A simple technique to finish more music

Hey there,

So finishing music is hard.

And there’s this problem in particular that’s been snagging a lot of my intermediate students.

It’s kinda baked into the whole process of making music.

Today, we're diving into:

• What this problem is

• One simple exercise to overcome it

• A way to action this for yourself

The Problem

As a music producer, you're kinda like one-person band. You've got to master all sorts of skills like; sound design, idea generation, arrangement, mixing, and so on.

But here's the catch: when you make music you don’t actually practise all of these skills evenly

You might practise sound design and synthesis, get stuck in the loop and never get around to arrangement and mixing.

You get put in this weird limbo where you can't quite wrap up that last 40% of a track, and well, you end up not getting better at the skills needed for that last 40% because of it.

It’s a tricky one.

But what if we could practice finishing songs, without actually finishing songs?

Enter: The One Hour Music Producer

Here's the situation

You've got 60 minutes to work on all the skills needed to make and wrap up a tune.

Instead of trying to craft a whole song from start to finish, we break it down into stages. We set time limits for each part of the music-making process.

What my hour might look like:

• 15 Minutes on Sound Design

  • No set plan, just create

  • Build up a stash of different sounds

• 20 Minutes Loop Building

  • Focus on a particular theme (e.g groove)

  • Organise the sounds into an idea

• 5 Minutes for Sample Selection

  • Focusing on selecting sounds that work together

• 10 Minutes on Arrangement

  • Piece together one section of the track

  • Focus on building dynamics, tension and release

• 10 Minutes for Tweaking

  • Basic mix touch-ups

  • Balancing levels

  • EQ & effects

Of course, you should definitely tweak this plan to suit yourself.

Spend a whole hour on a category if you need— or maybe just structure the session around your weak spots.

If you're one of those folks who always struggles to wrap up the final stretch of your tracks, this could be a great exercise for you.

Happy producing!

Hope this helps,
Luca

P.S. I’m currently taking in new students for 1-on-1 coaching program.

Reach out if you want to chat more about whether this might be right for you!