The 2-Step Creative Process (Simplify Music Production)

My current creative philosophy based around minimalism & simplicity.

What if I you could effectively reduce your musical creative process into 2 simple steps?

This doesn't mean you'll completely avoid the 1,362 creative decisions and technical intricacies in your song but what it does mean is that you'll be able to at least gain more clarity on your creative process for a more efficient and streamlined process.

A new useful and practical perspective shift for your music creation practice.

Because most times as audio creatives we tend to ride on a brief moment of inspiration.

A flash of genius.

An epiphany.

A sound.

And we follow that until eventually this initial excitement fades away and all of a sudden we're stuck.

Back to square one.

The worst part about this path is that it becomes mentally and emotionally taxing — A habit of disappointment.

You feel like you’re in a worst position and often rationalize how maybe it would’ve been better if you just didn’t start this new idea in the first place because now you’re not just stuck…

You’re stuck with an idea you love and know has promise but no clear direction on how help it reach its full potential.

Over time, this becomes a recurring theme in your creative process and your confidence, morale, and excitement for music production dwindles. Some even quit for good.

This is why I believe this 2-step minimalistic approach is a useful tool to have in your creative toolbox.

My Current Creative Philosophy

I first wrote about this idea on threads:

Not only does this perspective help you simplify how you think about creativity but it also allows you to:

• Tap into flow states

• Avoid and maneuver around creative blocks

• Finish music faster than you thought possible

(At least those are some of the benefits I've experienced)

But now let's dive deeper into this thread, dissect it and explain what this 2-step creative process is all about.

The 2-Step Creative Process

1) Create a musical mess.

This first step is about unrelenting, unapologetic and unrestrained creation.

This means creating purely without judgement, expectation and solely with the goal of leaving every musical idea that crosses your mind into your DAW.

Instead of aiming to create a beautiful melody, riff or chord progression, just aim to create ANY musical content (good, bad, beautiful, ugly, complex, simple, incomplete, etc.).

Your goal is to create a big musical mess. The bigger the mess the better.

Whether it's 5 or 50 tracks of melodic, rhythmic or sonic bits, try to turn off the judgmental and analytical part of your brain (that will come later).

The goal here is unfiltered musical idea vomit.

Do this for every part of your song (drums, melodies, chords, riffs, harmonies, motifs, vocals, etc.)

Once you feel it's all out, you can now move on to the next step.

*Personally, I like to use a countdown timer to give myself an added sense of urgency. As they say "pressure makes diamonds".

2) Clean up the musical mess.

Now here comes the fun part.

Clean up this musical mess.

But how exactly do you clean up a musical mess? You do this by being critical, ruthless and having conviction with your executive decisions.

In simple terms:

Step 1 is an additive process while step 2 is a subtractive process.

What does this subtractive process look like in practice?

Rearrange, dissect, refine, remixing, re-contextualize — Just polish and clean up what you have into something worthy of listening.

That's all.

Everything else is just noise.

Simplifying Your Creative Process

Next time you sit down to create a new idea approach it with this new 2 step framework and simplify how you think about your creative process.

It's really all you need in order to finish music week after week.

When you zoom out and view music production through this lens you avoid getting caught up in the details, which allows you to focus on what really matters:

Composing interesting ideas and finishing songs.

I've found this to be an effective perspective to operate from as it helps me quickly get into creative flow, allowing me to finish music with substantial melodic elements, harmony and a complete musical story.

Until next time.

— Hermes

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P.S. If you're serious about finishing more authentic music, evolving your sound, and building creative momentum, here are 3 ways I can help:

→ Creative Foundations Vol. 2 (Free): A 17-page starter guide to help you consistently finish more music. Inside, you'll discover the proven 5-stage creative process I teach artists—so you can overcome blocks, organize your ideas, and develop a sustainable songwriting flow.

→ Signature Sound Workshop (Waitlist): My step-by-step mentorship program to help you finish more music, develop a recognizable sound, and build a body of work that’s true to you. The beta version is open now for a limited time.

→ 1:1 Mentorship & Coaching: Apply to work with me directly. Together, we’ll identify and eliminate your creative bottlenecks, refine your unique sound, and design a personalized workflow for long-term growth.