Hi great people! Lately, I've been focusing on weekly goals and trying to define my own daily dedication, kind of non-negotiable task for each day outside of production sessions. What does your daily dedication look like? Do you have specific things you practice or study on particular days? Here's my DRAFT: Monday - music analysis. Listening to note arrangement, sounds, balance, production choices. Tuesday - sound selection. Hunting for sounds, finding kicks working great with basses, synths, etc. Wednesday - sound design. Creating and/or shaping sounds. Thursday - effects selection. Exploring reverbs, delays, modulation, distortion, etc. Friday - plugin review. Study or review plugins. Saturday - undecided Sunday - undecided I’m still figuring out Saturday and Sunday.

I'd love to give a special shout-out to our newest membership mentor, Gemi Moon. Gemi recently passed certification in The Reverse Engineer (very difficult) and was asked to be a mentor for this community. Gemi is very talented in her own right, but she also has a lot of love and compassion for other musicians. If you book calls with her, you'll quickly find that she's not only helping you get better but also giving you a bit of joy and confidence in your day. She has that kind of energy! We love Gemi and are excited for her journey as a mentor. I hope everyone can give her a warm welcome here in this community :)

I read a very interesting article this morning from the CEO of discmaker regarding AI's impact on the future of music and what it means for independent artists, writers and music producers. Personally I found it very enlightening. Check it out if you get the chance.

I know nobody around me actually understand what it means to me. It's not a hobby on weekends, it's actually a discipline now. If I discovered something dope, there's no one to share my happiness with, if I'm struggling, there's no one to talk to. I'm not saying it's so dramatic. Nobody's telling me to quit or that it's stupid, but it's just these quiet blank stares. After my vacation this year I realized it much much clearly, there's actually no one who understands why it matters to me. They know my focus on music production, but they avoid this topic completely. Oh well... and on top of it, eh...I can't share any of this with my father who's been constantly disapproving everything I do in life. So... this place is the only community I have. But how about you? What is your situation with your surrounding? do you feel someone understands what you're doing and why? What's your story?

We're just letting people know that we understand Ai is part of the music business and can be a very polarizing subject. In light of that, we have created an Ai Related category and all Ai discussions should be posted under that category. All conversations pertaining to Ai, or any other subject, must remain friendly and positive or they will be removed. We strive to create a safe and positive environment here, and although we encourage discussion, we never want anyone to feel their opinion isn't valid, for or against a subject. Thank you for understanding this. It is important that people come here focusing on what THEY need to move forward toward their goals, and we are here to help everyone achieve the level they want to reach. The Mentors here work hard with people to help with their specific situations and strive to keep them on track. If anyone has anything they wish to discuss concerning this, or any other subject, feel free to reach out to me so we can make sure you are getting the most from your membership. That is our main mission. Keep Creating, and See you around the Virtual Campus!! Nick Allegro - Community Moderator, Mentor, (and All Around Nice Guy)