Today I wanted to share some golden nuggets from our regular guest
contributor Alex Joyale of Meta Mind Music because this week we're promoting his fantastic program, Workflow Wizardry.
Take it away Alex!
-
Are you tired of constant trial and error, endless YouTube rabbit holes, and an overall lack of progress with your music?
I know I was. This was the vicious cycle I was stuck in when it came to producing my own music.
- Constantly hitting obstacles---check
- Trying to force things--- check
- Looking up random tutorials--- check
I was driven to produce those next level mind bending sonic experiences with my music just like all the amazing records I grew up listening to.
You know… those tracks that lift you up and take you to whole another dimension with your headphones on.
But no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t create the quality I wanted.
- My recording sounded dull
- My arrangements were lackluster
- My mixes weren’t cutting it
My so called “productions” never came close to delivering the journey I wanted the listener to experience.
After being stuck in this loop for way too long (pun intended) I decided it was time to make a move.
So in September of 2012 I enrolled in audio school!
Over the course of the program, I learned a ton. The physics of sound, how to set up a studio, understanding processors and gear, how to properly use the DAW, recording, miking techniques, synthesis, sound for film, mixing, the list goes on…
Once I graduated I felt accomplished!
However, before too long I found myself stuck in the same loop once again!
It turns out that “learning all the stuff” didn’t actually solve the problem
So after feeling immense frustration and questioning my life choices…
I started thinking: there’s HAS to be a better way to go about this.
Until it finally dawned on me!
I’d learned a ton of info about recording, producing and mixing music but NEVER learned anything about the creative process itself.
Sure I knew about demoing, pre-production, recording and mixing. But what about all the other nooks and crannies of the process?
The “in-between” parts?
I’d never even considered my approach to HOW I go about producing music. I’d always just move with the ebb and flow of my inspiration and hoped for the best.
Which always ended up resulting in ups and downs with my music making.
I then started obsessively researching the creative process and how other artists approached their music. As well as the process in various other creative fields.
I started to piece together how legendary producers went about the music production process.
They focused on the process instead of the results.
As counter intuitive as this might seem… hyper focusing on our quality judgments at the wrong time can actually get in the way of our creativity.
However, in focusing on the process… the results naturally happen.
When we focus on developing our creative process, how we approach our music and in what order we go through its various phases… we influence the cause behind the effect.
The right creative process causes quality results to happen.
The right approach considered the changing psychology behind creativity throughout its various phases.
The right system accounts for every step of the process, shifts our creative focus at the right time, and most importantly helps us maintain that ever so precious objectivity.
Once I started focusing on my productions in distinct phases and started experimenting with my creative approach… it was a complete game changer.
- I maintained consistent music making practice
- I finished more music
- I wrote way cooler ideas
- I scored some really cool gigs!
- I had WAY more fun in the studio
Are you ready to find your production process?
Alex
P.S.
A custom “second brain” Notion template action system to keep you organized and focused as you make MASSIVE amounts of music.