Organization Inside the DAW

When I first started to produce music in my home studio, I developed many bad habits. My bad habits were the result of being unorganized in my workflow. As soon as an idea would come to my head, I would start to lay down a track, I was caught up in the moment. My problem occurred when I would revisit that track a few days later to finish the track. When revisiting the track, I would be inspired by a new creative idea; however, I would spend valuable time looking for samples, and separating song sections. When I finally got everything in the DAW somewhat organized, I would forget the fresh new idea. This led me to the purpose of my blog today. I want to offers some advice about creating an effective workflow inside of a DAW that allows maxim creativity when it is time to create.

            The first tip I have for inspiring music producers is to develop a system of color code for your tracks. Using DAWS such as Pro Tools and Logic, developing your own system of color coding can save you a lot of time when sorting thru tracks. The key to making coloring coding effective, is to develop a scheme for certain track groups and stick to that scheme. Coloring coding has helped me a lot, with my producing. When I pull up a section I can immediate recognize my melody from drums, vocal or effects.

            File management is another habit to get used to doing, in order to make the most of your time when producing. The most frustrating situation that happened to me when I first started producing was looking for that killer 808 sample I used on the track before. I remedy my frustration by making use of folders and using a separate drive for my samples. I began to organize my samples by instruments type in their own color-coded folder. This simple step has saved me valuable time when inspiration hits me. I now know exactly where that killer sample is located. File management can also be used in the same way to organize your tracks. Keeping files organized and in their own folder is a behavior that should turn into a habit for serious producers.

            The last tip I have for the inspiring producers is to make use of makers and notes inside of the DAW. Using makers inside the DAW is a great way to separate song sections. Most

DAWS offer quick key commands to jump to different markers; I also find this helpful to get around the timeline without using the mouse. Making use of the notes option inside of a DAW has also been helpful. I use the note section to write down sample names, chord progressions, the mics I used, etc. Writing down key ideas inside the DAW takes away the guesswork when you have a killer idea or you made a killer sound and you want to use it in another production.

            The above mention tips are just suggestions that have help me out a lot. Making music should be fun all-time and I believe any tip that can keep the creativity flowing is worth trying. Since I have been producing for a while now, I have been following the Grammy standards to music production. The Grammy standards, offers industry standards for workflow, a must read for anyone who want to be a professional producer. The Grammy standards offer an effective method for labeling and organizing tracks in an arrangement. Professional must follow these standards when sending file over the web or bringing files for an engineer to mix.

~LT