Creative procrastination

When it comes to productivity, there is nothing the mind loves more than putting things off. Especially if it’s creatively important. Because of this you may need to trick your mind into getting started.

There are a few ways to go about this and I’ve probably mentioned a couple of approaches in one of my past blogs. For a quick recap though here are a couple ways to get yourself started.

Just start – Don’t prepare to start. Just jump in and don’t ask permission or look for advice. Just act like you’ve already got things under control. You’ll be surprised how powerful this can be on your creativity and productivity.

15 minutes a day – it’s exactly as it sounds. It’s a commitment over a certain period of time, typically 30 days, where you commit to doing a task for 15 minutes a day without missing a day. You can go more than 15 minutes each day, but that doesn’t get you off the hook for tomorrow’s 15 minute commitment.

An alternate approach is one I just read from one of my favorite personal growth bloggers Steve Pavlina. He suggests you commit to doing a larger project in 15 minute chunks. You simply commit to get busy for 15 undistracted minutes. If after 15 minutes you want to stop you are free to, or you can immediately re-commit to another 15 minutes or after a short break.  I think this is a fantastic approach.

Keep a record – Another Steve Pavlina approach is to keep a log of everything you do for a full day. Anytime you change a task you write it down. So if you are working and then you get a text and you respond, write it down and write the time of day next to it. If you use the bathroom, write it down. Essentially what this does is makes you much more focused and aware of how you are spending your time from moment to moment and you can later determine where all your time is going. This tip is huge!

A new Approach

Here is another approach I’ve just come up with that sounds like it’ll work wonders for me and hopefully will for you as well. One of my biggest roadblocks is the preparation before actually getting started with a task. For example, when making music you need to make sure you have all the correct equipment , sound card, midi controller etc set up as well as access to your sound library, presets and templates. All of that can really be unmotivating when all you want to do is create. Typically you’ve lost your motivation half way into setting up. Unless your setup is dead simple, you typically will avoid setting up to create and thus you avoid creating because you have to set up. It’s a lose lose situation.

Here is a very simple solution:

Devote 15 minute chunks of time just setting up for making music. If 15 minutes is all you can handle, cool, but you’ll probably find that after the first 15 minutes and you’ll have less resistance to the next 15 minutes. When you are finally set up, don’t attempt to start creating. Take the rest of the day off and then commit to 15 minute chunks of musical work first thing the next morning if at all possible. This takes away all the distractions and procrastination tactics you typically encounter and gives you a direct path to starting work immediately. Also do your best to shut off any programs or social media that will distract you and clear your workspace from anything distracting as well. The only thing that should be grabbing your attention is your project. Also if the setup is complex, you may want to take some notes to make it easier the next time you need to set up for a project. For me, I use alot of my equipment for multiple purposes meaning I do alot of setting up, tearing down and reconfiguring. If you have to tear down after a project, allow yourself to hold off til the next day. You may find you have some last minute ideas spark up and you want your workstation ready to go.

By separating the tasks of preparing to create and creating, you are giving yourself a huge advantage. First off, it’s much easier preparing to create get started without fear of failure. You are not going to be judged for how you set up your equipment, so you’ll have much less resistance getting yourself started.

The next day when you actually DO create, the mundane tasks will already be completed leaving you a direct path to take what is in your head and turn it into something physical without distractions or roadblocks.  Separating the tasks takes away your ability to use either one as an excuse for not completing the other.

Give it a try if you find it hard to get started on a creative project.  Some of these tips helped this blog get written. I hope it helps you as well!

Happy Music Making,

Jason

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Midi Controllers

Up to this point I’ve avoided writing much about midi controllers with Ableton. Don’t get me wrong, they can add a whole new world for live performance as well as producing but I hadn’t personally felt I had enough to say on the subject. You see, I don’t want to just jump on a hype bandwagon if I don’t actually have something important to contribute. My goal isn’t to turn you on to a bunch of extra gadgets for your studio, I want to help you actually make more music or perform more efficiently.

For the most part, the things that initially excite me about new midi gear don’t turn out to be incredibly practical.  Most of the neat midi controller templates lend themselves better to pre-prepared performance set ups and less of a spontaneous environment. On some youtube videos I’m really impressed with some of the chopping and remixing effects i see people do on the fly, but then realize that you wouldn’t be able to do most of that live to say, 100 song choices to mix and match. Instead you would pretty much have to have your whole setlist ready to go and just have the ability to tweak from within that template. This can be great if you are performing your own productions and remixes, but not as great for more of a DJ style set.

Lately, I often find myself asking “Is this piece of gear really serving me, or does it just look cooler”?

I haven’t forgot the beauty of simplicity in DJ performance. I still am blown away by DJ’s with no more than 3 CDJ’s and a mixer. Of course we all want to push things to the next level, but amazing things can still be done without a setup that would confused a rocket scientist. I am not attempting to make one setup wrong and another one right, I am simply trying to share what works for me.

Thusfar these are the midi controllers I have used:

M-Audio Ozone

Korg PadKontrol

Behringer BCR2000

Behringer BCF2000

Akai APC40

You can probably guess from that list that I really love the concept of the flexibility a midi controller can give you. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found that 1 piece of gear that works perfectly for my needs. Each piece of gear offers something special, but no single piece does it all. Most controllers are a bit too androgynous which can be a good thing when you want to re-invent it’s capabilities but not necessarily as straightforward as a DJ mixer. In many cases, I buy a piece of gear in order to do something a bit more outrageous and later realize it’s just not as practical in a live situation.

APC40

I was one of those guys who bought the APC40 the first day it came out and dove right into it. The plan was to be among the first to review how great it is on my blog but the longer I played with it, the more I felt hyping this controller wouldn’t have been authentic. I would simply have talked about how others use it when I hadn’t personally found an approach to using it that satisfied me. Everytime I used it in a live situation, I found the functions I wanted most were not at easy access.  I guess I was hoping the APC40 would be as straightforward as Sasha’s Maven controller. I like that each channel has volume, EQ and 6 clip launching buttons.

I realize that I like one knob or button to have only 1 function. I don’t like having to scroll for the right menu before I can make a particular tweak or find that one song or loop in my set. In that same amount of time I often find I could have more easily just used my mouse or qwerty keyboard.

Another thing that bugs me is multiple clip grids on the APC40. It’s a fantastic concept and I still get a lot of use out of it, but when you are adding and removing songs and loops, it’s easy to get confused with what is what.  I’m constantly checking to make sure I’m about to push the right clip.

With a standard DJ mixer you have less flexibility, but you always know where everything is. The faders will always be volume, the EQ’s will always be EQ. There is something comforting about that. Most controllers just aren’t sure exactly what they are. For example, the APC40 isn’t quite the perfect performance tool as it doesn’t have 3 EQ bands for each channel. It also isn’t quite the best studio controller as so much real estate is taken up with the clip pads which aren’t touch sensitive.

I know what you are thinking right now..”Well you can tweak it to do all sorts of things”! Of course you can if you want to learn a bit of programming and 3rd party software, but I’ve found, for myself, that the more software involved in a live situation, the more time it takes to set up and the more chances of your set not going smoothly.

iPhone/iPad as a controller

I love some of the aps for the iphone without a doubt. I particularly love Snatch, Mrmr, and Touch OSC . It feels very empowering to be able to control Ableton from your iPhone’s touchscreen however, after trying to work it into a live situation, I found it only satisfying as a gimmick. I can certainly see the iPad having many advantages to the iPhone versions but still question just how necessary it really is in a live situation. At the end of the day, for me personally, I prefer physical gear.

In a way, this realisation kinda bummed me out because I really liked the idea of the iPad replacing the need for physical gear. I also thought it looked cooler. I fought with this for a while and finally concluded that I got more enjoyment from physical gear that is set up in a simple fashion.  It just took too long to set up all the software and have the time to test the wifi network and 3rd party software to be sure it would work perfect everytime. I will likely incorporate the iPad in the future, but not for my most important controls.

Another thing to consider is that I set up and tear down my studio every time I DJ. This means I am hooking and unhooking different controllers, sound cards, hardware and templates. This can confuse things quite a bit when both your live setup and studio setup are complex.  This was never a problem when spinning vinyl or CD’s since there was no hardware/software setup process you had to dial in to get things working seamlessly. You simply plugged them into your DJ mixer and were ready to go. For this reason I don’t see myself abandoning my CDJ’s anytime soon. They have continued to be a lifesaver when my computer or controller glitches.

Don’t worry, I in no way plan to abandon Ableton or controller technology. I love technology! My goal is to use technology to have a balance between the most options possible and the most seamless performance experience.

Just because you can, does it mean you should?

For me, when I listen to my favorite DJ mixes, there isn’t a whole lot going on. Usually there are subtle hints of EQ, filters, chorus, delay, reverb and looping. A great mix doesn’t overuse any of these fx and doesn’t tend to scream “Hey look at me, I’m doing stuff”! I don’t know about you, but when I listen back to a Live DJ mix of mine at a small club, I give myself a headache with all the trickery I add to try to keep people interested.  The real trick is to find the right audience who will appreciate what you do musically, then most of the overused gimmicks become unnecessary.

I wish you good luck in finding your own perfect balance for performing.

happy music making,

Jason

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For those interested in DJ’ing and Performing live with Ableton, I’ve released my full DJ collection I’m sure you’ll get a lot out of.

You can check it out now here:    Ableton DJ’ing and Live Performance Video Series

Here is the Video List below:

1. DJ’ing live in the session window part 1

2. DJ’ing live in the session window part 2

3. DJ’ing live in the session window part 3

4. DJ’ing live in the session window part 4

5. Make a DJ mix in the Arrange window

6. Warping with Autowarp (version 7)

7. Warping the hard way (version 7)

8. Warping in Ableton 8

9. Warping songs with live drummers (version 8 )

10. Warpless mixing

11. Organizing files for DJ’ing

12. Launching Clips without a mouse

13. Macro Controls

14. Setting up controller Knobs and keys

15. Preparing your productions for Live performance

16. Syncing Ableton on 2 computers

17. APC40 setup

Also included is my Ebook:

Mixing with your Mind – How to make your Best DJ Mix

(This Ebook goes where other DJ related books don’t. This concentrates on ways to use your brain for the fastest, most creative and most enjoyable results!)

Get it here now! http://tinyurl.com/24oqo6u

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Essentials when making tracks for the Dancefloor

When it comes to writing electronic music for clubs,  it’s often a good idea to have a few things in mind before you tackle that track.

Who is this track for?

What DJ’s would I want playing this track?

What should I use as a reference to keep me on track?

Although plagarism is most likely going to make you look like a sad imitator, not knowing the proper structure and elements that make a track in a certain style work can also make you look pretty amateur.

Templates

For me, it’s not about plagarism or theft (unless you consider any type of sampling to be theft), it’s about understanding the template before you randomly bang out a few loops and expect a dancefloor hit to result. It’s like knowing which colors compliment eachother on canvas to get a certain result. As much as we would like to take credit for being the sole influence of every great piece of work we’ve done, every style of music has a template. Breaking rules can be pretty important in expanding a sound and pushing boundaries but push too far and you’re either in another subgenre of music or your song gives the impression that it has somehow missed the mark. This can be that either  too much is going on, not enough is going on, or that the structure leaves you feeling bored or overstimulated.

In business they say that if you want to be successful, you should model someone who is already successful in your field. I think the same goes for music.

For me, I’d be a bit like a train without a track without some sort of template. I usually don’t have a template when I am jamming ideas, but once I get into arrangement and mixing mode, I definitely have a reference, format or template in mind.

Usually I let templates assist me when it comes to figuring out the elements I need for a complete track. Without having something to reference, I can easily fill the song with too much in one area and not enough in another area. So I may listen to a track for guidance, even if it’s one of my own completed songs. I’ll map out the elements something like this:

*Kick

*Drums

*percussion

*crash

*drone

*Bass

*pads

*lead or hook

*cut up bits

*”build up” sounds

*fx

This, of course, is a very basic list off the top of my head, but it’s good enough for this example. With these I take a loose mental note of the basic frequency ranges of each part. This can expose holes in my frequency spectrum and lead me to know if I need to play that pad an octave higher or lower etc.

It’s important to not try to fill up all the frequencies at all times. Without some gaps, it’ll be difficult to build excitement. It’s important to know how few elements the track can run on and stay sonically interesting. Leaving a hole in the high frequencies, for example, can make room for those high hats that come in on the offbeat at certain peak points in the track.

Given these elements above, I would make sure that each part in my song either fell directly into one of these categories or was playing a neccesary support role to one of these elements. A bass for example might need 3 elements working together to get the right sound. Typically each layer will consist of a different frequency range where when put together make one rich, dynamic sound.

If you are playing 3 different parts in the same bass frequency, you’re most likely going to want to either cut something, or re-EQ one of the parts so they don’t interfere with eachother. Interference causes a lack of clarity and the overall impact is likely to suffer.

DJ mixes vs songs

When it comes to building a template of sounds, I prefer to listen to a Live DJ mix instead of individual songs from a DJ I would like playing my track. The reason for this is manyfold.

For one, you are able to find common themes and patterns in the overall sound of the mix instead of taking direct influence from one artist alone. You are also able to hear the elements of the songs that are being highlighted in the mix and which are not being used.

It may turn out that a DJ needs to re-edit or layer a track for it to work on the dancefloor. If you are able to listen to a 4+ hour mix, you can really get an idea how the DJ builds his set in a live situation instead of the snapshot that is given on a commercial DJ mix CD.

This also gives you the ability to know whether your style is best suited for the early, mid or late portion of a set.  Where individual tracks come in handy is when looking for inspiration in the arrangement of your song.

I recently took this approach with a track of mine. I produce with a partner under the name Innerstate (not to be confused by the trance artists under the same name). We hadn’t made a new track as partners in several years and although we both are more skilled at making music now than we were in the past, it definitely took us a bit to find our feet.

Ask a DJ

A DJ that has been (and continues to be) a big supporter of our tracks was coming to LA which is pretty close to us and we didn’t want to show up empty handed this time. This put a fire under our asses but also put us in a bit of a rush as we only had 3 days to complete an unfinished track idea.

To make a long story short, we missed the boat on the 1st version of we delivered. I wouldn’t say it was crap but it certainly wasn’t up to the standard people have grown to expect from us. It was also missing the elements that this particular DJ was drawn to, elements that had become a trademark for us.

Our first reaction was to be a bit defensive of the new direction we had taken but we soon realized that sometimes it’s important to hear from a fan or your work to keep you on track.

We took some time to listen to actual live mixes from him which surprisingly had some of our tracks in them. It was nice to know they still worked with current DJ sets on top notch sound systems. This brought back to mind what the name “Innerstate” was all about for us. We realized that not only did we have the wrong elements, the EQ’ing was too “in your face” for this style of music.

We went into a bit of panic and feeling like we failed, but once that passed, we went about to find our own way of expressing the right elements and getting rid of the ones that weren’t working.

I’m happy to say that version 2 of our track was massively improved, and we learned a whole lot from the whole process. Everyone we shared it with gave it great feedback. There will likely be a few more minor tweaks but it’s pretty normal for any producer to have their songs “road tested” before they settle on a final mix. If you have a friend that DJ’s in well established clubs around the world, you’ll be doing yourself a huge favor by listening to what they have to say. This of course, is assuming s/he plays the kind of music you make.

I  wrote this blog to expose some of my own weaknesses in hopes that you won’t give up when you have struggles. Almost everytime I write a new track, I feel like a beginner all over again. I  wonder exactly how I managed to get that sound in my last track and if I can pull off something as interesting or more interesting than that in my new track.

Writing music for the public can be pretty scary. Putting something out into the world is your way of saying “I think this is good and I’m gambling my reputation on it”.  Don’t let that scare you off though, every artist is going through the same thing, so you’re in very good company.

Happy music making,

Jason

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Follow me: http://twitter.com/AbletonVids

Website: http://www.musicsoftwaretraining.com

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Are you a creative consumer or producer?

Let’s face it. We’ve all become information junkies. We constantly feed our faces with new tricks and new toys. We are constantly looking for the next thing. The new synth, that new effect, the new, well… anything.

Here’s the problem folks, it’s slowing you down from the real goal. If you aren’t finishing songs, soundtracks or projects, now you have your culprit.

In an attempt to become more productive you read blogs, watch videos and buy whatever seems to give you more power than you already have. The problem is that the appetite is never quenched. I’m of course referring to myself as well. I’ll use information gathering as an excuse to not create and then I’ll convince myself that without this new tool I can’t create. You end up in a constant cycle of upgrading instead of finding a consistant workflow.

Have you become an addicted consumer instead of a creative producer?

Now I am all about new technology, no doubt about it. I am also all about finding new information that I can put to use, but that is where the flaw is. We watch the videos, we read the blogs, we download the new plugin but we are pulling in more information than we can possibly put to use?

A change in thinking

If this behavior is going to stop we need to accept that too much information works against you. It gives you too many choices. It also takes away your sense of discovery when you are in a creative mode. By the time you have a situation that would benefit from a certain technique, you may already be bored by it or paranoid that this trick isn’t modern enough or is overused.

I think this behavior happens with a lot of musicians (something I’ve already stated that I am not). The reason for this is that many musicians learn how to play before they just start playing. They learn all the rules and they learn all the chords. By the time they actually start making music, they are trying to reach outside their current level of skill because they are bored to tears of all the things they have already learned. They restrict themselves from many of the basics in search of that magic, but rarely find it.

When I started playing guitar I tried learning from a chord book but tossed it after only a few days. I had learned a few basic bar chords and I was off and running. I had confidence in simplicity and wasn’t afraid to do something just because it’s easy. Luckily for me, I was drawn to bands that used simplicity to their favor. If I had something in my head that I couldn’t play, then and only then would I hunt for a new skill, technique or expand my chord knowledge. This gave me the ability to feel the magic of every new discovery and tool. I didn’t feel forced to grow any more than my natural pace. I rarely heard a song and had to rush home to learn how it was played. I was just doing my own thing and developing my own sound.

Now I find myself getting into the trap of information gathering. I’m constantly working on skills that I’ll never put to use. another downside is that I rarely have the exciting feeling of discovery when I finally use a new trick. Being a blogger and a producer (and a DJ), it’s easy for me to get caught up with what is new, but I feel it would be more beneficial to myself and my readers if I put to use each new thing I learn or each new tool I access before hunting for the next thing. I also think it’s going to be important to wait for a problem before I go hunting for a solution.

Ask yourself, is this a tool I am going to use today? Does the project I am currently working on require this tool or information to complete it? Does filling my head with this new information make me more productive now or less productive? What information and tools do you have right now that you still haven’t put to use? Might it be more beneficial to implement some of those one at a time? Maybe you would benefit by removing several tools to open up some space to new ones.

Just because a tool is great for someone else and has them super excited doesn’t mean it’s going to work that way for you. Realize your addiction might be to someone’s excitement and  not necessarily the information being presented. Another trap is trying to fit this new tool or idea into your work. This can be frustrating and slow you down because in your head you may be thinking “this is supposed to be amazing, what am I doing wrong”?, when the real issue is that it’s not a match for your way of creating.

A challenge

Make a deal with yourself. If you spend 30 minutes learning a new trick, you’ve got to spend at least 30 minutes putting it to use. If the skill requires more time, decide whether you will dump the new trick or take the time to perfect it. Don’t make the mistake of putting this on the backburner while hunting for new information or tools.

I hope this brings you closer to a very productive 2010.

To your continued joy and productivity in your creative works!

happy music making,

Jason

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Follow me: http://twitter.com/AbletonVids

Website: http://www.musicsoftwaretraining.com

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