Any tips for making music with a full time job?

[thawkins]

8 hours ago, chim said:

I'm kind of a H/W junkie so the discussion isn't really about that, just the right tool for each fool. If we can forget the watmm anti-work sentiment for a second, I didn't mean effectivizing your workflow as in cranking more beats per minute, but you need an environment in which it's easy to find inspiration, get ideas out, and it's not too painful to polish those ideas, so it's not just width but depth as well. So that might mean you need weird idiosyncratic tools to get in the right headspace, or it might mean replacing an analog synth with a digital one run through a Lonsberry or Jive FX pedal instead... and of course days of cable management to avoid fucking yourself over. I've tried a lot of different methods over the years, from dawless sequencing to programming in Pure Data. I've also had phases of just impulse buying old crap because it looks & sounds cool, then finding out wrestling sysex programmers to create patches on slow interfaces isn't really my favorite way to go about it. But I can get happily lost for ages when I feel connected to the right tools, which is a good sign I'm on the right track (Carl Jung also talked about that). You mention some good examples of structure and work ethic in your post and just like for sushi chefs, creative work benefits from that, not because you're producing goods under expectations, but because it's meaningful to experience a sense of direction and continually grow with your output and its challenges. If we look at the typical EKT topics, since we're talking electronic music and gear here and not just sitting on the porch with a banjo, people can get frustrated by everything from time management to harmony & production techniques. That's why it's important to find a personalized & structured approach/solution to each aspect of music making. 

Yeah, I agree that these nice things like taking care of your gear, getting to know it better in bed, etc... it's for when you already have made room in your life for regular music making.

Like if your back's to the wall and you want to get started having one or two hours of uninterrupted creative time per week, the most versatile and effective tool for this situation is a modern laptop and a pair of good headphones. Sure, it can be any other setup as well, but the main thing is to get into a regular routine and then step by step change things around, learn your mind and your gear. I guess that's the aforementioned perfection of the rice making across many years.

[Alcofribas]

24 minutes ago, thawkins said:

Yeah, I agree that these nice things like taking care of your gear, getting to know it better in bed, etc... it's for when you already have made room in your life for regular music making.

Like if your back's to the wall and you want to get started having one or two hours of uninterrupted creative time per week, the most versatile and effective tool for this situation is a modern laptop and a pair of good headphones. Sure, it can be any other setup as well, but the main thing is to get into a regular routine and then step by step change things around, learn your mind and your gear. I guess that's the aforementioned perfection of the rice making across many years.

see, this is where things get messy. I like to push back against the idea that the laptop is always superior to simpler instruments bc I think for a lot of people this leads to rapid fatigue - if the laptop does it all, it’s user might be tempted to try it all, becoming good at nothing in particular.

in a scenario where one’s time is limited, it might be far more “effective” to dig deep into a single piece of kit and expand what you need from what you learn with that. a laptop can be a black hole of time and energy for a lot of people. 

all of this comes down to user’s preference but I genuinely feel we’re all a little too convinced that computers are the best way to achieve anything creative which imo closes off contact with other processes that are still very rich and rewarding. 

everyone works differently of course, but for me the tendency to solve every problem with a computer has not proven to be the final word on what outlet is gonna connect you to a meaningful creative experience. 

[thawkins]

I'm just going from the problem statement of "how do I make music when I don't have much free time". A laptop is something you probably already have and so you can immediately get started without spending any money. Even if you choose to get a hardware thing, you are still probably going to use a laptop to record your stuff and sum down to a mp3 for practical listening.

I'd really like to stress that the point is not to think too much about how get good result, the point is to get started with the process of making something and then see what works for you and what does not, as you go.

[TubularCorporation]

Just learn how to really shred it on the jaw harp.

 

 

[luke viia]

9 hours ago, TubularCorporation said:

Just learn how to really shred it on the jaw harp.

 

 

yep

 

[TubularCorporation]

8 hours ago, luke viia said:

yep

 

Jaw Harp Youtube is a wonderful place.

 

 

Edited February 18, 2022 by TubularCorporation

[xox]

7.7 billion views! Welcome to planet earth  

 

[thawkins]

On 2/18/2022 at 6:06 AM, luke viia said:

yep

 

I am like two degrees of separation away from knowing those guys in real life. I honestly did not expect to see this thing pop up in this thread.

[Soloman Tump]

On 2/8/2022 at 1:53 PM, psn said:

Optimize and prioritize your setup so that you're making music 30 second after you feel the urge. 

 

This was my downfall for years.  I had to clear everything away after finishing as I had to use the kitchen table.

Now it's kinda easier as i've got a space to leave it set up.  

Having it there ready to jam with is 50% of the battle

[Berk]

On 2/8/2022 at 10:34 AM, xox said:

 

 universal basic income pls

[xox]

10 hours ago, Berk said:

 universal basic income pls

 

[xox]

@Berk sorry didn’t mean you

[Bubba69]

Just turn on your gear even if you don't feel like making music. Do all the setup up to actually making music. You might get a wild hair up your ass and make something. (worked for me a couple times)

[J3FF3R00]

On 2/17/2022 at 12:00 PM, TubularCorporation said:

Just learn how to really shred it on the jaw harp.

 

 

 

On 2/17/2022 at 9:06 PM, luke viia said:

yep

 

 

On 2/18/2022 at 5:01 AM, TubularCorporation said:

Jaw Harp Youtube is a wonderful place.

 

 

[zlemflolia]

On 2/11/2022 at 9:53 AM, cern said:

Haha always poor idiots like you with no business mind have to open your mouth. 

Laughing at you, cunt 

poor shaming

yikes

-

computer s suck

they can do everything, they can do nothing

Edited August 27, 2023 by zlemflolia

[TheBro]

I think you guys misread his original post lol. He just wants to know how to fit in some music whilst working which I get. My suggestion would be to get an iPad and run Logic on it or BM3 if you have a commute as that will allow you to do music in between!

[o00o]

On 2/11/2022 at 7:51 PM, chim said:

That 90's photo of Aphex living in a shit apartment with gear and junk stacked everywhere comes to mind.

which one?

[chim]

On 10/12/2023 at 2:30 PM, o00o said:

which one?

Didn't expect to find it just using Google, but here you go. It's legit, from an old acquaintance.

[logakght]

Contacts.

It doesn't matter how "good" are you, these days you really need to know the correct people if you want to perceive income from it.

[ignatius]

10 minutes ago, logakght said:

Contacts.

It doesn't matter how "good" are you, these days you really need to know the correct people if you want to perceive income from it.

[SickBoy] - "loads of contacts"

also, it's really always been "who ya know" that's mattered most out of all the attributes someone might have. 

[o00o]

I did read an interesting take on the topic: how much time do successful people in a certain craft really spend with what said craft? like a writer spends 6% of his time writing the book and 94% promoting the book. If you want to do music full time its the same

[o00o]

1 minute ago, Summon Dot E X E said:

That sounds so depressing

Making music is the only fun part 

you can also be lucky and find some DJs that play your stuff but its still a valid point 

[Berk]

On 10/17/2023 at 6:56 PM, chim said:

Didn't expect to find it just using Google, but here you go. It's legit, from an old acquaintance.

Wish we could get an enhance on this

 

[Bubba69]

On 10/17/2023 at 11:02 AM, o00o said:

you can also be lucky and find some DJs that play your stuff but its still a valid point 

I think theres very few that get success purely off of recording and hoping for the best with label/djs. Gotta have some kind of side hustle to get your music out there whether it be live sets/DJing, content creation (youtube or whatever). A few folks might be an exception here but it's very rare.

[c0nsilience]

Typically, when you’re young, you have time but no resources for gear. As you get older, you have resources for gear but very little time. One of life’s interesting ironies.