Articles - KSP Studio

Why Meditate as a Musician:

Have you ever been producing, practicing or even performing and felt hazy? That kind of haze where you are DOING something but feeling distant or lackluster? Yes. I have felt that plenty of times. Yet, I never attempted to find a solution to this sluggish haziness. The solution was always available and only cost a little time… anywhere from 1 minute to 10. Yep, Meditation. So let’s talk about meditation and why meditate as a musician.

How to Meditate as a Musician:

I’ve personally tried a few different meditation techniques….. certain sitting positions, youtube videos, articles, and MANY podcasts. What I’ve found is, meditation is completely a personal preference and one size does NOT fit all. You will need to do a bit of meditation exploration to find the type that resonates best with your natural abilities and personality.

I’ll attach my 3 favorite resources at the end of this article.

However, I will share MY favorite way to meditate to help you draw inspiration. I tend to meditate by simply sitting up straight, closing my eyes, letting my shoulders drop to allow the stress and tension to roll off my body, breathing deeply in a slow rhythm, and finally experiencing the tranquility of silence. The intensity of how silent any room can be is amazing. What I mean is, silence is relative to your awareness.  Once those speakers turn off, or you stop practicing your instrument It almost feels like the room is flowing with the ripples of your music. That’s just me anyways…

Now let’s talk about what you get from meditation… this is the good stuff.

3 main benefits

Below are the 3 main benefits I personally experience after a short meditation session either before producing or in the middle when I need to clear my head.

1. Heightened creativity and flow state.
2. Increased ability to listen objectively
3. Healing of the body (ears especially)

Let’s dive into these benefits a bit.

Heightened creativity and flow state

Meditating as a musician will unlock your creativity and flow state by becoming an internal cue for your body and mind to work as one. After meditating, your mind becomes a blank slate ready to take on the challenge of creating. Your stress has decreased meaning fewer blockades from the aspects of life that are NOT serving your creative moments (like work, emails, and the laundry you may or may not have forgotten about for 3 days straight). In conjunction, your body has experienced a shift in breathing or posture to help signal wellness.

You are now ready to enter the creative flow state.

At first, the flow state may take a few minutes. But with repetition, this meditation will become a trigger for creativity.

Increased ability to listen objectively

Listening objectively is a core aspect of progression for every musician. Progression can only occur when areas of improvement are realized. When listening to the same material or practicing some 8 bars for too long we quickly lose sight of what is “Good” and where to apply improvements.

Meditation is a consistent and fast way to readjust your ears to listen critically again. By removing the physical sounds from your surroundings your focus shifts to internal awareness. The internal body is much more precise and balanced than the external, so after we have reset, we are bringing that precision back into our ears and mind. Try your 8 bars again and you’ll hear what it really sounds like (hopefully better than you originally thought)!

Healing of the body

One main benefit of any meditation is the healing associated with it. Relaxation and release of tension help to keep our heart rate down, our body comfortable and our minds clear. Mediation as a musician also helps to re-calibrate our ears to a regular hearing level and can help prevent permanent hearing damage or even loss. How? Relaxing and recalibrating our ears should make any incremental volume increases over the session more noticeable… basically meaning you can turn down the volume again.

 

Meditate as a Musician conclusion:

The benefits of meditation are explored frequently with many truly amazing results, so as musicians it’s in our best interests to apply the techniques to further our creativity, skill, and health.

1. Heightened creativity and flow state.
2. Increased ability to listen objectively
3. Healing of the body (ears especially)

Now is the time to practice meditation. Grab your phone, search guided MEDITATION in Google or your favorite podcast app and then slip away into a new world. Be 100% engaged and open to meditation to feel the most effect. And it only takes a few minutes.

Thanks for reading!! Until next time,

Take it easy!

-Kye

BONUS

If you are interested in getting a free mix consultation click HERE to book a live 10-minute session with me. All you need is your current mix in mp3 format. This is great if you’ve still hit a wall with your mix even after meditating. 

Also, all my new subscribers are getting my very own production checklist absolutely free when signing up.

So sign up below 🙂

Contact me about mixing (or anything music)

More by KSP

BEATS

MIXING/MASTERING

Perfection as a musician:

Perfectionism is often viewed as a desirable trait. Many people associate it with a high level of achievement and excellence. However, perfectionism can have negative effects on one’s well-being and ability to succeed. Perfectionism as a musician or producer can quickly lead to unhelpful habits. In my experience, perfection was always a road that created standards too high to ever reach. It’s taken a LOT of time to change and I’m here to share WHY perfectionism NEEDS to be avoided when making music.

But first, what is perfectionism?

Perfectionism is a personality trait characterized by a relentless pursuit of flawlessness and high standards. Perfectionists set exceedingly high expectations for themselves and often have a critical inner voice that chastises them for any perceived shortcomings. They may also impose these high standards on others, leading to a difficult and uncompromising work environment.

Perfectionism as a musician: Explained

A musician who is a perfectionist may have unrealistic expectations about their art, performance, recording, or voice. As a musician or producer, these high standards can quickly kill the most important part of the creation process – the enjoyment. This can happen at any point in the journey. Even multiple times if you aren’t careful.

I’ll share an example. When I first experienced a negative impact from perfectionism I was in college. I worked hard enough and loved guitar enough to be accepted into a collegiate classical guitar program. The practicing was rigorous and I came to accept that was part of the cost to achieve perfect results. However, no matter how hard or for how long I practiced I could never achieve “Perfect” results (in my own eyes). The problem with this need for perfection is that I eventually associated perfectionism with enjoyment. Perfection = Happiness. Massive red flag right there.

I did not realize until years later that this association had caused a negative change in my life. I got so obsessed yet unhappy playing guitar that I left the program within a year, despite playing guitar passionately for the previous 10 years of my life.

So, as a musician, it’s crucial to always protect that feeling I know we all get from practicing, playing for fun, playing on stage, DJing, or producing. If you find yourself in a situation anything like mine, take a step back and try to re-imagine that feeling that started your journey.

Negative consequences of perfectionism:

While striving for excellence can be admirable, perfectionism can have negative effects on one’s well-being and success. Here are a few potential consequences of perfectionism:

1. Procrastination: Paradoxically, perfectionism can lead to procrastination. Someone who sets unattainable standards may become overwhelmed and put off tasks until they feel they can do them perfectly. This can lead to missed deadlines and incomplete projects.
2. Anxiety and Depression: Perfectionism can cause anxiety and depression. The constant pressure to be perfect can lead to feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt, and low self-esteem. These feelings can contribute to the development of anxiety and depression.
3. Impaired Relationships: Perfectionists may have difficulty forming and maintaining relationships due to their uncompromising nature. They may be critical of others, leading to conflicts and difficulties in social situations.
4. Burnout: The relentless pursuit of perfection can lead to burnout. Perfectionists may push themselves beyond their limits, neglect self-care, and sacrifice their physical and emotional well-being.

Strategies for managing perfectionism as a musician:

While perfectionism can have negative consequences, there are ways to manage its effects. Here are a few strategies:

1. Create sustainable habits – habits are the truest building block for success. If you can be happy while performing habits like practicing or warming up, you’ll incrementally reach the success desired and never feel pressured.
2. Set realistic goals: Rather than aiming for perfection, set achievable goals that can be realistically accomplished. Celebrate small successes and progress, rather than focusing on unattainable ideals.
3. Practice self-compassion: Rather than criticizing oneself for perceived flaws or mistakes, practice self-compassion. Treat oneself with kindness and understanding, and recognize that everyone makes mistakes.
4. Seek support: Surround oneself with people who are supportive and understanding. Seek the help of a therapist or counselor to develop healthy coping mechanisms for managing perfectionistic tendencies.
5. Prioritize self-care: Perfectionists may neglect self-care in favor of striving for excellence. It is essential to prioritize self-care activities, such as exercise, healthy eating, and relaxation, to maintain physical and emotional well-being.

Conclusion – what’s important to know about perfectionism as a musician:

Perfectionism is a trait that can have both positive and negative effects. As a musician, it’s important to keep the passion alive because creativity and passion go hand in hand. Set realistic goals, be proud of YOUR spot in your journey, and NEVER expect your journey, or sound, or playing style to be like anybody else. Being unique is a key to success and oddly enough being perfect as an artist. Stop seeking perfectionism as a musician and start feeling proud of your art.

PS- If you are interested in breaking a Bad Habit associated with perfection check out the book ATOMIC HABITS (it’s just a really good book, I get nothing for telling you about it). This is a very great book for removing bad habits and bringing out the best of our intentions.

All my new subscribers are getting my very own production checklist absolutely free when signing up. This can give you a better guide on what’s important and help keep your productions moving instead of getting caught in the endless “Perfection” loop. 

So sign up below 🙂

Contact me about mixing (or anything music)

More by KSP

BEATS

MIXING/MASTERING

How playing to a crowd changed my production level completely

The big break – from producer to DJ

Okay, so around mid-July of 2022 I had the opportunity to play some of my tunes out to a “small” crowd. This was huge for me as a producer and artist. This was a shift I’ve been wanting, a shift from producer to DJ. At the time I believed this opportunity was going to help propel my artist brand forward. I never guessed this would impact my production skills as well. And all for the better.

Before I tell you EXACTLY what was learned, I need to explain the type of producer I was prior to DJing regularly. I started using Garageband at 13 Recording my guitar, writing songs, and tinkering with plugins. This meant lots of long hours on youtube, trial and error, and fun overall. Around 18 I decided professional college classes would help me as a producer. Well, that could not have been further from the truth. The professional classes did not come close to the knowledge I had gained during the years of tinkering around in Garageband.

My learnings

After that initial failure, I sought out online courses. Now we were getting somewhere. I took courses from places like ADSR, Corse Academy, and of course a lot more youtube. My love and understanding of production, mixing, and mastering grew exponentially through the next 2 – 3 years. And outside of production, I was still involved with collegiate-level guitar, choir, and theater… so my knowledge of music theory, performance, and hard skills continued to grow as well.

Okay, but what did this make me as a producer? I had been a very technical, well-taught, and by the book’s producer. What did this mean? This meant that songs needed form. Songs needed complexity. Productions needed to meet a certain standard to sound amazing. And music needed to SOUND good before it was considered good.

I am very thankful for some of these views … Others were actually negatives in disguise.

1. Good music doesn’t always meet YOUR production standards

This is the first change in view from producer to DJ. Essentially, I had spent too long getting caught up in the technical side of a song. I was not judging music by its entertainment value. A listener is NOT going to care if the song is SLIGHTLY quieter sounding, or if the piano is a few DB too loud. The listener ULTIMATELY cares about the vibe and how interesting the song is to them. I never would have learned this until I played as a DJ. Why? Because some of the BEST songs have HORRIBLE mixes… and vice versa, some AMAZING mixes don’t get a crowd interested.

So, if the song itself is interesting then the production, mix, and master are simply tools. They help the music sound the best it possibly can. I drew two major conclusions from this realization. First, I needed to spend MORE time writing.  Secondly, I needed to spend LESS time mixing. What is final is final. And to put it simply, you can’t polish a turd. But you can polish gold to help it shine brighter.

2. Design Original Sounds

Many of the best songs have a very focused and catchy sound. For example, vocals are generally considered the most original. Likewise, vocals and an original sound are a magic formula. What did this mean for my productions? Well as a result, I now believe that originality comes from weirdness initially. For example, laying a guitar with a saxophone and then using a transient shaper to emphasize the sax attack could make an interesting sound. Synths have endless possibilities as well.

Here’s a twist, however, original needs to be blended with familiar. Many songs use the piano in some capacity. Or similar drum grooves. Or most basic, the time signature. Above all, a song needs to make the listener feel something new. An original sound is simply the BEST way to stand out. Of course, this is easier said than done… so click HERE to learn about finding your sound.

3. Make music for yourself first

Everybody has different tastes in music. We all know this. Every taste is valid. That’s a bit harder of a reality to swallow but it is true. I’m a people pleaser, so I’ll often find myself stuck on the idea that a song is not good enough for others. THAT’S FINE. If you aren’t 100% feeling a song just test it out loud to people and see what happens. You’ll find a lot more positive feedback.

Now let’s take this a step further. First, we need to answer a question. Who is our harshest critic? Nine times out of ten it’s OURSELVES.  So here’s the simple solution. Stop focusing on how others will perceive your music and write something you want to hear. Write something that is missing from the world. Write something that shares who you are in some way.

For example, I LOVE using my voice, filtered stabby synths, and rich bass. This is my signature sound because I could never find an artist who did EXACTLY what I wanted. So, I just created it myself. Here’s the most interesting part. When I ask my fans what song they LOVE the most, I always get told It’s the one I loved the most as well. Click HERE if you would like to take a listen on Spotify.

From Producer to DJ – Top Takeaways

1. Good music doesn’t always meet your production standards
2. Designing original sounds is a key to differentiation
3. Make music that you TRULY need to hear

I am happy to share these findings with every artist who needs a little bit of perspective. It is a fun journey from producer to DJ. If you enjoyed the article, consider signing up to our email list below. You will get notified when new articles come out, Sales on beats, Sales on mixing/mastering services, and anything new that happens for the KSP brand. I’m just one normal guy who loves music. 

Also, all my new subscribers are getting my very own production checklist absolutely free when signing up.

So sign up below 🙂

 

Contact me about mixing (or anything music)

More by KSP

BEATS

MIXING/MASTERING