DJ Chimney Sparrow

Quick Update

First of all, I’m officially passing my 300-hour mark today! Booyah.

I’m closing in on finishing the structural elements of my latest track, which I’ve renamed “There Will Be Dragons” (when you hear it, you’ll know why). Hoping to wrap that up today.

Once that’s done, I think it’s time I researched and invested in a proper DAW. Garageband is great and all, but, well.. you know.

I’m pretty anal about decisions like this, so expect an extensive spreadsheet with the pros and cons for each to be posted here in the near future. Cheers.

Sleep is For Quitters (and Me)

Lack of sleep is one of the greatest dangers I know. Yes, I realize that’s privilege talking, but let me explain.

I’m Bad at Taking Breaks

I’ve been taking a pause on making full mixes since I posted “Motivation” – thought it was time to learn some new things before I got back in the saddle.

Part of that process involved making shorter loops I throw into a library for use later. Gotta still use what you learn, right?

Well, today I might have gotten a bit carried away. Here’s a quick overview of my thoughts around noon:

“This lead sound is pretty decent. I can totally imagine what the bassline would sound like. Might as well make that too.”

“Yeah, sounds even better with the bass! But it needs some momentum. Maybe I’ll add an arpeggiator?”

“Holy crap, YES! Now it just needs a beat, some hi hats, a snare-like sound…”

Yeah, you can see where this is going.

I’m calling the track “Big Cat” for now. Let’s see if I can get’er’done by the end of the month.

Hey folks, song #2 is officially uploaded to the “free music” section. It’s about seven minutes long, so get cozy if you plan to listen straight through. I’m taking a short break before I start the next one to learn some things.

Why Creating is Hard

EDIT: I wrote this experience down in my journal, then decided to share it, as a way of reminding others who deal with anxiety and negative self-talk that they are not alone. If that sounds like something that might be triggering for you, best to leave this one alone.

The Purgatory Approach to Getting Sh*t Done

As a very distractible human being, staying focused on a single task has always been a struggle for me.

It was even worse when I was younger. I ran an errand for a teacher – something that should have taken 5 minutes at most – only to be yelled at upon my return for wasting half an hour getting there and back.

I have no recollection of what I did during that time.

Volume Shaper 6 is Awesome

NOTE: I am in no way compensated by the Cable Guys for the following review. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I downloaded Volume Shaper from the Cable Guys website while looking for sidechain compression options for my last track. It’s part of their Shaperbox 2 bundle for $99 USD, but you can just buy the volume shaper for $34 if you want.

Less than a month later, and I’m using it on almost every instrument.

Track One Complete

It is done…

A Non-Comprehensive List of Temptations

Today, I’m finishing my first song built from scratch. It’s been surprisingly fun to do so – I dunno, I expected it to be.. harder? Surely any time now someone will laugh at my childish attempt at music, and point out no less than three hundred things I’ve missed.

We shall see.

Regardless, it’s SO MUCH FUN learning new ways to mess around with sound. I’m like a kid building with Lego blocks, and I keep finding new ones strewn around the floor (which is the standard place to store Lego, I believe).

Excitement aside, I remain wary of my progress. I got farther than this before in an entrepreneurial endeavour before burning out – and I almost got sued too, but that’s another story.

To help make sure that doesn’t happen again, thought I’d write about the self-sabotaging habits I’ve spotted so far.

A Way to Live

I am not a philosopher, but I often play one in my journal. Recently I sat down and wrote the following: