I am SURE the goal I'm helping you achieve at the start of 2022:
To double the quality and quantity of your music by March...
…is a fraction of what you could do, no matter who you are.
I'm understating what's possible because if I don't, you're unlikely to believe me. For instance, if I said that by this time next year, you'd be writing to me to say this:
"I now finish 10 quality tracks a month whereas previously it would take me a year to achieve a similar output I was happy with."
...would you be telling me I was full of it?
Yet this is how Kenichi Sakuda's music changed by implementing the Automatic Music Machine system.
Of course, Keni didn't 12X his quality music output within a couple of months. He practised the system for over a year as an active member of the classes and community.
(Because you get lifetime access to all future live classes of the program and the coaching community forever!)
Within weeks, I also know Keni got immediate results right off the bat!
But how?
Well, the Automatic Music Machine is a revolutionary system that it's not going to be possible to describe in a series of emails. You have to DO IT. And the quickest results come when doing it with the help of the coaches.
(Which is why it's a live online program.)
But I understand you might not be ready for the commitment, and I want you to get results whether you choose to join the program or not.
So below, I'll give you a basic 6 step Automatic Music Machine framework for running your music sessions. This will be a great start.
Then tomorrow, I'll share what to do IN your sessions.
Get ready to TAKE NOTES!
1. At the end of EVERY session on ANY track, ALWAYS RECORD OR EXPORT a stereo audio file.
Even if you've not done much, or what you have done is rubbish!
Then before you do the next session on the track, don't start by opening up the DAW project. Instead, listen to the audio file you recorded or exported from the previous session.
Before doing any session, NEVER LISTEN BY PLAYING THE DAW PROJECT!!!
Because if you do this, you will be listening with your eyes.
(That's not what eyes are for.
Plus, there is a significant PERCEPTUAL shift between listening to an audio file and listening to something playing out of a DAW. It's a little spooky, but I promise it's real.
As the listener WON'T be listening to a DAW file, listening back to your in-progress music as audio is a more realistic perspective.
And that's not the only reason...
Even if you listen with your eyes closed or the monitor off, when it plays out of a DAW, it's much harder to focus on HEARING the music and not your THOUGHTS about the music.
This is an ESSENTIAL understanding. From coaching 10s of 1000s of musicians over the last decade, I'm convinced that most people DON'T HEAR their music.
Because their mind is clouded by monkey brain thoughts ABOUT the music.
So when listening to an audio file, while this problem still exists, it's reduced - because you don't have the DAW open.
In an ideal world, you want to hear the music FIRST, then decide how to improve it.
Now, this is easier said than done. This is why there's a whole training on what I call "Direct Listening" in the program...
Just last week, a one to one client told me how this practice has changed his life and music for the better. He's now making the kind of music he's wanted to make for years but has never been able to.
He is now listening to THE MUSIC he's making, and not the distracting thoughts (often about what people might think) ABOUT the music.
So while I can't give you an in-depth Direct Listening program today, but for now, ensure you do this:
ALWAYS record or export an audio file at the end of each session.
ALWAYS listen to this audio file before working on a track, NOT THE DAW PROJECT!
2. DO NOT listen back to any songs between sessions (apart from listening just before a session.)
I know this is counter-intuitive as I've helped some producers who listen to their music 1000s of times between sessions.
(And they wonder why they struggle to finish!)
If you listen over and over between sessions, it seems you're gaining an understanding of the track.
And in a certain sense, there is truth to this...
You are gaining a DIFFERENT understanding of the music.
But ask yourself - is it a BETTER understanding?
What happens when you listen over and over?
Tiny details become larger and larger.
The big picture recedes into the background.
Your perspective distorts.
You see, the act of making music is, BY DEFINITION, a loss of objectivity about that music.
If you repeatedly listen between sessions, you are further losing objectivity.
And aside from all that, let's face it...
You're also going to get bored of it WAY QUICKER. Take it from me, who has finished way too much music I'm sick of...
Utter boredom isn't the ideal state when attempting to improve music!!!
Before every session, you'll listen once, maybe twice.
Then you'll hear the music with more clarity. You'll gain a clearer idea of what you need to do to improve it. You'll maintain the crucial "listen as a listener" focus to make the quality music you know you can.
3. Increase time between sucessive sessions on any given track.
This might be tricky if you're on modular or hardware (like I am). Also, it is problematic when you're on a deadline.
But as a general principle, remember this:
If possible, NEVER do back to back sessions on the same track. Because once again, the break is delivering perspective and objectivity.
Of course, if you're taking 3 days break between sessions on a song, finishing loads of music would take AGES.
This makes your action lists quick and straightforward to make, and your efforts focused on improving the music (and NOT spinning your wheels.)
But for now, get into the habit of making a plan of action before each session.
5. Don't focus on quality DURING sessions.
This is the most counter-intuitive instruction of the lot. But it's also the GAME-CHANGER of all game-changers.
Because you are deciding what to do OUTSIDE the studio, you are SEPARATING the judgement from the action.
In other words, you are separating your Editor from your Creator. How does this help?
When driving, if you push the accelerator and brake simultaneously, what happens?
You go round in circles. Dare I say it, you start...
LOOPING!
(Sound familiar?)
By reserving judgement until you're out of the studio, you judge what you have done when you are more objective.
You're also removing friction from your music sessions by leaving judgment outside the studio.
Remember fun?
That's what you have.
LOADS OF IT.
And that means you're multiplying the chances you'll enter that sacred flow state…
(To be honest, that flow state is starting to become the default for me now!)
Now, from coaching many 1000s to "let go of quality" while making music, some find this harder than others.
But don't stress if you're thinking:
"I'll try, but it's so hard to avoid my quality judgements?"
"If I let go of quality - how do I know what to do next?"
"How can ignoring quality increase the quality?"
...because 100s of musicians, composers and music producers have been right where you are now
Practice leads to greater awareness.
Greater awareness leads to insight.
Insight leads to understanding.
And if you're in this situation now, please consider doing the program. Because you'll get specific creative games and directions, which create the conditions to avoid getting hung up.
But suppose you're not yet ready for the complete program.
Your first step is to recognise your quality-o-meter as the number 1 roadblock to making music you can be proud of.
Yes, I know that sounds backwards. Unfortunately, it takes the ability to "let go" for the penny to drop on how much it helps. But EVERYONE can develop this ability.
Think of it like this:
How often has your opinion of a track you're working on changed, even though the music hasn't?
What does your answer tell you about your opinion or quality judgement at any given moment?)
6. Do SHORT sessions.
Having an impending end focuses your mind.
You don't have time to second guess yourself.
The more time, the more pointless details you get lost in.
Your ears get tired, and again you lose the race with boredom!
What's great about a short session is you'll find you CAN make a lot of music in a crazy busy life. You DO NOT need a multi-hour period to make stellar progress on your music.
Uber focus on what counts in every session equals colossal progress in tiny amounts of time.
But if you're not ready to commit to the Automatic Music Machine program yet, treat this as a practice:
Start by doing 30 minutes, and focus on SPEED and actions which make the MOST difference.
So now I've given you this simplified 6 step structure for running your sessions; the real magic can begin!
As tomorrow I'll give you WHAT TO DO during sessions.
One of the many magical elements of the Automatic Music Machine is that it separates your creative process into definable stages:
Splurge
Discover
Draft
Done
Release
Separating these stages reduce the number of options and decisions you have to choose from. It focuses your choices on the highest leverage actions at any given point.
So I'll share this with you tomorrow, but while you wait - find out what you'll get in the entire Automatic Music Machine program here:
P.S. Tomorrow I’ll share how the Automatic Music Machine transforms good ideas into killer tracks.
It blows my mind that I used to find making music so painful. It's now more like breathing - a breeze! Tomorrow you'll discover how to create this for yourself.
Before then, check out what's in the full system here:
