# Working fast....



## method1 (Aug 9, 2020)

In my little corner of the scoring world, I have to work fast a lot of the time. 
I've worked on loads of daily shows (including soapies - on one of them around 3400 episodes 😬) and over the years I've developed some shorthand for getting things done quickly.

For example, I keep all my work organised by key, tempo & mood, sort of like a loop/music library would be structured.
If the piece has tempo/key changes I also make a note of that. 
A lot of the work is finished rendered audio & I also export the midi from pieces I think will come in handy.
Sometimes I'll store track archives with the works as well for easier recall.
This allows me to "remix" themes on the fly, or mix and match various bits & pieces. 

What are some techniques/tricks you use when time is short?


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## anp27 (Aug 9, 2020)

Great topic! You've laid out some cool tips for "repurposing" the music you've already made but can you share some tips/techniques that you use _during_ the actual music making process that enable you to work fast?


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## method1 (Aug 9, 2020)

anp27 said:


> Great topic! You've laid out some cool tips for "repurposing" the music you've already made but can you share some tips/techniques that you use _during_ the actual music making process that enable you to work fast?



Setup & templates:
Obviously a solid starting point, all the bread and butter sounds and instruments need to be accessible. 
I have a simple template, I don't try and include every single library/articulation, getting the idea down fast is the top priority, then one can always go back and refine it. Not having a massive template also keeps the computer snappy & responsive 

Spotting:
When I get an episode or film, I watch it for the first time inside the DAW.
I'll put down ideas (usually on piano) while the film is playing. I try not to stop/pause too much.
Over time I've found my first instict/reaction is usually the best idea to go with.
After a successful spotting session I might have a few solid ideas/themes to develop.

Learning:
I'll pick something I want to learn about, theory, technique, synthesis etc, but keeping it focussed and bite-sized, eg how to make a certain sound on a synth. Because I'm lucky enough to be writing full time, I'll try and apply something I've just learned in the work, this keeps things fresh and sparks ideas.

Not being precious:
Not every piece is or can be a masterpiece, but it can still be effective. 

Less is more:
Well, often it is, but sometimes more is more


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## RonOrchComp (Aug 9, 2020)

method1 said:


> What are some techniques/tricks you use when time is short?



Cocaine.

Not worrying about the details, and sketching as much as possible on piano.


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## method1 (Aug 9, 2020)

RonOrchComp said:


> Cocaine.
> 
> Not worrying about the details, and sketching as much as possible on piano.



Pro tip: snort your lines off the piano keys, some of it will fall between the keys, and that way there will be some left for a rainy day.


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## jcrosby (Aug 9, 2020)

I export midi as well. I'll also export stems of elements I may re-use later. Logic 10.5 in theory makes re-using them much quicker, but currently it looks like quick sampler has a bug where it doesn't detect silence in long files and won't slice the file for you... It'll get sorted soon enough I'm sure...

I spend a few days a week doing less sexy work that I can make use of later...

I'll open up omnisphere and mark patches then add them to omnisphere project lists. Make apple loops and/or wav loops out of stems. Fire up live and have sound design sessions where I resample everything to audio. I'll make Kontakt and or Logic Sampler/Quicksampler patches I know I'll use later... I'll get behind the hood and tweak kontakt patches to do some of the things I want the patch to do (if possible/easy), etc... I go through projects or templates and add patches to my Logic patch library so I can search and load quickly...

I also have a few master templates covering different styles. Lately I tend to prefer either importing stuff from the master template only as needed or using Logic's library to get to stuff I use all the time... While it's useful having a big template, I just don't jibe well with having more than 200 tracks in front of me. Maybe it's the ADD? (It's definitely the ADD ) Importing tracks as needed seems to work better for me.

I also use AudioFinder to organize an otherwise cumbersome collection of samples. (somewhere around a million & change wav/audio files.  ) I'll make playlists for things I specifically need to have on call later, add tags, create playlists for specific projects, etc. I scan my drives every few weeks and update AF's master playlists.

Lately I've been having AF open while I work on anything and search if I need a specific sound that either doesn't exist in Kontakt, or may be hard to fid. (Holy shit does kontakt need an easily/quickly user-tweakable database).

Admittedly I could be better at organizing everything, and it sounds like you've got quite a streamlined workflow. I may steal a few riffs from you!


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## Alexandre (Aug 10, 2020)

Thanks guys this is super helpful for me! Hopefully we'll get more composers to describe their process!


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## Jeremy Spencer (Aug 10, 2020)

A big one for me is literally locking the studio door so that I'm not interrupted.....and I also turn off any internet connections so that I'm not tempted to go online. 

Oh.....and some decent coffee


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## method1 (Aug 25, 2020)

Here's a tip that I usually charge $29.99 for, but for a limited time only it's FREE!
Yes that's right, the SECRETS of PRO COMPOSITION HACKING all yours at NO COST!

PRO TIP 1: THE UNINSPIRED HACK.

Take a pre-existing cue & write parts on top of it, don't double any parts if you can help it.
Add some new melodic and rhythmic parts, fill in the gaps etc. Improvise/jam on top of it.
Then, remove the original cue and VOILA (or use a VIOLA if you prefer) a whole new cue.


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## Henu (Aug 25, 2020)

That's actually a goddamn neat trick which I want to test!


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