Why FINISHING YOUR SONGS Never Gets Easier.

[@nobodys.shapeshifter]

One trick I’ve learned to keep going is asking myself “if I had to show someone this song tomorrow what’s the one thing I wish was better” then I work on that. Keeps me focused.

[@Melvin7727]

Nice. I actually punish myself by showing someone and letting myself feel the regret of the bad aspect. Motivates me in a sick way lol.

[@mgmthegrand]

​@Melvin7727 Whoa... that's brutal. Don't know if I could handle that. But definitely liking @mictechshooter 's idea.

[@Melvin7727]

@@mgmthegrand Definitely. Any kind of "what if someone saw this now" is really useful in my opinion, whether it's done positively or negatively. In general I am a very negative person (something I try to work on), so I think I'm really suited for what I mentioned, but it is admittedly odd. But yeah, in any case, like I said, the OP's thing is right on. Exposing your work to others makes you fix it fast, and also notice lots of things you never thought about until you empathized with their point of view as an audience.

[@robertofoti6637]

@@Melvin7727 100% I do this and it's insane how obvious it is

[@follytree]

Brilliant

[@Bthelick]

We didn't release it because it was finished, it was finished because we released it.

[@tayzonday]

Thank you for the wise words! Always good to see you! ✊✊✊

[@MMfish_]

🫵 legend

[@bananaclub69]

you're everywhere

[@matt1524]

real recognize real

[@daka6887]

Chocolate rain is the epitemy of good arrangement

[@BeauStephenson]

Good to see YOU my man.

[@TonyAndersonMusic]

This is the best video I’ve seen on KZbin for the last 3 years. Thank you.

[@MightyJoeNolan]

The return of the king. Gregory, your production philosophizing is unique in the music learning space and you've been dearly missed. Glad you're healthy and back to share more. Along these lines I also like a hard stop between my mix and master.

[@debu206]

I struggled with finishing tracks for almost 3 years Laying out the broad idea as fast as possible became my saviour !

[@markusszelbracikowski956]

In summary the problem is writing a song while mixing at the same time lol it's so obvious but hearing out loud is liberating. Thanks as always!

[@slash196]

One thing I like to do when I get stuck on one element is to move UP the stack. So if I need a guitar part, I might go up to mixing and try and find a cool effect, and then see how that effect inspires a different performance on the guitar. But sometimes you need to go down the stack too...like if you've got too much low end, maybe your arrangement doesn't need that extra synth part. These steps are all interrelated, but they can just as easily be a distraction.

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

Exactly! The power of these workstations is a blessing and a curse, discipline and focus are our best allies.

[@TheMirolab]

Finishing ANYthing is now harder with KZbin in the world!! I'm guilty of spending more time watching videos ABOUT making music, rather than actually making music. I need help.... So glad to see you back!

[@jessemazur]

Welcome back! Agree with your points and hierarchy. I inject gaps (sometimes days) between steps that switch between "creative" and "technical" work to maintain different mindsets. "Song" and "Arrangement" are creative processes; learning the parts to "Perform" and "Record" are technical. I add "Editing" to that group as well. Then "Mixing" and "Production" are once again creative.

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

Clever! I think so much of that division, i.e., which process entails which type of work, maybe depends on your skillsets, learned experience, and propensities? Like, when I dial in a tone to record, it's verrry creative because I know my gear, I know my frequencies, I know gainstaging and desirable distortions and how much compression is wise... so setting up the preamp, the knobs on the guitar or synth... super in the flow. Likewise with recording drums, I get so lost in refining the touch and dynamics that I'll do multiple passes without realizing time exists. But playing guitar, ARGH, I gotta think so hard about making my fingers obey and form the shape, and which fret to land that Dm7. But yeah, you're right, different stages have different types of thinking and effort, and I've never thought about that, and you've shown me something very valuable so thank you!!

[@gisellechacon7081]

He's back!! I hope you're feeling a lot better! So nice to see you posting- your discussions address a level of engineering that most KZbin channels rarely reach. These are topics beyond whether (or how) you can do something, and address the more pertinent issue of how to decide when (or whether)you should. You were missed. Welcome back!😊

[@LokeyeMC]

Super missed.

[@medenine4828]

Really great advice about hierarchy or flow. I’m the same but I get lost in the sound design part. Really insightful to think of having the whole composition ready before performing and how the DAW as a multi tasked gets us lost and in our way often if we aren’t clear on which stage in the process we are.

[@TheNexusComplex]

You're dead on Greg. In the modern world, being the songwriter/artist/arranger/engineer/producer is very common and all these pieces of the "hierarchy" are intertwined to varying degrees depending upon one's situation. It's very different than the pre-internet/digital days. I play all these roles and love the blurred lines. What I've discovered is that the "intertwined hierarchy" is a new hybrid artform in itself...which I've wholeheartedly embraced in my artistic workflow. I'm constantly moving among the various parts with a focused path on continuous progress and project completion. It took me some time to hone my methodologies but its gloriously creative, extremely satisfying, and when done properly...produces excellent results. Thanks for bringing up the topic. 😉

[@dox1755]

*And when he is most needed… he is BACK !*

[@davidblairmusic]

Process. Process. Process. 100 percent. Worship the process and let go of any outcomes and you will create what matters and say what's inside you in your song productions. Thank you for your channel and this post. Humbly articulated.

[@66fitton]

Left brain vs right brain vs heart vs ego.... Amazing what's going on when we do this whole process. Your thoughts on this are incredibly insightful! Definitely sharing with my two bandmates. Much appreciated! ✌👊

[@DiegoParedes]

So glad you're back! Amazing video. I myself have "forced" myself to release a single per month and an entire album every one or two years max... No excuse, even if I'm too busy producing for others, I have to. You find that momentum

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

I feel attacked! But in the best possible way, thanks for pointing out what’s possible 🙏🏼

[@DiegoParedes]

@@TheHouseofKushTV Lol. Thank you for your PHILOSOPHY of the “technical” part of music. I am your biggest fan. Please don’t stop doing this. It’s a glass of water in the dessert. All the best to you

[@cwehden]

Please keep producing these amazing videos, you are helping people soo much!!

[@MattMulhollandYouTube]

Yeah man. Huge words.

[@OdoSendaidokai]

The longer I'm making music the more get to this insight to do things step by step within each process and not to mix it up. Everything becomes as well more clarity and it is getting more easy. Thank you for your words 🌻

[@pco2004]

I missed your soothing voice. Glad you're back dood.

[@djentlover]

By the way, your set design and lighting are absolutely amazing, and the choice of the lens (it's insanely sharp just in the right way)

[@DaftFader]

His warm shots remind me of Chris Ramsey's intros a lot (a KZbin magician and puzzle solver who also is big into cinematography).

[@nunnukanunnukalailailai1767]

Omg yes! The whole vibe is such a fresh breath of air in the audio production corner of youtube really

[@Bthelick]

Unfortunately the truth that no artist wants to hear is it's not them that ultimately decides what's good. When you get over that fact you then realize that it has to be out there in the world for you to find out.

[@melbournaut]

I was loving this right up to the point that you said you are happy with two songs a year. That's not for me and I'm hanging for more Sneaky Little Devil. Nothing else scratches that itch and I need more

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

Working furiously on that, thanks for the encouragement! We've written 5 complete songs and rejected them all as we try to find the right 'voice' for album #2. #6 came together this week and, for the first time in almost a year, it put a smile on both our faces. So I'm tracking basics now, it's definitely a leveling up for us!

[@melbournaut]

@@TheHouseofKushTV, I haven't come across anything so masterfully put together. Every element seems deliberately placed and perfectly crafted. If you could point me in the direction of any other work you do I would love to listen.

[@BecomeTheKnight]

STOKED to have you back, Greg🤘🤘🤘

[@MikeMastropierro]

Perfect timing! I’ll be running a recording studio camp at my school in a few weeks, and this will be the opening subject matter. Thank you so much!

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

Preach!

[@MikeMastropierro]

@@TheHouseofKushTV seriously. There’s a million videos and channels on plugins and tone and mic placement and gear, but not too many on the big picture or the psychology behind some of these decisions. Again, thank you.

[@Melvin7727]

These are truths, I will gladly assert that. I preach these ideas to lots of people, probably to a certain amount who may not care. I am saving this video to my favorites list. It has given me more clarity for both myself and conversations with others. I personally believe most modern musicians move the quickest through the bottom two, song/arrangement. People assume that their desire to be creative equates to their skill at being creative. In actuality, it's a discipline that takes lots of hard work, i.e. NOT just expressing yourself. Another resultant belief of this is that you either "have it, or you don't," when really it's more just that people skip the 10,000 hours concept. Anyway, I am a little harsh, but I believe the same philosophy that you Greg are better at living out, to live and let live and just be helpful. Thank you for your great videos and keep doing what you do. Glad to see you back, hope all is well.

[@davist1983]

Needed these wise words for an album 2 years in the making. Glad I’m not the only one going through this process. Much love from NC

[@JWLearning]

Your words rings true not just for music production but for all creative fields. As someone who teaches art the main thing I do is teach students to create a layered process for their compositions because as you say it's easy to get lost if you don't have some steps in place.

[@CarGift-videos]

Hi Greg! Nice to have you back! Hope you feel better now!

[@Robil63]

"Square zero" pshh mind blown! I don't care what you say, I like your soothing, reassuring tone.... and what you say. 🤟

[@reziahamed6654]

Sooooo freaking GREAT to have you back Greg... The whole world loves you for all what you are... God bless man !!!

[@MarkGraves5]

IM SO HAPPY YOURE BACK! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ It literally feels like seeing an old friend again.

[@alphaomega6062]

Great to see you back. At the top of the video I thought I recognised the concept and then you name checked Mixerman. All his books are great reads. The "Musicians survival guide to making a killer record" is the latest and well worth a read but the first one I read was 'Zen and the art of mixing' which set me on the right path. Side note 'The Daily Adventures of Mixerman' is a hilarious account of recording a band and the ups and downs which is also available as a pod cast. I expect many viewers of this channel are familiar with that already but if not worth checking out for chuckles.

[@spiritlevelstudios]

With electronic music, mixing and writing happens simultaneously. One never gets to the end and thinks Right, time to focus on the mix. It's already 99% mixed at that point. Changing any one sound more than a few % in the final stages can dramatically throw the entire balance off. Appreciate insight into all the different styles and perspectives 🙏🏻☯️

[@ryanboisselle8094]

Great to hear your wisdom as always, Greg! Even for those who are familiar with it, it's always important to bring everything back to basics sometimes. Therapeutic in a way!

[@kowloonbroadcast]

i second that, my man

[@QuentinDamour]

Very precious advice ! now my workflow goes as follow : -SING the idea into my phone when it comes. -Pick up the guitar and record the idea (i have a few presets i made for each tone i like so i don't fiddle anything and just start) -Arranging, composing, playing with ideas. THEN i re-record pretty much everything really trying to play my best and tweaking the sound further to create a VIBE and only THEN, i start mixing. The problem is then after the mix is done i go back and start re-recording stuff that often doesn't bring anything more and that's when i have to stop my self and say OK GOOD ENOUGH DUDE !!

[@musicbyjon5447]

Couldn't agree more. Collaboration also helps songs get over the finish line

[@drtyslzy]

Absolutely. After spending years producing music by myself and releasing subpar tracks to an audience of no one, things just felt like they weren’t ever going to work for me. Then I joined a band and quickly realized how much I was hindering myself by not actively trying to connect with other musicians.

[@joesquadcoptervideos2067]

What a great concept for a video. Before I moved out of my parents house, I had a multi track recorder in the basement, and I would write songs constantly because I was using real instruments, then I moved out and only have an interface and logic, so I find myself constantly bouncing between these things so I never get anything done

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

Maybe the multitrack recorder was as important (or more) as the 'real instruments' part? Maybe try ditching Logic and the computer for a while?

[@joesquadcoptervideos2067]

@@TheHouseofKushTV yeah definitely! Being restricted to what I could physically make happen on a guitar or drums vs quantizing and programming definitely helped keep me on track. Maybe I'll give that a shot

[@acapellascience]

This channel is such a gem. Glad to see you back again! For us video makers this totally also applies to the video production process. I often get lost in playing with edits and animation when I should starting from a concept and visioning the main arc of the production. And if you're a *music* video maker.. well 😅

[@archerie963]

this channel has been the greatest source of information in terms of how to approach finishing my music and tackling these hot button topic beasts such as "mixing" and "production." your perspective and approach are realistic and clearly grounded in experience. no clickbait, no "tips and tricks." i thank you, UBK; i hope you are in good health

[@lucianocastillo694]

It depends where you are and where you're mind goes inspirationally. I find myself now just opening a track, finding a dope midi, then I play perform some crazy shit that makes me want to add more and more instruments or drums, I mix in those drums and sounds where I feel, when I finish performing and I hear some frequencies clashing I then I'll further mix it, add sidechain eq or compression. Before you know it time passes and I've added so many different sounds and arranged, mix & mastered them in a way that satisfies me in 2, 3, 4 minute tracks, however long the song is doesn't matter more than what satisfies your ear. Then when i'm done with the beat and mix, I'll add vocals in, mix and add effects in the vocal track while I'm performing vocals. Then I just relisten in the car and back to the project, I re-mix tracks and add or take out effects. I master it and there it's done. To be honest to worry about how you're going to arrange a song takes away from the maximum creativity you can output because you're not being inspired, instead you're just working tasks, like a job. You might be able to go far with working with arrangements, but tbh, you probably hinder yourself from creating new shi in terms of expanding your own sound or a genre. For me I go in and do what I think sounds dope, not worrying about arrangements, just creating and metaphorically hitting the right sine wave tones in my mind again and again.

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

Call me crazy but I think we're in complete agreement :-) My suggestion here is not to reproduce the linear process of yore, but rather to just be aware of the blurred lines and how they can be, if you're not careful, a trap for stuckness. It sounds like you have no such trouble shifting around thru the processes because you maintain your momentum and you stay well connected to your instincts and the mind/body nexus. That's all that matters, everyone has their own path, and I'm totally stoked to hear about your particular process which sounds like a friggin' blast!!

[@lucianocastillo694]

@@TheHouseofKushTV It is!! I’m almost ready to release my first two albums. I can’t help though but look you up after your response. I just ran through all your music on Spotify & YT and I can say I’m a fan. I’ve been a fan of Indie Rock & folk since 2017 starting with Frank Ocean & Odd Future, Steve Lacey, then Tame Impala, Real Estate, Angus Julie Stone, Beach Fossils, Kali Uc, Castlebeat ect... I feel like your music absolutely fits in with these styles while bringing new vibes, I’d love to jam with you one day and also hear where you’re wanting to going vibes and music wise!

[@Chilldeck]

Wow, what perfect timing on this one! After 6 months of learning/trying to learn production... I would NEVER have imagined how my doubts have grown and I'm less happy with my work. Even though I've improved in many ways, I'm less pleased for some reason. With that said, giving up is not an option so on I'll go. Thank you for your wisdom!

[@hamm24]

Gregory I've gotten so much from your philosophy over the years, thank you for your contributions!

[@suneasmussen2650]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I just fucking love listening to you talk. Your voice, your ideas, your framings, your presence. It's like being lulled by beast. In the most non-homoerotic manner.

[@RIPDavidBear]

Welcome back Greg! Didn't miss you TOO much as I had 218 eps of the podcast to listen to but still ;)

[@wizburg]

Where is the podcast? What is it called?

[@sgfdancecompany]

Gregory Wan Kenobi we miss you !!! Happy to see you back and with you wise and profound reflections.

[@JonManness]

Lately, I start with a sound, record asap, and react to the sounds as I record and build the arrangement. Once the arrangement is as far as I can take it, I explore vocals and lyrics, reshape the arrangement, and develop the form. Once the song is done I mix and add to the production. It’s a very organic, non-linear approach and I have no idea where the initial musical idea will go, but it’s exciting not knowing exactly what the end result will be.

[@shane_taylor]

Holy Shit! 😲Gregory Scott is BACK! I remember back when I discovered Kush After Hours. I binged everything all at once. I was like "who IS this guy!" So much honest and valuable information. Then I went a bought a bunch of your plugins.🤗 Welcome back dude! ✌

[@KennWall]

Great to see you back! we missed you, glad that you are back man! 🖤

[@dwaiting883]

Man, this video helps just to not feel alone in all that I related to here. So thanks. Will try to focus on this structure because, yea, the DAW search for inspiration in songwriting is way different and in many ways crippling to the linear way a lot of us started before you had recording gear at your fingertips to make you think you were on your way already to recording and keeping committed to a capture of inspiration. Writing songs from beginning to end to know what to record one day when you hopefully had the money and hours of practice and refining was a lot easier.

[@mygirlfriendismean]

The last song I worked on I focused on an arrangement on paper first. I built a Google Sheets template for anyone interested to help you stay out of the DAW while you arrange. Paper is probably best but my drawing and handwriting is pretty bad.

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

I for one would love to see your template, always curious how other artists approach the craft and navigate the minefields.

[@Noiseheads]

So great to see a new video from you! Personally, I get too hung up on what happens after it's finished - song would be written but somewhere in the recording / mixing phase, my mind goes straight to release strategy and then I feel like if that isn't solid, then what I do leading up to it is futile so then it sits in limbo. The saboteur INDEED.

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

Jeebus, I didn't realize it but I get hung up on the same thing. OOF. I also sweat the music video, because apparently I can't just release a song, it has to have an epic video too, preferably animated and trippy. Totally reasonable for a do-it-all indie artist, right? RIGHT??

[@Noiseheads]

@@TheHouseofKushTV EXACTLY haha

[@TrumanProductions]

Great to see you back man! Love these discussions 🔥❤️

[@7692Flash]

UBK is back. All is right with the world again. I hope you’re doing well now. So glad to see you back!

[@3dogrecordingstudio628]

I don't do any recording until I have a complete structure. I write strictly on guitar mostly on acoustic guitar. I rarely get stuck. I build the song as I start the recording process. I hire musicians when I need something I don't play And I feel as though those parts will make the song that much more complete. I saw a cool exercise yesterday to where you set up a four bar loop and just start writing something musical and you do that for 3 minutes and see what you come up with It's like an artist sketchbook. Great to have you back Greg, I missed ya!

[@crawlingman7003]

I’m thinking to build each lower step as you move upward, making sure the first steps, song and arrangement are structured as a strong foundation.

[@badenhill1487]

Hi 3 dog could you let us know how to catch said exercise please ? TA !

[@3dogrecordingstudio628]

@dfasht yes, it was a brilliant suggestion from Joe.

[@3dogrecordingstudio628]

​@@badenhill1487 here ya go, it's a great idea to get your creativity juices flowing. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqi7gXeCbrR6mqM

[@andremiranda1996]

Having you here is always a blessing, thank you

[@CrazyDroiid46]

Glad you're recovering man! Nice video as always 👏

[@slevengrungus]

this is a video that has been made a 1000 times by a 1000 people yet I always need to see it. Its always right. If people stopped saying this and taking this knowledge for granted I would forget

[@abletonclipper16]

Great to see you back and very excited to finally receive the M1 native updates. Insightful video as always!

[@daveconnor6174]

oh boy - would love to go back in time fifteen years and show myself this video 😆

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

Same! 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@lcpumpkin]

Great to see you back! I've recently been listening to the old Happy Funtime Hours. Any chance of you and Nathan collaborating on something again in the future?

[@jaydy71]

F* you Gregory for pointing out my flaws. And thanks for exactly that! 😄 You perfectly put into words my usual pitfall when producing just by myself: I record down a main idea (like a chord progression with drums, bass, keys, etc), I want to make the mix of that early idea sound in the ballpark (add some plugins etc), and then add on to the basic idea to work towards a finished song, etc. And before I know it, I've totally painted myself into a corner. The project is then kind of in a stranglehold of some kind of convoluted 'mix' that makes it really hard to work on the arrangements and actually finishing a song. And then my portfolio is 90% unfinished stuff. But anyway, glad to see you back in health and putting out thought provoking videos again! It's much appreciated.

[@djentlover]

It's weird. My most important goal in life is to release music. But I never do.

[@yungmentalproblems]

I'm on the exact same wavelength or lack thereof

[@jSpirituS7]

When you make music You already are releasing it... It's in the universe forever ✨️

[@TarzanHedgepeth]

@@jSpirituS7 Oooh kayyy… With your logic, the fact that it entered his/her mind meant that it existed in the universe. Why “manifest” it at all?

[@jSpirituS7]

@TarzanHedgepeth things arise, or they don't, due to causes and conditions. Depending on what our actions in the past were, can we then understand why things happen in the present moment. When the causes and conditions are sufficient, then things will manifest. When the causes and conditions are no longer sufficient, then things will no longer (cease) to manifest. We are like a cell in the body, and the body is the earth and the cosmos. When we are authentic, then it will produce much well-being. Wether or not we are ready to share our work with others is about time. The time is right when it is and one knows when that time comes. But even if we never choose to share our work, no one can take away the fact that we created it. The imprint is there in the universe.... When you are by "yourself" jamming, you are sending out a frequency to the whole earth. So when we release music, we are already releasing it...as we are creating, we are simultaneously releasing. If we offer our wisdom and our true self to the universe, then all phenomena will benefit. I really hope this explains my perspective well enough 🙏

[@ConstantinGMWeber]

To manifest is only for presenting it to others.

[@putte_stuttgart]

Thanks, Gregory. Good to see you back. The word that striked me the most was „resist“. I resist finishing tracks and albums, even though I don‘t want to.

[@rome8180]

I personally don't consider something a "song" until it has melody, harmony, and a loose structure. Merely humming a melody is not a song to me. Because that melody can mean so many different things depending on the chords. What makes me excited about a melody is the way it relates to the chords. But that's still not a song. That's a part of a song (a verse, chorus, whatever). It still has to have some sort of overarching framework for it to be a song. So I guess what I'm saying is "song" blurs slightly into arrangement for me. But it's more like the outline of the arrangement. That's what's always worked for me, at any rate.

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

No arguments from me! I'm not sure I said humming a melody makes something a song, but rather you can express a song merely by humming it. If it has a lyric, you can sing a song acapella. So the song does (or can) exist in a meaningful way independent of harmony and structure. I'm not claiming to know exactly what makes a 'song', but clearly it's open to reasonable debate and does exist in the realm of the abstract, outside of sonic media. Great discussion!!

[@alessandrofontana71]

Anything with the potential to exist exists, sometimes more complex and produced songs leave less space to imagination. It always surprises me how emotionally evocative are very simple songs. Not to say that less is more, but less leave more space to imagination and the listener becomes part of the creative process in his own mind. Hope it makes sanse :)

[@rome8180]

@@TheHouseofKushTV True. I wasn't aiming to be disrespectful, btw. Good point on the a cappella thing. However, I would say that even when you sing something a cappella there's an implied harmony and structure. And if there's not, I would say it's just a sequence of notes at that point. If I sing "Happy Birthday" my brain can't help but hear the implied major key and the rhythm. If someone suddenly started playing different chords in a 9/8 meter, it would be jarring and completely recontextualize the melody. It would, in essence, be a new song.

[@larswillsen]

Its been a long time .. in the meantime I had a stroke (bloodclot in my left brain) a few weeks before I turned 60 on january 14th this year. I managed to release all 50+ of my old side projects from the 80s. Material from my late teens, early 20s begore a parasite ruined my professional future which at that point was avout to explode. Here I am, already deleted the entire catalog twice (on all streaming services) .. I can't seem to like sjat I once already liked and re-recorded. 30 years after, here I am .. age 60 and never changed. The villain in my creativity are more feelings as in external feelings, panic of aging and still being a 80s leftover since I never left the 80s. For 30 years I worked as a coder and a big data analyst, and the stroke ruined that, bow I'm sitting here 2:30 at night composing stuff straight from what I find interesting. I have an idea that my soul knew this was about to happen and "forced me" to re-record more than 200 tracks, releasing 50+ :-)

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

Well, first off, sending all my love on your recovery, that sounds rough. As for being an 80's leftover, I don't know if you've noticed but for the last 15 years, all things 80's have been completely in fashion. As a 70's leftover, I say make no apologies, do whatever comes naturally to you. If it moves you it'll move someone else, that much I know.

[@robshrock-shirakbari1862]

PROCESS = OUTCOME. I've said this for years. Another great one, friend.

[@jeremymull6138]

Oh hell yeah, a new Kush after hours! Been so long since I was able to click like before even watching. Welcome back Gregory!

[@konafama]

100% Before really choosing music, I wanted to be an audio professional …still do. The fact of having the function of an entire studio in the palm of my hand is a creative fantasy/dream/nightmare. Some part of me is geeked about every stage…and called/pulled by dedicated professionals in each of the levels, song through production ,to be a master of each. So, tweaking at any level of music ticks an accomplishment of goals box even though no finished product pops out at the end of a year. I’ve been struggling for decades to finish. You’ve encapsulate the struggles excellently.

[@AvantsGarde]

MY MAIN SQUEEZE, KUSH. BOY DID I NEED THIS VIDEO. Welcome back, you great-old man!

[@jkf9167]

Great to see you back! When I was working with "real" recording engineers and going into studios as a frontman/songwriter/main guitar player, I always had trouble communicating about the mix. I'd be talking about the guitar tracks while the engineer was setting up the drum/bass sounds, etc., and thinking I was impertinent and annoying, which I was. Then once we got to the guitar parts, the process wasn't always within my control. I wasn't being particularly fussy about effects or eq, but about the way the parts fit together. I later recognized that what I wanted to do wasn't actually mixing - it was editing. It was somewhere lower on the pyramid - in the arrangement, performance, or production stages rather than mixing. I had an idea of the dynamics of the song based on how the guitar parts were fitting together. It took me forever to realize that I actually wanted to be editing those parts, not mixing them. It was more difficult while working on tape (although there was also more of an incentive to get rid of unnecessary parts), but working with digital, I realized that I could have been asking the engineer to toss some of the tracks, and delete large chunks of the others. Once that happens, it's vastly more likely that everyone has similar visions of what the mix is gonna look like later, and more importantly, I could be more relaxed about letting the mixer do his job without seeing my arrangement slipping away. Nowadays, either I'm doing everything, and I don't even know where the deleted parts go, or I'm the bass player, and all I have to worry about is playing correctly.

[@carlomurjahn]

The process of mixing is a linear task, whereas the complex process of arrangement is multidimensional, making it a more profound and inspiring aspect of music creation.

[@NotApplicableNowhere]

Finding this one year too late. This video really cleared things for me.. impossible de say how thankful I am for your videos, the quality, the wisdom and clarity of the information is unmatched. I will be studying this and applying it starting now

[@markusszelbracikowski956]

This has helped me immensely, I finally realized how much more time we need to actually have a song and arrangements than to mix. If you don't have a song you basically have nothing!

[@superlynx98]

Welcome back Gregory, you were missed ❤❤❤

[@matmelton]

ALWAYS SHARING INVALUABLE WISDOM AND GOLD !!! Thank you and you are the best !!

[@FenderLewis]

Man, this guy is straight reading my mail. Very helpful to put words to something that blocks me from finishing songs every time. Thanks Kush master!

[@ABS_AD77]

Hi Gregory, hope you are doing good. Missing your great videos past year. Hoping to see you back. Many Blessings.

[@theunconciousmind7314]

Yep i agree! Only focus on the mixing if something really causes trouble or if you already can hear it. Then fast go back to the arrangement view. Here's why: mixing is instantly connected with the groove. If you focus too much on mixing you loose the groove because you get trapped in the single elements instead of seeing all tougether as ONE groove that must fit tougether. So if you see everything as one groove you make desicions on what and how it fits the groove instead of desicion based of what sounds good. Thats exactly the diffrence between feeling and hearing music. So it changes the way you think.

[@Thr3-Words]

The part about how things where before recording was invented was a huge, huge help; thank you so much!

[@badenhill1487]

Indeed the Parodical son, very very welcome back Gregory, so good to hear and see you once more.

[@DontWorryImAPilot]

I remember this phrase from a UBK Happy Fun Time podcast a million years ago which reminded me of that coming up in the "Zen and the Art of..." books. It's funny how I can hear this 99 times...and only remember and understand it more fully it on the 100th. Thanks for the simple reminders of the important, complex stuff, Gregory!

[@brokenorbitmusic9724]

Welcome back! Much love and respect from big ole Texas!

[@whaleguy]

I split my workflow in a simple way - the first half of song creation involves playing, the second half involves a computer. So the first half is focused on getting all the notes into the DAW from playing an instrument, either real or virtual. What that means is I end up with a well done demo. Then said demo gets refined. Guitars are double tracked, vocals get harmonies, simple string pads get split into more elaborate arrangements. Once that is done, the creative side is over, and from there, it is entirely focused on mixing the parts that are there. No more melodic input is allowed at this stage; now I'm only tweaking knobs and faders. Like you said, the lines do get blurred, but I try to keep them as distinct as I can.

[@MistyMusicStudio]

Excellent advice! My holdup is always on the performance - I always have to remind myself "I'm not here to show off, I'm here to make music". Easy to get too noodley sometimes haha 🍜

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

I get it even though I'm the exact opposite, namely, my skills skew towards the 'simple, solid, rhythmic' so I constantly judge my tracks as being too simple, boring, inanimate. Fools!!

[@MistyMusicStudio]

@@TheHouseofKushTV Haha sounds like our "weaknesses" would complement eachother well! Would love to hear your tunes if you've got a spotify or bandcamp 😁

[@simontassano5992]

Glad you're back and seemingly doing well... Pax 🙏❤

[@Trackformers]

Unbelievable!! Man.. I relate with every single freaking word!! Some people just get it, and you sir are one of them. Feels damn good knowing im not alone in these thoughts, experiences and these silent struggles! Deeply Inspiring.. Thank you!!

[@damajikninja]

WELCOME BACK!! We’ve missed you. Hope your back is functioning nominally and you’re sitting and walking straight and tall.

[@Archtube90]

Complete novice here, but while watching this something came to my head that I've been doing the last while to help separate those early steps (song and arrangement) from the 'mixing' step. As its so quick now to immediately record all your initial ideas as soon as they come to you, and get mixing 'as you go' right away, I've started laying down my ideas in MIDI and purposely putting the worst (in my mind) sounding virtual instruments I can for the parts. I build up an almost 8bit style version of the song, so very bland midi bass, midi for the guitars, drums, synths, etc. I've found having these rough sounds that I clearly plan to scrap at the start while I'm working on the song and arrangement, helps me focus purely on the 'song' part of the song. When I can get that 8bit thing I have sounding exciting as a 'song' (tempo, arrangement, structure), then I'll move on the recording the parts, focusing on the actual sounds I had previously envisioned for the song, and then from there begin to mix. Interestingly enough, a few times I have kept in some of those 'worst possible' sounding guide tracks in the end, even after re-recording the parts with what I originally envisioned. Maybe this is a whole other layer of problem, where the crappy guide tracks just grew on me as I listened and work with more and more. Another lesson to maybe work faster. But this process has certainly helped my song writing and arrangement process, by avoiding playing with pretty sounds and EQ/Compressing things while I only have an intro and verse 1 idea down.

[@aerialgrey2566]

God, this one REALLY hit home. Paralysis through analysis...Been producing 10+ years and i"m still guilty of this. Great channel man. Subscribed.

[@luckyknot]

Welcome back Gergor, take it easy with your studio revamp! Yesterday I heard 'Self perfectionism is the fastest way to kill your joy'. I was never able to finish any song for many years. I felt they were low quality but I couldn't feel or rationally explain why -I lacked a clear frame of reference for each of the steps that you mentioned-. If I had put that out those songs earlier I would have seen what I was missing -product of what experience, detached perspective and time give- and wouldn't have got stuck in the same song for such a long time. It's liberating to finish and release songs. Even if you spot the mistakes a posteriori, you are allowing people to enjoy your song instead of having it locked into your computer's hard drive. Most of your listeners probably don't have the same 'mixing' ears and equipment to notice the many subtleties you may have ornamented the song with. I'm not saying that you shouldn't strive for the best result. Just saying that if the process is not fun anymore, you need to take decisions fast to get out of that 'paralysis by analysis' mindset and find the joy again.

[@Gongtopia]

It's good to have you back. Great advice as always. You are right about how it's so easy to blur the lines between each stage today. I have found myself diving into fixing the minutiae before I even have the arrangement worked out. And the thing is, once the arrangement is worked out, so many things can change that all the details I tweaked are now moot, because the parameters needed are different.

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

So true!

[@rossnwilliams]

I agree that technical problems can destroy one's state of flow. Gregory, one thing you can do, as a plugin producer, to help in this area, is to place a very very high priority on engineering your plugins so that they don't crash (or are less likely to crash). I make plugins, and my absolute highest priority is not to crash! There are a number of formal checks you can perform on code to achieve this. A way that artists can reduce the impact of plugin crashes is to use Bitwig or another such DAW that can sandbox plugins, so that plugin crashes at least don't take down the DAW.

[@benjaminjohnson8431]

It's so good to see you again. You are very appreciated. I hope you are feeling good. Take care of yourself first, friend.

[@unclemick-synths]

Truth Mr Scott! I'm the worst sinner here because one thing I miss is the humble demo but I can never bring myself to do that. When I started out with a 4-track Portastudio I had little choice but to do at least one demo to finish the arrangement of the song so that I could plan the final recording with all its track bounces to end up with things in the right places in the mix. These days we start with an unlimited number and quality of tracks so nothing is a demo take. The change I made was to switch to the MPC for recording because it's so much easier to shuffle things around and add or subtract than the multitrack tape paradigm. Editing is possible but not so easy as on a computer where we can gild turds to our hearts' content so that means the really rough takes get re-done properly. Many people don't realize that the MPC can be used for any genre of music.

[@matthewopteijnde]

Being an artist is such a conveluted, paradoxal experience. Thanks for bringing clarity to it all. Would love to see more videos like this. Take care.

[@nahhumusic]

My god you're really adressing the real, important, meaningful stuff. Such a pleasure listening to you!

[@Lasantha.]

OMG. I was so happy to see your video in my feed after so much time. Hope you are now completely okay and we'll be seeing you more. cheers Greg.

[@BeatsByEverest]

Thank goodness you're back! I realised after not seeing a new video of yours for so long, my overall motivation to make music had dulled so badly, but after watching this I'm already feeling like I want to make music again!

[@HarveySummers]

Loving these videos. This is a great one because those lines really do blur quite organically sometimes, and at times the blurring is a part of the creative process. Speaking as a producer/composer/engineer with over 30 years experience, I’ve found that every stage informs the others, a bad arrangement will never mix well, while a great arrangement virtually mixes itself. All too often, bands have no arrangement, everyone just plays flat out start to finish as if pausing for a moment would be a terrible mistake! So we have two options, since I’m often wearing several hats and also have lots of experience as an arranger (orchestral and otherwise), I find the role of ‘producer’ varies greatly. Not to get into that argument of semantics, but sometimes I’ll be hired while the band are still in the writing or rehearsal stages, so that I can be involved from the earliest point possible, influencing the arrangement which aids the performance, makes the mix easier and more predictable, and ultimately ensures all of the production ideas work because we had decided on many of them early enough to have arranged the music and recorded the performances in the best way to support that idea. My mantra has always been to help an artist or a band to find their own unique voice / sound, and then shine a spotlight on that and help them become more ‘themselves’… Anyway, I have a habit of rambling so I’ll quit while I’m ahead (hopefully!). Keep up the excellent work. I love Kush products and really enjoy your show. Cheers! 🖖✌️