Artist’s guide to streamlining your writing and production process

Like any other repeated task, creating music should theoretically become a more streamlined process the more we do it. Theoretically. Although it’s not always easy, streamlining the production process is one of the best ways to succeed in the music industry. Here we look at a few techniques to make it happen.

Post invited by Joseph Capalbo of Soundfly’s fly paper

As songwriters and producers, we strive to write and record a better song every time we sit down to work on our craft. In the process, and over time, we eventually develop effective methods to streamline the execution of our creative activities based on what has worked well for us in our past.

Or at least we should do it. That’s obviously easier said than done – and with the world turned upside down for artists these days, it’s not always easy to put in long hours perfecting our craft.

But here’s the thing. Streamlining is one of the clearest paths to success in the music industry that I personally know. On the one hand, if you want to frequently release music for your fans to hear, it pays to have a system in place to produce high-quality material that sounds great. like you Everytime.

Zak Waters (aka Pretty Sister) talks about his personal system for preparing for co-writing and production sessions in the interview below, courtesy of Soundfly Songwriting for Producers Online course.

But, it also helps for collaborations, getting hired to follow parts for other artists, and especially when it comes to writing for film, television, commercials or any other visual media (theater, dance , etc.). Streamlined processes help artists meet deadlines and stay on schedule, which makes collaborators and employers happy; and a reputation like that tends to lead to higher paying work.

So let’s see how we songwriters and producers can have a faster release time without sacrificing the quality of our tracks. And before we do, if you want help streamlining your own work with a professional songwriter, producer, composer, or sound engineer, Soundfly offers personalized mentoring sessions focused on getting closer to your personal goals and getting the sound you’ve always wanted.

Streamline your songwriting process

1. Know your process

There are generally four approaches to start writing a song: start with harmony, melody, rhythm, Where Lyrics. Any of these four can be used as a starting point, but chances are that depending on who you start, it will affect the outcome of your music.

For instrumentals, I personally find that writing a chord progression, followed by a melody, then a rhythm works well for me. If you’re just starting to learn how to write a song, it might be a good idea to try writing four songs using each of these approaches and see what works best for you personally.

Alternatively, if you’re a seasoned writer or someone who writes constantly, try diving deep into your process and taking notes on how you usually start songs and where your work tends to lose sound. momentum during the process. Knowing your process will make it easier to optimize.

2. Identify trends

Part of knowing your own songwriting tendencies comes from being able to listen to and analyze songs in the same style of music that you write. This doesn’t necessarily mean looking for global Billboard trends — it can just mean identifying the trends of certain songwriters.

The next time you listen to one of your favorite artists, listen to 5-10 of their songs and try to spot details, such as the following, to spot trends:

• What chords do they use?
• What kind of melodies?
• Does this song change key or tempo at any point?
• What are the rhythms?
• And the lyrics?

In turn, these are some of the things you might want to focus on when analyzing your own songwriting or making efforts to streamline it.

3. Collaborate with other songwriters

After identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your songwriting process, you might eventually encounter “writer’s block” in an area that may be a bit weaker for you. There are tons of ways to overcome writer’s block and push your ideas forward with a bit of a push, but a perfectly appropriate approach is to simply seek out collaborations that can help fill in the gaps in your own songwriting skills.

Nowadays, collaborating with other songwriters and producers is easier than ever; same despite the social distancing we face. But first you need to find those collaborators and co-authors. If you sign up for a monthly subscription to Soundfly, you’ll get lifetime access to our Slack community forum, where musicians and artists network and collaborate every day! give a shot.

+ Learn production, composition, songwriting, theory, arranging, mixing, and more, anytime, anywhere. Subscribe for unlimited access!

Streamlining your production process

1. Know your direction

Alright, we’re moving from the songwriting process to production, but don’t feel like they’re totally exclusive of each other. They just require different streamlining methods.

So whereas with songwriting you would listen to other artists’ music to identify chords, melody, lyrics, and rhythm, in production you would have to listen for arrangement elements. This can include drums, synths, other instruments, or sound design, as well as tempo, rhythm style, timbre identification elements, as well as added electronic effects.

For example, in the music of a singer-songwriter, you might be more used to hearing a clean acoustic piano rather than a distorted electric guitar. Or, you might hear an 808 bass in a hip hop rhythm where you’ll hear live bass in a funk track. A common approach is to create a list of instruments and sounds you hear in your song in advance, depending on what you expect from other songs of the same style.

And how do we do it? Well, it helps if you listen to a lot of different music and take notes on the instrumentation. For example, in “Day ‘N’ Nite” by Kid Cudi Here’s what I could write to give me direction for my instrumentation, if I’m also looking to do a low-tempo hip-hop beat like this:

• Pinch the synth
• Synthetic bass (sounds like the bass has some distortion towards the end)
• Kicking
• Hi hats
• Snares
• Tambourine
• Voice samples
• Buffers

2. Learn your DAW

Whether you work in Logic Pro X, Ableton Liveor any other DAWit is essential that you know your way around the program so that navigation this does not take up a large part of your production process. If you spend twenty minutes trying to find where the reverb plugins are, it will kill your creative momentum.

It’s important to know the basics of tracking your instruments and quantizing your MIDI notes to your desired rhythms, tempos, and sound palettes. From there, understanding the basic plugins that come with your DAW and when to use them (or when not to) will be a huge time saver for you.

3. Create templates

Create a model that you can use in your DAW is a great way to be able to just open your program and start your creative process right away. Think about the instruments you use in all your tracks. Or, how about some of your essential plugins what do you know you will use?

This will take the hassle out of getting ready to write and instead allow you to write instantly. not to mention mixing an entire album or EP that seems consistent.

Overall, understanding which songwriting techniques work best for you and streamlining your creative process will help you succeed in music. I’m sure and certain. If you can start quickly, work with comfort and familiarity, and deliver on time, nothing will stop you!

The good news is that it’s never too late to start streamlining. With enough rehearsals, you will naturally become familiar with your own work and processes enough to know where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Good luck!

Joseph Capalbo is a songwriter and producer whose work has been featured on major networks around the world, including NBC, ABC, MTV, E!, Oxygen, NHL, Hallmark Channel, global nonprofits, and more. He recently wrote the theme song for E!’s new documentary series, Reunion Road Trip. He is one of the main mentors of our Unleash the emotional power of chords Classes.