you don't wanna hear this but it'll make your music incredible

Main ideas / lessons

• Pro-level music (or professional skill) doesn’t come from what people think. The reason your work may not sound “pro” usually isn’t the obvious shortcut—it’s more about doing the unglamorous, time-consuming work that involves iteration.

• Most people want success without the process, specifically:

  1. Avoid discomfort
  2. Find shortcuts
  3. Skip to the end (“the pot of gold” without the messy journey)
• To reach a higher level in music or professional output, the speaker argues you need four core things: time, time well spent, accepting failure, and openness to life experience.

The “4 things” methodology (detailed)

1. Time

• Skill in music takes years, not days/weeks/months (and even “about a year” is implied to be too short).
• The speaker notes that if piano took 20 years, then aiming for professional-sounding recording output in music production is even harder—so it also requires long-term time.
• Example timeline (speaker’s story):
  • Started producing at 14, exposed to GarageBand via a music teacher.
  • Used a laptop / later Logic Pro.
  • Earned a composition degree and got their first “professional opportunity” around 19.
  • Felt their music sounded professional enough to charge around 8 years after starting (the “starting line”).
  • Then roughly another 12 years passed, still not feeling fully “halfway.”

2. Time well spent (not just more time)

• Time alone isn’t sufficient.
  • Spending 10 years on one song may teach less than spending 10 years making many songs.
• Quality of practice matters more than the quantity of hours.
  • The speaker challenges the idea that “10,000 hours” automatically makes you great.
  • The real question is: what did you do with that time?
• A major barrier: fear, anxiety, and perfectionism
  • These derail growth more than almost anything.
  • Key symptom emphasized: inability to finish, move on, and declare work “done.”
• Replace “one project will be my masterpiece” thinking:
  • The speaker argues your first work won’t be your “magnum opus.”
  • The through-line is practice, not one final outcome—progress happens at the first, tenth, hundredth attempt, etc.
• Advice for beginners:
  • If you’ve produced/written under 100 songs, don’t worry if each one is “good.”
  • Aim to make ~100 things, then evaluate later.

3. Accept failure (and keep going)

• “Failure” is reframed as not quitting.
  • Failure only happens if you stop: “I’m done. I quit.”
  • Life is described as an infinite game—you stay “in the game” as long as you keep playing.
• Most output won’t be a hit:
  • The speaker notes they’ve made many more unsuccessful pieces than successful ones (e.g., over 300 videos, with more not performing than performing).
• Mental shift:
  • Don’t require every song to be the greatest art.
  • It’s healthy to accept that:
    • Some ideas will be objectively not great.
    • Different audiences connect to different works.
• About avoiding endlessly revisiting the past:
  • A song can feel different with hindsight.
  • But don’t endlessly rewrite history—accept the work as a snapshot of who you were then.

4. Openness to experience the world

• Creativity relies on real life input, not isolation.
• “Creative ruts” are often the mind signaling it’s time to experience more life.
• Practical meaning of openness (as described):
  • Engage with relationships and real events.
  • Experience beauty, pain, love, joy, hardship, and even loss.
  • Don’t spend every day locked away only crafting—go live.
• Why it matters for art:
  • Great art “comes out of experiencing life.”
  • Without that, you may write from a caricature of someone else’s experience—less meaningful and less emotionally connected.
• Personal reflection (speaker’s journey):
  • They originally got into music to process their own life, then later turned it into a career.
  • That shift can make songs less emotionally connected to the creator.
  • Songs written from real personal pain/experience tend to connect more—to the artist and to others.

Overall takeaway / encouragement

• Don’t avoid discomfort, don’t chase shortcuts, and don’t try to skip the hard middle.
• Allow time to do its magic, keep practicing broadly, finish things, accept that many attempts won’t be “hits,” and stay open to living so you have something real to say.

Speakers / sources featured

Speaker

• Nathan (referred to as “Nathan”; shares their personal story and teaching background)

Sources / brands mentioned

• GarageBand
• Logic Pro
• TikTok
• Instagram
• YouTube