Hello friend,

I have always thought that having a consolidated workflow was a safe way to finish music and to get work done.

I still agree with that in a certain way: if I need to work quickly on a project, I stay away from trying new techniques, new hardware or software. I need to make music in the way I am most comfortable with.

On the other side, I think that working in this way, can kill creativity or at least prevent you from getting original ideas or developing your style and grow as an artist.

That’s why sometimes I give in to the temptation of buying new softwares or new hardware. If I need a creative boost, or some excitement to pushes me to start a new project with enthusiasm, having a new tool to experiment with helps a lot.

I also think sometimes I need to experiment with different genres, music I really enjoy listening but that I feel a completely noob if I have to make it.

That’s why few months ago I bought a Maschine +.

Maschine + is a standalone production and performance instrument which allows you to make tracks from start to finish on it.

I bought it in a confused moment of my life. I really wanted to make music for a living and I thought I had to diversify my skills and start to make music to sell on royalty free platforms (like artlist.io, for example): lo-fi beats, vlog music, whatever.

Turned out I never found the time to really start doing it, except for a couple of tracks that I kept for myself.

At the same time Maschine + gave me the opportunity to experiment with a new workflow, even when doing house music, a musical genre I am comfortable with.

Making music you are used to, but with new tools, can open new creative doors.

That’s what I did for my latest You Tube video: I made a house loop from scratch with my Maschine +.

No need to tell how fun it was.

I feel I need to also tell you that buying new gear will not make your music better, most of the times. It will make the process more fun, it will help with creativity, but good music is made regardless of the gear you use. I actually suggest you to buy new gear only when you can completely feel comfortable with the gear/workflow you have.

The side effect of buying new gear could be in fact to generate more confusion or to slow down your workflow, especially if you are at the beginning of your music production journey.

That being said, do whatever you feel like, and keep the fun up!

Want to learn more about music production?

Are you looking for likeminded friends to share your passion with?

Go check our Minimal Improvements community on Patreon!

FROM THE WEB

1 – Musical Minimalism: How To Finally Finish Your Songs

Speaking of workflow (and changing it) I think this video add some discussion ideas to the topic. The problem of finishing music as seen by Venus Theory.

2 – In the Studio with Stefano Ritteri

Stefano Ritteri is an Italian, London based music producer who has been doing this as a job since more than 10 years. Around 9 years ago he did some collaboration with the magazine Future Music, where he did some YT video tutorials. These videos still inspire me. Here is one of them. He’s also a guest teacher at Point Blank music.

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

Here I share what I’ve been listening to lately both from the house music world and from every other genre.

I will keep feeding this section of my newsletter, with the hope you enjoy it.

1 – HOUSE/MINIMAL HOUSE MUSIC

My latest dig. House music by Jex Opolis – Bad Timin’ Vol.4. (Bandcamp link)

2 – OTHER GENRES

Autumn vibes with Damian Rice – Delicate (Spotify link)

Always be curious towards new music, you never know where inspiration comes from.