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Dude, I really don’t say this lightly, you are one of my KZfaq faves. I value authenticity and you’re doing a great job here. Keep blessing us with your vids.

I’m a 67 year old guy with a degree in Music Theory/Comp from Cal. St. Fullerton. I learned to write music before there were daws or you tube or sample libraries or internet or personal computers. The only electronic music i had ever heard was “Switched On Bach”. We had to write everything in our heads before we could get it down on paper. The only technology we had that the masters (Bach, Beethoven, etc) didn’t have was a pencil with an eraser. The production was done by someone else (the performers). Our focus was the foundation you talk about. We learned the difference between Creativity (the ability to stare into the dark and hear the music) and Craft (the ability to share it with someone else). Thanks for this great video. You hit the nail on the head.

For the lazy amongst us ;) =] 0:00 (ain't nobody got time for that) INTRO 1:14 STOP MAKING MUSIC 2:22 STEAL IDEAS 3:33 STOP PRACTICING 4:57 PRODUCE LESS 7:40 JUST PLAY THE DAMN SONG 9:35 OUTRO (or "That's all got for today; go away now")

It’s my lucky day. Lazy habits are the only kind I have!

One trick I have is to ALWAYS have a patch open in my DAW (usually an electric piano or some such thing) and play varying chord sequences while I watch a show (usually on KZfaq) on my TV, which is also my computer monitor. I keep the gain low enough that I don't drown out the video and if something interesting happens I'll pause the video and charge straight in. I start a lot of my work this way - no pressure, no rush - and I tend to crank out pieces left and right. My problem is when to STOP writing harmonic pieces (unless it's soundtrack work) and actually focus on lyrics and vocal melodies. I haven't found the magic elixir for THAT part, except for patiently waiting for some idea or snippet to jump into my brain.

that thumbnail lol

I’ve been fortunate enough to make music while I’m working. I work from home and I do customer service. In between calls I start my process of findings sounds and as the day goes on I work on my track little by little. By the end of my shift I have the idea of the track and by the end of the day I have the bulk of the song done. It’s been working for me for about 2 and a half years. 😎👍🏽

Leaving the faders and mix alone when you're making a new song is such a good tip. It really is all about sound selection and whether all the pieces fit together or not rather than trying to force them together from the get go.

Stop making music is such a cheat code. The intentionality behind creating is crazy. For "practicing" I think sometimes my "practice" is sitting down with an idea and learning to flesh it out to make it into something real but your so right. the application of your skills is the best. All of these tips are dope and reaffirming for what I like to do! I like the added context as well

What you said about using old school techniques and simpler mixing is so true. I see so much crap on social media with people getting into insane minutia with mixing when I keep saying "if your arranging and songwriting is good, mixing is a breeze".

7:24 is SUCH a GEM 💯 I try to get peers of mine to understand this when I critique them because they only seem to like something when it's produced to pristine quality when the song itself would not be NEARLY as good without production. The true test of a great song is if it still holds weight without the bells & whistles.

This is why I'm still subscribed to this channel. You just accurately portray what its like to make music. Even as a guy who has 5 or so videos on thier musician youtube account and countless unfinished tracks, i still relate to the guy whos doing this for a living. Excellent video, I'm glad I've stuck around.

You have no idea how much I like this genre of videos you make. Also you have no idea how much I actually needed to hear these tips. Thanks a lot!

Once again, here comes Venus to tell me exactly what I need to hear at just the right moment. Been learning more and more about mixing, and now I'm kinda caught in that trap.

The beginning of video is just describing all of our lives… All the crazy multitasking, video, marketing, leaning, practicing… all that on top of having another regular job that pays the bills - and in the end no rewards haha oh well

Some great insights VT. I enjoy your little rants and home-truths. Here's mine: I remember the absolute thrill when I purchased for an obscene amount of money, my first multitrack cassette tape deck (Tascam 244) - yep, FOUR tracks!! each one individually recordable, and you could "bounce" three tracks into one to get awesome multi-layered things happening. And then, shortly after that, another obscenely priced drum machine (Roland TR707) sent me into nirvana as I learnt the art of programming beat by beat the patterns and fills I desired, and then carefully backing them up to tape. Finally, a couple of years later, the same thrills when I bought my first synth (Ensoniq ESQ1) at an equally obscene price, and the buzz of creating new sounds to complement the massive 40-slot onboard patch library, and carefully backing the new ones up to tape.......(I say obscene, because in my country, you pay up to three times the price than you would in the USA). It's 2024: I choose from any number of absolutely mind-blowing DAW's and synth/drum plugins, but the thrill and buzz is absent: seemingly infinite tracks, infinite effects, infinite patches. The creative urge is still there, but the ratio of tool-tinkering to playing music back in the day in now reversed. What I mean is, once I had my "tools" set up, and figured out how get music out of them, I just switched them on and started making music. Today, half my available "music" time might be filled up with PC problems, updates of software, compatibility issues, authorisation (thanks iLok), insane download/install programs that almost every vendor feels compelled to use, checking out recommendations, trying a different reverb plugin because the last one just went weird for a certain setting, useless hours fine-tuning 100 tracks when I've only got 5 instruments, "housekeeping" all those plugins and unused tracks, backups, etc, etc, etc, not to mention software glitches and crashes. The technology is amazing, but it can also kill productivity, and now, with AI, probably can kill creativity. I used to smirk at seeing some guitar legend on stage who had to change guitars at every song, and thinking "why the photon can't he just use one?" But I realise, given how I do music these days, I do the same.

I'm fairly new to music production and your channel as well, and I gotta say you have the best balance of motivation/inspiration and reality checks of the online music production community and you have my ever lasting thanks for that. Due to my 9 to 5 and commute times, I can barely put in one or two hours of work into my music every day. Listening to your videos during working hours at the office has played a huge part on reminding me why I keep pushing to try and create music when I get home, and just wanted to share that with you. Never stop creating, man. You're awesome.

I think of music making as discovering more than creating. Because "all music as already been written" and "nothing is new under the sun", turning it to personnal discovery by making the music is the most beautiful way i can think about it. Everybody can write, and discover, just like someone walks or travel somewhere. Nobody denies a trip because "other people have been there"

I just love your videos. They are so filled with art, and good information on top of that. Just know your work is loved and respected, and appreciated by a lot of people! ❤

brings back memories of an old classic which i read decades ago while backpacking in the mountains of Yukon, Thaddeus Golas, "The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment"

Hey, this is great stuff! Thanks a lot! I've recently seen an interview to one of the Air members (the French duet) and he says that he's made his most intereseting stuff just by being a limited and "bad musician" in a way. Many times coping with limitations is what makes you do very interesting stuff, there is many virtuoso stuff that's sooo so boring, maybe because that makes you kind of limitless.

Just stopping by cause that thumbnail is FIRE!!!!

Thank you mustache man. Billy Schu here. 40 plus years of recording, my go to is still to play live to my tracks. allows me to be "in the pocket". My down fall is having unlimited tracks to keep adding parts.

Ennio Morricone made film scores taking here or there. The magic was, he make them sound like a unique, unforgettable thing called geinius... He once made a song based on the french police siren. It was "Se telefonando" by Mina!

As a “gentleman of a certain age” …I remember the dawn of the computer based sequencer, and its metamorphosis into today’s DAW. I’m way happier to do my music today because of the ease at which I can do it. Side note: your first time editing TAPE is frightening. But what I do like is that my “old timey” experience has made me better with today’s tools. Yes… all options are open and endless track counts await me. But being able to (mostly) play all my parts live, and get my ideas down efficiently is something I love… and I think is missing for some. Unfortunate. The quote that always stuck in my head was from a person I worked with who worked at a major music equipment company: “If your music takes more than 16 tracks… I don’t know if I want to hear it.” This has stuck with me and helps keep me on track. I’m going to go yell at some clouds now.

I think he makes the most quality and unique music production videos on KZfaq ❤❤

I have been implementing a monthly habit of producing something within 1 hour with my DAW. And it can be hot garbage but at least it helped me maintain or create stuff that I've been inspired by during my downtime. Plus it helps me pinpoint things that I need to do research or learn about once I'm done with my exercize. At the end I can also improve and polish whatever I made within that timespan.

If you look at so many of the classic jazz albums, they recorded it live often direct to two tracks with no subsequent mixing. Mistakes happen and if the overall take was good, that's what you heard on the record. Your sound was your sound with minimal effects processing. Recording complete performances live tells you a lot about what does or doesn't sound good, etc. You can still record that way with a DAW.

I'm very much impressed by how easily you managed to communicate these broad but very well selected valuable advice through a 10 min. video. - The quote "there's a tremendous power in using the least amount of information to get a point across" does astonishingly well suit the work you must have put into making this video. I'm very pleased to come across your work today, last but not least also because it's just a great thing to see interesting thoughts being shared in such a humane and relatable way on KZfaq in times when many people continue to create completely sterile or overhyped "content". So thank you, keep up the good work! Off topic: You've mentioned in your review of the arturia keylab that you have again found great joy in your profession after having started with many new freelance projects. What kind of music projects are you busy with these days? I'm working as a full time composer/musician and audio engineer in Germany (close to the french border) and I'd be seriously interested in listening to some of your work if you feel like showing me one or two of your favorite projects. Of course only if time permits, don't we all got busy schedules because of Mrs. Music? ;) Best greetings

This is life advice beyond just music production.

Great to hear the Charlie Parker quote in there, love you for that! A huge benefit of not spending a lot of time editing, manipulating, fixing it... (this is just my experience) whatever it is the first or second pass is always the real essence of it. At least if you're trying to capture something "fresh" or spontaneous.

You make my favorite channel. Only 25% due to audacity to tell us to get the F*#k off youtube. The remaining 75% is spread across the content type, messaging and its direct execution, humor timing, narrative cadences, audio taste/dynamics and all around production quality. Damn dude. 🤘

this video is incredible man, literally every point you made resonated with me so much, ive been producing for years, never released a song. have had a really rough few years, and have finally picked it up again and am going to give it my all. youve inspired me to just DO IT and not sit around waiting for it to happen. so thank you

You definitely make some of the most engaging stuff I find on KZfaq. Thanks dude!

Started making beats around 1999 on a MPC. It started with Drum N Bass and underground Hiphop, then experimental Synth, Industrial, and noise etc. After trying to learn multiple genres, I'm at the point where i take gaps of time off listening to other peoples work, and not sticking to a a particular genre when i create, for me that's when my best ideas come out, and new forms grow.

Love your videos, Venus! Thanks man

Honestly, your videos help me so much to reframe my perspective and refocus on what actually matters and makes music. Thank you

been trying to tell my clients this for 15 years - the source is so much more important than the mastering chain

I find I'm most productive if I have a goal. For example, last year I said to myself "I've got two months of time, let's make an album", thought about a vibe, a theme for the whole thing for a while and then started pumping out tracks. I didn't end up having those 2 months, but I worked on it for almost a year in my free time and got it done this spring. I wrote 2 hours of music I'm really happy with in a year, after having basically nothing for the 3 years before that, where I just sat down to "make some music" 3 times a week.

Love your channel, man. Another great video. I've noticed your filming / editing / lighting in recent videos is just so fucking sick. Props.

Thank you for helping my confidence.

As someone that started music very late in life and spending the last decade trying to get better at it, the notion of stopping practice just floored me.

I started working DAWless the last few months. I do design my drum sounds and record and trigger a few samples - some vocals, reverse sweeps, maybe a pad, etc - but use no sounds I can't get out of my hardware. I record the main stereo bus only - the mix is whatever I think is good enough at the time. It's been an incredible experience. The music sounds better, feels more alive, I'm more creative. Limitations breed creativity.

This video sums up so many things about making music that I've always wanted to say, without knowing exactly what or how to say them... lol

The hardest part of making music is the endless options and choices. So, I try to give myself only a few choices at each stage of creating. Not only does it make the process easier, but it also commits me to keep moving forward. I finish pieces because I "burn" most of my "bridges" behind me.

You have helped me a lot since I started making music. You were the first KZfaqr that I started following, and I learned a lot by watching you. So, thanks, Cameron."🫡

Dude you are becoming one of my favourites. you say it like it is.. I have now banned my self from scrolling KZfaq during productive hours. because of this exactly. I sendup watching more music making then I get done then I lost interesting go the track as its been to long since it really moved on & then I have hundreds of loops.. so this came at the right time!

Gotta agree that it's much better to play the keyboard than push the DAW spreadsheet cells around. I am not a musician, but I play one when I work through a tune by memorizing where my fingers are on the piano keyboard. And while I'm doing that, sometimes my hand slips and my fingers land on much more interesting notes. "Okay. Change of plan." That simply doesn't happen when I go click, click, click on the piano roll window.

Lovely essay. Happy to see Reaper DAW make some cameos. I agree that "playing" at least some of the parts into your DAW. It makes the tune personal at least. My kid complains about some of my off-grid notes, but I choose to call that "feel." YMMV.

Great stuff there man, thanks for the big smile on my face.

You and Bo Beats are the only KZfaqrs who I remember to check on when I haven't had a notification in a while.

The background music texture is stellar!

Recently I've taken a hyper focused approach to writing music. I come from a house / dubstep background where sound design was the most important part. Now I'm looking to write more thematic melodies and rich chord progressions. I've started challenging myself to just use piano or a sin wave patch to write out catchy songs without the pressure or distraction of synth tweaking or endless presets.

Great video man - love this advice

Thanks for this video. Really good info, super well presented. You bring great realism into the general music industry dialogue. Good stuff. Best from Berlin.

Such great wisdom . . . after you carve out the cynicism. The biggest problem for me (and probably everyone else) is wanting to utilize the myriad exotic tools at our disposal. That is how you end up in trouble. So your point about simplifying is well taken. My solution is to make several versions of the same song. Each version has it's own set of plugins, arrangements, and production techniques. That way you get to experiment with many different sounds and have some creative fun.

I really like (and value!) your realistic attitude and advice… obviously, personally well learned. Thanks!

that thumbnail made me feel things I'm not sure I consented to

One of your best videos! Every artist needs to hear this in their life!

That's so true, sometimes I've tried too hard and it could have been done in a more relaxed way, because in the end you probably won't get millions of whatever out of it. If you do, then you're "kinda" lucky, but if not, at least you haven't beaten yourself up.

Didn't have to watch more than a minute to know I still love every video you do

awesome stuff... as always. i go back to pre computer days and restrict what i can do. too easy to stare at the screen for every as you say. I like how Springsteen after he had a huge hit he stayed at home with a crappy 4 track tape machine and made his next albumn

Your videos are great! I love how you take a complex and potentially discouraging topic and make it both relatable and engaging. It never feels like I'm being lectured to, which is a real talent.

Amazing and inspiring!

I love the colour grading on this vid

Thanks! This video really resonated with me. I think I needed this perspective right now. Intentionality is the name of the game, after attaining a certain amount of knowledge about the craft.

Most Excellent!!! Thank you!!!

As someone who has maybe 30-60 minutes per night to do music, this really resonated with me. I think it's great that you acknowledge the reality of this for so many people. I don't have the luxury of sitting for 18 hours per day in front of my DAW. And I think - given these kind of constraints - it's useful to acknowledge that I don't have to completely reinvent music from scratch to come up with something worthwhile. Teenage Kicks wasn't breathtakingly original but it was still John Peel's favourite song. I struggle with this. After a heavy diet of Aphex Twin's intricate programming in esoterica software, it's dispiritingly easy to think there's no point in making music if any aspect of it has been done before. But I think of it like sitting down to a meal in a restaurant: I don't need this meal to completely reinvent food from the ground up to be incredibly entertained by what I'm eating; it's the tastefulness of the choices that have been made and that kitchen's unique combination of choices that are fun to experience. It doesn't have to be molecular gastronomy to be enjoyable. I'm here now, this is what's on the menu; am I enjoying it? Am I raving about it to my friends? So, by necessity, I've found the most inspiring ideas erupt out out of enagaging with music as a "play" activity. Some things I do that end up being most rewarding for me: - an hour of just noodling on the guitar, piano, or a really limited selection of electronic hardware (grooveboxes, synths, samplers) - without overthinking what I'm doing; take it into the DAW later and see what comes of it; no production, no finessing - on the flipside, sitting at the DAW thinking "I'm going to play with X idea"; like "make a heavy sounding electronic track in 6/8 time because I never do stuff like that" For me, it helps to remember it's not a calling or a job or an ambition, it's something I do for fun, so make sure it IS fun; whenever I do it like this, I come up with FAR more interesting stuff

I love your intros.

I'm going to print a poster in my rehearsal/producing room with that Rick Rubin's quote. For real!

These videos keep getting better and better. Great story, amazing videography and editing. And there are not many KZfaqrs that actually make me laugh. Every vid is a must watch!

I make my best music when I have no idea what I’m doing. If I’m lucky, I did hit record. And remember that Less is Paul, or however the saying goes😉 I totally agree that playing “live” is highly recommended. I worked as a semi-pro bass player for over thirty years and learned so much about playing economically, finding the pocket and fitting my part of the arrangements. Recently, I made my debut playing rock organ. I found the trick to be to, mostly, play as few notes as possible at the same time and to avoid fifths and thirds. And of course using my left hand to adjust draw bars, Leslie and volume. Another great video. Thank you 𝄢

Every musician I’ve heard give advice will say that you should just rapidly create new stuff and move on. It’s nice to hear a fresh perspective on producing less. I think it’s probably one of those things where adhering to blanket rules is a bad idea. I think there is wisdom in rapidly churning out new ideas but I also think that there is value in sticking to one of those ideas long enough to really go into great depth of thought and quality with many iterations until it can become something extremely polished and not just another song in the pile of songs. When an artist like Michelangelo started to carve a marble statue, he was inherently making a commitment to devoting months if not years on this one piece of art, and to see it through to the end. The nature of carving a statue of stone is not something you can just churn out rapidly. I think music can be like that too. Once you find that idea that’s worth iterating on, maybe it’s time to make a bigger commitment to it.

This was beautiful. Thank you!

This channel is a treasure and this video is pure gold! found this channel recently and every single video I watched helped me improve in production, the funny thing is:: none of them was showing any DAW or "technique" or whatever, it was pure and simple experience share, which is what music is really about, sharing your thoughts with others. I'm really thankful for you taking your time making this content. Bless! Greetings from Brasil also xD

There are quite a few reasons I luv your content. One-you use Reaper 🙂 and two-your talks are very inspiring. Thank you

always love your encouraging and funny videos :)

"there is a difference between lazy and efficient, however it's not always that far between them". I've read a similar thing from another musician, Robert Fripp, phrased thus: "Don't aim to do as little as possible, aim to do only as much as is necessary"

You've got the best music making videos on the internet brother. Seriously your videos are some of the only ones that I find truly inspiring for making music. Thanks for all your hard work and I'll keep watching as long as you keep putting these out.

You are the most inspiring dude out there thanks for these ❤

Really great point about the arranging and editing process. I definitely have found lately when I'm in that phase of things it tends to result in things being removed that aren't adding anything to the song or are just cluttering it up. Great video with some great thoughts

You are so funny. Practicing is more important to me than composing is because it makes creating music easier and more fun. To quote Miles Davis "If you sound good in the practice room, you're not doing it right."

Well done!! As usual a great video!!!

For someone new to all of this it's been tough trying to learn gear(need to stop watching geartube) but also the aspects necessary to actually create music that hopefully other can appreciate and enjoy. Love your short life lesson videos.

You make the most weirdly motivating videos, thank you :)

I am Mastering my first track I ever wrote this week. I have hope because the section about "only doing the rough mix with faders and panners" - That's EXACTLY how I did it - mostly because the Multiband Compressor is SCARY :D :D :D

I love your ability to disrespect while also encouraging us. one love!

work fast, like prince, this is one of my rules, stay out of the mind and hyper focus, find sounds that work , move forward. find the flow state

So damn good, Venus. Very validating to hear some of my own thoughts on topic from actually working composer)

I am happy that I play in a band, in addition to making beats or whatever. I get to do live performances and release albums, so I don’t feel any pressure to make or release beats. Also, my band has a guy who can write entire songs and play every instrument better than the rest of us, so I don’t have to create and arrange entire songs all by myself. It also removes the pressure of releasing music, because it is not 100% mine and I am therefore not 100% responsible for what I release.

@VenusTheory Thanks, I needed that! 👍

I've never believed samples can't capture the artist's intent so much as a real instrument, but like anything you have to play them like real instruments.

This is fantastic advice. I've been making music for years, primarily on software, and I just always felt overwhelmed. I would spend hours twiddling with knobs I didn't understand. I recently switched to fully DAWless, and while that word comes with a lot of baggage, it has helped my productivity tremendously. I've made more music in the last four months than the last decade combined as far as finished tracks. There's something about having to rehearse and record the whole track live onto a field recorder that makes it much easier to say, "that take was good enough. Let's move on." As a person new to the world of hardware, your voice shines through as a very rare voice of reason in the KZfaq music production space. So thank you. I'm turning KZfaq off now.

Your videos never fail to motivate me. Amazing work brother 🫡

I like that part about ''not mixing''. I get lots of comments on my channel like ''show how you mixed this or that'' but the truth is, I almost don't mix at all...I just design/choose well my sounds/samples. Like you said, in the end mixing is just polishing an almost finished product. And if I do use ''lots'' of plugins, it's for a sound design purpose and not mixing. If your EQ looks like a roller coaster, somethings wrong. lol great video as usual man, 👌

The intro on what music is today bro is so accurate . That's basically the dilemma am in😅

thx for your work man

Thanks!

Some of the best music I made, was created by me trying to copy a track I loved and completely failing at it. I tried one thing and ended up with something else that inspired me.