So...

Last year I considered enrolling on the course of the above name but I couldn't justify to myself the fees or the time commitment that was necessary.

However I watched the course teaser and the fundamental point was simply that the more tracks you finish, the more you learn. I.e. The arrangement skills are probably more important than designing sounds, composing melodies or mixing skills.

Now I've been following this hobby for about 10 years now however my soundcloud output in that time has been pitiful. Average 2 to 3 tracks a year! This is despite the fact that I will open my DAW nearly every day and start working on something.

So I set myself a new challenge. 2021 - Target Output = 100 songs by the end of the year. Basically 2 tracks a week to achieve the goal.

So it's the beginning of week 2 and I've surprised even myself and posted three tracks.

Now.... they are certainly not finished and only have basic structures but they are probably no better or worse that the output that I've put out before. But I guess the point is that without this target I've set, these would still be just no more than a 16 bar loop sat in a file that I would never open again.

So all feedback would be useful.







Track 4 added - 10th Jan

 

Last edited: Feb 11, 2021

Love your goal! ...and these beats are full of delicious sauce, hopefully your inspiration will rub off on everyone so we can get 2021 cracking proper

 

The biggest trick to accelerating your workflow appears to be.... pretend you have to showcase an entire track to someone in three hours time. This makes you focus on getting the the bigger picture stuff done first rather than constantly fiddling around with individual elements.

 

why? it should be about quality not quantity.

 

Yes, but this is in context of training oneself. And the "biggest trick" quote above is spot on, because with a deadline we suddenly find that we focus better on the more important aspects of the track.
I do think that 100 tracks a year, especially intended for public sharing, is unrealistic though.
Because even when working for a whip-cracking (or hwhip-cracking!) publisher against deadlines, we would never create that many tracks in a year. Nearly! But not quite.
BUT again, this is just in context of training. So, all good.

Myself and others I know, even after decades of writing and recording, all agree that maybe 1 in every 5 track ideas are really going to be the cream of the crop if we're honest. Sometimes you hit a good wave and it's more.
But of course eventually everything you make will sound passable, and probably all sellable to at least some company, but they ain't ALL gonna be #1 songs. Unless you signed a 3 album solo artist deal with Warners and you have a drug problem and high media coverage! haha.
Then it's all guaranteed!

The point is the more you do, the better you get.
When learning one's art, to set a high goal and attempt to fulfill it is good, even if we don't actually totally succeed in the quantity.

Personally, every track I start on is the best track ever! And yet when it's finished, I may decide it was just another track to have done some learning through. And it will be put to one side.
Maybe years later you meet somebody who is perfect for it, or maybe a new track reminds you of it, and you go back and rework it.
But personally I don't think there is any point in flooding the haunts with all my tracks.
Maybe just leave a few precious gems on the planet? I don't know.
ALSO, big point here, keep your most awesome tracks to yourself if you really believe in them and their future potential.
You need unshared and unheard material if you ever sign with a publishers/label etc.
I never let them know I already had the tracks finished when they give out the advance, obviously!
So you can work on new stuff up until the deadline, and also doss a little! haha
So KEEP stuff back too!

Now I will listen to the above tracks!

 

I guess the point is there is no point in having just a fantastic sounding 16 bar loop. I'm guessing you have a large back catalogue of your output?
I don't - so needed to try something different.

 

Covered everything I was gonna say...

@Stuck In The 80s

The general idea of FMM is to get into habits and push yourself forward. You pretty much grasped it really. If you only finish a few tracks to a high quality, you lose out on the ability to finish tracks. You fail to learn arrangement techniques and you don't move forward. You lose momentum and become really stale.

Engineering to a high standard isn't the answer. If your tracks are relying on high quality engineering then they're crap. They're forgettable. Awesome engineering, but disposable crap that a DJ will pick up, play twice, then throw away. If this is what you think that your music deserves then aim for it.

A great track will stand out in spite of a poor recording (Beatles anybody?).

Listening to these tracks you have a bit of a catchy element to them and a really great raw sound, so its totally pointless to spend too much time getting them to a high quality of engineering if you feel, like I do, that this should be your focus. Nothing to stop you from learning engineering as a side project. I'd advise you to take the really shit ones (generally you figure that 1 in 10 will be good, but I go along with Smoove Grooves on his stats, it feels closer to my own) and to use those as your practice tracks to learn engineering on at night, on alternate days when you aren't feeling it or something like that. Certainly, imo, learning deep engineering to get these tracks to a polished finish is a total waste of your energy. Focus on the catchiness and learning how to arrange, how to finish and just let yourself develop naturally over time.

Of these three tracks, I'd say the first is a bit naff, so I'd use that for engineering and put the others away. In a year come back and see if your new skills can improve them. Otherwise just keep them as reminders of your path.

FMM is great for the community aspect btw. There's a lot to learn in the feedback and its great for support. Beyond that, I think you grasped the concept, so follow your instinct... Oh, and don't put pressure on yourself to finish 100 tracks, just set it as an ambition.

 

So... here's track 4 and still ahead of schedule. (96 to go!)



Having a goal like this and with the clock ticking certainly changes your decision making for the better I think.

No Softube tech-tubes were harmed making this track.

 

I know your story, I am on that same road actually but 2 tracks a week for me is impossible. I generally come up with 4 or 8 bar loops pretty quickly but then I get bored easily for setting my standards pretty high.
anyway your new strategy is good and you've been given some good advice here by other members.
those track can only get better over time I am sure.
good luck

 

I was the same with the loops. I came across a few "cheat" youtube videos on how to quickly go from a 8 bar loop to a full sketch out.

Basically you copy the loops out across the entire and then split up the sections you intend to make...
Intro, Build 1, Drop 1, Break, Build 2, Drop 2, Outro.

Then you spend time on the transitions (FX, Fills Sweeps) at the beginning and end of each section.
Then you work out what's missing and what's too repetitive.

You might notice the structure of the songs all follow a similar template but as long as the initial idea/loop is strong enough, then it should carry through to something postable.

I spend very little time on mixing. Slap a Softube Tape and Softube Weiss Maximiser on the master and export...
Then move on to the next.

The learning for me is to how to make that initial loop different enough from section to section.
I find Scalar, Captain Chords, Riffer, and Chtuhulu great for generating the initial parts and then using Shaper 2 / LFO Tool to make them blend together.

 

@Stuck In The 80s
hey there thxs for the tips but this is all stuff I learned well before I had internet and you tube tuts. I was an avid reader of Keyboard magazine, Future music and Computer Music for years. I also read books about harmony and learned the Piano.
in fact I already uploaded 4 tunes here in case you want to check em out. that will be great
the thing is starting a tune is easy but liking it enough to finish it that's the real problem for me. maybe it's a confidence thing I don't know. I am trying more though but Mixing and mastering well that's is a pain in the ass up till now. it comes with practice I guess.
at the end of the day, what counts is your passion and setting goals you can reach so good luck again.

 

Imo, the reason people think they should be able to do it all, I.E. write, play, record, mix, and master, is only due to the daw revolution.
The mastering engineers I know only master.
I know great old-boy recording engineers who are also good mix engineers and mastering engineers, but this took them some time.
And none of those guys write or play anyway!
So I think all of us should be easier on ourselves.
I know where my strenghs lay, and life seems too short.

 

100% true. But to me at my age I have to do it all. it's a hobby for me and to post my tunes on soundcloud or somewhere else they have to have the minimum required mixing and mastering. anyway it's always good to see some good advice and warm encouragement here so cheers to all.

 

Haha!
So famouslut doesn't focus better with a deadline; makes over 100 tracks a year; thinks I DID create 100 tracks a year for a publisher; doesn't get even 1 good track out of 5; doesn't ever hit a wave of a higher ratio; thinks every song she makes is a #1; doesn't know about the 3 album, 10 year deal with guaranteed #1 material even when you're dead!; doesn't believe that the more we create, the better we get; doesn't ever rework a track or have somebody want to sing on it; and doesn't ever believe in her tracks enough to keep them back for a future deal.
It's great we're eventually getting to know each other recently!

 

insightful indeed. also, way to many aspiring musicians/hobbyists surround themselves with many times at least 5 thousands dollars in equipment between software and hardware and? they produce .. well, lets say they "make sounds" that could easily being achieved on an iphone with just one single beat-maker app..

the net/youtube is full of these individuals totally absorbed with merchandise and induced "talking points" from advertisement industry.

while the key to it all is, just like you have discovered, arrangement, no-matter how simple your tune, it will shine with arrangement,it is the key getting anywhere really. unless you are working with someone who can develop your nice sounding "loops"

@Stuck In The 80s, i love how stripped your songs are, its almost a sound in itself. and you have very good ear for a base mix.
i have no doubt you will have things going for you if you continue this route.

thanks for sharing your work and keep it up

 

Last edited: Jan 13, 2021

Staying productive doesn't mean that you finish a lot of stuff, but learning, advancing and doing a good job that represents your signature sound

 

Last edited: Jan 13, 2021

A memorable melody is more important than the arrangement.

A great harmony totally changes the way of your track and melody. I'm saying it as someone who is already good at mixing, designing sound, arrangment and composing melody.

When you have a great composed melody hitting, %50 of a track is done.

 

lots of good Info here but the variables are too many for any one way to be THE way.
one must keep in mind that making music and succeeding as an artist getting money are different things.
to me music is the essential element (Melody, Harmony, hooks, Lyrics in case of a song) but too many EDM track prove that is not the only case.
some barely have a tune or harmony.
arranging and mixing are extra skills. I mean the famous Georges martin was excellent but did he write a lot of songs (maybe a few i'm not sure) but there are a lot of Mastering engineers who never wrote a tune.
anyway i might have drifted of topic here. we all agree that practice makes perfect but inspiration also helps and so does talent.

 

True speak, imo.

 

Still persisting... although track 5 was quite hard work.



3 more tracks to create in 11 days to remain on schedule