Any tips for making music with a full time job?

figure out a system for jamming and multitracking so you can go back later and edit and put songs together from the jams.. with software or hardware.. whatever is best for you.. most direct. turn on.. press go.. start making sounds and figuring out patterns.. leave it set up until you're done with it... always be recording. 

it took a while but i got to where i could jam on the modular and make a few tracks out of every patch.. change tempo... mess things up some. .follow a different thread.. record some more.. 

then when i felt like it i'd sit on the couch with the laptop and headphones and go through the material.. arrange different tracks.. then go back in the studio and mix it all. 

if you can do a thing where you perform a song to a stereo recording and have it be done.. then that's great.. but that was rare for me.. sometimes it worked out that way but was the exception not the rule. 

edit: just ate a small box of GF shortbread cookies. 

  On 2/17/2022 at 11:40 AM, chim said:

creative work benefits from that, not because you're producing goods under expectations, but because it's meaningful to experience a sense of direction and continually grow with your output and its challenges.

Well put! 

Reminds me of what is said about “flow” in psychology. Which is an interesting subject in and of itself and quite appropriate for this thread.

From the way you describe how you work, I get the impression you’re already well aware. But to the people who aren’t, just start with the wiki on “flow (psychology)”. There’s a bunch of research about how people can get into the flow. And what the requirements are to get there. Or more on topic perhaps, in order to make music you need to be able to get in a flow state, to a certain degree. And if you struggle with that, the research on this subject might give you some helpful tips. 

  On 1/4/2024 at 8:11 AM, Satans Little Helper said:

Well put! 

Reminds me of what is said about “flow” in psychology. Which is an interesting subject in and of itself and quite appropriate for this thread.

From the way you describe how you work, I get the impression you’re already well aware. But to the people who aren’t, just start with the wiki on “flow (psychology)”. There’s a bunch of research about how people can get into the flow. And what the requirements are to get there. Or more on topic perhaps, in order to make music you need to be able to get in a flow state, to a certain degree. And if you struggle with that, the research on this subject might give you some helpful tips. 

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Context switching is a bitch, huh?  That's one of the things that I've got the most difficult time with.  It's certainly a downside to this 'connected all the time' world we inhabit.  As part of the last generation that came of age while everything was becoming more ubiquitous and connected, I miss the silence and solitude that used to be inherent in every day life.  Now, one must work for it and it isn't easy.