121
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: What's ONE word that you believe is the most important in music production?
« on: January 23, 2016, 01:52:47 am »
Perseverance.
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122
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: what are non electronoc music you listen to ?
« on: January 23, 2016, 12:33:43 am »
I listen to everything, jazz, classical, pop, British rock, etc
Please check out Sufjan Stevens. He is the best.
Please check out Sufjan Stevens. He is the best.
123
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: Anyone feeling like shit (musically)?
« on: January 22, 2016, 01:49:12 pm »
It's just like a relationship.. sometimes you need some time and space away from your partner. But you always come back.
124
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: Anyone feeling like shit (musically)?
« on: January 22, 2016, 12:54:41 pm »One day I feel like i'm on top of the world writing hooks left right and centre and the next I can't even sustain a simple chord progression without giving up.
I'm not even interested in LISTENING to music as well, I just feel so burned. Is it best to just ignore it and not produce for a while all together?
It's a shitty form of writers block, how do you deal with it?
It happens. To everybody. It's not a shitty form of writers block.. it IS writers block.
How do you deal with it? You move on and do something else... read a book, take a walk, watch a movie, etc..
Don't worry... this feeling is temporary. It's not the end of the world... it's just a part of the process.
125
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: Struggling to focus when producing? Try the Pomodoro technique!
« on: January 22, 2016, 09:33:27 am »Wow, this is a great article! Thank you for sharing.
No problem! Hope it helps you... it's definitely helping me!
By the way, I use a nice FREE app called 30/30: http://3030.binaryhammer.com. I have tried out tons of other similar apps but this is the one that I've stuck with, I love it's unobtrusive, minimalistic design, it is very easy to use and it gets the job done wonderfully.
The app is called 30/30 because you're supposed to work on something for 30 minutes, then do something totally unrelated/rest for the next 30 minutes, and then you repeat that cycle. However, I've been incorporating the classic Pomodoro technique instead and have set the app to intervals of 25 minutes (Produce)/5 minutes (Break). I still keep the classic Pomodoro guide which is 4 cycles of 25/5. The 30/30 app will run for 25/5 minutes four times, then it will stop and I take a much longer break (more than 5 minutes). Usually after the four 25/5 cycles, it's time for me to do some house chores, run errands or prepare a meal/eat. In general, this app has been massively helping me get off from my chair and do something else for a change.
In the past, I've been guilty of sitting in my chair for hours and hours on end..which is really unhealthy. Now, every time the 5 minute break comes around, I'll go grab a glass of water or do some jumping jacks/planks, whatever. It's much healthier than staring at a computer for hours straight. Also, I find my mind to be less cluttered when I break away from the computer every once in a while.
Now, most people will say that something like this isn't very practical... "I don't want to break the flow" or "I'm worried that I might forget what I was doing". Well, I can tell you that I have better ideas when I work in smaller increments! As for the fear of forgetting, I will usually record my ideas down as soon as they come, and this usually happens at the start of the 25 minutes fortunately... so I don't really forget anything or break the flow. So far, I've found that I can come back to what I was doing as if I didn't even take a break at all actually! I don't worry about sound design or stuff like that when I'm writing, it's more important to get all the melodic and harmonic ideas/arrangement down FIRST.
When it comes time to mix, I still use the Pomodoro technique. Since I am forced to focus on something for 25 minutes, I learn to make decisions very quickly instead of dicking around too much with sound design, or adjusting every little thing. Also, I tend to NOT listen to the track on loop (just because I only have 25 minutes at a time), and therefore losing my perspective on it... which can be a very harmful thing.
I believe that humans weren't meant to sit in a chair for 8 hours. By following this method, you can break a lot of bad habits as well as be more productive. It's a Win/Win!
126
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Struggling to focus when producing? Try the Pomodoro technique!
« on: January 22, 2016, 05:16:44 am »
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique
Won't go into what it is specifically, click on the link above to read and find out what it is. Instead, I just wanted to share my experiences with it.
So we all produce on a computer that is connected to the Internet right? We all own smart phones which are also connected to the Internet. So we're constantly distracted by Facebook, reddit, YouTube, etc.. I've found through personal experience that I fall into the trap of 'constantly wanting to learn something new' because we should be 'perpetual students', right? There is limitless information on the Internet which is readily available, literally at our fingertips. There are new YouTube tutorials posted every hour... new tutorial blog posts being published, heck, there are even new tips and tricks being posted on this very forum. Well, there has to be a limit somehow/somewhere... where we stop learning for just a little while, and just DO... make a track and finish it. The most important part is finishing the track, and also finishing MANY tracks.
I've found that utilizing the Pomodoro technique and working in shorter intervals is far more effective than how I've approached producing in the past. I'm way more focused and productive because it's way easier to focus on something for 25 minutes than it is for, say, 60 minutes. 25 minutes is a long enough duration for me to work on something with pure focus. This approach has also helped me stop the urge to keep checking my emails or text messages every minute. 25 minutes is not too long of a wait for me to get back to someone who's texted/emailed me about something important. And my close family and friends know to call me directly if it's something really urgent. So I can totally live without checking my text messages for 25 minutes.
Besides the emails/texts, this technique has also helped with the constant urge to look up new tutorials, tips/tricks/etc on Reddit, YouTube, various production chat groups, etc. I've learned many techniques so far, I think I've come up with a really great and efficient workflow when producing in my DAW so I think it's safe to say that I don't have as much to learn as I did when I first started out. Now I need to focus on just writing/finishing as many tracks as I can. I really need to balance out the time I spend 'learning' with the amount of time I spend 'doing'. This also relates to the Pareto 80/20 principal: I should be spending 20% of my time producing with pure FOCUS to get 80% of the results, not the other way around.
It's nice when you have all the time in the world to produce music, but it's also very harmful because you have little focus and get very little done at the end of the day. I have promised to myself that 2016 is going to be different. If you are struggling just like I was, I strongly recommend trying the Pomodoro technique. So far, I've finished writing a Verse, Pre Chorus and Chorus using this technique, within the span of 90 minutes or so. That's way more than I have achieved when I didn't use this technique.
So, go ahead, try it! And please share your experiences with it here too! GOOD LUCK!
Won't go into what it is specifically, click on the link above to read and find out what it is. Instead, I just wanted to share my experiences with it.
So we all produce on a computer that is connected to the Internet right? We all own smart phones which are also connected to the Internet. So we're constantly distracted by Facebook, reddit, YouTube, etc.. I've found through personal experience that I fall into the trap of 'constantly wanting to learn something new' because we should be 'perpetual students', right? There is limitless information on the Internet which is readily available, literally at our fingertips. There are new YouTube tutorials posted every hour... new tutorial blog posts being published, heck, there are even new tips and tricks being posted on this very forum. Well, there has to be a limit somehow/somewhere... where we stop learning for just a little while, and just DO... make a track and finish it. The most important part is finishing the track, and also finishing MANY tracks.
I've found that utilizing the Pomodoro technique and working in shorter intervals is far more effective than how I've approached producing in the past. I'm way more focused and productive because it's way easier to focus on something for 25 minutes than it is for, say, 60 minutes. 25 minutes is a long enough duration for me to work on something with pure focus. This approach has also helped me stop the urge to keep checking my emails or text messages every minute. 25 minutes is not too long of a wait for me to get back to someone who's texted/emailed me about something important. And my close family and friends know to call me directly if it's something really urgent. So I can totally live without checking my text messages for 25 minutes.
Besides the emails/texts, this technique has also helped with the constant urge to look up new tutorials, tips/tricks/etc on Reddit, YouTube, various production chat groups, etc. I've learned many techniques so far, I think I've come up with a really great and efficient workflow when producing in my DAW so I think it's safe to say that I don't have as much to learn as I did when I first started out. Now I need to focus on just writing/finishing as many tracks as I can. I really need to balance out the time I spend 'learning' with the amount of time I spend 'doing'. This also relates to the Pareto 80/20 principal: I should be spending 20% of my time producing with pure FOCUS to get 80% of the results, not the other way around.
It's nice when you have all the time in the world to produce music, but it's also very harmful because you have little focus and get very little done at the end of the day. I have promised to myself that 2016 is going to be different. If you are struggling just like I was, I strongly recommend trying the Pomodoro technique. So far, I've finished writing a Verse, Pre Chorus and Chorus using this technique, within the span of 90 minutes or so. That's way more than I have achieved when I didn't use this technique.
So, go ahead, try it! And please share your experiences with it here too! GOOD LUCK!
127
Mixing/Mastering / Re: What software do you use to convert your final track to mp3 format?
« on: January 14, 2016, 02:35:59 am »
iTunes does the job perfectly and it's free! 
128
Mixing/Mastering / Re: Are there any good mixing books you recommend?
« on: January 12, 2016, 03:49:39 pm »I'm trying to learn mixing, and do you guys have good books to recommend? Thank you!https://www.bookdepository.com/Mixing-Secrets-for-Small-Studio-Mike-Senior/9780240815800
129
Samples/Plugins/Software/Gear / Re: Looking to switch to a new DAW from Logic
« on: January 10, 2016, 10:52:14 pm »Bitwig is the best of both worlds. Arrange page is just like Logic's, but yet you have the Live type workflow too.
This pretty much sums up the way I see Bitwig. I have been waiting FOREVER for Logic to implement some sort of Session view functionality but it never came and unfortunately I don't see it happening any time soon.
130
Samples/Plugins/Software/Gear / Re: Any good free violin/cinematic plugins for mac?
« on: January 10, 2016, 02:37:26 pm »So my question is that are there any good free violin or cinematic kind of plugins to mac? (btw i'm using Ableton if that matters)
If you know some please link them here
Do you have the full Kontakt 5 plugin?
131
Samples/Plugins/Software/Gear / Re: Looking to switch to a new DAW from Logic
« on: January 10, 2016, 08:04:37 am »Bitwig is great, but has quite a different workflow than Logic..... but it would possibly have a steeper learning curve for you compared to some of the others.Nah.... I'm coming from a Logic background and I took about 2 hours to learn how Bitwig is set up. It is super intuitive and you really don't even need the manual to learn it. You might have to spend a little more time getting into the Clip Launcher view stuff but seriously it's not a big deal. The Bitwig learning curve is not steep at all. The Arrange mode is just like Logic's Arrange mode, nothing different at all.
If you are coming from Logic, you will instantly notice how much better Bitwig's Browser is too. Needs a few minor tweaks such as customization but other than that, it works very well.
132
Samples/Plugins/Software/Gear / Re: Bitwig
« on: January 09, 2016, 11:49:39 pm »
Bitwig user here! Jumped from Logic and I don't see myself looking back.
Making music on Logic just didn't seem that fun for me anymore. Logic is modern but archaic at the same time. The Environment is not intuitive at all.. Bitwig makes it so easy to do route things the way you want to. Bitwig is so intuitive and flexible.
Making music on Logic just didn't seem that fun for me anymore. Logic is modern but archaic at the same time. The Environment is not intuitive at all.. Bitwig makes it so easy to do route things the way you want to. Bitwig is so intuitive and flexible.
133
Samples/Plugins/Software/Gear / Re: Looking to switch to a new DAW from Logic
« on: January 09, 2016, 11:29:30 pm »
YES YES YES to Bitwig! Try out the Bitwig demo and see for yourself.
I just switched from Logic myself.. I mean I still have Logic around for features that Bitwig doesn't have (quick swipe comping, Flex Pitch, articulation switching with Scripter, Movie import) but in the past month, I have not touched Logic at all, and I don't miss it.
I just switched from Logic myself.. I mean I still have Logic around for features that Bitwig doesn't have (quick swipe comping, Flex Pitch, articulation switching with Scripter, Movie import) but in the past month, I have not touched Logic at all, and I don't miss it.
134
Samples/Plugins/Software/Gear / Re: What's your go-to reverb plugin?
« on: January 09, 2016, 04:36:04 am »
ValhallaVintageVerb and Reflektor are all I need.
135
Mixing/Mastering / Re: What are some good "general" plug-ins for mixing/mastering?
« on: January 08, 2016, 05:02:21 pm »Hi, I'm really inexperienced with mixing. My mixes always turn out bad and I think it could be the stock plug-ins arent what I need. Since the topic is sort of vague, I was looking for any good EQ, stereo shaping, reverb, just the general basic plug-ins I would need. I hope this isn't breaking any of the rules but I have no idea where to look for some good ones. Thank you in advance.
Which DAW?
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