Importance of Taking Good Notes

By Iasos

In this digital age, a musician often has to be a MASTER of multiple pieces of equipment or software. And it's of course difficult to keep all these details into your short-term memory.

Refresh Your Memory

Taking GOOD NOTES allows you to "refresh your memory" and put your understanding of that equipment-or-software back into your short-term memory. So, even if you have not interacted with that equipment/software in 3 years, you can get back "up to speed" quickly and efficiently.

And if you remember "most" of it, but there is one important function you do not quite remember how to implement, your TABLE OF CONTENTS (at the top of your document) should allow you to quickly FIND and Control-click to HOP to that very needed information. You could also use the FIND feature (Control-F) to find the needed information.

Short-Term Memory

Since it's going into YOUR short-term memory, it's important to use TERMS that YOU understand. And be consistent: Use the SAME term in DIFFERENT pieces of equipment-or-software.

Use Consistent Terms

Example: Instead of "Favorites" in one software and "Bookmarks" in another and "Presets" in another, use the SAME term for your notes in ALL these items.

Clear Understanding

CLEAR NOTES means (automatically) that (at least in one point in time), you have a CLEAR UNDERSTANDING of that item
- Thus, taking notes obligates you to get a CLEAR UNDERSTANDING of that item
Taking CLEAR NOTES of course obligates you to first have a CLEAR UNDERSTANDING
But since modern equipment and modern software is VASTLY flexible, there is so much to learn! Therefore, I recommend:
- As soon as you achieve FULL CLEAR UNDERSTANDING of any particular section of this item, create your CLEAR NOTES then for this "section"
- Do it while the clear understanding is still in your short-term memory !!!

Navigate Your TOC (Table of Contents)

Eventually, your notes will contain many sections, and at that point you can create a TABLE OF CONTENTS at the very top of your document. Make each item on this Table of Contents be an actual link to further down, where it hops you directly to the section it's referring to.

Microsoft Word Shortcuts

Alt-I / K to create a "bookmark"

Control-K to link to a "bookmark" in this same document

Example of Good Notes

Iasos is one of our Music Tech Mentors. He is a successful recording artist, living in Maui, Hawai, and has released over 50 albums. Iasos is also an Ivy League scholar having graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Cultural Anthropology. Whenever he gets new equipment, software or plugins, Iasos studies the manuals and video tutorials and takes really good notes! He also takes the time to apply what he is studying and "actually DO IT!" (experimenting and creatively tinkering with the equipment and software) These are kind of "old school" notes (in Microsoft Word) but still great examples of how to learn and recall: