How to Produce Faster, More Effectively & Creatively
Adam Pollard aka Multiplier, delivers an indispensable video tutorial series on how to produce music and tracks faster, more efficiently and creatively. Presented in a "Talking Head" seminar style, this series contains 47 videos covering a wide range of topics, techniques and insights. If you work in a studio or need fresh ways to create your music and content, this series will be a great help.
Videos
• Introduction (00:57) - Multiplier welcomes you and goes over what the series is all about.
• Mouse DPI Modes (02:52) - Learn how to optimize cursor speed, using the side buttons on a mouse to toggle between these speeds, called DPI modes, to work faster and more efficiently.
• How to Always "Win" (04:52) - This is the most important time-management principle. If you learn just one concept, learn this one. It applies to both hour-by-hour choosing of tasks, as well as long-term strategy and direction.
• Corridor Test (01:45) - Use this to make sure you're being effective (doing the "right" things), in all aspects of creating music.
• Match DAW to Ambient Light (01:49) - Do this to avoid/reduce eye fatigue, when using your computer for more than a short period of time.
• Everything You Can See (04:01) - See how to optimize the layout of your studio space, when working in your bedroom, or the living room. It's a super powerful strategy to feel more creative, and more productive.
• Listening Volume (04:16) - Every 10/15 minutes, change the listening volume. Learn the reasons why.
• Systematize Networking (04:47) - Because of Dunbar's number (explained in the video), you'll need to create a system to effectively network/market your music.
• Closing Other Apps (01:50) - It's a simple idea, but one of the easiest to implement, and an extremely common mistake I see.
• Search (02:47) - Folders aren't the best way to find files. There's a reason all the big platforms (Netflix, Gmail, Amazon, etc..) use search instead. Let me explain.
• Batch Renaming for Search (02:09) - Use this to make your sample collection keyword searchable.
• Keyboard Shortcuts (04:25) - This is probably the most important technique to work fast. In this video I explain why. Spoiler: it also allows you to work more creatively!
• Plug Everything In (03:22) - It's a simple idea, but super important and I explain why. I also give some ideas for ways to implement this.
• Don't Reinvent the Wheel (01:49) - Spend your time focusing on the creative components of what you're creating. Spend time and energy on what makes your track uniquely exciting and interesting.
• Reachability (03:47) - You're more likely to use gear you can reach. There's more nuance to this though than you might expect. Let me explain.
• Social Proof (02:29) - This is commonly misunderstood. It's also one of the main pillars of influence and marketing.
• Write Down Solved Problems (02:47) - Again, a simple idea, but it's a very common mistake people make.
• Do Hard Things When Easy (02:39) - With lots to do (sound design, songwriting, marketing, admin, etc..) use this concept to decide which to work on. You'll do it better, faster, and more enjoyably.
• Night Colors (01:41) - This completely transforms the night-time producing experience - not to mention, you can use it to get creatively unstuck!
• Playback Devices (03:37) - If you want to produce effectively (doing the "right" things), this is a critical technique.
• Archive & Start Fresh (01:24) - This is a very necessary strategy to avoid getting stuck, and creating the same things over and over again.
• Reduce Choice (03:24) - Choice paralysis is the enemy of working fast, and completing tracks. Reducing choice also forces creativity.
• Bounce to Audio (03:42) - Commit to ideas and move forward in the creation process. I also show how to do all this, WITHOUT losing the ability to go back and redo/change something, if need be.
• Measure (01:23) - Be more effective at mastering, and reduce time wasted dealing with uncertainty.
• Stand Up (04:04) - It's a way to be more creative, and not to mention healthier. I share some insights and ideas as to why, and how to implement this in your own space.
• Do a Test Master (01:52) - Use this technique to be more effective in your mixing. With twenty minutes doing a test master, you can save hours of mixing in the wrong direction.
• Liking Social Posts (01:40) - Done correctly, this is a simple way to improve name recognition and show interest, when pitching to small to medium size labels/platforms.
• WIP Organization (02:17) - Explore some strategies and techniques for staying organized.
• Lead Domino (03:14) - What task would render everything else either easier or obsolete?
• Ergonomics (06:14) - This is one of the most important, but usually ignored, concepts when setting up a space. I share lots of the most important ideas, from monitor height, to chair type!
• Time Challenge & 80:20 Analysis (04:58) - Use a "time challenge" to work faster, but maybe more importantly, to work on the "right" things. Explore 80:20 analysis, to work on the 20% of things, that contribute to 80% of a track's quality/success.
• Automate (02:25) - Automate anything that doesn't add any creative value to what you're doing.
• Chase Antelope (03:03) - A lion could eat mice (easier to catch), instead of antelope - but they don't. Find out why, and how this concept applies to everything you do as a music producer or DJ.
• Systematically Personalize (01:36) - Use this to be more effective in pitching tracks to influencers/labels/platforms.
• What Not to Say (02:31) - Avoid one of the biggest mistakes I see when people send me tracks.
• A/B Testing (03:45) - This is basically how the internet works, yet most music producers never do it. We should.
• Defaults (02:10) - Explore one of the most fundamental techniques of working faster, learn why, and see a few examples.
• Light (03:04) - Use light to control your energy level. See how...
• Smell (01:12) - Almost always overlooked, but it's a quick and simple way to make you feel better, more creative, and more productive.
• Random Sample Trick (03:27) - See this creative hack, a beautiful little concept for finding the next sample to use.
• Social Media Numbers (06:28) - Love them or hate them, learn how to build those initial social numbers. It's necessary to be effective in marketing your music.
• Change Colors (01:40) - It sounds simple, but it works. It's called a "pattern interrupt", and I explain WHY it works.
• Stay Focused (03:26) - Learn how to stop your phone stealing your attention, as well as a favorite productivity hack of mine, the "train journey to nowhere".
• Single Plug-In Challenge (01:45) - There's a trick to this, a way to do it for free, resulting in you being more creative.
• Batching (05:25) - I share a few examples, as well as what types of things you should batch.
• Ten Ideas a Day (02:20) - The magic is in the final three or four ideas... Let me explain.
• Keep It Simple (04:40) - Again, it sounds obvious, but most people don't do it. I share a whole range of examples to enforce the concept.