Three minute reads for artists and producers
who want to make better records

By Thomas Dulin

Hello Reader, here's this week's Take Three email.

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TAKE ONE: QUICK LINKS

• UA has some new pedals out that look amazing. Don't sleep on using pedals in your DAW either.
• Sources say Apple may be considering a low-cost "Chromebook" style Macbook to release next year.(Production Expert)​
• I quit using Notes on my phone. I now use Notion to organize everything in my studio and my personal life, and it's amazing. This is my link and if you opt for the paid version, you help support this newsletter at no cost to you.

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TAKE TWO: RECENT RELEASES

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"In Simple Trust" - Adrian Mathenia

I recorded drums for these songs remotely at my studio, with Adrian tuning in from out of state via Audiomovers.

He was kind enough to ask me to mix them as well, and he did a fantastic job producing these songs.

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TAKE THREE: BIG VISION / SMALL STEPS

A couple of weeks ago I asked you to reply with what your biggest challenge is right now in your music career.

Lots of you responded and I wasn’t able to reach out to everyone, but I did have some really great conversations with some of you. For those who did respond, thank you! I always love getting replies.

The common thread I noticed is that we all (myself included) want to achieve really BIG things as artists or producers, but we have a distorted view of what the smaller steps are, and how capable we are of accomplishing those smaller steps.

Your goal might be to climb a 14,000 ft. mountain.

But did you know that mountain climbers actually take really small steps?

It’s easier to lift your feet on an incline that way.

And after tens of thousands of really small steps, you can proudly look down from the top of the mountain.

That big vision you have is great, but what you actually need to focus on TODAY are the next few small steps right in front of you.

Here's a quick example.

Let’s say you want to be a full-time artist, and you want to be able to quit your job.

What are the next 3 small steps you need to take? And how can you break those down into even smaller micro steps? Maybe it’s something like:

• You want to build a business model.
  • Determine how much income you need to be able to quit your job.
  • Determine how your business is going to make a profit.
  • Build a spreadsheet that calculates how many units or shows or streams you need to be able to quit your job.
  • Brainstorm 10 more steps to achieve those metrics.
• You want to play 50 shows a year.
  • Maybe you don’t have any on the calendar right now. So your next micro step is to play ONE show.
  • Open Google Docs and work on a PDF one-sheet that you can send to venues in the area you want to play.
  • Call 3 venues and ask if you can send over your one-sheet, and if they have any openings on their calendar. You can’t play 50 shows a year if you don’t play 1 show.
• You want to write 20 songs for your next EP or album.
  • Write 1 song for your next project! (By the way, I highly recommend Jeff Tweedy's book on that subject)
  • Go through your Notes app and look for songs you started but never finished.
  • Write 1 verse for 1 song.

Notice how the steps get smaller and more granular as you go. That’s the idea.

What are 3 small steps you’re going to take today? I’d genuinely love to know.

Thanks so much for reading! I hope you found this helpful.

Until next week, happy music making, Reader.

Thomas Dulin Producer / Engineer / Mixer