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THE roadmap to double your music
THE roadmap to double your music

How much music did you finish in 2021?

If you could double what you finished last year (with zero loss in quality), but BEFORE March this year…

Would you take this opportunity?

Lee did:

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"I completely finished 4 tracks in 6 weeks. (Previously it took me a full year to complete 2 tracks.) "- Lee Sale⁠

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Maybe you've been making music for some time but never finished a piece of music?

What if you KNEW you could finish FIVE songs by March - would you make this choice? Jamie did:

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"Having never finished a track before, I now have 5 tracks done, several in the pipeline and the tools to create and finish more. Without this Machine I would still be stuck." - Jamie Bull⁠

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The thing is, I KNOW you can achieve results just like these.

I'm sure neither Lee nor Jamie would mind me telling you THEY STRUGGLED. As Jamie also said:

"For years I suffered with procrastination, perfectionism and a feeling that I didn't know 'enough' about music creation."

So how are you going to at least double your music before March?

I'm about to share a map of ANY creative process (no matter your genre) by breaking it into stages.

We'll pretend you are doing the Automatic Music Machine program. I'll give you what to focus on and ignore at each stage.

So even if you don't want to

commit to the Automatic Music Machine program⁠

yet, you'll have a simple outline of what to do to transform your creative process.

Let's start at the beginning:

SPLURGE

You might believe you do not have a problem starting ideas. But in a decade of coaching music producers, almost everyone I've ever met does.

At the first stage of the creative process, you want to be engaged in the musical equivalent of "brainstorming".

I call this SPLURGING:

ZERO focus on quality. NO EDITING.

Go as fast as possible. NO SECOND-GUESSING.

Just get as many ideas out as you can in the shortest time possible.

A "Splurge" does not need to be anything in particular.

It can be a simple groove or a near-complete track. A "complete" Splurge isn't a defined result. A Splurge is done when you don't know what to do next or realise you're moving, removing, or improving.

So when you're done with a Splurge (no matter what it is), record or export the result, and don't listen back for at least 7 days.

Then, out of the many SPlurges you create, choose what to move forward into…

DISCOVER

Often music producers don't quite know what to do in Discover.

The Music Production Industrial Complex has trained them to let the craft eclipse their Art.

After splurging an idea, you might think you're CERTAIN what it wants to be. This is a mistake.

Because the ARTIST is found in Discovery!

If you're SURE too soon, you don't give the idea a chance to become something BETTER. Something you CAN'T or WOULDN'T think of. What you're already sure of is based upon what is already out there.

But in Discovery, you're giving the idea space to blossom and grow into something you WOULDN'T think of.

You know those songs by legends where you wonder, "how on earth did they think of that?"

The fact is they didn't. These legendary musicians DISCOVERED that.

So when your ideas are in the Discover stage, play creative games to see what comes from the pro0ces itself.

Trust me, if you're too set on what any given idea could be right off the bat - you'll be severely contracting the quality of music you could be making.

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And in the complete program, I've developed a whole host of Discover games and experiments that always bring surprising results... ⁠

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Sometimes these results are terrible. But that's ok, because when they're not - they create PURE GOLD.

DRAFT

Now that you have discovered what the idea wants to be, you are creating the first draft. You are making "what it wants to be"!

In practice, you'll arrange and do a ROUGH mix. I'll take each of these in turn:

Arrangement

You want to create a piece of music that leads to a payoff moment.

This is the moment in the track where it all makes sense—the musical punchline.

By focusing on this payoff, you're simplifying the arrangement process with a defined goal.

I've lost count of the times the piece has written itself once I have the payoff. !

Mixing

At this draft stage - DO NOT focus on tiny details.

Instead, focus on creating SPACES in your track.

Place each of the parts to create a 3D space or more than one space for each section.

By creating these spaces with your mix, you've made a single decision that makes many of the other choices for you.

So instead of getting hung up on some vague notion of "punchiness', "clarity", or "balance", you have a clear unchanging goal.

PLUS, by doing a ROUGH mix and not focusing on details at this point, you are saving an enormous amount of time.

Because in the Automatic Music Machine…

YOU DO NOT release all the music you get into:

DONE

Now it's arranged, and you have a rough mix, the first draft goes into DONE. It stays there for at least 7 days without you listening to it.

You see, what you decide to Release wants to be a small percentage of what you get into "Done". You choose what to prepare for Release from your "Done" music.

This takes the pressure off.

It leads to creative freedom.

It gives you the space to have fun!

And you're multiplying your time. Because that final 10% of getting a song ready usually takes the longest.

Do the "Release Prep" stage on select few songs, and you'll make much more music.

What's weird here is that you don't release less music this way. Why do you think so many machinists are choosing to release one track a week in 2022?

What's more, this is another quality control feature.

So, when working on any music - avoid "the release decision" until you need to make it.

Be ok with getting music done, which you're not sure about.

RELEASE

To prepare the music for Release effectively and without fuss, focus on this alone:

Solving problems in the music.

You DO NOT want to be focused on the infinite number of things the music ISN'T.

This is why "what's missing?" is SUCH a terrible question to ask at this late stage, EVEN if it feels like something IS missing!

Instead, ask yourself:

What is the PROBLEM?

You see, problems EXIST.

What's missing DOESN'T EXIST.

You can hear the problems, and they are FINITE.

You cannot hear what's missing, and what could be missing is INFINITE.

If you've ever got to this stage and the track keeps turning into something else - it's because you're not focused on solving problems.

So in the Machine, there's a simple process for improving your music by focusing on the problems.

A: Articulate the problems clearly

B: Brainstorm possible solutions

C: Create a simple session plan

D: Do a short session

Now obviously, being able to articulate problems takes training and practice. But EVERYONE can do it with a bit of help.

You already have expert ears (from all the music you've listened to), and defining the problems is nowhere near as difficult as you think.

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But in the program, we get super deep on identifying problems and finding solutions, as it's a skill just like any other,⁠

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Notice I've not mentioned reference tracks. If you tie yourself to existing music within the process, you're stifling yourself as an artist.

Of course, you can reference the music to make sure it's in the ballpark at the very end.

But you DO NOT want to be using references to copy from.

Not if you're going to be the kind of artist that turns heads!

So this is how to double the quality and quantity of your music before March.

Of course, there's specifics, detail and nuance I've not had a chance to cover. But it gives you a clear direction to solve many of the issues which stop you from finishing quality music.

Tomorrow, to complete this New Year's email series, I'll give you some additional principles and perspectives to make implementing this quiet revolution much easier.

Now the next class of the Automatic Music Machine program is starting this weekend.

So if you want to get the complete system and my personal help to implement it in your specific situation, now is the time to get started:

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makemusicyourlife.com/automatic-music-machine⁠

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Onwards & upwards,

Mike

"Do what counts when it counts."

P.S. The

Automatic Music Machine program is starting this weekend⁠

. Here's what a recent student is saying about the system:

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If you'd like to double the quality and quantity of your music in the next 6 weeks:

⁠

makemusicyourlife.com/automatic-music-machine⁠

⁠

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THE roadmap to double your musicTHE roadmap to double your music

THE roadmap to double your music
THE roadmap to double your music