Having trouble starting or finishing your tracks? Use the 80/20 rule.

makrsamples

New member
Hey guys.

Here's an article I wrote explaining a few techniques that help with starting and finishing tracks.

I know a lot of people out there struggle with this. Even strong producers get this.

And it's because it's a problem associated with non-technical skills like time management and productivity.

I think as producers, we naturally gravitate toward technical knowledge without thinking about other aspects of production. But those other areas of knowledge are just as important.

This technique utilizes what's known as the 80/20 rule to provide a basic framework I use to focus on the most important parts of a production session. That way I don't suffer from decision paralysis and can make well-thought-out creative decisions.

Let me know if you find this useful!
 
ya the technical knowledge is important, but the music knowledge is more important.

But it depends, are you trying to make your song (mix) sound professional, or are you trying to write new songs?

I've heard of the 80/20 rule in college but for other areas of "Information Systems Management", ...I haven't heard about it for music production.
 
The interesting thing with the 80/20 rule is that as a mental framework, you can apply it to almost anything.

You can certainly use other systems to organize your music production besides the 80/20 rule. But it's a very simple concept that's easy to understand, so it tends to work for most people.

And of course, if you don't know how to write chords or use plugins, you probably want to start there before using this technique. But then, you might need to use a technique like this to realize that 80% of the issues you're having in music are coming from not understanding music theory or how to use your plugins :)
 
That makes sense. So we apply 80% of of time practicing what we don't know as much, and 20% of the time using what we know? ha
 
I don't have trouble starting a track. Though every now and then I seem to get in a creative block (when this happens I usually go outside and do something for a while.) I have such a hard time actually finishing my tracks. After reading your article I see that I have made some errors and odd approaches to finishing a track. Thanks! This helped alot!
 
Very useful article.
Yeah, I often get stuck doing some unnecessary stuff and throw all my energy into it. Then I realize I've lost the focus on main idea and lost sight of what I imagined at first.
Thank you, I'll definitely try it out.
 
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