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How would you apply the 80/20 rule to music making?
In another thread, @Stuntman_mike mentioned the importance of the 80/20 rule applied to his music making. I'm familiar with this principle (Pareto's Law: 20% of effort produces 80 percent of results) but hadn't thought about it applied to app usage.
I ended up watching this vid:
Basically what he is saying is, look back at what the biggest gamechanger was for you in tbe past year, and for the next year, just do that a lot.
The first thing that sprung to mind for me was Gauss. Or looping in general. I think if I didn't buy another app over the next year, but just used what I have and put things through Gauss, using it to build songs, I would have a lot of fun and make some great stuff while I'm at it (of course, a bit of BitJuggler as a kind of gravy on my Gauss meat would not go amiss).
So what would be your 20 percent of tools and / or practices that would give you the most bang for your buck, what is the thing most worth focusing your musical attention on this year?
Comments
My current 20% is creating patterns with LoopBud in AUM and creating patterns in BM3. I’ve been really focused on playing expressively and capturing “moments”. I am also “boxing” myself into a project to force creativity.
My current project is making a soundtrack for an imaginary movie called Space Cadet. Each song is named after a scene. Creating music this way has helped me grow a few ways:
I immediately upload two minute songs to SoundCloud and add them to the Space Cadet playlist. My goal is to complete twenty minutes of music then scour YouTube for video clips of space to go with each scene then glue everything together as a twenty minute music video!
Sounds like a plan. Yes, hard to overestimate the benefits of limits for inspiring creativity.
So glad you picked @Stuntman_mike’s post to create a new thread, @Gavinski!
I love this concept and am thinking this might perhaps be @LinearLineman’s “secret sauce” to his incredibly massive musical productivity.
Interesting. For me it's miRack and the sequencers and probability-based generators it has...
This is partly why I'm trying to do 'app cleanup' (ie. delete apps from my devices that I very seldom use) hoping that it will make it easier for me to focus with varying success rate.
I've also tried to apply a bit more thought process when new apps pop, first I check if I have any app already that is in the same ballpark and after that check if really need it or not?
With over 400+ installed apps there's a quite high probability that I don't actually need any more apps I just need to find the one I need instead of buying yet another app...
This change of mindset has lead me to think 'what do I want to do?', 'do I already have appropriate tool for the job?' and finally 'how the TF do I do it?'. This pushes me to actually dig deeper into the apps I already have and if a feature is missing in one of the apps it makes it easier to find another app or in worst case try to 'patch it' in some of the modular synths I have since I already have a vague idea what needs to be patched and where.
I do like sampling and with the recently released BM3 update with a load of behind the scenes fixes an Drambo with the WaveTable IAP I have most bases covered and when I need to quickly mess with samples Koala does the job and Gadget with all the support apps provide me with enough sample-fodder to last for a very, very long time...
So do I really need new apps? Most likely no.
Will I get new apps? Most likely yes...
One of the more niche apps I really look forward to is Bit Boy Studio from the SidTracker64 dev...
Proper AUv3 multi in/out support for Cubasis 3 (and most other hosts as well) is also something I look forward to...
...hope to see that happening during 2021.
As for hardware, if Apple drops support for the iPad Air 2 with iPadOS15 during WWDC'21 I'll be looking at getting a new iPad.
Getting a Launchpad X/Pro is also something I'm investigating...
(Not being a keyboard player I'm fed up with keyboard controllers).
Now, I just need to climb up from the all time creative low pit...
...but like an 'addict' I seem to think that I can 'buy myself out' from the pit even though in reality it just makes the pit deeper...
Will the Launchpad X help me get more creative?
I don't know...
...and the only way to find out is to get one and well, the pit could potentially get even deeper...
Anyways, this will be an interesting thread to follow!
Take Care,
80% reading about making music on Audiobus forum, the other 20% looking at gear on youtube.
@Gavinski I recently picked up Gauss and have found that it’s immediacy has actually got me recording a lot more, it’s been an unexpected godsend.
@Samu Yeah I think spring cleaning and cutting down to a few handful essentials is a great way to bring focus. I’m doing this myself at the moment, with my music apps and a lot of other things in my life/house that I find clutter up my mind and stifle my creativity.
Working within limitations definitely allows for my freedom. I know that I would be more productive and make more interesting stuff with just Koala for example than if I had all the apps and samples in existence. Too many options just makes me go idle.
It may, however, be the case that the extra 20 percent of effort is what makes your work special.
Dunno much about music making, but making AUv3 music apps for iOS is 20% writing code and 80% searching for non-existent documentation
On a more serious note, I like the following quote:
A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. Antoine de Saint-Exupery
To my ears, I hear a lot of stuff where I wonder if it's actually 150% complete in that there's maybe too much going on. When I used to make more music, I was often pleasantly surprised by the improvements you could make by removing instead of adding stuff. I remember reading somewhere that Danny Elfman used to compose like that - basically blast out loads of ideas, then start taking bits of it away.
If I was making more music, I'd try and do that more often.
@moodscaper yes, agree that a lot of tracks have far too much going on.
This is also true. I throw out this 80/20 rule as a useful talking point rather than a commandment. I have been thinking a lot about this all day. There is a lot to be said for NOT being efficient, and I hate it when productivity gurus' ideas are taken too far. Let's not forget all the good things that come from exploratory play. This remindse of a letter some psychologists wrote to the UK government recently. Kids have missed a lot of school, but don't make them cram. They need time to play again, otherwise there may he short term increases in grades etc but long term problems in terms of mental health, social skills etc etc....
It depends what makes you tick creatively but having a focussed workstation to go to when inspiration strikes definitely helps.
This workstation will have to be flexible enough to accommodate a wide variety of scenarios so it doesn’t constrict creativity.
Fragmentation is the biggest bugbear to me.
On iOS this is particularly evident with so many tiny apps that do the job well but without one good big app that can be the Swiss Army knife like Ableton or Logic on desktop.
So to me it is it: focus and learn one rich environment and work within it. To me at the moment it is Drambo/Loopy/Samplr combination and I have to say I have no complaints. I just need to stop gassing for new gear like midi controllers.
Having said all that I’m reluctant to talk about creativity in the same terms as running a business. Even if one would find the 20% and try to spread it over the remaining 80 they’d unlikely hit the 100% as the downtime or research phase is a part of a creative process.
Definitely
I go through stages with this and I think my current ratios are even more extreme - I’m currently about 97% rabbit hole exploration and then when I do apply myself for the remaining time I get quite a lot done quickly...
Generally I stopped buying apps because even if I get some I keep going back to my ‘go to’ and to dethrone them would require serious effort (F.e that’s my take on Atom2 situation - we took away the opportunity to complete an app, and allow a man to stand tall for a day or two).
For me it’s difficult to apply this to anything creative. My drive is never the optimal output, and I’m not interested in walking the same path every time. Generally I don’t put my stuff out because my standards are higher than my abilities or frankly the time I’m willing to put in, but whether it’s learning your craft or releasing sh!t the final few percent is what really makes the difference.
edit: especially with all these tools around us... ‘you can pretend to be cool with 0 effort’
@Gavinski said:
Well said!
I’ve always favored a minimalistic setup even when I just used hardware. I just put apps I don’t really use in a folder on the last screen of my iPad. Out of sight, out of mind!
Mixing is where the 80/20 rule applies for me. I spend way too much time obsessing over effect and instrument levels.
Do you ever go to your last screen to access those apps, and if so, why?
I find that with apps, I explore the new ones, make vids, some go into regular rotation, most get forgotten quickly
I do. Sometimes I may be looking for a synth sound or effect that I know one of the lesser-used apps may have. Other times, I intentionally make a new piece just with those apps I rarely use. I’ve deleted apps before and then invariably I have to download them again. Part of it is that I always buy an iPad and max out the storage. I rarely use a computer for anything these days, work or otherwise, and rely on the iPad despite having to do some wonky workflows.
What I take away from this video is “focus on what gives you results”. If there is one thing over the past 6 to 12 months that has made a difference in my music making, it would be having a weekly creative prompt. I’m a member of the HITRECORD community and every week there is a Play Along creative prompt. You take a bit of music curated by the host and add to it or remix it and post it for others to listen to, or remix further. While I don’t participate every week, I do always check it out and run it through my gauntlet of IOS apps to see if I can turn enough happy accidents into something musical. In the process I learn a bit about mixing, sound design, and dive deeper into the apps I have on my iPad than I would without a prompt. I joke with my wife that I make music that 8 people enjoy, but getting a like or two and occasional feedback makes it worth it for me.
I have come to think that different degrees of imagination must be a given for each person to do with as they can. But to make use of imagination there has to be a form or container to put it in. Otherwise it’s just nebulous. Forms are boundaries or limits. Or even themes such as @SNystrom pointed out about @LinearLIneman.
So I try to start by making a form first and then filling it with whatever I can. Of course there are times when I just noodle around or experiment. iOS apps are great for that. But when I make a form first, then imagination has something to build on.
Prompts, brilliant!!!
Touché!
It’s like trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. Form leads to creativity. Form is a great forcing function!
Love it: Wonky Workflows! That is another way of saying creativity. I have forced myself to be iPad only and I love it because I can make music anywhere.
Wonky Workflow: making by any means necessary. Fast failure, rapid prototyping, fast forward, design sprint, design thinking, jamming... moving towards 10,000 hours of mastery one song at a time!
Yeah, there are trade offs for everything, but like you say the ability to make music anywhere is key.
@SNystrom and @Stochastically, the engine of my productivity is fueled by the ability to improvise. It’s a gift and predilection that I developed over many years. Not having to struggle for source material Is a great advantage. Then it is simply a matter of orchestrating and arranging. The key for me there is not to be too perfectionistic. I am satisfied when I can listen to a track and enjoy it. Then I know it’s done.
Also, it is always looking forward to the next track. So few listen to my stuff it’s not worth obsessing over one piece. The continual moving on gives me the landscape in which to slowly improve my ear and skills for production.
I can’t overemphasize the value of improvising as a tool. You don’t have to do it for years to reap the results. A small amount of work yields satisfying, and sometimes big, results. There are many sources for info on learning to improvise. For me it was my teacher, Connie Crother’s, technique that did the trick. Here, once again, is the exercise she taught me that has led to my large (and unexpected) output...
https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/27012/how-to-improve-your-keyboard-improvising-100-in-three-weeks
Workflow ... shocking notion ... sounds like we're running a factory ... just pumping stuff out the other end at so many units an hour.
Makes sense in a studio producer setting - polishing up someone else's work can be done through a process of sorts they tell me ...and it's how you get paid- when you get paid.... although I would always get drawn into the specifics and end up well-strayed from any pathway - might end up spending a whole day fixing the drums and vocal tracks can send you down some very deep rabbit holes indeed. Financial sink-hole that.
But there's a vast difference between this production/polishing process and actually PLAYING music ... yes playing - having fun - exploration.... wandering off... playing in and with music.
One of the really peculiar - most enjoyable - things about the iOS landscape is that not only are folks playing with music, they are constantantly learning new instruments, new effects and manipulations every week. There is constant innovation - both in the technology but also in what we consider musical. Even Bach would have concussion.
In fact there are two distinct currents at work with ios at least for me ... those exploring the potential of manipulating sound and those focussed more on the musical structures and concepts they can allow.
I'm very conscious of these two currents in my own work and play ... I often find myself doing endlessly wicked things to strings and the like rather than working on whistlability - tune and rhythm... sometimes I have to drag myself back to the music rather than the sound.
Not so much a workflow as a raging torrent.
This is solid gold. Thank you!
Passion! Well said sir.
@Gavinski your condensation of this video is so smart. It immediately clicked with me: What was the single most inspiring piece of gear/workflow/instrument/whatever of the year? Do that thing! Brilliant. (For me? I revisited the many half-forgotten AUM sessions but with a LaunchControl XL midi-learned and then jamming out a structure with fades and mutes. That is when the flow emerged for me.)
But I have to say I can't stand the guy in this video. Sorry to those who like him, but I see a total bullshit artist trying to apply economic buzzwords to creativity. He literally says nothing but generalized platitudes for the entire video. Every sentence feels like a prelude to a hard sell. And sure enough, the pitch for his "Radio Ready Guide" lands in the last minute. Normally $17, the guide according to his website is FREE TODAY. (It is quite possible that I'm jealous of the million-dollar industry that he has built up.)
Eighty percent of this video made my skin crawl.
Twenty percent, though, made me laugh out loud:
"The way to be successful in your music journey is just to identify the few things — the 20 percent, the 10 percent, the 5 percent — that generate 95 percent of your results, 90 percent, 80 percent — and then do a lot of those things, over and over and over and over again. Simplicity is king. Intentionality is king."