# Leave it on 25/7…?



## igwanna (Oct 7, 2018)

Guys apart from the obvious global energy waste issue, is it safe to leave my gear on all the time?

Specially monitor speakers and audio interface, because
1 it's a pain for me to reach out and switch things off with so much stuff lying around

2 it's already the 2nd tech engineer that tells me that any electronic component lives longer if permanently energized.

I do feel like when I switch off my power strip that somehow the outrage and "innage" will eventually blow up something.


----------



## Jdiggity1 (Oct 7, 2018)

Yes. Many studios leave their gear running overnight.
I would however restart your computer semi-regularly.


----------



## igwanna (Oct 7, 2018)

So but...for home studios does it make sense, since the grade of the gear is not exactly very holywoodesque 

I have a pair of yammies hs8s


----------



## SchnookyPants (Oct 7, 2018)

If any fan-cooled lumps are involved (pc & anything else), unless you're in a dust-free environment, shut down & clean dust accumulation periodically.


----------



## kitekrazy (Oct 7, 2018)

igwanna said:


> Guys apart from the obvious global energy waste issue, is it safe to leave my gear on all the time?
> 
> Specially monitor speakers and audio interface, because
> 1 it's a pain for me to reach out and switch things off with so much stuff lying around
> ...



My interpretation from that through experience is a faulty piece of hardware doesn't die unless the system is rebooted.


----------



## steveo42 (Oct 7, 2018)

On all the time... When do light bulbs fail? When you turn them on.


----------



## Kony (Oct 7, 2018)

igwanna said:


> 1 it's a pain for me to reach out and switch things off with so much stuff lying around


This makes it sound like a potential for dust build-up - ie with lots of stuff lying around - and dust has a fire-hazard potential in PCs. I only mention it because I once stopped a fire in an office building (working on Christmas Day, no less), when the dust on a running PC ignited on the next floor up (I could smell it through the aircon). I would advise against leaving PCs running unattended for lengthy periods unless they are fairly clean inside.


----------



## Jdiggity1 (Oct 7, 2018)

If you'd like to turn off gear but can't reach the power switches, get some remote-controlled power adaptors. That's what I had in my last home studio.
Plug a power board or splitter into one of them and you can turn off multiple devices at once (such as 2 powered monitors).


----------



## Gerhard Westphalen (Oct 8, 2018)

A lot of gear gets stressed when you turn it on so it's best to leave it on unless you're no going to use it for a while.


----------



## babylonwaves (Oct 8, 2018)

it's totally fine to switch gear off unless it is vintage and e.g. contains tubes. and even then it's not necessarily an issue unless the power supply is shit. I have a friend and he has racks and racks of expensive vintage outboard gear. he switches it off every night, no issues whatsoever. same goes for the studio i was working with for years. in fact, with modern equipment the first thing that suffers from leaving things on 24/7 is the mini displays.


----------



## Kony (Oct 8, 2018)

igwanna said:


> Guys apart from the obvious global energy waste issue


I must have zoned out for a sec ... what do you mean exactly? Global warming is running away from us and it's now estimated that we'll exceed 1.5C in 12 years - according to today's report by the IPCC. Switching off to save the planet should be front and center.


----------



## igwanna (Oct 8, 2018)

I appreciate all your answers so much . But now I feel even more confused

Great defenders of pro and against switching off...

I switch off everything everynight.. but would like to leave the speakers on at least.

The audio interface heats up if I leave it on tho computer I leave it in sleep mode. And turns on in 4 seconds with huge sessions still perfectly loaded no point leaving it on.


----------



## igwanna (Oct 8, 2018)

Kony said:


> I must have zoned out for a sec ... what do you mean exactly? Global warming is running away from us and it's now estimated that we'll exceed 1.5C in 12 years - according to today's report by the IPCC. Switching off to save the planet should be front and center.


I meant to ask you guys not to use energy waste as the reason to switch off because I know that already and being very conscious about the planet, I always save energy, recycle everything eat organic and vegetarian and shower just twice a month


----------



## brenneisen (Oct 8, 2018)

igwanna said:


> shower just twice a month


----------



## macmac (Oct 8, 2018)

When I got my new computer a couple years ago at a certified Apple service/dealer, I asked the same question to several tech repairmen (and the owner) and they all said to shut it off at night. They also mentioned about it needing to reset the RAM, and that people who leave them running need to at least shut it down or restart once in a while.

Because they can get hot and dusty, I personally just feel better with it off when sleeping or especially if we're away. There was a house in town that caught fire a while back, and the investigation found the computer was the culprit...not that that would always happen, but I just don't like electrical things running unattended. Things happen, and since electrical is the reason for fire in most cases, I feel it's better to be safe than sorry.

As for longevity and stress, all my computers had been shut down at night and they still worked decades later. My MacPro however had been running non-stop because I started online backup at that time, and that was the computer that blew...not saying that was the cause though...just my own experience.


----------



## labornvain (Oct 8, 2018)

I suspect it's a temperature thing. The constant heating up and cooling down from powering on and off is bad on electronics. Regardless of the reason, I found that leaving things on all the time seems to make them last longer.

I have some anecdotal evidence, for what it's worth. In 2006 we bought six UA LA-610 tube mic preamps for the studio. I took one for the house. My studio partner was fanatical about turning everything off every night, despite my objections.

Since then, each of the 610s at the studio that have been turned on and off every day have all failed in one way or another requiring servicing. Several have failed more than once.

The one I keep at the house had, for the most part, been on for 12 years. All I've had to do to it is replace a light bulb.

Obviously this is not conclusive evidence. But it is highly suggestive and concur's generally with my experience over the years.

Theres a reason I said "had" been on for 12 years. I'm ashamed to say that it has only been in the last year that I've begun to take my energy consumption seriously in regards to music production. I've always been pretty environmentally conscious in other aspects of my life. But I think on some level I always thought that music creation was teh Great Art and the world should have to suffer for it. I know I've suffered. 

Anyway, I now turn everything off all the time unless I'm using it right then and there.

I also no longer adhere to the optimization protocols of setting my power settings on my DAW to "always on."

I have set both of my main computers to maximum efficiency mode, and have noticed no decrease in performance that I can detect.

The only concern I have is letting my hard drives power off. But I follow a pretty rigorous backup regime, so I'm not too worried about it.

My goal is to solar power my studio and take it off the grid. And then I can go back to my old ways. But until then, I feel the moral obligation to sacrifice a little longitivity for the sake of not having my audio gear outlast our species.


----------



## igwanna (Oct 8, 2018)

labornvain said:


> I suspect it's a temperature thing. The constant heating up and cooling down from powering on and off is bad on electronics. Regardless of the reason, I found that leaving things on all the time seems to make them last longer.
> 
> I have some anecdotal evidence, for what it's worth. In 2006 we bought six UA LA-610 tube mic preamps for the studio. I took one for the house. My studio partner was fanatical about turning everything off every night, despite my objections.
> 
> ...



Precisely my point. I heard from People with alot of electronics expertise that to switch on and off the power supply (not standby mode) shortens lifespan of some components due to the way that electricity jolts in and out of the components and creates a higher chance of failure.

My computer's ibkeep them in sleep mode for under a watt of power consumption measured by me. So that's not the issue. Its just my monitor speakers are a hassle to switch on and off everything..


----------



## chillbot (Oct 8, 2018)

Only bad things ever happen when I turn gear on/off. Nothing good has ever come of it. I justify it with solar panels.


----------



## chillbot (Oct 8, 2018)

Oh I only leave it on 24 hours a day though, not 25.


----------



## igwanna (Oct 8, 2018)

chillbot said:


> Oh I only leave it on 24 hours a day though, not 25.


HA!

didnt realize that mistake... well for the sake of iconization ill just leave it like that.


----------



## Mike Greene (Oct 8, 2018)

labornvain said:


> I suspect it's a temperature thing. The constant heating up and cooling down from powering on and off is bad on electronics.


That makes sense. It's probably an compression/expansion issue that loosens solder joints or other internals.



labornvain said:


> I have some anecdotal evidence, for what it's worth. In 2006 we bought six UA LA-610 tube mic preamps for the studio. I took one for the house. My studio partner was fanatical about turning everything off every night, despite my objections.
> 
> Since then, each of the 610s at the studio that have been turned on and off every day have all failed in one way or another requiring servicing. Several have failed more than once.


That's really interesting, although it surprises me. I'm no expert, and maybe your story is typical, but tube gear is the one thing I would have thought should be turned off when not in use, since tubes burn out. Then again, if all 6 were turned on/off literally every day for 12 years, that's a lot of on/off cycles. And maybe if a tube mic pre is on, but no signal is passing through, the tube is dormant enough not to burn. I've been babying my tube stuff, but maybe I shouldn't.

FWIW, I've always been a "shut down every night" guy and haven't had many problems. Even when I had the Trident 80B console, it was powered on/off every day and I never had an issue in the 15 years I had it. (Other than scratchy pots/faders, which aren't effected by power.) I still even use the same Crown power amps which haven't had any issues in 25 years. All of it got powered off every night, mostly because they were such power hogs, plus they put off a lot of heat and one thing I don't need more of in Los Angeles is heat. None of my Macs have ever failed, other than two hard drives in 25 years.

This is also just anecdotal, of course, and I'm sure a lot of my experience is just luck, but I'm reluctant to change my ways and leave stuff on. I'm considering leaving the Macs on, though, mostly for convenience reasons, since the power switches are hard to reach.


----------



## Kony (Oct 8, 2018)

igwanna said:


> I meant to ask you guys not to use energy waste as the reason to switch off because I know that already and being very conscious about the planet, I always save energy, recycle everything eat organic and vegetarian and shower just twice a month


----------



## Living Fossil (Oct 8, 2018)

igwanna said:


> Guys apart from the obvious global energy waste issue, is it safe to leave my gear on all the time?



We don't live in a world where "apart from the energy waste issue" exists.
There is no second planet at our disposal.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Oct 8, 2018)

I have almost everything on a dedicated circuit that turns on with a single switch when I need to use my studio.

What I have on all the time: computer (which I put to sleep when I step away from my desk), my audio interface (it likes to stay on), and a stereo receiver that I turn on and off with a remote control (my third set of speakers).



igwanna said:


> The audio interface heats up if I leave it on tho computer I leave it in sleep mode



That shouldn't happen. You might look into whether you can do something to help cool it down, or whether something is wrong. If it's warm, okay, but it shouldn't be drawing so much power that it gets hot.


----------



## igwanna (Oct 8, 2018)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> I have almost everything on a dedicated circuit that turns on with a single switch when I need to use my studio.
> 
> What I have on all the time: computer (which I put to sleep when I step away from my desk), my audio interface (it likes to stay on), and a stereo receiver that I turn on and off with a remote control (my third set of speakers).
> 
> ...


well it doesnt get hot HOT just warm...



Living Fossil said:


> We don't live in a world where "apart from the energy waste issue" exists.
> There is no second planet at our disposal.



i trully appreciate this, believe me i am very aware and conscious of that, it just meant for the sake of argument reasons to switch everything off that are not environmental, because those im well aware already... thanks for your concern though, i really reaspect this issue alot


----------



## Henu (Oct 9, 2018)

I too have always had the habit of shutting everything down when not in use. 

I have built my studio room in a way that I have two "tiers" of sets I switch on and off with a remote- controlled adapter. The first one controls the computer, speakers and the sound interface and the second has all my outboard rack stuff, which I turn on only when needed. When they are not in use, all electricity is basically turned off from my studio room.

Right now I'm in a situation, though, where I have started to get overloads from my "tier 1" setup when I switch them on, and it turns the fuse off from half of the downstairs as a cautionary procedure. It happens roughly in every 3rd tim I do it, and is very frustrating and impractical...not to mention potentially dangerous, too.
I haven't been able to figure out what causes it and because it isn't a faulty remote adapter (it happens sometimes even when plugging the extension/ splitter cord straight to the outlet), I need to get it sorted as soon as I have some extra time in my hands. Now I'm forced to have half of my gear on 24/7 unless I know for sure I won't be touching them for days (which rarely happens) and I don't like it at all.


----------



## Kony (Oct 9, 2018)

@Henu, could it be cutting out if everything is all being turned on at the same time? Is there a way to stagger the appliances being switched on?


----------



## Henu (Oct 10, 2018)

Yep, that's also what I thought first! But it only includes two Yamaha HS-8 speakers, a led kit and a Focusrite interface when turned on. I may try out to switch the leds and Focusrite on manually and see how that affects!


----------



## babylonwaves (Oct 10, 2018)

My question to UA support via email (because this discussion got me curious): "I have a pre-sales question for the LA-610 MkII**. I was told that the chance of those failing after some time is higher when I switch the preamp off over night (or when I don't use it for a couple of days). What's your experience in this regard? Is there a truth to that or is it an urban myth about "vintage" equipment?"

Answer from their support: "Thank you for contacting Universal Audio Support. So I would say this is a myth. If you keep the device on for very long periods of time you will run the life down faster."

** That's a 19" tube preamp based on a vintage design


----------



## babylonwaves (Oct 10, 2018)

Henu said:


> Right now I'm in a situation, though, where I have started to get overloads from my "tier 1" setup when I switch them on, and it turns the fuse off from half of the downstairs as a cautionary procedure. It happens roughly in every 3rd tim I do it, and is very frustrating and impractical...not to mention potentially dangerous, too.
> I haven't been able to figure out what causes it and because it isn't a faulty remote adapter (it happens sometimes even when plugging the extension/ splitter cord straight to the outlet), I need to get it sorted as soon as I have some extra time in my hands. Now I'm forced to have half of my gear on 24/7 unless I know for sure I won't be touching them for days (which rarely happens) and I don't like it at all.



@Henu 
there are different types of fuses. fast and slow one. you need to replace the fuse with a "slow" one and it'll not jump out anymore. I had the same issue.


----------



## Henu (Oct 10, 2018)

Wow, thanks a lot! I'll check out that asap!!!


----------



## Emmanuel Rousseau (Oct 10, 2018)

Coming from an audio engineer background with lots of hardware, the only thing I did was switching on everything tube based about on hour before the recording session to allow the tubes to warm up properly.

This apart, I always switched off everything I could, and still do so.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Oct 11, 2018)

The main argument is over whether turning equipment on causes it to wear out due to repeated power surges, and - based on experience - I'm totally skeptical of that.

What you do have to worry about is speakers getting hit with surges from power amps, but good amps (whether stand-alone or integrated into powered monitors) and monitor controllers have a delay to prevent that. Actually, my Blue Sky monitor controller powers up muted, and stays that way until you hit the switch.


----------



## Jeremy Spencer (Oct 11, 2018)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> The main argument is over whether turning equipment on causes it to wear out due to repeated power surges, and - based on experience - I'm totally skeptical of that.



Me too. I turn EVERYTHING off when I'm not working. In over 20 years, I've never had a failure. Plus, it kills your electrical bill to keep everything on all the time...yes, even my Yammy HS-8's.


----------



## Ruchir (Oct 11, 2018)

My solution was to install solar panels. That way I can leave my music slave machine on 24/7 without feeling guilty (ps. Yes.. I know the sun don’t shine at night)


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Oct 11, 2018)

We want to install them, but after getting several estimates we found that there's just no way to make it pay. Maybe if we had a big house with lots of exposed roof and no trees.

At first it sounded like you're stupid not to do it - you get a loan, make payments about the same amount you're paying for electricity now, and in five or six years you have no more power bill. But the reality is nothing like that.


----------



## steveo42 (Oct 11, 2018)

whitewasteland said:


> Coming from an audio engineer background with lots of hardware, the only thing I did was switching on everything tube based about on hour before the recording session to allow the tubes to warm up properly.
> 
> This apart, I always switched off everything I could, and still do so.



As a fellow EE, old fart in fact, back in the "old days" the tube sets would keep the 6.3v heater on so the set would power up quicker and also less thermal stress to the tubes.. God, that brings back memories!!! Hahahha

Basically, the reason electronics fail during power up is "thermal shock" to the components. These days it's pretty much almost at the micron, if not molecular level. In the good old days it was tubes and then the junctions in transistors that would fail. So essentially, you are taking a cold piece of gear and tossing it in boiling water like a lobster.. Bad analogy for sure, but that's the basic idea.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Oct 11, 2018)

steveo42 said:


> As a fellow EE, old fart in fact,
> 
> In the good old days it was tubes and then the junctions in transistors that would fail. So essentially, you are taking a cold piece of gear and tossing it in boiling water like a lobster.. Bad analogy for sure, but that's the basic idea.



I'm just a fart, not yet an old one, but is that true of modern tube gear?

To be honest, I keep my only tube piece (Millennia STT-1, which has both tube and solid-state paths) turned off until I need it. It has some gnarly heat-sinking, so you'd think it would be okay...


----------



## igwanna (Oct 11, 2018)

you guys seriouisly turn off your computers?? but how long do your libraries and templates and VSTS take to load?? guys just put it in sleep mode, it comes back form it in like under 10 seconds fully loaded, no need to reopen anything and you are under 1 to 3W max


----------



## babylonwaves (Oct 12, 2018)

igwanna said:


> you guys seriouisly turn off your computers?? but how long do your libraries and templates and VSTS take to load?? guys just put it in sleep mode, it comes back form it in like under 10 seconds fully loaded, no need to reopen anything and you are under 1 to 3W max


I switch it off. Because I want my RAIDs to be off as well. They use far more than 3W. I didn't use to do this all but habits change and things which look strange in the first place become totally natural. Think about it.
My 64GB template loads in 3 minutes. I need 5 to make a decent Laté.


----------



## igwanna (Oct 12, 2018)

no wait, sleep mode shuts off everytoohing except a very small electrical current that keeps the RAM alive, where the session is stored. everything else is shut off completely


----------



## igwanna (Oct 12, 2018)

just wanted to add another curious fact,

my whole studio, including 13 sets of light and led strips on all composing instruments on all monitos and computer logged on windows, monitor speakers on etc,, everything turned on on idle is running at 480W. somehow i feel thats not bad at all.

the whole studio switched off but with sum standing by equipment including pc on sleep mode is at 17W


----------



## onebitboy (Oct 12, 2018)

igwanna said:


> everything turned on on idle is running at 480W. somehow i feel thats not bad at all.


That kind of depends on how expensive electricity is in your location. In some parts of Western Europe, this would result in a $1400 bill each year.


----------



## steveo42 (Oct 12, 2018)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> I'm just a fart, not yet an old one, but is that true of modern tube gear?
> 
> To be honest, I keep my only tube piece (Millennia STT-1, which has both tube and solid-state paths) turned off until I need it. It has some gnarly heat-sinking, so you'd think it would be okay...



I wouldn't keep any modern tube gear on 24x7 or 25x7 lol .. It's best to turn off when not using.


----------



## danbo (Oct 13, 2018)

The discussion of keeping electronics on or off goes back decades, and I've been in many discussions with EE colleagues. Basic answer is nobody really knows which is better for longevity, but there are many opinions. Caveat, there are other considerations such as your power quality, if it's poor (or you have lots of electrical storms in your area) leaving it off is probably best. 

Otherwise for me it's just convenience. Bringing the computer and interfaces up and down is a pain, and I get to work in small increments and bursts so I don't want to mess with small details like just getting everything going. I also have solar panels so don't care about the juice (my end of year is zero and we use a lot of power). Having said that I do have some things automatically switch off such as my keyboard and some peripherals. I leave the Mac trash can up 24/7 too, it only sips about 20W on idle.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Oct 13, 2018)

danbo said:


> Bringing the computer and interfaces up and down is a pain



That's why God created the Sleep feature. There's no reason to turn off a computer these days, in my opinion. Do they even use 20W?

That old wives' tale about Sleep making your system unstable may have been true years ago, but I've been doing it several times a day for years with no issues.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Oct 13, 2018)

The Internet says sleeping computers use between 1W and 6W.

That's well within the BFD range.


----------



## danbo (Oct 14, 2018)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> That's why God created the Sleep feature. There's no reason to turn off a computer these days, in my opinion. Do they even use 20W?
> 
> That old wives' tale about Sleep making your system unstable may have been true years ago, but I've been doing it several times a day for years with no issues.



Computer sleep wasn't invented by any worshiped deity, but by software developers like me. 

I have about eight top systems in my home office I use for things from deep learning to general development, to games and composing software, and I can only reliably sleep a few of them. Mac's aren't any better, they will spontaneously wake up, and sometimes they'll get pissed and freeze when doing so. Now the Mac Pro cylinder is a good sleeper (except it not infrequently happens that on a new OS update it screws up again, until Apple fixes it six months later. Anyhow, when sleeping the cylinder composing computer there are a number of annoying glitches. One my RED4Pre comes up and always forgets what it's clock source is so I have to manually reset it to internal. Then Logic and MainStage lose their brain and fart dialog boxes warning about this or that transgression. Oh and I have 1GB/s external RAID arrays that VI's often freak out on because they haven't mounted in time on wakeup, so they'll freak and wedge. 

It's annoying, I have too many computers to mess with it, at work I use as many computers daily and they all stay on 24/7 for this and other reasons. Plus IT tells us not to turn them off either. I just remembered, at work we use HP Z workstations and HP also advises to leave them off.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Oct 14, 2018)

danbo, it's probably safe to say that you're what we in the art world call an *edge case.*

Normal man-on-the-street guys like me can safely sleep our computers at will.

I mean, every recent Mac laptop automatically sleeps when you close its lid, then wakes up when you open it.


----------



## danbo (Oct 14, 2018)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> Normal man-on-the-street guys like me can safely sleep our computers at will.



I didn't say that computer sleep doesn't work for many or most people with one computer, I'm saying that it's not an old wives tale that sleep can cause issues. Even my Linux boxes, with the best kernel in the world, suffer from user space sleep issues, such as my Nvidia Titan which occasionally glitches on wakeup and screws up the desktop, so I have to reboot. Anyhow we're composers here and as I sketched out my not unusual (trash can/RED4PRE thunderbolt) setup has issues on sleeping. Maybe other people are luckier.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Oct 14, 2018)

danbo said:


> I didn't say that computer sleep doesn't work for many or most people with one computer



Did too, did too!

Okay, can we at least pretend you did?


But seriously, if the RED4PRE causes problems sleeping, to me that would seem like a good thing to shout at the manufacturer about. It really shouldn't do that.

By the way, I actually do have several computers, but I sleep the two I use - Mac Pro and MacBook Air. I don't know about my Windows machines, because I've never slept them - I just shut them down, and then turn them back on months later when I need one.


----------



## tmhuud (Oct 14, 2018)

I’ve had several ‘odd’ issues caused by sleep over the decades. I think I even recal a time when it wasn’t recommended to let a Mac sleep while using Logic.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Oct 15, 2018)

tmhuud said:


> I’ve had several ‘odd’ issues caused by sleep over the decades. I think I even recal a time when it wasn’t recommended to let a Mac sleep while using Logic.



Yes, you absolutely do recall that!

But it should be working these days. I sleep it with Logic open all the time, and I have no issues.


----------



## Soundhound (Oct 15, 2018)

I turn everything off at the end of the day/night/whenever I'm done for the day. But I've always left the speakers on, Genelec M030s. Never worried about it. Now I wonder, should those get turned off too?


----------



## Jeremy Spencer (Oct 19, 2018)

igwanna said:


> you guys seriouisly turn off your computers?? but how long do your libraries and templates and VSTS take to load?? guys just put it in sleep mode, it comes back form it in like under 10 seconds fully loaded, no need to reopen anything and you are under 1 to 3W max



Yes, I turn them off. It takes like under five minutes to turn everything back on (everything) and load up my template(s), etc. (the time it takes to go and take a dump and make a coffee). Jeez, we are supposed to be trying to conserve energy on this planet, this is such a minor inconvenience. And even at 1 to 3W, this adds up to $$ on my electrical bill over time. I don't know about you, but I like to save money.


----------



## igwanna (Oct 19, 2018)

true, but in my case in particular perhaps, time is money, sometimes 15 minute that my template teakes to load is enough for me not putting that idea down in my daw.. and there it goes forever,


----------



## Emmanuel Rousseau (Oct 19, 2018)

igwanna said:


> true, but in my case in particular perhaps, time is money, sometimes 15 minute that my template teakes to load is enough for me not putting that idea down in my daw.. and there it goes forever,



You can write in down on paper, or record yourself singing the melody on your phone.

Just sayin'


----------



## igwanna (Oct 19, 2018)

how can i hum a full orchestra in my phone... haha well ok,


----------



## Emmanuel Rousseau (Oct 19, 2018)

Well, if when inspiration strikes under the shower, you suddenly have the complete orchestration in your head, then you are a freaking genius and you should indeed leave your template ready all the time !


----------



## igwanna (Oct 19, 2018)

brother, trust me im no genius, but this is how i hear music in my head when im composing, i hear full ensembles playing, i hear multiple distinct diferent frequences that come specifically from a tuba or a clarinet imposing themselves over the rest, i hear sparkles of glissando cutting through, i hear chords as a one and not individual instruments playing a chord... most of time i spend more time trying to translate all of that into the piano so i can write it then composing per se....

i dont know its like a subconscious thing i have no control over, but completely lack on the technical physical-world side of it... what can i do..?

of course theres the other side of it, where i have nothing in my head but like to have a fully prepped template waiting for me at the right time to try and experiment... i try to compensate my spenditure of energy by not damaging the planet earth with anything else i do


----------



## brenneisen (Oct 19, 2018)

igwanna said:


> how can i hum a full orchestra in my phone... haha well ok,



if the idea is good enough you won't forget


----------



## Jeremy Spencer (Oct 19, 2018)

brenneisen said:


> if the idea is good enough you won't forget



Yep, fifteen minutes isn't going to make or break it.


----------



## babylonwaves (Oct 19, 2018)

why don't you just make a template with a single piano in it. loads in 30 seconds and you can save your idea. i'm in the same boat with you, I "hear" a lot but I cannot write it down on paper just like that. i'm not having a piano template but an old Wurlitzer with a dictaphone. that really works for me.


----------

