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How Can I Make Beats Faster?

Making beats can be great while at other times it can burn you out,

the worst case is usually when you’re under the clock and feel like you’re not making beats fast enough.

being under the clock surely doesn’t help though others claim it keeps them focused,

which is fine because we all have our weak points and strong points.

feeling slow can be underwhelming,

I’ve been there and even though it’s not great, there are ways you can turn yourself into a faster beat maker,

and it all comes down to you and how you apply yourself.

this post will walk you through the  various techniques I’ve used and still use to make sure I’m making beats at a fast rate.

I’ve gathered helpful tips from a number of close associates of mine combined with others techniques that I’ve come to know and understand on my own.

1. Pomodoro

the pomodoro method is a working technique that involves working for 25 minutes straight and then taking 5 minute breaks.

you can use this method in your beat making process, you can stretch the 25 minutes to which ever working number is best suited for you.

so long as you keep the working hours longer and the breaks short because you’ll want to make the most of your time,

this can be a great technique if you stick to it religiously, and adjust it to suit your specific goals (the number of beats you want finished)

2. develop workflow

you have to consistently improve your workflow in order to work faster.

this would mean that you would have to basically create a simple road map that guides in your creation process, a system.

once you get a good system going, you can tweak and improve it to maximize output,

a good process makes for easy flow of ideas which will improve your work rate.

so pay attention to your process and know how to work with it effectively for better results.

3. Try not to overthink things

one of the greatest enemies of progress in any creative situation is yourself.

therefore a great way to ensure productivity is to get yourself out of the way.

because at best you’ll probably start a project and end up self sabotaging along the way.

this is why I prefer to keep things simple, no over complication.

therefore keep your head clear and don’t over think the process, you’re just making a beat, relax and work to finish that beat to the best of your ability.

I repeat, keep it simple.

the last thing you want is to encounter beat block

4. Think with your mind and not your Daw


making beats is more an audio than a visual process.

beat makers often make the mistake of trying to keep everything within the DAW,

this is bad trade craft.

you have to take your creativity into the DAW, the DAWs work is to transform your ideas into reality.

that is why you have to think with your brain and not your DAW,

let your DAW be the canvas you use to be able to portray your ideas.

rather than thinking of getting ideas from your DAW, which can greatly increase your work rate.

5. Purchase and invest in loop kits and sample kits

a quick and easy way to increase your production speed when it comes to making beats is using midi kits, loop kits and sample kits.

midi kits make it easy for you to simply drag and drop them into your DAW and have notes at the ready that you can use.

therefore a good way to save time and work faster is to purchase loop kits and midi kits,

or use free ones if they are any that are available.

platforms well know for the best kits are Splice and Cymatics.

6. Understand your DAW

you need to develop a good understanding of your DAW in order for you to improve at how fast you finish beats.

that’s why it’s always advisable to go with the DAW that you’re familiar with.

this will make work easier for you because you’ll basically have a road map that is a result of constantly working in that DAW,

so before you even start thinking of how you can improve your speed, start by understanding your DAW first then afterward working quickly with ease will come naturally to you.

7. Organize your samples and plugins

it’s simple things like this that seem quite small but in turn make a huge difference.

imagine having sample libraries in various folders on your computer that you have to manually search for each time,

or having a bunch of random sounds mixed with your organized sounds.

that’s basically a disaster, make sure you set the right space for your work,

therefore arrange things properly so you can easily access them.

when you do this you’ll simply find it easier and faster to finish beats.

here’s an exercise

if you have sample libraries that are disorganized, simply organize them in an orderly format then assess if it improves your workflow then come back to this article and leave a comment.

8. Get rid of distractions

Get off your phone!!!

if you want to make beats faster than you usually do, get rid of the distractions that surround your working space.

it could be video games, it could a TV, or it could be your phone.

I’ve been a victim of getting carried away reading an email on my phone and therefore losing time and failing to finish beats on time.

sometimes it’s not as formal as an email, it could be a twitter message that catches your attention and you end up losing focus.

therefore get rid of all distractions and you’ll work much faster.

9. Set goals

goal oriented people typically go far in their careers, simply having the passion to make beats or produce is not gonna be enough.

you need a plan of action, if you’re passionate enough create small actionable goals that can get you closer to achieving the bigger goal.

therefore if you intend to improve your working speed, at least start by writing out how many beats you want done in a day.

when you do this it’s easy for you to divide your time up properly and not spend too much time on one project.

10. Utilize keyboard shortcuts

remember when I said understand your DAW?

this section of the post will explore using keyboard shortcuts, which comes as a result of understanding your DAW.

therefore understand that some points in this post may look unrelated to each other, but trust me most of them flow into each other.

like in this case.

learn keyboard shortcuts so you can improve your working speed instead of having to do everything manually all the time.

faster beat makers tend to rely on using shortcuts than going the normal route which may take ages and ruin your momentum.

11. Use colour codes in your DAW

when I first heard of colour coding in a DAW, I thought it was a waste of time and made no impact at all,

until I tried it out one time and saw how well it worked for me.

therefore colour code your instruments, and group them as necessary,

this will make you produce a lot more faster because you won’t easily get lost trying to locate an instrument that is in an unclassified group of random sounds.

most, if not all DAWs offer colour coding options therefore be sure to try this .

12. Take strategic breaks

it’s cool to have the guts to make a lot of beats at a fast rate,

but you have to remember that you’re a human being and your body will easily get burnt out when you push it to its limits without you resting it.

Therefore take strategic breaks during your sessions in order for you to recharge your batteries and come back fresh and ready to work.

a producer taking a couple of breaks while they work will in most cases make more beats than the guy that stays glued to the screen without moving.

13. Find and work within your flow state

everyone has flow, it is a state in which you’re so focused and drawn into whatever you’re doing with intense concentration.

there isn’t an exact way to get into that state but as you go along your music production journey you’ll begin to notice patterns in your own working behavior.

these patterns can give you insight into when and how you find yourself in a state of flow.

once you figure it out, make sure to cultivate it as much as you need because it will give you the power to work much faster.

14. Use instruments that you are comfortable with

experimenting with gear is great and all, but if you’re looking for maximum productivity at a fast pace use instruments that you are familiar with.

making beats is an art that requires your full attention,

therefore don’t spread yourself thin, if you’re a guitar player then plug in your guitar and record it and add the sounds to your beat,

other than messing around with other instruments that you’re not familiar with which will in most cases waste your time.

stick to what you know and be productive in those areas

15. Stay dedicated

dedication is the ability to show up everyday whether you failed yesterday, or the day before or for months.

get on your grind, don’t waste time,

dedicate yourself to making music everyday,

the more you do this the better you become,

these results may take long to manifest but trust me they will, therefore keep working at it long enough with the right amounts of action and a dedicated style of work.

this will set you apart from every one, and improve your work flow and pace.

16. Stop trying to be perfect, accept good enough

striving for perfection is an awesome quality to have and it’s good for your process.

but striving for perfection also hurts your speed.

so if you want to make beats faster, you better begin to learn how to settle for “good enough”.

perfection and  rushing usually don’t go together because perfection is paying attention to every little thing.

leave the little minor details, you’re looking for volume in terms of output and the only thing you need to worry about is the speed with which you can carry out your task.

17. The simpler the better

dont over complicate stuff, keep it simple and straight forward.

complicating your beats most of the time is a self sabotaging technique that the brain uses on us to get us worked up about having too much detail that ends up over shadowing the entire vision.

therefore use a few sounds and save yourself the trouble of having to deal with huge projects that require alot of time because they are simply too intricate.

18. Start and finish

dont be the guy that starts 15 beats in a day but finishes less than 3 of those beats.

start and finish your projects, that’s how you learn how to be accountable and treat every project with seriousness.

if you want to increase the speed at which you make beats then you have to learn how to finish beats,

get started and get good in that area then start thinking about making beats faster.

the quicker you can finish a beat the more you’ll inspired to make more beats quickly.

19. Know what you want

it’s always a great idea to have direction toward what you want

when you open up a DAW to start making beats, if you want to increase pace.

this makes working on the project easier because you spend less time making a beat that you already planned out.

when you start making your beat,

having a general idea about where you want your beat to go will save you the trouble of having to do guess work there by wasting even more time, probably time that you don’t have.

20. Listen to your favorite music before sessions

listen to some of your favourite tracks before you get into the studio and lock in to make beats,

this is not to steal ideals but rather to get inspired.

music affects us in a way that we can use to our advantage,

therefore it is good if you can set some minutes aside to listen to some music.

this will increase the speed at which you make beats because it becomes easier to make beats once you listen to contextual some music.

21. Write ideas down

musical ideas come at you at any place and time without warning, therefore it’s always a good idea to keep a notebook on you,

where you can write musical ideas as they come to you.

this way, when you get into the studio you already know where to start from and therefore won’t spend lots of time trying to start something that you thought about hours ago, and have no proper recollection of.

22. Tempo is everything

tempo is your friend.

we all have specific BPMs where we find it the easy to make beats.

therefore stay within that strong point and work within your preferred tempo,

trying to experiment with tempo may work but often times it won’t when you’re set on making the beat quickly.

therefore work within your comfort levels, adjust as necessary but dont hurt yourself in the process.

speed with which you work depends on how well you develop your creative process.

23. Focus on creating a loop first to get you going

don’t put yourself under too much stress, develop a loop going and then build out the rest of your beat rather than trying to do everything all at once,

concentrate your energy on building general direction and then follow up with finishing the entire beat.

working like this will sure show some improvement in your beat making pace.

for example if your daily goal is to make 5 beats, focus on making 5 loops,

then start finishing the beats one by one till you’re done with all five.

24. apply music theory

music theory may not seem like a big deal,

but trust me it makes all the difference,

people with no theory knowledge will have to guess the keys they play in most cases,

but a person with theory knowledge will play by ear and will be able to execute their ideals much faster,

because they can easily replicate what is going on in their minds and feed it into a DAW,,

so learn some theory and you’ll notice a difference in your production speed.

25. Manage your attention

one thing that makes beat makers slow is because they lack the ability to manage their attention.

this is usually a result of operating with no goals, which can be difficult because you basically have no short term routines to get to your aim.

therefore learn to manage your attention,

if you’re working then continue working, if it’s time for a break then go for a break but don’t try and mix work with other activities that can slow you down

26. Save your sounds and patches

whenever you custom make a sound always ensure that you save it because it can save you time in the future.

forexample having to recreate a synth bass each time you fire up your DAW would be a waste,

when you could save time by saving it and accessing it whenever you want.

therefore save all your sounds, patches, kits and loops and it will be easier for you to achieve some speed in your beat making.

27. Split your production (make beat, mix beat, master)

split your beat making into theres separate sessions

a beat making session

a mixing session

and a mastering session

this will save you time when making beats.

28. Stay organized

having a well organized workplace is one of the best ways to hack your own productivity.

it is very difficult to work in disorganized environments.

therefore organize your studio and productivity will follow and a great creative speed will eventually come at you.

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How Can I Make Beats Faster?

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