Unfinished music files, random band projects, audio snippets of an idea you recorded on the go. Sound familiar? As professional music producers will tell you, housekeeping is a really important part of the production process and something you should try to keep on top of, but staying organised isn’t always easy. The time you spend trying to dig out that clip you recorded a few months ago, or track you’ve been trying to finish for a while, might just be the time it takes to lose the moment of inspiration or spark of creativity.
There’s a number of approaches you can take as well as some functions on BandLab you should be aware of that will help you to stay organised and here’s just a few.
Naming conventions
Having clear, concise and explanatory naming conventions is a great place to start and will ensure you avoid any dreaded ‘ProjectXFINAL_FINAL_FINAL_MASTER’ scenarios! Try adding a date to the end of each revision so that you keep on top of which is the latest version – also add notes to yourself – like “added awesome synth lead” or “experimented with layer vocals” in the descriptions.
Naming tracks in the mix editor is also really important in making sure that you know what sounds are coming from where at a glance – colour coding for certain instruments is also common practice – blue for percussive elements, yellow for samples, red for guitars and so on.
Revisions
When you record or create your first song, that is the first “revision” of the Project. Any changes you make to that will create another revision. Tree View is a visual roadmap that lets you track your songwriting process and go back to any revision you’ve created. This is where file names become super important – we recommend naming tracks “Projectname_Revision3_DATE”.
All your music in one place
The Library tab is where you can stay organised with all of your music projects. In this section, you’ll be able to find tracks that you’ve created on your own, bands you’ve joined from around the world, collaborative projects you’ve started with friends, your personal music collections and communities that you are a part of.
Here’s a quick guide to make sure you’re getting the most out of your Library.
Projects
This is the best place to see all of the music projects you’ve been working on, but it can appear a little daunting if you haven’t named tracks properly. Take a little time each week to keep on top of this – ensure projects have recognisable images which are easy to see at thumbnail size so that you can quickly recognise the project at a glance.
Collections
Creating your own playlists on BandLab is simple and all of your playlists will be accessible in the Collections tab. Maybe you want some music to listen to in the car or your hunting for a range of music tracks that you can fork and remix. We recommend spending an hour or two at a time purely just searching for music. This will really help you get into a good flow and build your collections much easier and with purpose.
Bands
Ever wanted to start a band but don’t know where to start? Start from here! Create a new band, invite new members and get straight to work. All communication regarding projects, music, artwork and upcoming gigs can be discussed in this band page – and it’s all in the cloud and accessible on all devices so where ever you, or your bandmates are around the world, you’ll always be connected.
Communities
Discuss trending topics, chew the fat with like-minded musicians, stay up to date with music news and share your creations with the world. Communities are the portal to a world of people just like you. Make sure you are only joining communities that are appropriate to you. This will ensure you’re not receiving inappropriate content, or wasting time sharing yours on the wrong pages either. Check what’s going on in communities on regular basis, listen to other people’s work and contribute to the conversation. Setting time aside each week will really help you to grow your personal network.
Get organised and get creating.
