Being more efficient when producing music

[Armadillo]

When you have a job, kids and occasionally other activities, it can be hard to find time for music. So, what have you done to help you be more efficient when producing music?

Things that have helped for me:

- Getting to know your DAW really well. Know the keyboard short cuts so you can get around really quick.
I have for example assigned a key to close the MIDI editor instead of having to click the 'X' to close the window every time. I use G and H to zoom in and out on the timeline, CTRL + D to copy parts etc. I essentially always have my left hand on the (qwerty) keyboard and the right on the mouse, so it helps having short cuts that can be performed with one hand only.

- Having 2 monitors (screens). I have 1 dedicated to the mixer, a limiter, Voxengo SPAN, a RMS meter and one or two VSTi's. That leaves the other monitor free for composing. 3 would probably be even better though.

- Setting up a template. So for example, I have in Cubase set up a couple of send reverbs, a couple of instances of Kontakt, Omnisphere and a few others in a default template that I load every time I start a new tune. I also have a few plugins on the master buss that I always use - limiter, EQ, metering etc.

- Think about what you want to do before you open the DAW.
It could be that you think about how you want the chorus to evolve or something simple like changing the bass sound.
This helps so that when you do open the DAW you don't just stare blindly at the screen and get nothing done in the next 3 hours, cause you had no idea before you started.

- Similarly to the first point.
Get to know your instruments well. Have 1 or 2 synths that you know really well, so that you can quickly get the sound you want. I know it's tempting to have all the synths that are in the KVR database but it won't do much for your efficiency.

What hardware / software / tips and tricks have you have done that have improved your music making efficiency?

[sin night]

- Dedicated rig: the pc is used only for music, so there's no way other activities could interfere with music making.

- Maintenance tasks (for example plugin updates) in well definite moments, for example before starting working time (by the way, I download them before going in my music room, so I don't waste my time surfing through web sites). Aim at the lowest maintenance overhead, as maintenance kills productivity.

- MyKVR is very useful to keep track of most of the software update and it really reduces the effort in order to be up to date

- If hardware has usb midi features, it has to be always on from the moment you power up your studio or when you power up your pc; if it's turned on from time to time, I find it is best using traditional midi din cables: this way you avoid messing your template because of midi ports added or missing.

- When you need to switch something often, it's better to have a dedicated keystroke (or device) to do the job in one click instead of going through menu and preferences, that kills productivity. On a more general note, when you have to think about the steps to do something, then there's room for some workflow improvement.

- If you use hardware, then you must use a patchbay and normalize your standard routing. It requires some planning, but it's very worth the time to setup.

[DJ Warmonger]

Dedicated rig: the pc is used only for music, so there's no way other activities could interfere with music making

I will absolutely need one someday. Nothing can distract me from music, but the music can distract me from atual jobs

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

-Getting to know your DAW really well. Know the keyboard short cuts so you can get around really quick.

this is where i am at the moment. i have been using my daw for about 9 years, but have finally gone back to square one to horrible time-wasting, laborious workflows

setting up templates is also on my to-do list

[JCJR]

Those are some great ideas.

An ergonomic work layout saves time and frustration. Ideally everything needed within arms reach and all controls easily accessible and readable without having to get up and walk across the room, get down on yer knees, then use a flashlight to tweak the settings on a rack device, or whatever.

I've come to the opinion that less equipment is better than more equipment, if the limited set of available equipment is quick and easy to access.

Its a bummer to record a take looking over one's shoulder to see a computer screen. I'll program and photoshop edit and such in addition to fiddling around with music. When doing generic computering, or even doing music editing that doesn't involve tracking, music keyboards and mixers get in the way. If a big mixer or keyboards are on the computer desk, its a bummer if you need some desk space for some books, paper drawing, calculator, whatever.

So what works pretty good lately is a small computer desk at right angles to the keyboard stack on the left, and the rack gear at right angles to the keyboard stack on the right. A U layout with the keyboards in the middle, all sides easy to reach swiveling the office chair and rolling a few inches one way or the other.

Two video monitors on the computer desk and then a third video monitor atop the keyboards, so I can play or patch tweak looking straight ahead at the third video monitor. The monitors are all a unified desktop so a desired window can be dragged to whatever monitor makes best sense.

Also made a removable shallow mouse/ascii keyboard shelf that sticks out a few inches from under the bottom 88 keyboard controller. Using wireless mouse and ascii keyboard, can put them right in front of me when playing keys, then easily move the mouse and ascii keyboard back to the computer desk when I'm done playing.

But good ergonomics is to the taste of each person. It takes awhile and some trial and error to find a good configuration. In the past I made some setups that were intended to be ergonomic, but in practice it didn't turn out so great.

[elxsound]

Templates, templates, and templates.

I primarily work in Live, so unfortunately there's just the 1 template to default to, but I have other projects I use as templates depending on what I intend to accomplish.

Dedicated controllers work. I use Push for Live and have saved all my effects/instruments as Live racks to recall from the controller. This is a major time saver.

Saving plugin chains is a must... Again, I do this in Live, but now there are a number of plugins that allow for saving plugin chains (I believe Blue Cat Audio has one). This is huge.

Creating short length WAV exports of all projects to help better identify projects that were left to come back to.

A dedicated naming convention to saving projects. I always try to name a project based on something else it reminds me of. After that, I list the BPM and Key (if it is a song). This is very useful because, sometimes old unused projects become great starter projects for remixing or some other thing not initially intended.

Ergonomics is definitely huge. Having the right layout saves time.

Cutback on plugins. Familiarity again, is a time saver. Knowing what needs to be adjusted, when and how saves time. I still have redundancy between a number of synths and effects but they all offer at least one unique reason to keep them despite the overlap. The only hard part is not giving into GAS.

I was given good advice from someone here who said it only makes sense to buy something new if it will either save you time, or make you sound better. If you can't satisfy either one of those, then its probably not worth buying.

[psylevation]

I think it's important to come up with a system for production where you can easily work in phases. This way you don't require long 8 hour sessions to accomplish things. You can do it in smaller chunks here and there.

For me I'll create a drum kit.
I'll then make a few drum loops, usually 8 or so.
Then I'll make a bass sound
I'll make a few bass sections that go with my drums (8 always seems to be the magic number)
Same with leads, pads, strings or whatever is sounding good.
Then I will go through (against the rules of EQ) and apply EQ and compression while each sound is soloed and make it sound good on its own.
Each step I limit myself.
I only use EQ and compression at this stage.
I'll then play with various combinations of the sections I made and so on...
Each of these is a pre-defined step which I can perform in a short amount of time.
This way I set little goals and I still get through a track.
Also by making all of these extra parts before I move on I have tons to experiment with and don't have to step back to a previous step very often. With This process I can get a 75% completed song and full arrangement done in only 1 day or 2 if I have longer sessions. Something about pushing it all out quickly maintains a theme better than spending weeks on the idea and arrangement. I will spend a ton of time on the details after that but it's a song and won't change much over all...

pre-define a process. Limit what you use to a few instruments and a few dozen samples of each type. Make a process and use it over and over for a while..

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I think it's important to come up with a system for production where you can easily work in phases. This way you don't require long 8 hour sessions to accomplish things. You can do it in smaller chunks here and there.

For me I'll create a drum kit.
I'll then make a few drum loops, usually 8 or so.
Then I'll make a bass sound
I'll make a few bass sections that go with my drums (8 always seems to be the magic number)
Same with leads, pads, strings or whatever is sounding good.
Then I will go through (against the rules of EQ) and apply EQ and compression while each sound is soloed and make it sound good on its own.
Each step I limit myself.
I only use EQ and compression at this stage.
I'll then play with various combinations of the sections I made and so on...
Each of these is a pre-defined step which I can perform in a short amount of time.
This way I set little goals and I still get through a track.
Also by making all of these extra parts before I move on I have tons to experiment with and don't have to step back to a previous step very often. With This process I can get a 75% completed song and full arrangement done in only 1 day or 2 if I have longer sessions. Something about pushing it all out quickly maintains a theme better than spending weeks on the idea and arrangement. I will spend a ton of time on the details after that but it's a song and won't change much over all...

pre-define a process. Limit what you use to a few instruments and a few dozen samples of each type. Make a process and use it over and over for a while..

what works for you is all good, but i find this really depressing. seriously, if my workflow/creative process looked anything like this, i'd be looking for something else to do

[psylevation]

I prefer this as opposed to not getting anything done ever. Honestly I love what comes from it too. I can work quickly and it doesn't limit what I can do creatively. This just gives me direction and forces me to move forward.
There are more steps obviously but you get the idea I'm sure.
In the end I have a solid idea and arrangement to cone back to.

What about it would be so depressing for you? I simply break up the process to organize and get things done. It doesn't have to start with drums either necessarily. Either way you have to create parts so I create a bunch of them and pick the ideas that go together best. I guess if you know you want to copy someone's particular style and sound and therefore know exactly what you want to make then this is pointless. Personally I prefer to experiment and create something based on if I think it sounds good.

I work 40+ hours a week at my job, I'm going to school for Electrical engineering, and putting on a 3 day music festival for which I'm building a 30' geodesic dome from electrical conduit. I'm busy. I don't have time to f*** around.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I prefer this as opposed to not getting anything done ever. Honestly I love what comes from it too. I can work quickly and it doesn't limit what I can do creatively. This just gives me direction and forces me to move forward.
There are more steps obviously but you get the idea I'm sure.
In the end I have a solid idea and arrangement to cone back to.

What about it would be so depressing for you? I simply break up the process to organize and get things done. It doesn't have to start with drums either necessarily. Either way you have to create parts so I create a bunch of them and pick the ideas that go together best. I guess if you know you want to copy someone's particular style and sound and therefore know exactly what you want to make then this is pointless. Personally I prefer to experiment and create something based on if I think it sounds good.

I work 40+ hours a week at my job, I'm going to school for Electrical engineering, and putting on a 3 day music festival for which I'm building a 30' geodesic dome from electrical conduit. I'm busy. I don't have time to f*** around.

i did say that whatever works for you is fine.

even though you seem to have some freedom within your framework, it still feels so prescriptive, and that you seem to want to finish tracks on the daily just for the sake of having tracks finished

compare that with one of my favourite artists - trifonic. he apparently took 18 months to finish this piece :

www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4R1nl_UbSk

it wasn't because it was so elaborate that it needed so long; rather, there was zero plan, and everything that he ended up with came via the process. according to him, he'd never really tried much "clicky" music before so was learning while doing. there are more than 60 sessions/projects that were created, discarded, evolved, developed etc

that's clearly the opposite extreme, and i know i couldn't sustain that kind of interest over that much time. but i do like the idea of discovery and revelation. i know you aren't arguing against that, but your list would already be pushing me towards a mostly pre-defined result

neither way is right

[psylevation]

Cool song but 18 months per song would leave you with a few dozen tracks in your entire life.

It's not about finishing them for the sake of finishing a song every day or a quantity over quality thing it's about human nature. By finishing tracks quickly you are going through the entire process of making a track over and over. It's not like everything you make is going to be gold but you get something much better...experience.

My rules are self imposed to guide me when I'm not sure where to go next. They keep me moving forward and help me to keep the bigger picture in mind. They are not un-breakable, they are a lifeline when I get lost (in a going nowhere kind of bad lost)

I let the sounds I'm creating guide where I go next. The idea is not to get hung up on anything or get caught in the trap of visions of grandeur. You'll end up spending the whole session tweaking one sound because it's gonna a be the best sound ever made...but it's not.
This is art, art is subjective. Your sound you tweaked into infinity was great 100 times over the last month you spent making the "perfect" song. A year later what have you learned as you reach completion of your song that you are sick to death of listening to it over and over for the last year? Not much... Maybe that you are persistent...more likely that you know you'll never get good or achieve anything at this pace and that you've been lying to yourself all along. You've only completed each step of making a song one time in a year... Do you even remember what you learned on the first step a year ago?

In my experience of going back and listening to some of the very first versions of songs (even very good ones) proved to me that those original ideas, feelings, and balance were way better than this sterile over produced technically perfect turd I squeezed the life out of over the course of 3 months.

I agree that we are neither both right or wrong and that each of us needs to do it our own way. I'm just explaining why I do it so you can see it's not some creatively stinted formulaic template that excretes mundane lifeless music.

I see everyone here trying to suggest that we change our setup, the gear we use, acquire more stuff, pretty much alter the outside world to make it possible for us to make music efficiently. Not many people are talking about how you can change yourself or the things inside of you to achieve this. It's supposed to come from you so why not focus on the hurdles inside you? How can you be more efficient? What is actually important to you when it comes to something like music? How can you get out of your own way? Is it an expression of you or a facade to hide the fact that you don't even believe in yourself (not aimed at you in particular ) and are just trying to make people like you? I believe great music should make you feel something and the stronger the feeling the better the music, from the heart..duh.

Some people can keep the original idea in focus over a year and not destroy the intention and vibe of a song, but I think most people can't. So to me it's better (for most) to move fast, get the feeling or idea out, work on the small details later because that's where you can show off your skills and not ruin the idea. Gain experience and become great through hard work and repetition... I believe others have succeeded at pretty big (and small) things this way.

You said 60 ideas/versions were made and scrapped or harvested? Sounds like the final song was the result of making 60 tracks in 18 months and sharing with the one that was the culmination of all that knowledge. Not one song in 18 months....

[Zombie Queen]

Smoke, drink, press rec and play around with keyboard, smoke some more, listen to what you recorded, drink some more, delete what recorded, smoke even more, lay around for a couple of hours, repeat the cycle... you can stretch it to 18 months easily. That or have a job and kids, in which case 18 months is realistic scenario as well...

[V0RT3X]

Honestly I've been finding that being organized with a plan of some kind is the best way to approach any kind of creative work. I suppose you could just go into a studio stoned out of your f**king mind and record the output, but it doesn't always work well for everyone.

It's also good to stay organized and make sure you write down sticky notes for everything you do so when you re-open your project you'll know what you were planning on doing.

Keep your studio organized! Virtual stuff included, so make sure your sample library is easy to browse through etc

It's far more efficient to write down stuff versus trying to memorize stuff when working on a production.

Set yourself some time in the day that is ONLY for writing music (unless it's your job).

Use plugins and software that are not buggy in your DAW, because what's the point of waiting for a stable release just so you can finish a track.

Use a DAW that is stable, because it will just make your life harder when you really want to just write music.

Don't spend time on KVR when you should be doing music or other creative stuff. If you have to be on here, then give yourself a time limit for randomly browsing.

If you want to consider yourself a musician, then spend some time learning music theory and playing an instrument.

[highkoo]

Interesting.
I think there are two ways to define 'efficiency'.

One is just related directly to output. i.e. An efficient music maker makes lots of music.
The other is related to the process. i.e. Making music should be an efficient way to use/enjoy your time.
For non- professionals it seems like enjoyment should really be primary, at all times. The product, or at least, the quantity of product, or speed with which it can be created, should not really matter.

That said, having an especially inefficient workflow is absolutely a barrier to completely enjoyable creative process, for most people.
I guess thats what we are talking about.

Good suggestions here already.
One Id add is just general organization of your HDD(s). Knowing exactly where all my music related data is, and having it organized, and conveniently connected to my music making software, is big for me. I generally have separate 'sessions' where I am only doing organizational stuff...

[highkoo]

I suppose you could just go into a studio stoned out of your f**king mind and record the output

That is how the majority of great music is made since always.