What is your daily schedule?

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AlonMarcus
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What is your daily schedule?

Post by AlonMarcus » Fri Jul 01, 2022 1:25 am

Hello friends!
First of all I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Alon and I'm a composer from Israel.
I'm working my way in the "Library Music World" for a second year now and need some advice and brainstorming about working habits and daily schedule.
So, here are my questions:

1. How many hours a week you dedicate to composing/producing?
2. How much of this work hours dedicated to administration like uploading, tagging and how much for pure studying (playing an instrument, mixing, composition)?
3. What is your daily schedule? How you combine it with home, family?Other day jobs like teaching?

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Paulie
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Re: What is your daily schedule?

Post by Paulie » Fri Jul 01, 2022 8:33 pm

I try to write music every day. I recently started a new job in the technology world so I've been away from writing for about a month or so, but I will get back to it soon. In general, I do my day job during the day, and I write at night. Finish work, eat dinner, then go into my studio and get to work. I have enough briefs to write for, so I am picking which genres I want to work on, and I just start writing. Depending on the genre I can crank out a tune or two in a single night... sometimes I just get projects started to be worked on later. If you want to generate any substantial revenue from writing you need to build a good sized catalog of work. Everyone works at different speeds, but I tell people to try and write at least one complete track per week. The more you do it, the faster you will get. Personally I try to average 4 tracks per week, or 200 per year. But that is on the high end for most writers for a variety of reasons.

The main thing is to find a work pattern that makes sense for you. I don't worry about tagging and uploading until a batch of tracks is done. I try to send at least three tracks per brief to libraries. Some want at least five, others will take single tracks. Tagging and uploading, the administrative stuff... it can take time, but usually you are only doing that after a library has accepted your music so it's a necessary thing, yet very tedious. Every library has its own submissions process, some easier than others.

Just write every day if you can. :)

Paulie
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Re: What is your daily schedule?

Post by AlonMarcus » Sat Jul 02, 2022 9:04 pm

Paulie wrote:
Fri Jul 01, 2022 8:33 pm
I try to write music every day. I recently started a new job in the technology world so I've been away from writing for about a month or so, but I will get back to it soon. In general, I do my day job during the day, and I write at night. Finish work, eat dinner, then go into my studio and get to work. I have enough briefs to write for, so I am picking which genres I want to work on, and I just start writing. Depending on the genre I can crank out a tune or two in a single night... sometimes I just get projects started to be worked on later. If you want to generate any substantial revenue from writing you need to build a good sized catalog of work. Everyone works at different speeds, but I tell people to try and write at least one complete track per week. The more you do it, the faster you will get. Personally I try to average 4 tracks per week, or 200 per year. But that is on the high end for most writers for a variety of reasons.

The main thing is to find a work pattern that makes sense for you. I don't worry about tagging and uploading until a batch of tracks is done. I try to send at least three tracks per brief to libraries. Some want at least five, others will take single tracks. Tagging and uploading, the administrative stuff... it can take time, but usually you are only doing that after a library has accepted your music so it's a necessary thing, yet very tedious. Every library has its own submissions process, some easier than others.

Just write every day if you can. :)

Paulie
Seems to me like a very tough schedule, unless your day job is very easy or don't require many hours. When do you sleep, Paulie?

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Re: What is your daily schedule?

Post by Paulie » Mon Jul 04, 2022 9:51 am

AlonMarcus wrote:
Sat Jul 02, 2022 9:04 pm
Seems to me like a very tough schedule, unless your day job is very easy or don't require many hours. When do you sleep, Paulie?
As EDM legend Aoki says, "I'll sleep when I'm dead." ;)

I'm usually in my studio from 7pm until midnight on a good day. If it's not going well I may call it quits around 10:30pm.
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Re: What is your daily schedule?

Post by gitanosoy » Mon Jul 04, 2022 11:41 am

I have breakfast at 7:30,check emails, look at the listings and then music all day but it is not all to do with "Library music".

I work on my own compositions, record, post on SM, make video for youtube channel(try to at least one a week), do session work, collab work, gig. One thing which is everyday is playing my instrument and practicing as I need to keep my chops up when asked to play a concert and also get away from staring at the computer. Late at night I always try to learn even more about the plugins I use or new ones and dive deeper into Logic pro until I pass out.

As far as library music goes I have been at it for 4 years and I have narrowed down the genres to what I am more confident on but still challenge myself once in a while with the ones I am not. I spend more time on less tracks making sure the recording, mix and mastering is good than trying to hurry through submitting gazillion tracks.Also doing more collab work with other Taxi members and non members.

In order to take a break from all of the above and get out of my place for health reasons I go fly fishing.

This is my daily, weekly, monthly or just simply my life...

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Re: What is your daily schedule?

Post by AlonMarcus » Tue Jul 05, 2022 1:02 am

Paulie wrote:
Mon Jul 04, 2022 9:51 am
AlonMarcus wrote:
Sat Jul 02, 2022 9:04 pm
Seems to me like a very tough schedule, unless your day job is very easy or don't require many hours. When do you sleep, Paulie?
As EDM legend Aoki says, "I'll sleep when I'm dead." ;)

I'm usually in my studio from 7pm until midnight on a good day. If it's not going well I may call it quits around 10:30pm.
Thanks Paulie!

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Re: What is your daily schedule?

Post by AlonMarcus » Tue Jul 05, 2022 1:06 am

gitanosoy wrote:
Mon Jul 04, 2022 11:41 am
I have breakfast at 7:30,check emails, look at the listings and then music all day but it is not all to do with "Library music".

I work on my own compositions, record, post on SM, make video for youtube channel(try to at least one a week), do session work, collab work, gig. One thing which is everyday is playing my instrument and practicing as I need to keep my chops up when asked to play a concert and also get away from staring at the computer. Late at night I always try to learn even more about the plugins I use or new ones and dive deeper into Logic pro until I pass out.

As far as library music goes I have been at it for 4 years and I have narrowed down the genres to what I am more confident on but still challenge myself once in a while with the ones I am not. I spend more time on less tracks making sure the recording, mix and mastering is good than trying to hurry through submitting gazillion tracks.Also doing more collab work with other Taxi members and non members.

In order to take a break from all of the above and get out of my place for health reasons I go fly fishing.

This is my daily, weekly, monthly or just simply my life...
I agree with what you said about playing an instrument. It's an important part of my process for composing and creating tracks. I practice piano and guitar and consider it to be an essential part of my library work.
How many hours a week do you spend doing stuff just for libraries? That may include practicing on your instrument and the time you learn about plugins, but not the time you are fishing or performing live :)

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Re: What is your daily schedule?

Post by gitanosoy » Tue Jul 05, 2022 9:04 am

How many hours a week do you spend doing stuff just for libraries? That may include practicing on your instrument and the time you learn about plugins, but not the time you are fishing or performing live :)


On library music I will spend around 20 hours a week. Practicing my instrument I try to keep it at around 3-4 hours mostly working on difficult part of a composition but sometimes because of my obsessive personality I loose track and go overboard and have to remind myself to quit for the day otherwise it will go to 8-10 hours a day like I use to, don't need to do that anymore and not healthy.

As far as plugins it is more casual I just click on youtube and learn a feature, don't really have a regular set amount of hours.

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Re: What is your daily schedule?

Post by JimDiGritz » Sun Jul 17, 2022 2:33 am

At the moment I'm still in learning mode however my weekday schedule looks like this:

04:30 Wake up - dedicate a couple of hours with coffee to composing, often starting with reviewing an in progress piece with 'fresh ears'. This time is really important to me since my phone won't ring and no one needs me to do anything!!
07:00 Help get kids up and ready for school
08:00 Get ready for work day (day job, WFH)
I keep a pretty strict separation between day job and music production, however if an idea pops into my head I might grab 5 mins in my DAW to capture it..
18:00 Wrap up work, cook evening meal, personal admin, get kids ready for bed
20:00 An hour or so of composing, not my most creative time of day, so often I'll try to schedule learning/experimentation here.
22:00 Bed

Weekends will depend on family activities, but I still try to maintain an hour before everyone else wakes up of studio time.. if I get a quiet weekend I might have 3-4 hours of total music production.

Regardless of TAXI briefs I'm aiming to produce at 1-2 cues per week.

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