Ever get stuck with your projects? Or have a hard drive full of unfinished music just waiting to see the light?
This guide is for you!
It is a collection of tips that helped me finish music faster.
This is not a step-by-step guide. Use the tips, that make sense for you and fit your production approach.
I want to share with you some of the approaches that help me speed up my “song-finishing”-skills.
So buckle up and enjoy these tips ;-)
1. Add all core elements to an 8-16 bar loop
The creative flow is awesome. And when you are in it, try to create all the core elements in your song. That also means all the SFXs, the piano breakdown, small drum fills, melody changes, and so on.
See this as your bank of sounds for this arrangement.
Build the full loop and use the elements to make the track arrangement
This is a great approach because when your creative brain is working, it is much easier to generate ideas.
When having all the core elements, you can just start duplicating the full 8-16 bar loop across the playlist. (Shortcut in FL Studio: Ctrl + A and then Ctrl + B)
Remove the elements that should not be in for example the breakdown.
Now you should have built a track arrangement that is close to 90% done (approx.)
And then you can focus on the last couple of details.
Success!
A finished House song!
2. Set a 60-minute timer
Having thousands of samples, too many plugins - and no deadlines can be a barrier for you to actually finish your house music.
Sometimes working under a bit of pressure helps in only focusing on the important stuff in your track. Not spending hours tweaking that snare drum. It might not be as important to the end listener, as for example an interesting melody and arrangement.
The point here is to set a timer - and limit yourself. It forces you to make quick decisions and have your end goal in mind: Finishing your song!
I set a 60-timer and start with the most important parts. Then I use a lot of saved plugin presets and effect presets to save time.
99% of the time, I use the same high pass filter to remove the Low end of my hihats - why not save that as a preset? And save time?
Personally, I get faster results and get to lay down the fundamental arrangement with all the core elements in that 60-minutes frame window.
3. Organise your folders
Structure is key!
But sometimes it can be a bit difficult - and to some also boring…
However, being able to quickly navigate around your sample folders, preset folders, and VSTs can make you finish music at a faster pace.
Note: This is something I still work a lot on - so practice makes perfect ;-)
When you create or find new sounds try to organize them into folders. Even divide your folder into two categories: “Favorite folder” and “Main folder”
The favourite folder should be the sounds you use in almost all sessions.
The main folder can be for creative ideas that you can visit when you perhaps get stuck in an arrangement or get writer's block.
I do that kind of organising on both my desktop and in the Splice App.
Here is how I do it.
I create folders for each type of instrument:
- E-piano
- Kickdrums
- Synth pads
- Drum fills
- And so on
Then I limit myself to not adding more than 20 sounds in each folder. If I’m starting to get more sounds, then I will revisit the sounds in the folder and perhaps move some to another folder.
Create folders with your favorite sounds and presets
For me, it is all about organizing and quickly being able to grab my favourite sounds.
Instead of spending minutes looking for that specific piano sound.
4. Create a DAW-preset
Okay, this one is a true time saviour! It took me a lot of years and trial and error to finally master this tip.
How many times have you found yourself assigning the same sounds to the mix-bus? Or adding that highpass filter to remove the bass from the hi-hats. Or even adding colours and labels to the tracks in the session?
Well, I have spent too much time doing this. Over and over. And it kills my productivity and lust to finish my songs.
Luckily, there is a solution: DAW-preset(s)!
What you do is not that complicated:
- Start a new project.
- Label your tracks in the session view (Kickdrum, Clap, Closed Hihat, and so on)
- Set up mix-busses and route tracks to them
- Set up send busses with reverb and delay
- Save the project
When you start a new session, just open your newly created DAW-preset. And voila!
Now everything is ready for you and you can spend more time finishing your house tracks instead.
5. Freeze and render your files… and save CPU too
Commit to your sounds and render them to audio. It both frees up precious CPU and brain energy.
Now you don’t have to spend time thinking about tweaking the filter knob on your synth plugin.
Commit to what you think is cool about this sound and print it to audio.
I render most of my VST instruments to audio. It tells my brain: “this sound is done for now. Move on to the next one”
Freeze and render your CPU-heavy sounds to audio
Another benefit of rendering to audio is that you can see the waveform of your sounds. Personally, I think this is great - also from a mixing point of view.
Start printing more of your sounds and focus on finishing your music.
6. Limitations can do wonders
In today's DAWs, you as a producer and artist are exposed to too many options. With the strong and fast CPUs, you can run a bunch of tracks in a session and apply a ton of processing with no problems - and that can be a good thing.
BUT!
If you are like me, a lot of options can mean that you often think that you, for example, “need to use that specific new soft synth plugin in all of your songs” or “have 40 tracks in a session with different SFXs.”
I tend to add too much stuff in my house productions just because I can.
So I set up limitations for myself.
It could be limitations like only use:
- 16 tracks in a session
- 2-4 soft synth plugins
- reverb and delay on a send bus
- loops and one-shots from one sample pack
It helps me focus and not overdo things when creating music and actually finishing it.
7. Use a reference track
This tip should be on top of some kinda Cheat Sheet. Man, this helps me finish house music so much faster!
Find one of your favourite tracks… and “steal” its arrangement. Okay, you don’t have to steal anything haha.
But use the arrangement of the reference track as a guide for your own house track.
How I do this:
- Find a track that has a cool arrangement
- Match it to my project tempo
- Add markers to each section in the track (Intro, Build-up, Drop, etc.)
- Add my own elements to the arrangement sketch
- Done!
Use a reference track to quickly structure your arrangement
And don’t worry about copying. Everyone uses this tip.
Chances are that you used completely different drum sounds, chords, key than the reference track. They will not sound the same.
This is really a quality-of-life tip that will boost you in finishing your house music faster.
It has turned me into a “track-finishing machine” haha :-)
8. Use a notepad
This is a new one for me. But it is straight-up changing my production game.
Let me tell you why.
When I have spent a couple of hours on a track (and used a lot of the tips in this guide), I sometimes need to get the bigger picture of the song. For example:
- Is the arrangement interesting enough?
- Do I need a change in sounds in the breakdown?
- Are the hihats too loud?
- And so on
I stop producing. Export what I have so far. Listen to it and take notes.
Yes. Notes.
This creates some sort of To-Do list, that I can use when I get back into the session.
Use an app to create small "To-Dos" for your track (This is the Todoist App)
Now I have a plan.
It helps me focus on the parts that have an impact on finishing the song. Instead of spending time on stuff that doesn’t bring me closer to finishing the track.
“A goal without a plan is just a wish”
Start creating a plan for your song a make it easier to reach your goal: finish the song!
9. Export and listen in another environment
Listening to your track in a different environment than your studio sometimes sparks new ideas and helps you move on.
I hit export. Grab my phone. Open my notes app (Todoist app). Go for a walk and listen.
What I experience is that I listen to my track idea in a completely different way than in my studio.
Just export what you have and go listen in another environment
Here, I’m just a listener. Not a producer.
And suddenly it’s much clearer to me in what direction I want my track idea to go.
I write down all the impressions I get from listening to the track. And suddenly ideas like: “Maybe I should add some strings in the break?” or “That melody needs to play double in the Chorus” pops out of my head.
I would never have gotten these ideas by just listening to the track over and over again in the studio.
I can then use the written-down notes as To-Dos and head back into the studio to finish my House track.
10. Stop and take a break
This is the last tip:
JUST TAKE A BREAK
Haha - I know it is a basic tip. But one that is overlooked a lot of times. Especially for me. Oh my, I could be way better at taking breaks between sessions.
Close down your DAW. Go for a walk. Listen to some music. Or something completely else.
Get back into the session with a pair of fresh ears and perhaps a new perspective on your track - who knows?
Sum up
I hope you by now have gained some inspiration to finish your house music. By using some of the tips in this blog post, you will have no trouble finishing more of your music. Believe me! They helped me a ton!
Then the last thing to say is:
Have fun finishing your music ;-)
