Eighteenth Lesson - Posted on 2016-02-24 by Nigel Dean

As always I had a great session. I'm starting to get comfortable enough that when I come in I get straight to work without Patrick's immediate supervision. I know what I want to work on and what issues I'm having that require Patrick's input and expertise. If some issue occurs during the session or if there's something I don't particularly understand Patrick is there to aid me in confronting the problem. If there isn't any issueand all I'm working on is a composition or a mix down, Patrick sits and observes, occasionally throwing pointers out on things that he specifically notices, otherwise letting me work in full concentration. This workflow and relationship, I've noticed, allows me the best productivity and learning style. It allows me to pinpoint my weaknesses inside the studio and determine what it is going to take for me to become a self confident producer. This kind of relationship with my mentor also allows me to have great productivity when I'm at home. Since I'm not having to anticipate a specific lesson plan or prepare for a lesson on a topic in which I possess a great deal of information already, I'm able to work on what I need to work on and the find the real issues that I struggle with the most. Today I spent my time writing this new original mix. I'm close to finishing the arrangement and have even begun a relative mixdown on the drums and some of the synth lines. This particular project has been rather difficult, in terms of work flow, since my go to DAW is Logic and the program I'm using for this mix is Ableton. As I work more and more in Ableton, I can't help but question myself on why this DAW is so popular. Perhaps it's because I've used Logic from the get go and the lack of a fast, productive workflow is making Ableton more of a chore for me. At the same time, I once had a friend describe Ableton as that of "If Pro Tools was a Ferrari, Ableton would be a spaceship." I can't help but be inclined to disagree with my friend. Ableton, to me, is rather a pain with certain functions just like Pro Tools is. The loop function annoys me as well as the warping and editing of clips.  Nevertheless, I will master Ableton, just like I plan on mastering Pro Tools as I have with Logic. No program will prevent me from being a great producer and musician.