Hrishikesh Hirway pulls songs apart to learn how they work.

He also co-hostsThe West Wing Weeklypodcast withWest Wingactor Joshua Malina.

We talked to him about how this multi-threaded artistic life weaves together.

We also got a play-by-play of how Hirway makes each episode ofSong Exploder.

Im a musician who moved to Los Angeles to make records and score films.

Take us through a recent workday.

I woke up, looked at my emails, responded to some and sent some off.

I ate breakfast while listening to some music that was sent to me to consider for the podcast.

I texted Josh about our recording schedule forWest Wing Weekly.

I took a break and went to the gym, then came home and made lunch.

In the early evening, I had a piano lesson.

In between all of these things, Im peeking at Twitter and Instagram.

Around 1:30 a.m., I plugged in my phone for the night and went to sleep.

What apps, gadgets, or tools cant you live without?

All the recording and editing forSong Exploderis done withPro Tools.

I also use Pro Tools, as well asAbleton Live, to make music.

I have aTileon my keys, which I lose approximately once a day, so it comes in handy.

I keep track of everything in my life and work with shared Google Sheets.

Whats your workspace setup like?

Theres also aZoom recorderand a mic thats always plugged into either it or the audio interface.

Whats the workflow of creating an episode of Song Exploder?

I record interviews both in-person and remotely, depending on the artists availability.

Then Christian or our intern Olivia willtranscribe the interview and save it as a shared Google Doc.

Its like putting together a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what the final image is supposed to look like.

Then we test that paper edit.

Christian takes the script and does a draft of the episode in Pro Tools.

We do this a few times, somewhere between five and eight rounds of revisions.

Are there any surprising differences between composing for film and making your own music?

I dont know if its surprising, but Im far, far more productive when Im composing for film/TV.

I will do whatever it takes to get the music for someone elses project done in time.

But I dont have that kind of discipline at all when it comes to my own music.

Whats your best shortcut or life hack?

In the Keyboards setting on my iPhone, put in a three-letter term as a stand-in, like eml.

When I throw in that, it gets replaced by my actual email address.

Take us through an interesting, unusual, or finicky process you have in place at work.

Everything about makingSong Exploderis finicky, really.

That means spending hours trying to find the perfect cadence between words that werent spoken anywhere near each other.

ForSong Exploder,Christian Koonsis the assistant editor.

She then passes those edits on to us, and our mixer and audio editor,Zach McNees.

How do you keep track of what you have to do?

Google Docs, Google/iPhone calendar, plus reminders on my iPhone.

How do you recharge or take a break?

I pace in my backyard.

Whats your favorite side project?

My whole life is side projects, cobbled together to make some kind of living.

What are you currently reading, or what do you recommend?

I just finishedWarlightby Michael Ondaatje, who is my favorite author.

Who else would you like to see answer these questions?

Whats the best advice youve ever received?

Regarding my music career: Its not a race.

Whats the best hack youve gotten from a Song Exploder guest?

Youve got a gear to record audio with you ALL the timethe Voice Memos app on the iPhone.

Whats a problem youre still trying to solve?

How to require less sleep.

Answers have been lightly edited, and links have been added.

Have someone you want to see featured, or questions you think we should ask?