I am frequently guilty of losing sight of the doing/learning balance. By that I mean the balance between learning how to do something better, and actually doing it.
The first time I tried to start a business (teaching online dance lessons), I became trapped by the doing, and didn’t have time or energy left for the learning. I was running to stand still.
Music production has the potential to do the same thing – there’s SO many cool things I want to learn, it’s easy to get lost in Youtube and Masterclass videos without actually applying any of them.
At the same time, when I’m closing in on a new song, it’s easy to forget the learning and put all my energy into getting it printed. Which prevents me from using the tricks I picked up previously.
So, I’ve devised a simple way to ensure I continue doing both.
Every morning, before I start working on my track, I decide what kind of work will take up the majority of my day. Maybe I’ll be focusing on layering my tracks to create more texture, or maybe I’m at the EQ/compression phase.
Then I watch one or two videos on the subject, taking notes as I go. Finally, I try to apply at least one thing I’ve learned when I switch over to music production.
Of course, this can be a delicate balance as well: I don’t want to continually rework my tracks every time I learn a new technique. So I only use the things that seem simplest to do, and I try not to apply them retroactively (unless something really blew my mind).
You mean… Reverb isn’t ALWAYS a good thing??
On the other hand, if something I’m learning requires a lot more research to move beyond the conceptual stage, I’ll try and tackle it in between projects. That way, I don’t lose too much momentum on whatever I’m currently working on.
Credits:
‘Man Holding Balance Scale’ by JJ Jordan from Pexels
‘Man in Black Crew Neck T-shirt and Black Pants Sitting on Black Chair’ by Eugene Capon from Pexels