Let's talk about Templates....
What is a template?
A template is basically a DAW project file, which contains all of your favourite samples and plugins pre-loaded, all routed and set up, so you can immediately start writing and producing music.
You can find plenty of examples online, where various composers such as Junkie XL have templates that run into the thousands of tracks. When inspiration strikes, you are immediately 'off to the races' without having to go searching for the all important String spiccato samples on your hard drive!
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Why I don't use a template
The problem that I experienced using templates in the past, is that I found my music started sounding the same. By using the same combination of sounds and articulations, I would find myself writing similar 'short string' patterns, or the same Brass chords or voicings, or similar percussion grooves.
I actually fell into a writing 'rut' after having spent a long time building my 'dream' template!
By not using a template, I've found that this approach has ultimately worked well for me when I'm writing singular pieces, such as library or production music for various publishers, or when I write a piece specifically to teach a concept or technique, such as with my YouTube or Course content.
For these pieces, I will generally start with a completely blank project. I'll usually load my favourite Piano sample library (Keyscape at the moment) to use for some initial ideas, but then load sounds or articulations as I go.
I will try to use at least one patch or articulation that I've never used, to make sure I am always making as much use of the Sample libraries I own!
I also prefer to keep each articulation on a separate track, rather than using devices such as keyswitches or expression maps - believe it or not these actually slow me down!
By building a project from scratch each time, although it may take longer, it also helps with my mixing skills. I have to set up elements like EQs or reverbs more often, which forces me to always be evaluating why I need to make adjustments, along with listening more closely to the overall mix.
I also find I am generally more creative - my imagination is not limited by the tracks or sounds that I can see pre loaded in my Cubase session.
When I do work with a template (of sorts)
The exception to this is when I'm working on a more substantial project such as a score for a feature film. These can typically have over 50+ separate pieces or cues. In this case, you will want to generally have some degree of consistency to the sound, so using the same samples, plugins and mixer settings for each cue would be preferential, alongside helping in the delivery of stems etc.
When tackling a longer project, I generally start with a substantial cue, such as the Main Titles or other important scene. I'll start from scratch, loading up sounds as I go while writing this first piece. As I move onto subsequent pieces/cues, I will generally then do a File - Save As, which will of course give me access to all of the sounds from the previous piece. I then either move the previous musical material to the end of the project, or even just delete the midi altogether and start writing the next cue, using the same palette that I initially used.
The one downside I've found is that by the end of a project, I have a very large Cubase session, full of hundreds of tracks! Thankfully Cubase has some nifty features to manage large track counts though.
Ultimately there is no right or wrong approach regarding whether you work with a template or not. I would encourage you to experiment yourself, to see if a template works for your writing.
There is a fantastic resource from Spitfire Audio, where they have prebuilt templates for their BBC Discover, Core and Pro sample libraries, available for most well known DAWs. You can download the template of your choosing completely free at the link below:
ā€‹https://www.spitfireaudiothepage.com/templatesā€‹
