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You can never be too careful when it comes to backing up your files.
If you’re a composer, your computer is your instrument, and if something were to happen to that instrument and your files were not saved somewhere else then you could be in for a world of hurt.
I’m going to walk you through what I do specifically, but the basic principle is that you want at least one physical backup and one backup in the cloud.
I’m using a custom built PC and my main C drive is only for the operating system and the applications. I have two additional hard drives build into the machine. My D drive is for project files only, and my drive is for sample libraries. And they are all Solid State Drives but for your projects drive it would still be fine to use an HD drive and get a little more bang for your buck since that drive is primarily for storage.
This set up makes your computer run more efficiently, and it also makes it easier to backup your project files since they are all in one drive and that’s the only thing on that drive. If you’re using a laptop you can still set up your computer this way. You would just need to use multiple external drives.
So that takes care of setup. What I do for backup is I have an external USB drive that I use with a free program called SyncBack which creates essentially a clone of your computer on that drive. So if I create a file on my computer it is also added on that drive and if I delete a file on my computer it is deleted on that drive.
I have Finale set to auto-save every 3 minutes and I have changed the location of the Finale Backup folder to my external drive.
The basic principle is that you want at least one physical backup and one backup in the cloud.
So, for those of you keeping track at home. I have the original finale file on my projects drive, my clone on my external drive, and the finale autosave file in a separate folder on that external drive. So we’re up to three copies so far.
I also use a program called Backblaze which creates copies of both my computer AND my external drives in the cloud. So now I have 6 copies of every finale file I make. Three in my office, three in the cloud.
Backblaze mirrors your computer like SyncBack but it can also keep older versions of files so if you’ve got it set up right you can also go back and get deleted files or older versions of files if you needed a previous version of a song.
It’s also really useful because you can log in to the website and download individual files from your backup so if I’m on a work trip or vacation and I’ve left my drive at home I can still get at my files.
You also want to backup your email because when you send files to clients that creates yet another place to recover a file.
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Garrett Breeze
Garrett Breeze, host of Selling Sheet Music, is a Nashville-based composer best known for his catalog of more than 1,500 choral arrangements of popular music, including more than 1,000 written for competitive show choir.
Visit garrettbreeze.com for more information or to book Garrett for a commission or other event.