Your Best Music is Dying! 10 Habits of Prolific Music Producers

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Written By Brian Funk

Is your best music not getting made?

Do you struggle through the process? 

This video contains 10 habits of prolific music producers. Adopt them into your music making and let your best music come to life!

Every time we make music is a unique and special experience. We will never be in exactly the same place again. We have to take advantage of each moment we get otherwise, that music will never get made. 

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Takeaways:

  • Every music creation moment is unique and special.

  • Prolific music production requires consistent practice.

  • Don't wait for the perfect moment to start creating.

  • It's okay to borrow ideas from other artists.

  • Create what you want to hear, not just for others.

  • Establish a routine to make music regularly.

  • Embrace constraints to enhance creativity.

  • Explore side projects to find new inspiration.

  • Immerse yourself in a creative environment.

  • Share your work to build a community and grow as an artist.

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Thank you for listening. 

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Episode Transcript:

Brian Funk (00:00.097)

Every time you sit down and make music is different and special. You feel a certain way, you're in a certain mood, the time of day factors in, the people you are around with affects you. It's like the old saying, you can never go in the same river twice because the river is never the same and neither are you. So each time you make music, you're going to come up with something completely unique to that particular moment. And if you don't do it now, what music is not getting made? What songs are not getting written?

What if Paul McCartney didn't sit down at the piano after he dreamed up the melody of yesterday? Or what if Dolly Parton didn't sit down to write music the day she wrote both Jolene and I Will Always Love You? What music of yours is not getting created right now? The only way to ensure that your best music isn't going unwritten is to become prolific and write as often as possible. But what happens when you have the time to make music and you don't know where to start?

In this video, I'm going to share 10 habits of prolific music producers that I've picked up from my own experience and the wisdom of hundreds of guests that I've spoke to on this music production podcast. Even if you only apply a couple of these principles, you'll be making more music, feeling more creative and defending yourself against writer's block and self-doubt.

Number one, don't wait to start. Start now. Don't postpone your creative work until you know who you are or have the perfect idea or until you've figured out your identity and unique style. You have to actually make stuff and work on stuff to actually develop that unique style. You're not gonna have the right gear that's gonna fix everything. You're not gonna download the proper program or software or plugin that's gonna change everything for you. You already have plenty. Start now.

And if you don't feel like you have the credentials to do it, just fake it till you make it. Act like the person you want to become. Adopt the mindset of the artist you want to be. Act like a creator and start producing stuff and you will become a creator. You're never going to get a certificate in the mail that makes you have the permission to create music. You're not going to get this like plaque one day that shows that you are officially there and you have the credibility to do it. It never comes. You just have to do it.

Brian Funk (02:12.789)

and do it and do it and as you do it that's what you are you're making music music producers produce music so produce music don't wait start now number two it's okay to be unoriginal nothing is original all of our creative work builds on what came before artists have influences and those artists influences have their own influences we're all standing on the shoulders of giants as they say so we're really never creating anything new it's more like we're mixing things together so

So borrow from lots of sources. Draw from multiple different influences, take little aspects of what one artist does and what another does, and throw them together. The more varied your influences, the more original your work will be. You can steal grooves or maybe song structures or rhythmic ideas. You can borrow phrasing from songs, maybe even rewrite lyrics and then put them into your own melodies and rhythms.

There's all kinds of ways you can borrow things from other people. You can write down chord progressions you like and then come back to them later after you've forgotten where they came from. I really think it's a great idea to just collect different ideas. In my book, The Five Minute Music Producer, it's one of the things I talk about is creating these reference files so that when you do have time to make music, you know something you can do. So I've got just snippets of song lyrics, titles, things I see in...

newspapers or magazines or phrases people say or just things that pop in my head. Maybe it's a line from a movie or something, but I'll just write those down in my lyric ideas. And then I got another one called techniques to try in a song where I'm just collecting things that I like that other music does. Maybe I like a certain buildup or a certain introduction to a song, or I like the way the chorus comes around in a certain kind of way. I just write these things down and collect them. And then when I'm ready to make music, I don't have to think, what am I going to do? What am I going to do?

I can just borrow from these ideas that I've already come up with. Collect ideas from your favorite artists, make lists of these ideas, and when it's time to make music, throw them together. Because even if you're just copying something that somebody else did, most likely you're going to kind of mess it up and miss the mark, but in your own unique way. And the kind of mistakes or quirks about how you did it is going to be where your personality comes through. So really don't stress it too much.

Brian Funk (04:28.459)

If you wind up copying too much in the early stages of a project, you can always go back and edit it later. But know that we're all borrowing from each other. Your job is to just borrow the things that you like, put them together in your own way, and allow your personality to come into it. You're not going to be original. Don't worry about it. That's going to put too much stress on you. So allow yourself to be unoriginal. And ironically, you're going to wind up sounding original. Number three, make what you want to hear.

Make something that you will enjoy, even if you just enjoy the process of making it, because then at least one person will like it. And more than likely, there's probably a lot of other people just like you out there that are gonna enjoy what you're doing. You might inspire them. By making yourself happy, you're probably gonna make those other people happy too. Create what you love. Instead of trying to make things that you think other people will like, just make stuff that you like. Focus on the art you wanna see. Write the book you wanna read, build the projects you wanna use.

create the music you want to listen to. Maybe you want a song for a certain occasion, make a song for that, and then that's your song for that occasion. And like I said before, there's probably other people that will enjoy what you're doing too. But if you're focusing on pleasing other people, you're going to get stuck real fast because you have no feedback in those early stages. The only feedback you really have is your own. So if you just focus on enjoying the process and enjoying what you're doing, you're probably going to make stuff that other people want to hear anyway. So just make what you want to hear.

Number four, create a routine. Set times to make your music and stick to it. Think of it like an appointment. Put it in the calendar. Create a system for yourself where you say, if it's Monday at 5 p.m., I'm going to make music, then when Monday at 5 p.m. shows up, you know what you're doing and you don't have to think about it. You don't have to decide if there's time. You've already created that time. If you want to play with a band or other people.

You have to do this anyway. That's the only way the practices ever happen. You gotta put it on the schedule and make it regular so that everybody knows what's coming up. Don't feel like you have to get more time. You have to quit your day job. In fact, having a day job for me is probably one of the best things that gets me making music because when I go to work, I'm taking up a large portion of my day. So when I get home, I know I only have a few hours left to do what I wanna do.

Brian Funk (06:43.315)

So I make the time and when I sit down to make music, I know that I only have a certain amount of time, so I get to work. I often refer back to those lists I told you about earlier to get ideas flowing if I don't have ideas. But the job actually provides me with the structure to know when I should be making music. When I'm on summer vacation, I have all that time off, I feel like I have so much time I can waste time like crazy and I'll say, I'll do it later, I'll do it tomorrow. And a lot of times, weeks go by without really getting much done on a project.

But once I have work, I realize, okay, I've only got three hours today. I've only got an hour tomorrow. And then I just get to work and do it. allow your normal routines to structure your artistic routine. But don't feel like you have to wait until inspiration strikes to do it because it's very unlikely that that inspiration is going to line up with your schedule perfectly. Find a time to work, show up and inspiration will come to you.

That's the way to get inspired to start working, to start doing stuff and things will start to happen that you react to and that'll make you excited. Make a routine of it. Show up like it's your job, like it's an appointment, like you would be letting someone down if you didn't do it because you are going to be letting someone down if you don't do it and that person is you. So don't treat yourself poorly. Stick to your routine and make music on a schedule. Number five, embrace your constraints.

The real problem for music makers these days is we have too many choices. We have every plugin, every sample. We can download things, we can watch tutorials, we can learn and learn and learn before we ever get started. We need to push that stuff away and just get going. Work with what you have now. Instead of thinking you need new gear or you need to learn something, make something with what you've got and the space you've got and the time you've got. Then...

In the future, you can add gear or you can learn things over time, but nobody makes music by getting everything they need and learning everything they need first and then doing it. So much of the learning happens as you're doing it and so much of the realizing what you need happens while you're doing it. When it's time to create, think about creating limitations and challenges for yourself. Use subtraction. We've got infinite possibilities. Find a way to create limitations for yourself so you can be creative within those limitations. Creativity is really

Brian Funk (08:58.539)

problem solving. It's how do I figure out how to do this thing with the situation I'm in? If your answer to that is change my situation all the time, you're never being creative. You're just finding other ways around it. The real trick to being creative is figuring out how you're going to solve problems with what you already have. So embrace those constraints. They're actually your friends. They'll get your mind going. They'll get you doing things you might not have done otherwise. And they'll get you making music instead of finding excuses.

why you shouldn't be making music. Number six, try different approaches to shake things up. Now this one comes after you've already employed principle number four, which is create a routine. After you've got a routine going for a while, every once in a while, shake it up. Try working in a different spot. Maybe bring your computer or your instrument or whatever you use to make music into a different location. Take it outside if you can, maybe get away from the computer, try a different instrument, try a physical setup.

Maybe just use pens, papers and a recorder. Even your phone is fine because those mics are great now on phones. But the point is to just mix it up in a way that you're now kind of have this novelty of something fresh and different. It's going to get you thinking differently. It might even be to just break the routine and do it at a different time. But by changing your either environment, time or tools, you might find yourself making music that you wouldn't make otherwise. And that can be very inspiring and lead to new directions musically. So every once in a while.

Shake things up.

Brian Funk (10:31.147)

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Brian Funk (11:24.637)

Number seven, create side projects. Sometimes when we're working on a project for so long, we can get a little burnt out on it. We can get stuck. So we can find ways to get out of that by exploring different projects, maybe work in a different genre, maybe use a different set of sounds or instruments, maybe even do an entirely different thing aside from making music. You'd be surprised at the different connections you can make by creating some physical art, drawing, painting, or making

videos or something like that, you can find inspiration and connections with making music. And if you pursue some of these things, you might find yourself getting good at making album art or music videos, or maybe creating something that you can also bring into your world of your music. But it's nice to have something different to turn to every once in a while. You don't have to stay focused on one thing all the time. A lot of times one passion will be developed by exploring other passions. You might find that

If you have an alternative creative outlet or another project to work on, you'll take that a little bit less seriously. And you might bring that less serious attitude to the stuff that you are taking seriously. Cause a lot of times we get stuck and burnt down on projects because we take it too seriously. So having a little practice trying something different that we're not as invested in can really add a lot to the things that we are invested in. So create some side projects for yourself. Number eight, immerse yourself in a creative world.

Create your own environment. Surround yourself with books, art, and objects that you love. Things that might connect thematically to what you want to work on. Use travel or the internet to find new perspectives and ideas. But bring yourself into this little world and try to create that musically. A lot of times I think of making music as creating a world for the listener. So subverse yourself in that. Listen to music, let's watch movies, things that will inspire that kind of thinking.

And you can repeat yourself. It can be fun to explore sounds and genres and creative approaches. Sometimes it's really nice to work on a project of say a certain genre and just really go into that for a while. And then the next project is your chance to do something totally different. I think that's a lot of fun because it gives me something to look forward to. And it also gives me the motivation to finish the thing I'm working on now. A lot of times I'll decide, I've just made like a album with my band. Now I want to do something electronic and ambient.

Brian Funk (13:52.369)

As I'm finishing the work with the band, it's part of my motivation is I want to get to the next thing. Build yourself a world, surround yourself with music, film, art, create your own sounds and palettes that you can use in your music so that you've got this thing you're investing some time in and spending some time and make a bunch of songs that are very similar to each other. Sometimes we feel like we got to be different every time. Don't worry about becoming stale or repetitive. What you're really doing is just exploring that world a little bit deeper.

And you're allowed to repeat yourself a little bit. The things that you're repeating are probably going to become your trademarks. And you probably have a lot of artists that you love that have a sort of trademark thing they do. Don't be afraid to do that. That's a way you can kind of own yourself and your own personality musically. So spend some time in a specific creative world and a project and see what happens. Number nine, don't be afraid to share your work. This is so important. Share your work early and often.

In fact, the beginning is such a great time to share because no one's going to know who you are anyway. You can kind of leverage your obscurity. When you're first starting, the fact that you're anonymous and people that know don't know who you are allows you to experiment freely. You don't have the pressure of expectations or what people are going to be comparing your work against your old work or any of that kind of stuff. You just put it out there and see what happens. Think of your work as like a document in time of where you were.

When we look in the mirror every day, we don't see ourselves changing much. But if you look at a photo from a year or two ago, you might say, wow, I've changed a bit. I look different. This is kind of what we want to do with our music and our art. We want to get used to that feeling of just creating kind of like a path or breadcrumbs of where we've been. We're creating a body of work. When I think about it that way, like I'm making a body of work. It's fun to contribute to that. Often I put things in as much as I can.

It helps develop my overall story as an artist. I'm not thinking too much about like one project being the most definitive thing of who I am right now. If you try to make something that's going to capture everything you believe, all your perspectives and one major opus masterpiece, you're probably going to get stuck and frustrated because we're not that simple. There's many sides to us. Often our messages have contradictions in it.

Brian Funk (16:11.416)

Often we feel one way and then completely the opposite the next day. It's okay. When you start creating a body of work and leaving these breadcrumbs behind, you create this more human, more dimensional character. Your art is representative of who you actually are. You can't pick one particular thing to just encapsulate who we are. It's more about the body of work. And that makes it a little bit easier to add pieces to that puzzle and share them and try new things because you're not worried about

this super important one message that you're trying to communicate. We're just not like that as people. So don't worry about that. I think it makes for a more interesting overall picture of all the artists I love is that they go through stages and phases and things change. Their positions change, their beliefs change, their attitudes on things change. It makes for a more rounded character to follow and that's more human and more relatable. So share your work, leave.

breadcrumbs, think of it like a diary every time you make something. Create a body of work that you can look back on and say, hey, that captures a lot of the different things I've been going through at different times. Number 10 is to make connections with other musicians. It's so important to connect with other people. Making music forever was about making music with people. You had to have other people to be in ensembles. Now we can do it alone in our computers and be very isolated about it.

But making connections with others will help you share your work and it will help you grow as an artist as well. It's really helpful to have people that you can trade ideas with, get feedback from. Nowadays on the internet, you can find communities of all kinds of stuff. So it's much easier to find your people. When you're doing this, a couple of things to think about, always be nice to other people. This is not a competition. Nobody wins music. Nobody wins the best song. You don't need to

Defeat other people to get ahead. In fact, if you're a part of a community and one person starts having some success that particular artist might bring up the community. Everybody benefits from this. Most of the time when people are mean to each other, it's usually due to their own frustration. You might see that every once in a while, but don't take it to heart too much. People are tend to be venting about really what they're feeling about themselves. And if you're nice to them and you're friendly to them, even when they are nasty to you,

Brian Funk (18:32.668)

you might help get them out of that cycle and it might make them see things a little bit differently and then become supportive of what you're doing. But if you're going to be mean back to them, then they're gone and they're done and now you've made an enemy and someone that's against you. And it shouldn't be like that. We should be supporting each other. I think I felt that competition feeling in the past, but in the last few years or decades, I've really been thinking more about like rooting people on and celebrating their victories because I've found that there's always a time in

Every single project, no matter how much experience I get, no matter how good I think I get at doing a certain thing or a certain genre, there's always a time in every project where I'm loaded with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, I feel like I don't know what I'm doing, I should be better, I have no right, I'm a fake, I'm a phony. This happens all the time, every single time. So when I see people that have finished music, it's evidence to me that it's not impossible. It reminds me that if they could get through it, then I probably can too.

One thing you're going to learn about making music is how little people really care about it. So it's nice to shower people with some of the support that you'd like to feel. Make them feel good about their work. They're more likely to feel good about your work. And now you're supporting each other. Now you're teammates. Now you're working together. This is how communities grow. And it becomes very motivating. It's so nice to see other people succeed because it shows you that it's not impossible. And those are people that you know that you've connected with. You can learn from them and you can help each other as they say.

rising tide raises all boats, right? So as the water goes higher, so does everyone in that water. So get in the water with other people and root each other on. Join communities. I would recommend my music production club. It's a really cool community of music producers of all kinds of genres. And we're always sharing music, supporting each other, giving each other ideas, sharing resources. We meet on Zoom and we make music together and share our ideas with each other.

And we learn and we realize what we're doing well, what we can improve on. We get ideas from each other and inspire each other. It's so important to find a community of people that you can interact with because you are going to get into these times where it's tough and you have self doubt and it feels like no one cares. But when you get into a good community, can.

Brian Funk (20:50.834)

find some support and you can help others that are struggling too and that can sometimes be the exact thing that helps you. Sometimes seeing somebody struggle with the very thing you're struggling with does make you feel better because you realize you're not alone. It allows you to see your problems from an outside perspective and understand that you can get through it together. Having a community of people can really make a difference in this difficult challenge of making music. So those are some things you can do.

If you are getting stuck and you want to be more prolific, I can't stress it enough, you never know what's going to happen each time you make music. And every time you let an opportunity get away, we really just don't know what we've lost. And that could be some of our best music. Next time you're struggling, next time you're not sure, just sit down and put in a little bit of time, try some of these principles, and I think it might help you get a little further along.

Good luck to you. Thanks for watching the music production podcast. I'm Brian Funk. You can check out my work at brianfunk.com. I've got lots of tutorials, free Ableton Live packs, packs I sell, stuff you can use in your music, hopefully stuff that will inspire you a bit. And if you want to join a cool community, check out the music production club. We're having a lot of fun over there and it'd be great to have you. Thank you very much and have a great day.

Brian Funk
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