The Finish More Music Podcast

Keith Mills
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Jul 22, 2019 • 23min

FMM015 - Mixdown: Your Eyes are the Danger

Picture this. You’re in your studio. You’re finishing your mixdown. You look at your spectrum analyzer and it looks all good, but something inside you is saying otherwise.It doesn’t sound right but it looks right. So what’s going on?Your eyes are deceiving you…. In this episode, I talk about a very common mistake that we all fall into regularly: Mixing with our eyes and not with our ears. I also share a mind-blowingly simple tip that can help you overcome this and can enable you to mix faster and achieve better quality results with minimal time and effort   Key Takeaways: Your eyes are lying to you “Take your eyes out of the equation and all that's left is the truth“ How to avoid being fooled by your eyes when you’re mixing My number 1 mixdown technique that you can put into practice straight away   Resources Mentioned Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook
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Jul 15, 2019 • 27min

FMM014 - The Quantity versus Quality Debate

What’s more important quality or quantity?What if I tell you that you don’t have to choose! That this is one of those cases where you can have your cake and eat it too. In this episode, we tackle the age-old debate of quality versus quantity. But rather than pitting them against each other, I tell you how constantly churning out tracks, leads to better quality music and better progress for you as a music producer   Key Takeaways: Quality is a by-product of quantity A quantity focus leads to the best results Overcoming perfection paralysis “You're never gonna write a great track with little or no experience of finishing tracks.”
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Jul 8, 2019 • 22min

FMM013 - Ghost Writing : The Moral Outrage

In this episode, we look into a seriously contentious topic: Ghostwriting.   There’s a lot of social media outrage and backlash when a DJ or Producer are found out to be working with someone else that’s doing most or all of their production work.   Having been a ghost writer, a DJ, and having years of experience in the industry, I’ve seen both sides of the coin and I have a slightly different take on this topic.   Key Takeaways: The varying degrees of Ghostwriting What are the returns when using a ghostwriter? Understanding the process If you can’t beat them, join them.   Resources Mentioned Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook
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Jul 1, 2019 • 25min

FMM012 - All the Gear, No Idea

Getting sucked into the cycle of buying newest tools and gear is easier than you might think.   But the question is...... Is it worth it? In this episode, I look at how our creativity and productivity can suffer when we stock up on unneeded plugins and production tools. Plus, I discuss some of the things you can do to avoid the urge to spend your limited resources on the latest and greatest gear when it catches your eye   Key Takeaways: Understanding; Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) Constantly buying new gear can do more harm than good Cycle of Failure Assess the true cost of buying by double checking what you already have   Resources Mentioned Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook
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Jun 24, 2019 • 35min

FMM011 - Weaken Your Demons with RAIN

Anxiety, Perfectionism, Frustration.We all have experienced this in one form or another, but what can we do when these feelings start creeping in?What if I told you there's a tool you can use every time to help you overcome these feelings?In this episode I discuss a technique that has helped me personally in overcoming negative emotional states and has enabled me to push myself creatively and finish more music. This technique is called: RAIN.   Key Takeaways: RAIN: Recognize, Acknowledge, Inspect, Non-Permanence Importance of practicing mindfulness “What we resist, persists” These feelings are not permanent. They will pass.   Resources Mentioned   FMM007 - Do the Thing, Have the Power   10% HAPPIER - Dan Harris FMM006 - The Best of the Best VS Fear Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook
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Jun 17, 2019 • 17min

FMM010 - The Masterplan

Trying to control every part of the music production journey can not only make the process boring and uninteresting, but it can also hinder creativity. Being an Electronic music producer, you tend to wear a lot of different hats and this can often be overwhelming. So we try to find ways of making the process easier and more manageable. One of these ways is by creating a Masterplan…. but…..IT NEVER WORKS! In this episode, we’ll discuss some of the pitfalls of creating and having a masterplan and how this affects your creativity in the studio. Key Takeaways: Creating a masterplan is futile. Outside of your comfort zone is where the magic happens Creativity thrives when being challenged “The creative process is a process of surrender and not control” – Julia Cameron Creativity requires facing your fear and jumping off the cliff.
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Jun 10, 2019 • 21min

FMM009 - Mixdown Is Low Priority

I get a lot of heat when I say that mixdown isn’t high priority in music production. Learning and focusing on mixdown is fun and easy and it offers certainty, but is it really where our focus should be? Is focusing on the technical aspects of music production giving us the most progress, or is it actually shielding us from fully realising our creative potential? In this episode, we’ll discuss the importance of building and focusing on the core foundations of music production, such as creativity and composition, and why we should develop these skills before we dive over to mixdown. Key Takeaways: Find out where you are in your production journey Focusing on the technical aspects can sometimes do more harm than good “A shit track with a great mixdown is still a shit track.” Importance of focusing on composition and creativity first Focusing on your 80/20
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Jun 3, 2019 • 28min

FMM008 - Going It Alone Is Madness

There is no need to be a lone wolf and struggle on your own... When you spend most of your time alone, writing and creating inside the four walls of your studio, having a community that supports you and bolsters you into achieving your musical goals is more important than ever. After running my community for 4 years, I learned that being surrounded by like minded people and having an inspirational, trustworthy community around you is essential to grow and succeed as a music producer In this episode, we’ll talk about the importance and power of community and why struggling alone is utter madness. If you feel that music production can sometimes be a lonely place, then this show is for you Key Takeaways: Motivation from the community Sharing Knowledge Gaining confidence in your music
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May 27, 2019 • 24min

FMM007 - Do the Thing, Have the Power

Getting back on the saddle can sometimes feel like a very daunting task, especially if you’ve not been making music for a long timeMotivation dwindles with time and there are moments when it’s easier to just give up.  Especially if you’re not sure of how and if you can actually do it.But once you do find the strategy that works for you, and if you just focus on yourself, you can get that spark back and more importantly keep the motivation running. In this episode, we discuss the challenges we face when we’ve been away from the studio and strategies we can try to get back and keep the motivation going. Key Takeaways: Start small and commit Surround yourself with the right people You can't rewrite your past but you can grab a clean sheet of paper and write the future.
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May 20, 2019 • 20min

FMM006 - The Best of the Best Versus Fear

In this episode, we discuss how even the best of us can experience self-doubt and fear when it comes to pursuing our goals or creating music. The trick is knowing how to overcome it and move forward. When I was watching a TV show called ‘SAS: Who Dares Wins’ I had some profound realisations about creativity and combating self doubt. Seeing some of the ‘best of the best’ being riddled with the same negative thoughts, that as creatives, we find ourselves in regularly, helped me understand what I can do to overcome them Key Takeaways: Even the ‘best of the best’ have self-doubts Our doubts are not who we are Feel the fear and do it anyway

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