. In fact, experience is the only teacher who is completely necessary…

Learn a lot, and you’ll do nothing.

Do something and you’ll learn a lot.

P.S. The wonderful original art on this post is the handiwork of my mate Tim from Loudwhisper.

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Here’s the Quickest and Easiest Way to Triple Your Studio Output – #9 of 100

It’s incredibly simple.

Forget how it sounds in your head.

If you can’t start, finish, or always get stuck, I bet it’s because you keep trying to make it sound the way it does in your head.

The music in your head is an excellent place to start. But unless you’re Mozart, striving to make it exactly as you imagine it will end in failure and frustration.

You see, the way it sounds in your head is just that. In your head.

When I realised this simple fact, the quantity of work I finished (at least) tripled. The music was better too.

4 reasons to stop

1. You’ll miss moments of genius.
By concentrating on what’s in your head you’ll ignore or reject the other (possibly brilliant) ideas that come out of nowhere. These are gold dust. Jump on them. Hint – they’re what most people call inspiration.
2. You’ll lose momentum.
If you’re going to finish your music, momentum is key. Trying to make it exactly the same as the music in your head will bring you to a screeching halt.
3. Danger! Boredom!
You’ll tweak and twiddle for hours in your quest to make the sound in your head. And after listening to the same thing over and over you’ll get bored of it. You probably won’t even remember what you were trying to do in the first place. The only thing you’ll remember is that you didn’t do it.
4. You won’t hear what’s really playing.
This is the kicker. If you focus on what’s in your head you won’t listen to what’s coming out of the speakers. Then you’re in danger of hearing what you want, not what it is. Which (because you spent ages trying to make it sound like the music in your head) is probably a pile of crap. When you say “why is it so awful this morning when it was so good last night?” – this is why.

How to forget what’s in your head

Yes – start by trying to make what you hear in your head.

But when you have a vague approximation, stop thinking about the music in your head and start listening to what’s coming out of your speakers.

Do something crazy. Be creative. Play. Have fun. That is why you’re doing this – right?

Reframe it. Play the same part on a different sound. Play a different sound on the same part. Try a different rhythm. If it’s not working, try something else.

While you’re jamming, constantly keep your ears open for the ideas that were never in your head, but which sound amazing.

When they happen (and trust me – eventually they will) jump on them, even if they’re not what you were expecting. Especially if they’re not what you were expecting.

But above all, make it sound good in your ears, not in your head.

How to Dispel Fear with One Question

You’re at the end of the creative process. You’re about to complete.

But you can’t get to the finish line. You keep tweaking, perfecting and polishing. In fact if you’re honest with yourself, you’re thinking of scrapping it all and starting over.

Sound familiar? Well don’t worry, this happens to everyone.

Just stop and ask yourself one simple question:

If I finish this now and send it out into the world, what’s the worst that could happen?

The answer is probably:

Someone won’t like it.

Hmmm, but someone won’t like it whatever you make and however you feel about it.

And the negative repercussions of not finishing are much worse for you and your confidence than any amount of criticism.

So finish it. Send it out. Move on.

Because what’s the best that might happen?

Well you’re never going to know unless you finish it, are you?

Boing Boing Boing

When writing a tune I used to bounce my individual tracks simply to save on processor power. But it’s now an integral part of my creative process.

When I bounce something (ie record it to an audio track), it’s set in stone in my mind. It’s unlikely I’ll mess with it because its a hassle to reload the original part and synth, sampler or whatever.

This focusses me on getting the part right and forces me to move on. I avoid the dangerous temptations of perfectionism and maintain precious momentum.

So as you create, keep on bouncing those parts. Boing boing boing.

Record Everything You Do

How many times have you listened to a track you just bought and wished you’d not spent the money, only to realise later that it was brilliant?

The music hasn’t changed but something in your world has made you understand it and connect with it. Maybe it’s just grown on you.

Record everything you do, every single time you stop working. Be militant about this. Make sure you leave enough time at the end of every session to record it, even when it’s completely unfinished, sounds terrible and you hate it. Especially when you hate it.

Because you’ll probably listen to it at some point in the future and realise just how good it is.