What’s Your System For Getting Things Done?

[vermeer]

Hi cabbies,Haven’t been here for a while but I have a good excuse. As some of you know I’ve been busy writing my new songwriting software. Because this new app focuses on songwriting, it is critical that I’m aware of all the ways other songwriters are currently getting things done. This will help me cover all the bases.Please let me know in a few concise points how you currently manage your digital files in order to be productive.I’ll start with my current workflow (without the new app):* Note Taking -- I record most of my ideas using an 3D iPod with a Griffin iTalk accessory.* Sorting -- I use iTune on a Mac to sort through the ideas recorded with the iPod and group them into logical songs. Kind of dodgy but it works.* Lyrics -- I keep all my song lyrics in a master MSWord document with an index for quick navigation. For rhyming, I use Webster rhyming dictionary.* MIDI -- When I come out with a keyboard riff, I will record it into Reason and save the Midi file.* Chord Dictionary -- I use a little Planet Wave gadget to get guitar chord voicings. For keyboard voicings, I have a couple of reference books.* DAW -- Once I feel I’ve got all the hooks down (verse, chorus, bridge), I use ProTools LE on a Mac to lay down a MIDI bed track and record instruments and vocals over that. I play all the parts.So, what about you?Vermeer

[ckbarlow]

I'm using Curio by Zengobi for everything from songwriting to tracking music-for-theater projects.For songwriting, I made a template for each new song idea based on a combination of ideas mostly from Pat Pattison but also a little Jason Blume: initial "germ" page, an "object write" page, a brainstorming/mindmapping page using the Roget's original-format thesaurus (paper - no electronic version that I know of), a lyric worksheet (where you list the key words and relevant rhymes), and even a large-type cue sheet to sing off of and a review sheet for getting the lyrics reviewed at our monthly NSAI meetings here in ABQ.Curio has amazing search features, both internally and out to the 'net. I'd be happy to send you a PDF showing what I'm talking about. Or check their web page (www.zengobi.com).

[vermeer]

Thanx CK! I didn't know about Curio. This looks a lot like a more graphical version of Scrivener (http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html), which is used by writers of all sorts. I wonder who of the two came out with the virtual cork board first That's a really creative use of this software. Do you use it for music too or concentrate mostly on lyrics? This is very visual too. Can you paste pictures and use this as inspiration?- Vermeer -

[ckbarlow]

Quote: This is very visual too. Can you paste pictures and use this as inspiration?- Vermeer -Absolutely. In fact, on the page(s) where I'm working on the down and dirty lyric-writing work, I paste pictures from the internet that help evoke the mood I'm going for.I've used it also to diagram the cabling I use in different bands because sometimes it's a little complex (I play in a couple of experimental groups, one of which involves me live-sampling the other 10 players; and in another we're all using electronics and sampling each other plus lining out to a separate mixer for monitoring and recording...). So say I have the manufacturer's photo of the rear panel of my mixer and the rear of my audio interface, and I use Curio's "sticky" lines to document what I connect to what for performance vs. rehearsal vs. recording etc etc....For theater, everything from character relationships to to-do lists and cue lists, to PDFs of receipts that I need to be reimbursed for....I could go on and on!

[ckbarlow]

oh yeah, I also use it to keep a running list of TAXI listings of interest. That, my notes from the 07 Rally, and my songwriting notes as described above are all in one big fat Curio file called songwriting.curio. Like I said, if you want screenshots, just holler! I'm a big fan of it. I would buy MasterWriter but I'm so happy with everything else Curio can do -- and frankly, I haven't seen anything come close to the big, original-format Roget's -- the kind where you look up the main idea in the back and then find the numeric references in the front portion. It's the most thorough thing I know of for synonyms and idea generation. --- Note too that (maybe because I asked but probably not just me!) Zengobi added a "record audio or video" quick button right in the main window in the latest version. So while I'm in that "germ of an idea" phase and I have a melody, I can quickly record something right into Curio, and/or use its "Insert Instant Document" command to insert an Allegro (Finale) or Live file based on a template I've defined.

[vermeer]

OK, we're getting somewhere So, your toolchain is:[Curio]+--> [Finale] | +--> [Ableton Live]So basically:* Note Taking -- Curio* Lyrics -- Curio* Music/Chords -- Finale* Audio/Mixing -- Ableton Live Yeah, please send any PDF diagrams to valerianmusic AT hotmal DOT com or E.M. me on this forum. This is exactly the type of innovative workflow I've been wondering about . Million thanks,- Vermeer -

[hummingbird]

Curio is only for Macs. Any similar things for PC?

[vermeer]

Quote:Curio is only for Macs. Any similar things for PC?Well that's what I'm working on . Seriously, let me give you a programmer's insight as to why this type of product will never be on PC. Macs come loaded with free multimedia objects for doing things like graphics, PDFs, photo effects, audio, plus the best user interface ever Thins kind of stuff would take years to do on Windows. The Curio team is only two guys and look at what they've done. Plus they get Creative users like CK pushing them in new directions all the time. Pretty neat.PS: I guess you could get some of the same diagram features from Visio (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/visio/default.aspx), but not the whole thing.- Vermeer -

[ckbarlow]

Some of the diagramming features, yep. But Curio features like Sleuth (multi-site internet search) bust the glass on the cool-o-meter.(At work, where I'm a project manager/tech writer type, I use the brainstorming feature in Visio quite a bit. I dig it.)BTW, re: the notation software, I've started using it for copyright purposes (I don't compose in notation software). It's way cheaper and nicer for the environment to send a lyric/chord sheet than to burn a CD.

[vermeer]

CK,Thanks for the PDF. Man, that's pretty sweet. This makes songwriting into an intuitive graphical thing, which I dig. Check your email, I've sent you a screenshot of my super secret app. Vermeer