Learning to leave space

For a long time I filled every bar of every song. If there was a gap, I added a guitar lick. If there was silence, I added a harmony. I thought a busy track was a generous track.

It is not. A busy track is a track that does not trust its listener. The space between the notes is where the listener actually lives. That is where they bring their own life into the song.

Now when I am producing, I keep asking what I can take out. I mute the second guitar. I drop the harmony. I let the verse breathe. Almost every time, the song gets stronger when I stop helping it so much.

Leaving space is the loudest thing I do.