When do you make music?

Hi guys,

I absolutely love making beats wether it’s on the DT, the OP-1 or the MPC 1000. However due to work, parenting, etc etc I end up turning on the machine at about 10-11 in the evening which usually ends in frustration as I think I’m just too tired and everything gets boring quickly.

As my stuff is loop-based I jusy think everything sounds crap and blame it on the gear, then switch to another machine and so on, and so on and it gets worse. Go to bed late, tired the next day, etc.

Again I don’t think it’s a gear issue - I have been toying the idea of getting a MPC Live but I don’t see what difference it will make if my brain is burned for the day.

Hence my question, what’s your prime time for making music? How do you organise yourself?

Thanks!

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I am in the same boat. A job and two crazy boys. I find Saturday and Sunday mornings before everyone wakes up is my best time to create. My mind is fresh and there are no distractions. I wake up around 6am just to make music.

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When you have extremely limited time and youre usually completely spent for the day when you try and create it is so hard. Its not your equipment! I build up stress about making music where I feel self pressure to make something because time is limited. It means there is never any experimentation time where you just play around and see what happens. It also means youre less likely to explore and learn your gear.

For me EVERY single time i manage to turn on my gear and stop worrying about output i always have a much nore productive time. Just playing around without concentrating on end result is the best. Just try not to be hard in yourself. I dont even have kids and i know i would need a few days a week to be making my best music.

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I totally get your frustration as i’ve had periods of hardly making anything… to me the solution for being productive is not necessarily in choosing a certain time to make music, but in these 3 things. They may work for you…

-forcing myself (even after a long day at work) to do some music every day for at least half an hour, and accepting that it doesnt have to result in anything good or finished.
-seperating the creative proces of sampling, playing and experimenting from the proces of finishing a track: some days i just spend half an hour sampling stuff, making quick sketches on the DT, or making a patch on my synth, while other days i take the time to finish and record some sketch i made earlier. Seperating these things takes away the pressure of creating something good right away.
-simplifying my setup: I’ve slimmed down my setup to one sampler/sequencer (DT), one synth (moog GM) and some instruments i can record through my mixer (guitars, rhodes, percussion, etc). Everything is hooked up, so when i decide to do music there’s no hassle trying to find cables and stuff. This greatly lowers the bar for just jamming around for half an hour.

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I have a mate who has kids, partner, mortgage, etc. They came to an agreement, he gets like, 2 hrs alone time on his days off to tinker in his studio and make beats. It makes him so happy, and he usually gets one track done with 5 or 6 stems out.

Me personally, as I’ve gotten older I enjoy making tunes in the morning after “exercise” (read: quasi yoga and a few push-ups at best) and coffee. When I was younger it was always inebriated stuff way into the weeee hours, but now I’m lucky if i’m up later than 10pm, let alone making music at that time.

If for some reason im not working or on an extended holiday, usually the sleep in’s will creep longer and the nights blow out to midnight or even 1 or 2am. But generally if i get on a good wicket in the morning i can make stuff all day, but by 4:30 / 5pm ish i usually conk out and go make dinner / grab a beer.

My advice would be to try and find time in your schedule for yourself, if you have a partner see if you can come up with an agreement where she/he gets her/his time and you gets yours.

i for one made a lot of music in the past, i dont beat myself up about it so much anymore if i have breaks or am unproductive for a time. i generally try and follow the muse, and that can lead me anywhere from photography to programming to cooking or camping. music has been rather quiet of late, looking forward to the next phase whenever it emerges

all the best!

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I am so happy my girlfriend encourages me to make time for music. My only issue is that she and I work different schedules. My afternoons on the weekdays are taken up with kids while she is at work. They are her kids but I moved them into my house and life and despite being busy constantly, I feel it is worth it. I know them being teenagers is only a few years away. They will be a little less dependent on me and I will find more time.

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I feel with you. I have the same Routine. Life and staying alive draws a lot of Energy. I figured that sundays are usually a good time for me to be creative. But i have to start right after church and
before lunchtime and keep on tweaking some knobs inbetween afternoon coffee, playing with the kids, making Diner, Putting Kids to bed, so that right after they are in bed i can lift of the creative plane. Sometimes it leads to a nice Song plus Video, but also, more often, to a Song Sketch, that i will Pick Up the following sundays.

I’ve a job and a wife and 3 young kids (5, 5 and 10) and a house that is in constant need of cleaning, tidying and repair. My only time for anything not involving all that is after 11 pm.

Last night, I had to get cameras and a computer together for something I’m helping a relative with. That started at 11 and went on 'till midnight. Then midnight to 1.30 am, I got to sit in front of my music equipment. Then up at 7 am to start the whole cycle over again. I’m not a morning person, so I actually find working that late at night fine.

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Prime time for making music has varied. I’ve been most productive early in the morning. Getting up about 4am = Fresh as a daisy.
Doing music after work = unproductive.

This is only generally speaking.

It took me a while to begin the process of waking up at 4. I started the day with a Tai Chi warm up exercise and a cup of tea. For two weeks it felt strange to be getting so early but then it was normal.

It sounds like you need to give it a blast. Get up at 4 and stick to it for like two weeks. You’ve tried the late night thing already. You also kind of answered yourself when you talked about the potential purchase of an MPC Live.

My brain is burned at the end of the day too!

I also think that this 4am get up idea is something that will naturally feel great because it’s Spring time! :sunny:

I need to get back into that routine too.

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That sounds like a plan! I agree mornings are the best. Cheers to that

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Great advice there, that’s also when you happy accidents are most likely to happen! Thanks

@Sleepyhead thanks for sharing your 3 tips. I’v slimmed down the set up to one machine at a time. I do also try to do a bit everyday becauseI really want to, it’s just that I’m burned by the time I can play. Separating the creative process is a great idea, you kind of build up for later. Thanks for that

@mattleaf we kind of have few alone time hours in place but it’s a bit tough to commit to as kids are a bit unpredictable. Will try to get better at it, def worth it. And I’ll def try morning time more often.

@ManMadeDisaster it’s def great that you guys give eachother space. My baby is 2 so it’ll be a while before she’s a teenager, hehe.

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This is what I do (if I want to ensure a solid block of uninterrupted time). It’s not easy, and I usually have to cut sessions short right when the groove gets good, but it’s better than nothing. I’m OK with never finishing anything since it’s a hobby / creative outlet for me. With Octratrack, I’m enjoying the process of returning to establish projects with new ideas. It helps alleviate the stress of starting from scratch every time. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, though I still get more familiar with my gear with every use.

I recently picked up an OP-Z and due to it being so portable, I don’t mind taking it to just about anywhere. If I have a minute, I can turn it on and get something going very quickly. It has filled a specific need for me quite well. I’m not saying “buy an OP-Z” but maybe something that fits your style that is easily portable might help give you a chance to jam at other times than just late at night.

I will say, there’s a lot of good advice in this thread!

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Whenever my overlord grants me permission to.

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I usually jam for about 20 minutes in the morning before taking kids to school and going to work.

If I like the jam, I work on it for about 30-60 minutes in the evening between dinner, bedtime, etc.

I experiment with stuff when everyone’s asleep.

I do that routine almost everyday.

I’m most creative in the morning with a time restriction. It works for me. I also have a system for working.

It’s not great but I’m into making stuff like this these days.

https://m.soundcloud.com/djadonis206/maybe-techno

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I do the same thing, just in reverse. I work after I put the kids to sleep (9pm - 2am) then got to sleep. in the morning, i wake up listen to what i was working on the night before if I still like it, I’ll work on it again in the night. if not i’ll take a break(maybe a day or so) and start something new.

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Make music whenever you can. If it were up to me, I’d be in the studio all day every day. (My wife and kids think it’s kinda ridiculous) And it kinda is but it’s how I blow off steam and how I express my creative side. But alas duty calls. Work, wife, kids, house.

That stuff takes time and it should. Kids aren’t kids forever so they have to come first. I also make glass objects (not my full time gig) on the other side of my studio which provides a creative outlet. Plus money. Which my wife constantly reminds me of. My torch is like whispering in my ear when I’m making tunes. Damn my desire to make noise gets the better of me sometimes. Ok, I gotta get back to work. Good chat.

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When my children were small, I mostly stopped making music for a while. As they get older they stop wanting to hang out with you & that was when I started to make music again.

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I’m the same with at night after I put the fam to bed. It’s hard but if I find a minute or two I’ll try and get ideas started or tweaked so late night play has a foundation.

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Normally i feel more productive when i’m under pressure and have time contraints.
When i have a lot of time, i’m not so productive and sometimes nothings come’s out.
When this happens i try to remix something and sometimes i’ve something new from the remix

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