Starting a new song is one of the most fun aspects of being a producer, the ideas are fresh, the possibilities endless, and you may just create something you’ve never imagined before. But once you’ve created this idea where do you go from there, how do you turn that 4-bar loop into a great song, or how to turn that catchy melody into a whole song.

Today we’ll be going through some ways you can finish songs faster, more effectively and waste less time.

If you head over to https://bitsubmit.net/ you can post your tracks and have direct access to promotion companies without all the mess of figuring out how to contact and stumbling through email contacts.

1. Don’t Overproduce

For many of us producers, the first thing we try to do is produce a full tune, and after we try that we tend to hit writer’s block. A big reason this happens is because if you have a really worked on say intro/build and the drop/groove is a rough draft, you’re naturally going to be let down when you get to the drop. The frustrating part here is that the sections combined are not going to flow naturally till they’re both finished. This is a huge reason many of us can’t get past the 4, 8, or 16 bar loop sometimes.

This is why sometimes it’s dangerous to fully produce one section at a time, music happens over time and the progression of a tune is one of the most memorable parts to music fans. If you’ve listened to your beautiful intro that you love 400 times, it’s probably not going to impact you as much as when you first started. One of the biggest ways to personally kill your own track is by over listening to sections of it. This I find is the main way of desensitizing yourself to a sound or idea, and the worse thing about this is that you could be sitting on a great idea.

Over-producing is a common mistake most new producers make, if you find you’re adding lots of elements and layers to make something “more interesting” you’re probably off the mark. If you add too much it can cause a song to lose direction and focus, it’ll began to sound too busy and lacking drive. A good way to solve this is by setting shorter durations on your productions, this way by the time you’re done your beat it’ll still sound fresh. Check out this series where producers are forced to create a whole beat in under 10 minutes.

2. Use Music You Like as a Reference

When you come up with that banging 4 bar loop, it’s often hard to decide where in the song that should sit, should i use these chords in the verse, or is this more suited for the chorus. I’ve learned that over time my awareness of when to do the “right” thing or what works best has gotten better with experience and practice. But if you’re confused or doubting your parts, the best way to get out of that funk is to listen to artists that inspire you.

Use their music as a guideline to improving your music, using elements of the songs as a jump off point for your own tunes is going to really help organize your ideas. Study how these artists build their songs, how they choose to introduce new parts, and how their arrangement overall feels and moves.

A great way to start is to play along with songs you like, try and play the root notes first and figure out the basslines. After this it’ll be easier to build the chords from the bottom up, this will help you hear the timbre changes of different instruments and why the tune feels the way it does. Playing along with trap music and electronic music in general I find that I understand how the instruments are played, and how the effects and processing aid that. You can also copy drum grooves and listen to how effects and sounds aid to the transitions, all of these elements will help you create something that you are actively passionate about.

Try throwing in a song you like into your DAW and analyze section lengths, transitions, pacing, mix techniques, and even use of space and rests.

3. Take Breaks



When you’re producing its really important to allow your ears to rest, if you don’t give your ears a break every 2 hours for about 15-30 minutes, you’re going to notice ear fatigue. I love taking breaks to read or to just head outside for a bit, not only does this help rest your ears, but also your eyes which most likely been staring at your monitor for that same amount of time. If you then also think about how much time you spend on your phone, that 15-30 minute break becomes crucial.



It’s also important to take longer breaks from your tracks, taking a day, a week, or even a month will clear your audio palette. Coming back to these tracks after not listening to them for a while will return you to the state of a listener rather than a creator. When I listen to tracks I’ve written from weeks past, months past, or years past, I quickly notice that the way I listen changes drastically. I tend to critique tunes I’ve just written and will try and constantly change things to make it better, but when I’m listening back later I’m listening to it just as a song, not even my song necessarily, just a song. I find this makes it much easier to be less critical and I find I enjoy my songs much more when I’m listening more as a fan or just a music listener.



4. Set Deadlines



When you set a deadline for yourself, you’ll notice that workflow and motivation increases ten-fold. When you’re at work or in school, or learning any skill really you’ll notice that people showing/teaching you will set deadlines. You’re used to this, it’s a crucial aspect to how you’ve learned anything for years. So why do we not feel the need to do this with music, for some reason music gets a pass when it comes to being critical about your time and deadlines.



If you start to set deadlines for yourself and actually stick to them, you’ll notice your productivity will increase massively, and you’ll be surprised of how consistent you’re capable of being. Setting a “full arrangement a day” deadline allowed to me create two 4 song EP’s in just under two weeks. Anything’s possible if you set deadlines and stick to them.

If you head over to https://bitsubmit.net/ you can post your tracks and have direct access to promotion companies without all the mess of figuring out how to contact and stumbling through email contacts.﻿

Automate your entire marketing process so you can spend more time where it matters most – in the studio. No more wasting time searching the internet for promotion. No more sending hundreds of emails to promoters that rarely respond because of their flooded inbox. https://bitsubmit.net/﻿





