DAW Speedrunning: Music Production At Record Speeds
May 19, 2025
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Tero Potila
If you’ve ever seen someone whip up a full song in just a few minutes, you’ve witnessed DAW speedrunning. It’s all about making a beat or track as fast as humanly possible inside a digital audio workstation, testing your skills and creative instincts at the same time.
This challenge has caught on with producers on social media, especially in hip-hop and electronic circles. You’ll spot these speedruns on YouTube and TikTok, where folks race the clock, building beats at a wild pace.
After years of making tracks, I’ve found that working against the clock like this can really sharpen your workflow. Sometimes, it even uncovers shortcuts and tricks you’d never find otherwise.
Maybe you want to train your instincts, push your creativity, or just get a kick out of making music fast. DAW speedrunning is a surprisingly fun way to level up as a producer.
Origins of Speedrunning
In DAW speedrunning, you try to hit music production goals in the shortest time you can. Maybe you’re making a beat, arranging a song, or recreating a well-known track inside your DAW.
This idea comes straight from video game speedruns—think of it as a music production version of the “race against the clock.” It’s all about pushing your skills and workflow, in record time.
Speedrunning can tighten up your process and force creative problem-solving when the pressure is on. It’s also about the fun and the challenge, and sharing results online keeps things competitive in the best way.
Popular DAWs Used in Speedruns
You can do this in any DAW.
Most producers stick to what they know best, since familiarity saves precious seconds.
You’ll see speedruns in Logic Pro, Bitwig Studio, or Cubase, too, but most often producers posting their speedrun on their YouTube channel and social media are using FL Studio or Ableton Live; both load up fast, have flexible layouts, and offer shortcuts that make quick work possible. But any DAW you’re intimately familiar with works well for a DAW speedrun.
Soundtrap is also a great option due to its fast load time, streamlined workflow, and clean interface.
Key Concepts and Rules
There’s no single rulebook for DAW speedrunning. Still, most runs set a clear goal, like making an 8-bar beat or recreating a song from scratch.
Some important ideas:
- Timer and Verification: You time your run and usually record it for proof.
- Constraints: You could limit yourself to stock plugins or create other restrictions.
- Outcomes: The end result doesn’t have to be perfect—speed and finishing the challenge matter most.
Producers often post their times on social media, building a kind of informal leaderboard.
Platforms and Communities
Streams, News, and Forums
You can catch DAW speedruns live on Twitch and YouTube Live. Streamers usually give real-time commentary, and you can jump into the chat to talk with them or other viewers.
Reddit’s music production and speedrunning subreddits are good spots for sharing news, rules, and results. People there talk about the latest records, workflow tricks, and even plan upcoming speedrun events.
YouTube Channels and Content Creators
Lots of DAW speedruns end up as edited YouTube videos. Creators like Internet Money, Nick Mira, and others upload challenge runs, tutorials, and commentary about their approach.
Playlists make it easy to follow world records or see how specific genres get made at lightning speed. There are highlights, workflow breakdowns, and deep dives into DAW strategies. The comment sections are packed with advice, questions, and reactions from various producers.
Short videos on TikTok and Instagram showcase the best moments, time-saving macros, and “beat in X minutes” challenges. They are perfect for a quick burst of inspiration.
Key Techniques and Strategies
Piano Rolls and Audio Rates
Piano roll is where you’ll punch in and edit MIDI notes quickly. Memorize your shortcuts for inserting, duplicating, or deleting notes—it saves you a ton of time.
Use quantization to automatically snap notes to the grid so you don’t waste time fiddling with the mouse.
Some DAWs let you bounce tracks at higher speeds, which cuts down on waiting.
I always recommend using template projects with instruments and routing set up. It can help you with DAW speedrunning as you can jump straight into making music without extra setup steps.
Real Time vs. Tool-Assisted Speedruns
In real-time speedruns, you do every step live—no pausing, no edits. Every second counts, from clicking menus to fixing a stray MIDI note.
Tool-assisted speedruns are a little different. Some DAWs support macros, scripts, and automation to combine steps. Maybe you set up actions in Reaper or macros in FL Studio, so one keystroke does many things simultaneously.
This style tests your technical setup and your knowledge of your DAW’s automation.
Setting a New World Record
If you want to break a world record, you have to refine every part of your workflow. Record and review your runs, and look for any wasted mouse moves or extra clicks.
Keep a stopwatch next to your DAW timer to spot where you’re losing time.
Here are some best practices:
- Preload instruments to avoid plugin load delays
- Batch-edit MIDI data
- Map hotkeys for common actions
Notable Players and Trends
Influence of Soulja Boy and TikTok – Make
When speedrunners started posting remakes of Soulja Boy’s Crank Dat, it brought a lot more attention to the scene. Producers managed to put together basic song layouts in FL Studio, sparking debates about how accessible and creative speedrunning can be.
TikTok has also played a huge part. It lets producers record, edit, and share short clips with a massive audience.
Some viral clips showcase not only the usual genres but also experiment with lo-fi, trap, and EDM. They often list the tools and shortcuts used so anyone could try the techniques.
Conclusion
DAW speedrunning isn’t just a flashy trend of music producers—it’s a legit way to boost your production chops and rethink how you work under pressure.
Whether chasing a world record or trying to finish a beat before your coffee gets cold, the process teaches you speed, focus, and creative flow.
I’m not saying start speeding through all of your productions, but it is a very cool way to test your limits. I’ve definitely learned more about my own habits and weaknesses just by racing the clock.
So if you haven’t tried it yet, fire up your DAW, hit record, and see how fast you can bring your next idea to life.
About the author
Tero Potila is a professional music composer and producer. His career combining knowledge and experience from music, TV, film, ad, and game industries gives him a unique perspective that he shares through posts on teropotila.com.
