#musicworkflow

[iamnomnom]

I wish someone told me this...

In the early career of every music producer/mix engineer, it always comes a point where you are not a new-be anymore but you are still trying to find your way to getting better mixes, get more clients; a point where you know your way around things, but still ask yourself “ Do I know anything?”

You might feel like you have a special patent for insecurities, but trust me you are not alone in this slippery slope. How many times have you jumped on youtube searching for a tutorial on how to use a compressor? Have you seen how many views that video has? So then trust me.

Whether this is because you never got particular support while developing your career, or because you are a perfectionist and are never satisfied, or maybe because this is not your main job yet and your impostor syndrome like to peak now and then. The “why” it’s not important. As you can get better at mixing and creating music, you can also get better at giving yourself some credits. Here is something that I kind of wished I knew before I started this thing I call my job, purely because I would have started earlier enjoying it.

  1) USE PRESETS. Using presets it’s not cheating. Presets are a great way to learn how a plugin works, its sound, and its possibilities. Presets are there because someone at some point used that particular combination and it worked.

  Does it mean that presets work miracles every time? Well unless we are talking about Decapitator (which you can apply to anything and it does work great), a particular preset might not be the perfect solution for you, BUT it can be a good starting point for you to adjust.

  Does it feel like an easy way out? Last year I couldn’t open a single video without skipping at least 2/3 adv about The Sauce Plugin.

Everybody was talking about it and many were crying that with these kinds of an all-in-one plugin, ppl would have become less and less creative and especially, less driven to know their gear and tools.

For as much as I don’t know much about “The Sauce”, I’m pretty sure it won't ruin the next generations of aspiring producers. As well as I know for a fact that until you get a certain degree of experience YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW.

So yes, use presets, use samples, use templates. Experiment, see how they work and then make your own decision based on your taste. Because your taste is what eventually will get you clients.

  2) DO NOT POSTPONE If you get frustrated because the guy/girl you had in class at uni looks more successful than you on Instagram 1. that’s Instagram. 2. GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER AND DON'T COMPARE YOURSELF TO THEM.

It’s not their fault they are having a better game, but it’s your responsibility to do your best to get wherever you set your mind to.

  I used to get extremely frustrated any time I didn’t know how to use my DAW or how to get a certain sound. For a long time, I kept postponing the inevitable, I just had to study more. So every day I try to learn something new.

Non music related example.   Politics. I hate it, every time I hear the news I feel like I cannot retain any information on the subject, which lead to > stress > avoid conversation > more stress. So to fix this, every day I force myself to read the news while I’m having breakfast.

The same thing works for everything else. 80% of the cases, the source of our insecurity is lack of knowledge. So don’t procrastinate, don’t commiserate yourself, just study. I promise it gets better.

3) YOU MIGHT NEED TO START OVER. Starting over an almost ready mix is fine. If you have doubts about how things sound you are entitled to start again. Sometimes that’s more efficient than making adjustments.

  It happened to me last week: I had this mix, it was almost ready I was just missing one vocal and a flute, all the rest (big orchestra kind of thing) was all ready. I went to reopen it, and once I added these two elements, things weren’t working quite the same. Here is where my experience jump in, I know myself, I know I get distracted easily, so I started over. In a day and a half, the mix was ready and delivered.

  Obviously, my experience taught me what kind of sound I was looking for. This might be something you are still figuring out, so I give you this little tip that brought me a long way and to improve my mixes. While you are mixing, make a list of all the changes/ideas you come up with. Our mind is faster than our hands and if you don’t write it down, you might get lost in the process.

4) THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP.

Whenever you don’t feel like making music, just don’t. You’ll see it’s time much better spent do something else, for example redecorate the walls of your studio

🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕

[heatherholty]

I am so very proud of my husband who has been the inspiration for the design students at Art Center College of Design this semester! As a music producer, songwriter and artist, the tools he uses shape his work, and many of the tools he uses everyday - their design hasn’t been improved upon in over 50 years. To an artist, design is just as important as function. It’s gotta look cool, feel good, be thoughtfully and sustainably made, and it’s function should be indistinguishable from magic. . After working with these students over the semester, I was so impressed at how well Jake was able to elucidate problem areas of the musical workflow. Seeing the final product these amazing designers created where they tackled problems from the cables & wires gack-attack that accumulates on a producers desk, to wearables that help instantly capture that fleeting melody, or re-designing the crusty old guitar stand whose function is more than it appears, and a fashion piece that solves the ergonomics of wearing a heavy instrument while also being a statement piece... absolutely INCREDIBLE! These students are incredible! I was blown away. I’m so proud of all of you!! 💎⚡️ . #design #artcenter #artcentercollegeofdesign #musician #designers #wearables #tools #product #productdesign #music #musicworkflow #rethinkoldways #new #future #fashion #designinspiration #musicproduction (at ArtCenter College of Design) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5_Hk3bJ6B6/?igshid=10jwufn9dgpvp

[zoe19760202]

#JayRock #BustaRhymes Fly of the wall #MusicWorkFlow #iLoveiTThough (at Strijdom Park)

[marioevon]

#AfterTheGig Bout to take off all dis backside close in dis daytime heat but first... #MusicWorkFlow #Jamaica #TheHeatAMadMi

[zoe19760202]

#Beyonce Formation #MusicWorkFlow #iLoveiTThough (at Strijdom Park)