Ableton Forum

I finished a track yesterday in about 3 hours without taking a break. I worked really fast without too much thinking. The funny thing, it's just so balanced, arrangement, sound design all - it doesn't need any tweaking besides some 'technical' mixing/mastering. And this is not the fist time this happens.

It's contradictorily, but I think I do better quality when I work fast.... just wondering, have you guys experienced something similar?

Sometimes, yes. Generally it's a lot of an old test taking strategy. "If you make a choice, then second-guess, go with your first choice, the second is usually wrong."

On the other hand, working too quickly can also lead to sloppiness and amateurish stuff.

I tend to agree. I think it's the quick embodiment of a good idea that is ftw.

You know what it is you want to do, you go at it and bam, good track.

One of my tracks that got the best all round feedback and was picked up quickly by a label (and then subsequently never released...) I actually did on my laptop on the arm of the sofa on headphones while watching the telly, in about two hours.

So much for the studio!

UKRuss wrote:on my laptop on the arm of the sofa on headphones while watching the telly, in about two hours.

So much for the studio!

dont rub it in

that is my studio

I'm don't anyone would think that working slow would be better. Working fast you: don't second guess yourself as much, don't get bored, don't fall down rabbit holes trying to come up with some freaky new sound, and you function on a pretty strictly 'tried and true' idea basis. It's win win.

mr.ergonomics wrote:I finished a track yesterday in about 3 hours without taking a break. I worked really fast without too much thinking. The funny thing, it's just so balanced, arrangement, sound design all - it doesn't need any tweaking besides some 'technical' mixing/mastering. And this is not the fist time this happens.

It's contradictorily, but I think I do better quality when I work fast.... just wondering, have you guys experienced something similar?

absolutely and i don't think it is contradictorily at all, usually if something takes to long it is either crap from the start and you get stuck tinkering around to much, or you mess it up because you get into the 'headfuck' state twiddling and twiddling and forgetting that it is about the music.

if it does not flow, leave it, do something else or make another tune.

Johnisfaster wrote:I'm don't anyone would think that working slow would be better. Working fast you: don't second guess yourself as much, don't get bored, don't fall down rabbit holes trying to come up with some freaky new sound, and you function on a pretty strictly 'tried and true' idea basis. It's win win.

yep, listen to minimal, then you know how headfucked the crap is. hours and hours spend to make boredom sound absolutely perfect.

im in the same boat some of my best songs have been just whipped off.

the feature that sold live to me was the ability to record clips quickly and then jam out an arrangement in session view. I then go over the arrangement and delete anything that takes more than a few minutes to fix. Overthinking can kill music. On the other hand, i spend days designing instruments that can played using 8 macros and pads or keys. When i get it right using live is somewhere between playing tabla and designing a machine

I cooked up seven new songs in the last week in preparation for my gig on friday...I'll let you know how good they are based on audience reactions...

There's definitely something to be said about rapid development. It forces you to be musical over being technical, which isn't a bad thing, if you can then later bone up the technical, which usually takes a lot more time.

I agree with this and all my best tracks were the faster ones.

Not quite sure if working (too) quick is really the best way to go.
Without doubt it's a great and satisfying feeling to go with the flow and to shape one's ideas quickly but the results might eventually sound too much alike.
You know, sometimes things take their time to develop. This involves a lot more of hard work and continuity. On the other hand the outcome might even be more satisfying.
The thing is to not loose track with the song itself and to not get lost somewhere in between (which a lot of the time happens to me).
I think therefore it's a very good excercise to develop ideas / map out things in your head beforehand as best as you can.