Daniel Sokolovskiy’s Blog: posts tagged Personal development

What are you willing to sacrifice?

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 08:43:21 +0100

A road to success comes at a price. Take a DJ career, for example. Success as a DJ typically means five, ten, twenty gigs a month. Travelling the world and playing at the largest stages might be a lot of fun, but at the same time, it means sleepless nights in the clubs, countless hours in the airports, living out of a suitcase, and missing out on friends’ birthdays as they usually occur on weekends. My own gig schedule was never that intense, but over the last decade of my music career, I’ve spoken to hundreds of artists who have found themselves in that position.

No path to success is without sacrifices. One path is not ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than another; it’s a matter of priorities, and ultimately, the choice comes down to what you are willing to sacrifice. If you dream big, this principle applies across industries.

We often hear success stories and discussions about work-life balance, but more often than not, they come from people who have already achieved security and stability, having worked long hours in their 20s or 30s and sacrificed health and relationships along the way.

While sacrifices are inevitable, it’s worth considering whether they are intentional and align with your values. We sacrifice comfort for adventure, stability for growth, or leisure for mastery, sometimes without even realising it. Are you content with the trade-offs? Do they bring you closer to the life you envision?

These choices shape who you become and determine how far you go. In the end, success isn’t measured only by what you achieve, but also by what you’re willing to let go of to make space for what matters.

Would I do this if money was no object?

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 12:20:04 +0100

When I doubt about starting something new or continuing with my current pursuits, I find the following question useful: ‘Would I still do this if money was no object?’.

As we live in the monetary world where success is often measured by wealth, sometimes I find it challenging to see the true motivation behind my actions.

For example, my blog. It has around 6,000 monthly visitors, and over the years, it has helped me to land gigs and other opportunities. And at some point it made me believe that my blog is a content marketing tool (gosh, I cringe when I say that). At least that was a pretty reasonable conclusion given its outcome.

However, after asking myself the question ‘Would I do this if money was no object?’, I realised that it isn’t the case at all. I write not because of freakin’ content marketing, but because of the sheer joy of writing.

I love writing, and I love sharing my thoughts. Some people find it valuable, and that’s wonderful. Others don’t, and that’s fine too! Because I would still do this, even if money was no object.

Applying this question to other projects and areas of my life led to surprising results. For instance, I reconsidered my involvement in certain activities and found where my genuine passion lies. This is an ongoing process and I keep discovering my inner self, but the path is clearer now.

Try asking that question too. The insights you gain might surprise you.

Perfectionism hurts

Sun, 16 Jun 2024 21:30:05 +0100

I am a perfectionist. Someone might say it’s a good trait, but I would disagree.

As a perfectionist, I tend to overthink, overwork, and struggle to start new things. The desire to have everything done flawlessly stopped me from doing so many things in the past that I didn’t even bother counting.

What is on the other end of the perfectionism scale? Sloppiness, indolence, carelessness? I don’t know, I haven’t been there, and I can presume these aren’t great traits either. However, there is plenty of space on the spectrum between these two extremes.

This post is a reminder to myself that done is better than perfect. Sometimes ‘good enough’ is enough. ‘Perfect time’ may never come. And time is the most valuable resource, so use it wisely while you can.

The paradox of luck

Sun, 07 Jan 2024 12:05:39 +0100

In my younger years, I firmly believed that my achievements were solely the result of my sheer effort and willpower.

My perspective has since evolved. Life, as I now understand it, is vastly more intricate. Human relationships, in particular, are remarkably complex. When considering the multitude of interconnected pathways leading to specific events or decisions, we encounter an infinite interplay of randomness.

For instance, if you were to ask me how I obtained a Global Talent visa to move to the UK or how I found my dream job, my honest answer would be that I simply got lucky. And this sense of luck extends across almost every aspect of my life.

But what is luck, exactly? The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “the force that causes things, especially favourable events, to happen by chance, rather than through one’s own efforts or abilities.”

So where does luck originate? If luck is the force behind chance occurrences, then it follows that nearly anything beyond our direct control can be seen as luck. Even factors like birthplace and parental circumstances, which are apparently beyond one’s control, fall within this realm of luck too.

However, if everything is attributed to luck, one might logically conclude, “Well, since most of these events are beyond my control, I might as well do nothing!” Yet, here lies the paradox: that’s not entirely accurate!

In reality, I believe making efforts towards any endeavour increases the likelihood of getting lucky.

Consider the job application process, for instance. If someone wants to find a job but takes no action whatsoever, the chance of finding a job is rather low. Though not impossible, it would require tremendous luck. Conversely, submitting a hundred job applications significantly increases the probability of success. However, even in such a scenario, achieving success isn’t solely attributed to relentless efforts. The hiring decision ultimately rests with another individual or a collective group, which, in essence, is luck.

Strangely enough, after realising that many factors of my life can be attributed to luck, it motivated me to work even harder. I think recognising luck doesn’t diminish our efforts; it shows how chance and our actions are intertwined. Luck shapes our experiences, but our efforts increase the odds of good things happening, and understanding this mix can help us carve our unique paths.

Good luck!

Why you should run a blog

Thu, 18 Mar 2021 10:29:54 +0100

And where to start, what to write about, and why you shouldn’t blog on social networks

I enjoy reading the blogs of various people: marketers, designers, developers, promoters, entrepreneurs, editors, and specialists in other fields. And I noticed that among my reading list, there are very few representatives of the music industry. And I’m not talking about media, I’m talking about specialists’ blogs of people who would share their personal experiences.

And then I thought: what if someone wants to start a blog but does not know how? Or someone doubts why they need a blog when they have Instagram?

Whether you are a DJ, a music producer, a label manager, or a specialist of any kind (not just in the music industry), I’d like to encourage more good blogs, so in this post I’ll talk about the benefits of blogging and where to start.

There are different kinds of blogs
First, let me clarify that blogs’ content and purpose can be different. I distinguish at least two main types: personal and professional blogs.

A personal blog is when the author talks about daily life, posts family photos and reflects on current events. If the author is not a well-known media personality, such a blog is unlikely to be of interest to anyone except a small number of people he or she knows in person.

A professional blog is when the specialist shares the intricacies of his profession, talks about the projects he has done, the problems and their solutions, new skills and useful observations. Such blogs are interesting to read, even if unfamiliar with the author.

Here I talk about the second type of blog specifically.

Why blogging

When I talk to someone about starting a blog, I often hear a question along the lines of “Who’s going to read me?”. And it’s a reasonable question: If you don’t already have an audience of your own, you’ll probably be the only visitor of your blog, at least for a while. In addition, the Internet already has almost everything.

However, in my opinion, the main benefit of a blog is not that people read you at all. If you write interestingly and for a long period of time, sooner or later, you are sure to get an audience that reads you, but that’s a nice consequence, kind of a bonus side-effect and not a reason to start writing.

Here are some good reasons to blog:

To systematize your experience. Knowing and understanding something are not the same thing. When you explain something by writing a blog, you understand it much better. That’s exactly what happened to me with the advice series: it would seem that if I’m advising someone something, I’m probably good at it myself, right? But the truth is that I have become good at some things because I explain them to others. Thanks to the blog, the experience is better learned and solidified.

In the advice series, I share my experiences and answer readers’ questions about music production, DJing, performing, marketing, management, and other aspects of the music industry

To improve your skills: writing, language, discipline. It takes practice to become good at something. Being able to write clearly and present your thoughts in a clear, structured way is no exception. And who writes clearly, thinks clearly. Such skills are worth cultivating.

To spread knowledge about yourself and your business. There is an interesting thing with specialist blogs: when you read the behind-the-scenes details of some profession, you inevitably notice that the author clearly knows his stuff, since he understands and talks about all these subtleties. That is how the reputation of an expert is formed. And such a reputation builds trust and opens up new opportunities.

Marketing by sharing by Jason Fried

To save time so you don’t have to explain the same thing over and over again. Imagine that you’ve written a large, comprehensive post about how you do business. And then in a conversation, someone asks you about this topic. And now, instead of telling everything all over again, you can kindly offer the person to read about it on your blog if he or she is interested. For example, I wrote this very post for this exact reason because I had to explain it several times.

To help people. Most of the time you probably won’t even know it. People tend to react more strongly to things they don’t like than to be thankful for things that help them. Nevertheless, rest assured that the knowledge you share will help others learn something new, come to unusual conclusions, or inspire development in their field. Isn’t that great?

These are definitely not all the reasons for blogging, but they’re good enough to get you started.

Run a blog for yourself to systematize experiences, improve skills, and spread knowledge

What to write about

Let’s say you’ve decided to blog. And then you might be confused: “So what is there to write about?”. The thing is, when you know something, all things seem simple and obvious to you, and you’d be like: “Everybody knows that!”

My advice is to write about what you’re doing and explain why you’re doing it that way:

For example, an engineer does mastering of the tracks. How does he do it? What kind of equipment does he use? How is gear better than software plug-ins, and is it better? Does stem mastering really worth it? How to prepare tracks for mastering? How much headroom in volume should a producer leave and why? Is it necessary to do a separate mastering for each streaming platform? Is there really a “volume war” and should producers be worried? Can a DJ play non-mastered tracks? Why do we need mastering at all?

It would seem an ordinary routine that an engineer faces every day, but there is so much to tell! And so it is with almost all professions. Talk about it, and the blog will become your best portfolio.

Another thing I advise you to do is to define for yourself some topics or categories. For example, on this blog I write about DJing, performing, music, marketing, productivity, and professional growth. You don’t have to think of all of such topics ahead of time, but it may be easier for the authors to start writing by identifying a few similar topics in their field.

Where to start

First, you need to decide where you want to write: on a third-party service or on your own standalone blog.

Third-party services are so-called blogging platforms: sites on which you sign up and start a blog. Probably the most popular ones are Tumblr, Blogger, Medium.

A standalone blog is a site that runs on your server and is under your control. I strongly recommend this option, and I explain why below.

To start your own standalone blog, you need three things:

Domain	The address where the blog is available. For example, dsokolovskiy.com
Hosting	The server where the files are stored.
Engine	The program which runs the blog.

For some people, these words may seem very frightening, but in fact, buying a domain name and renting hosting is not more difficult than signing up on Medium or purchasing anything online. The engine installation is somewhat different, but it depends on what to choose.

Running and maintaining a blog costs money: a domain name will cost about $10 per year, and hosting is roughly another $20 per year. The engines are usually free. Here are some popular names: WordPress, Drupal, Aegea.

My blog runs on Aegea. The beauty of this engine is that it has no typical “admin panels” with complicated user interfaces. Aegea makes blogging as easy as possible, and it’s a pleasure to write in it. It also has everything you need to make it look and work properly right out of the box: automatic typography, search, tags, drafts, a mobile version, a built-in audio player, comments (you can disable them if you don’t need them), and much, much more. By comparison, on WordPress or Drupal you would need a programmer and a designer to do all that, but with Aegea, you install it, and it just works.

The Aegea website visually demonstrates how the engine works

Why not Instagram

Some readers may wonder, “Why bother when social media is around? Why set up and pay for a standalone blog when you can do the same on Instagram? Why do all that when you can just as much systematize your experience, improve your skills, and spread the knowledge on a Facebook page? You can blog on social media, right?”

Can you blog on social media – yes, you can. You can do anything, frankly! But that said, there are fundamental disadvantages to social media that are worth keeping in mind.

Anything is possible, but

In my opinion, here are a few major flaws:

You don’t own the content. Everything you write and post on social networks belongs to corporations, not to you. In practice, this means that your years of work can disappear in a flash because the social network closes down (think of MySpace). Or because the service will become hopelessly outdated and no one is interested in it (look at LiveJournal). Or because moderators will find your post inappropriate to their guidelines and block your profile. Choosing social media as your primary platform for publishing thoughtful posts does not value your time and efforts. And all of this is true for third-party blogging platforms as well, which is why I recommend starting your own standalone blog.

Form affects content. Each social network defines a certain format, and you have to adjust the content to fit it. For example, you cannot publish more than 280 characters on Twitter in one post. On Instagram, you cannot post just text without a picture. Facebook, as experiments suggest, reduces the reach of link posts, so people get creative, publish a picture, and leave the link in the comment below it. Or at some point, the author realizes that if he takes a long break between posts, fewer people like them, and when fewer people like the post, the social network algorithms consider this content uninteresting and don’t show it to the rest of the audience, and eventually the race for engagement begins.

You are not in control. If the social network changes its design tomorrow, and not for the better, there is nothing you can do about it because you are not in control. If a social network starts running ads through every post you share, there’s nothing you can do about it because you are not in control. If a social network removes some of the functionality you’ve been relying on, as you’ve probably guessed, there’s nothing you can do about it because you are not in control. Can you easily find any of your posts from ten years ago? Or edit it? Or structure it in any meaningful way? No, no, and no, because you have no control over anything on social media.

On social media, you don’t own the content and have no control over anything. Relying on social media means not valuing your time and efforts

There’s nothing like that with your blog, and it’s exactly the opposite. You have full access to all texts, images, and files. You are free to decide whether the design of your blog will change or remain exactly the same twenty years from now. You can add or remove features as you need them. You can organize everything the way you want.

“Wait a minute!”, some probably will argue. “But social media has an entire audience! Instagram has one billion monthly active users, and my blog will have one person. So what, are you suggesting that I should just give up on social media altogether?”

Well, it is naive to think that once you create a new Facebook page, a Telegram channel, or an account on Medium.com, you will immediately have thousands of readers because, supposedly, these platforms have millions and billions of users. Winning and nurturing the audience is challenging and takes a lot of time no matter where you do it (and if such a task is even needed; and let me remind you that this is not what really matters in a specialist’s blog).

Personally, I have many concerns about social media, even beyond the flaws mentioned above. But even so, I am not yet ready to give them up completely. At the same time, nothing stops you from writing good posts on your blog and then sharing them anywhere, including social networks – I, for example, do just that.

Can we drop social media?

Happy blogging!

Learning music production for authentic results

Wed, 28 Jun 2017 17:39:40 +0100

Some thoughts on how to learn using a reference track but not ending up like a someone’s clone

Stormtroopers from Star Wars Episode VII. Sometimes, browsing Beatport new releases causes the same feeling

Hey Daniel, a lot of forums, tutorials and courses out there recommend learning by using reference tracks, deconstructing arrangements and rebuilding sounds/presets.

This sounds fine in principle, but in practice, I can’t help wondering if this has also created a lot of similar sounding music on Beatport, across all genres.

It may take longer and be more challenging to not use any form of reference but do you think that ultimately, it will lead the producer (over months and years) to more authentic results?

If not, how do you recommend reference tracks/sounds/arrangements are used to enhance learning but not limit creativity?

Doron

That’s a great question, Doron. I’m in a camp with those who suggest learning and training your ears using a reference track indeed, and I do agree that stores are flooded with similar music with a lack of originality. But I don’t think that using a reference whilst learning is what caused this.

Train your ears using a reference track

You see, there is a difference between analyzing and trying to recreate certain sounds for educational purposes and deliberately copying someone’s else music. When you just start out, you seek answers for the questions that puzzle you: how is this bassline made? Is that a saw or a square wave? Does my lead sit well in the mix? And learning other producers’ music is a great way to answer them. Those who want to blindly copy others’ music will find a way, anyway.

When I started this blog, people often asked me something like “are you not afraid sharing your trade secrets so the others will steal your tricks?”, and I always said, “no, I don’t”.

For example, I shared the way I made the robotic texture and atmospheric effects used in my tracks. There is nothing really fancy about it, it’s all basic stuff for anyone with a decent experience, but for beginners, it might be a breakthrough. “Hm, so he made the texture using a simple noise oscillator and a filter... what if I’ll change it to a saw wave instead? And do this instead of that?” — that type of thinking I would advise you to have when you read a tutorial or when you use a reference track. Think of a general concept, a method that can be implemented in so many ways rather than using any given tutorial or reference as it is. This is how the learning curve goes.

I would also like to talk about two more things: the format and the content.

Let’s take newspapers as an example. Typically, there are some current events printed on low-grade paper, probably with some logo on the top and a big bold heading. You know it’s a newspaper just by looking at it. But I don’t think anyone accuses “The Guardian” of ripping off “The Time” or vice versa, or any other newspaper cloning each other. That’s because a newspaper is just a format of the production.

Now speaking about music, all those kicks, basses, mixdowns, etc. are just a format of some particular genre. Let’s say, you know it’s a Psytrance when you hear a certain tempo and beat patterns. But you shouldn’t solely focus on that alone, and I think this is where many producers fall off.

Beginners forget that the content is what people listen to music for, the same reason why they read the newspapers. And when I say content in terms of music, I’m don’t mean a fancy kick drum but rather a feeling, emotions that this track awakes in you; something that will make you want it to listen again and again. How to create interesting music content is another huge topic, and it’s a talk for another time.

Fellow producers out there, I’m keen to know what do you guys think about it? The comments box below is open for you.

You don’t ask—you don’t get

Wed, 18 May 2016 09:38:36 +0100

Hey Daniel, thanks for your blog. I’m an up-and-coming producer, and I would like to ask your advice on how to start working with high-grade producers? I’m talking about collaborations, remixes etc. For example, your Rave Podcast show has some fantastic guest mixes from amazing artists including Astral Projection and more big names, how do you get them?

Harley P.

Harley, I could tell you something like “your name as a brand should have enough value to other producers, otherwise there is no point for them to work with you” and other stuff from the business side of things. And essentially, this is true.

But instead, I’d like to tell you something different and more important. The principle which I use for years now. Here are those magic words:

As long as people can’t read other people’s minds, we have to talk or write in order to convey our thoughts and ideas. And most weird is that many people are afraid to say what they want! I guess the fear of failure is a reason for that. Do you want to remix or to collaborate with some famous artist? Tell him this! Do you want to get a promotion at your job? Say it to your boss! As simple as that.

Of course, other people can say “no” to you, and most likely they will. But think of the worst-ever-possible scenario. What would happen if you get “no”? Well, you’ll get upset, and probably will feel awkward. What else?

Now think of the opposite: what would happen if don’t ask what you want? The answer is simple: you miss the opportunity. The opportunity to change your life for the good. That famous artist would never collaborate with you, and your boss would never know that you actually want a promotion, giving that position to one of your colleagues.

This principle goes far beyond the music industry as it can be applied to pretty much everything in your life. You ask—you get it!

On cover image: Stevie Wonder during a rehearsal session in Los Angeles in 1974 © Jazzinphoto. “If you don’t ask, you don’t get” is one of the famous quotes from Stevie Wonder. Source: IMDb.

Re-energizing for music production after 9-6 work

Wed, 04 May 2016 10:25:51 +0100

Hi Daniel, do you have any advice on working a job from 9-6 every day then re-energising for producing when you get home? I’m finding it difficult without tiring myself up as I have to be in bed at 10 to get my full nights sleep.

Gary Delaney

I’m not hiding the fact that at the moment I work at a 9 to 6 job too, so we’re in the same boat, Gary! And yes, I have a couple of tricks that probably will work for you.

You don’t have to re-energize yourself literally, but having the right mindset is the key. A tired mind can come up with dozens of excuses why you shouldn’t do something, but don’t listen to that voice. Let’s see at some common excuses, and how we can trick ourselves for the good.

“This problem is too big”

“Make a new track after getting back home tired from work? Or an album? No way! There is too much work to do, and I’m too tired for that!” — that is how I was thinking until I realized that I actually don’t need to write the whole track or an album at once.

I recommend to divide big project (such making a new track) into smaller tasks and keep divide until it becomes an easy do-able thing. For instance, make a kick drum, or make a bassline, or EQ it. Or write a melody, or make a timbre for that lead. Or make a 16-bars progression, then another 16-bars progression. You get the point.

2×2 is better than 4

Even writing this very blog would be impossible for me if I’d tried to make it at once, so I’ve done it by doing smaller separate tasks: add basic headlines, write key points, find and edit illustrations, write down one paragraph, then another one. Then structure all text together, clean it, check spelling, re-write it again, publish and share.

You see, although formally you doing the same things, it’s a totally different mindset, and it works great for a tired mind: “Make a kick drum? — yeah, I can do it tonight!”.

“I’ll just quickly check the Facebook”

Okay, finally you put yourself in the chair, you open DAW, load project and press the play button. “Oh wait, someone mentioned me on Twitter, I have to reply ASAP”. “A new friend request on Facebook? Let’s check who is that”. “Wow John shared a nice blog, I have to read it”. Eventually, you end up with surfing some random article on Wikipedia about emperor penguins. Does it sound familiar?

Tim Urban’s TED Talk on procrastination

Well, no surprise. The more tired you feel, the harder to focus on doing only one particular thing. And here comes the procrastination. I found the best way to dealing with procrastination is using the Pomodoro Technique Francesco Cirillo. After using it for almost 2 years now I... well, still procrastinate, but definitely much less :-) Really recommend to check this technique out.

Dealing with procrastination using Pomodoro Technique

“Wait, what? Penguins? How did I end up here?!”

“I can do it tomorrow, no need to rush”

Ah, this is probably the worst excuse! You see, it’s relatively easy to do some things when you have a deadline given for these tasks. Let’s say, a label that you dream on offers you a release if you’ll manage to deliver an EP within the next two weeks. And it works; tired and exhausted, but eventually you made it. That’s the magic power of deadlines (or social factor, I would say).

But what happens when you’re the boss? You have no one in charge up there, that’s your own project. No pressure, no deadline. Here comes the worst excuse: “I can do it tomorrow”.

Based on my own skin, I advise having two things that are crucial: internal deadline and release schedule. I won’t go deeper into details now otherwise this blog will be as twice as long, but the titles themselves are pretty self-explanatory.

Having internal deadlines and release schedule are not only keeps you in good rhythm and shape but also motivates to actually do things, rather than just dream about your success lying on a couch.

I’ll write about it in details someday

And a little bonus.

A “year” sounds long, right? But let’s make a simple calculation, assuming that you can afford 2 hours per day for the music. That’s 14 hours per week or 56 hours per month. Multiply it for 12 months and then divide for 24 hours per day, and you’ll get 28 days of total time per year. Think about it. You have only 28 days per year to make something great, how do you’re gonna spend it?

timestripe.com

I hope it helps.

Getting out of comfort zone

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 08:55:28 +0100

Or how to overcome writer’s block

Please tell us more about «out of comfort zone» technique you mentioned in one of your previous posts. What does it mean, exactly?

David

Our brain seems to love patterns and keep everything under control. As a music producer, you know all of your tools, devices, knobs. But eventually, your workflow becomes a sort of habit: you open a DAW, add certain plugins, choose some of your favorites presets, and draw the same MIDI patterns. Or probably just copy and paste some project files from your previous tracks that worked for you well. That’s your “comfort zone”, everything is safe because you used to work this way.

Generally speaking, it’s not bad: you can speed up your routine and predict the result. If you use the same sounds or patterns from track to track, it becomes associated with your name and that is what some people call a “trademark sound”, or “signature sound”.

And that’s fine as long as you keep your music fresh and interesting. But from my observations, most likely if you’ll make 10, 20, 30 the same tracks, eventually they become dull and boring. Some producers call it a “writer’s block”, or simply a crisis.

The solution is quite simple: rather than go with a well-tried way, start with a totally blank project. Rather than do a scientific approach, try to go a creative way. Just to give an example:

Do you always start off your project with a kick and bass? Try to start with some melodies!
Do you always use Sylenth1 for your basslines? Try in some other synthesizer, preferably the one you have never used before!
Do you make music within a certain tempo range? Try to add ±5 BPM, or even make a track in a totally new genre!

I guess you get the idea.

Obviously, working in a new environment is much harder, that’s why I call it “out of comfort zone”. This approach forces you to experiment and try new things, and the outcome can be a pleasant surprise. My latest release on JOOF Recordings titled “Surreal” is a testament to this:

Such getting out of comfort zone experience works really well even beyond music production, like in many life situations. Don’t be afraid to try something new, be afraid not to try.

5 tips on how to finish tracks

Wed, 27 Jan 2016 08:45:20 +0100

When you get stuck and about to give up

I keep getting stuck in drafts and can’t finish tracks. I make some basic arrangements, then I do some tweaks over and over again, but it seems I physically can’t finish tracks, you know? Then I start a new project, and it happens again, I get stuck and eventually give up on the track completely. Do you have some tips on how to finish tracks?

Simon Stone

Simon, I’m sure every music producer out there feels your pain! Indeed, getting stuck on unfinished tracks is probably one of the most common issues, I see people write about it all the time. Luckily, I know a few tips that might help.

Aim for results

First of all, ask yourself: do you really set your goal to finish the track? I know some producers who enjoy the process more than the results, they can tweak synthesizers for hours and days! And that’s totally fine, as long as you enjoy it and do not worry too much if this work will ever be released or not. However, if you’re not happy with this, then stop playing around with the synths, presets, samples, and stuff. Change your mindset, and aim for the results.

Embrace the limits

Can you draw a picture? The good answer should be the question “what picture?”, but what if I tell you to draw just some picture, with no more details — could you? I bet not. The same happens with music production. Having no limitations, you can create anything, but most likely, it turns into nothing. It’s like if you would sit with a blank paper trying to write a novel, having no ideas behind it. You should create a context of what and where will be happening.

Now let’s say you’d like to make a 138 BPM track, with no triples or swings, just a straight driving bassline, with a key bass note at D#m, with long progressions and not many breakdowns, with a strong lead what will be revealed in the main breakdown, with mysterious female vocal samples, and heavy atmospheric pads. Now we have a more specific talk, right? Such boundaries don’t limit your creativity but help and guide you through the process to the final result.

Looking at the description above, these are exactly the limits I’ve set myself when I made “Enuma Elish”:

Get inspired

One more reason why you probably get stuck is that you get bored. It especially can be true if you go the same route repeatedly, copy-pasting presets from one project to another. Don’t forget why you write music in the first place, you should be very excited about every project you are working on.

How to build up a track

I realized that the tracks of mine that I like the most were made in one breath when you are completely immersed in it. Try to get inspired by whatever inspires you to feel that excitement again.

Keep it simple, do it quickly

Try to make it as simple as possible: get an idea → write it down → arrange a track → finalize the project. Stop thinking «maybe I should change or add something else?», and don’t “marinate” your ideas for months, just let them go. Don’t overthink, write music quickly. Remember, one finished track is worth more than a hundred drafts because you gain experience and growth.

Less is more

How to find time for music

Wed, 06 Jan 2016 08:24:10 +0100

Having a full-time job, study, and family

Daniel, please advise. I study, have a full-time job, and have family duties. At the same time, I’m a beginner producer, I love music and would like to make a career as a DJ and producer. The problem seems I don’t have enough time for music, I can’t just sit all weekend long locked in the studio to write new tracks. How to find time for music when it’s not what you do for a living?

John Y.

I understand your pain very well. In fact, we are in the same boat: I have a bunch of non-musical projects, family, and other activities too. No surprise, I guess most people have the same. There are a few myths around this topic that I’d like to dispel, and a method that works for me which I’d like to share.

The truth is you will never have more “free time” than you have now. Let’s say, today you have a job, tomorrow you’ll decide to start learning a foreign language, and on the day after tomorrow, you have a family event. This is called a routine, and eventually, it will not be less. Even if you succeed in a music career, most likely you will be busy traveling and playing on gigs. Don’t expect to have more free time in the future, it’s a myth.

Another myth says that you have to spend all day long to make a track. What you really need is to do it regularly, small but frequent steps that will move your progress forward. Imagine training in a gym, you don’t get benefits by doing exercises eight hours in a row, right? In order to build muscle, you have to keep training on a regular basis.

So when it comes to music production, I came up with the method which I call:

2+2 is better than 4

To give an example, rather than trying to find a fully free weekend on your schedule (which is nearly impossible), split your production into a few smaller sessions. In this case, two days for 2 hours each is better than one 4-four long session, hence the name.

Less is more

In fact, even 30-minutes sessions can give you huge progress, if you do it several times per week. Half an hour is the time that every busy person can afford, so excuses are not accepted :-) Also, frequent sessions help to keep connected with the idea of the track, you know exactly what you have done last time, and what you should do next. As a result, small but frequent sessions help to finish tracks easier.

Be a doer, not a dreamer.

Frustration. How to move forward

Wed, 04 Nov 2015 09:14:47 +0100

Daniel, I need your advice. I’m a music producer and for the last few years, I had a couple of successful releases on various labels, if getting into Top-100 charts counts as a success. But being honest the only thing I got is some “likes” on my social profiles, I mean, I don’t feel “real” success.

Meantime I look at the other producers, and they have that real success, tours etc. I feel jealous, and realizing the fact that I’m jealous makes me feel even worse. You know, I release music and stuff, but all my efforts seem meaningless, and it’s depressing. I’m stuck on progress and don’t know how to move forward.

Jovan

I understand you perfectly Jovan, I’ve been in the same boat. Perhaps, this depends on a type of personality, but I assume that everyone went through this. After self-analysis and studying a little bit of human social behavior, I’ve come up with an understanding of three problems that cause such frustration. And three solutions.

Firstly, the problem is that we compare ourselves with others through the prism of their success. Social media as a looking glass shows only positive sides: when you look at the other artists, you see their successful tours, releases that hit top charts, and so on. You set high expectations, like if I’ll do this → I’ll get this. And eventually, it makes you upset because after such hard work you expect to get no less success than the others, but for some reason, you didn’t. The reality looks unfair to you.

Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy by Tim Urban

However, not many people seem to realize that the success of the others is like the tip of the iceberg: you see only 10% of the whole picture, while the rest major part is hidden. You don’t know how much effort other people put in to reach the point where they are at this moment. Or maybe they just get lucky, or maybe they have the right connections. Either way, you don’t know it. So here is tip #1: stop comparing yourself with the others, it’s toxic. Don’t look around, just do what you do.

Secondly, like at every negotiation, you cannot force someone to make a decision (unless you have a gun), your opponent always has a right to say “no” regardless of how good your proposal is. Will label release your track? Will you get that particular gig? The right answer is: you don’t know.

Imagine a running competition with hundreds of participants. Regardless of how good you are, you cannot be sure that you win the race. Will you win the race? Well, you don’t know. But if you gonna run and think about the other runners, you lose attention, time, focus, nerves, it all makes your mind literally heavy, slowing down your progress. So here comes tip #2: stop worrying and being upset of the things you cannot control, and start to focus and do your best on the things you can — your own thoughts and actions.

Thirdly, sometimes we feel busy like a bee, and being completely captured by routine it’s easy to miss important things out of your sight. It’s not easy to get out of the circle, so it might be a good idea to take a break, take a vacation. Try to get above to look at the entire picture of your career. Let’s say, you might be obsessed with writing more and more tracks, but the release of music is just one of the many ways to get an audience, there is much more. Hence why it is so important to work and grow in all directions simultaneously: production, marketing, management skills, and so on.

Getting audience

The key here is to think global, act locally. Keep in mind the whole picture, but split it into small, do-able actions. Keep dividing projects and goals until you get easy-doable tasks, for example: Write an album → Write track number one → Day 1. Record a melody; Day 2. Record drum section.

Recap:

Don’t compare yourself with others, it’s toxic. Just do what you love to do.
Don’t try to control things that you cannot control, it’s a waste of energy. Instead, focus on what you can control — yourself.
Don’t fall into trap of routine, it blurs your vision. Take a break, look at the whole picture, and follow the plan in small steps.

I believe in a “Zen” way, as I call it: work hard and do it daily, be honest and open-minded, keep growing as a person and professional, enjoy everything you do, and sooner or later you’ll reach success.

On cover image: Zen monk at Wenshu temple. The path to enlightenment is made of hard work, but slowly and surely he moving forward. Photo © moniqca