Fucking block

so i just haven't been motivated to actually sit down and write anything lately. i've been poking at older tracks but no major work on anything. i've probably been like this for about a month, just not wanting to start up live and start playing around. the most frustrating thing is that, to me, my tracks keep getting better so i want to keep making more. unfortunately i feel like lately i'm just trying to get that feeling where you've just completed a track or a major part and it just clicks. i want the reward without the work haha.

give me some ideas that don't take much time to execute. like, i'd love to learn more max/msp but i'm sure as fuck not going to do that now. i'm looking for more things like a miracle motivational tonic. any suggestions?

There's nothing to do but wait.

I went through a period over a year where I didn't make any music at all. I would fiddle around with some sounds but leave it at that and at the meantime my friend made tons of tracks so needless to say it was extremely frustrating. But even though I didn't make any music I kept collecting samples, cutting up sounds and so on.

Oh, one thing that could help would be to try creating a tune somewhere you're not used to make music.

Whenever I have trouble starting a track, I do something musically productive that I know will come in handy down the road (make some cool synth patches, improvise on acoustic instruments for a while & turn it into loops, practice singing, that sort of thing). Usually this quickly transforms into me actually working on a new track. Even if it doesn't I'll still have something for later.

Also, I find for some reason my best songs are the ones I write after a dry spell. It's like all good parts of the songs I didn't make during the blank period ended up in one track.

New sounds.

i had this problem. i sold all my gear on ebay, bought a different setup and moved house.

Looks like you're going to have to buy a new house theSun.

it's the only realistic option

As always, you can't/shouldn't force it - do something else until you suddenly start making tunes again. It can take a long time.

i don't want to wait that long.... and i might actually be moving residences soon if our neighbors' dogs keep massacring any hope of sleep.

i've forced some tracks out before. they were not good.

so what you guys are saying is i should just play video games 10 hours a day til i feel motivated? sounds good

  On 3/17/2010 at 10:11 PM, Jonas said:

psychology of setting to high standards which kills creativity

Think I agree here. I used to sit down & go "okay, time to make the best track ever". Took me two weeks or so every time to actually get working on something, & the end result would sound like a bunch of half-finished sketches strung together. When I adopted the strategy of 'just sit down & make something. If it's good, it's good, if it's bad, nobody has to hear it' it became much easier to write new material, I found. And my "I actually like this thing I made" ratio has gone way up, and that's all that matters, right?

getting signed is all i care about right now, apart from making music for myself. i'm no longer satisfied spending days working on things to have 2 people on this forum hear them and write them off. YOU FOOLS. i live for music and i would like some recognition and appreciation, which will not come unless i release my shit on vinyl with real record covers and such.

i would like to take this chance to thank lube saibot for being harsh towards me because its made me step up my game. i'm working on something purely for the purpose of sending it to a label, having them hear it, and having them say, "ok thats good enough to be released to the masses of electronic music listeners."

making art that satisfies the artist is important, but part of being an artist is giving people the gift of enjoyment. the more people you reach, the greater the gift is. thats my theory

the only thing i would consider releasing officially thus far would be a breakbeat type ep i'm working on and doga which is in my sig under dedicated to infinity.

in regards to blocks, i would suggest drinking a ton of coffee and sitting down at the computer messing with the coolest synth you have and learning the ins and outs in your free time, making cool sounds, and learning the subtle ways to tweak your drum machines and whatnot to make ultra cool sounds.

there is a lot i bet you have no idea how to do, and you can use this time to learn. you'll find that when you discover you can make a new sound that you'll want to make a whole song around it.

for instance, in ultrabeat i recently discovered i could load in samples, so i load in synth samples from the juno and prophecy and whathave you that i found on a website, and then sequence them to make an extremely fast, complex sounding and intense aphex twin type feel.

it generally helps me to get into something creative that's not music. i've been particularly into making stupid collages using cardboard and hot glue recently

  On 3/18/2010 at 12:40 AM, vamos scorcho said:

and then sequence them to make an extremely fast, complex sounding and intense aphex twin type feel

And stupid me thinking only Aphex had the "aphex twin type feel". Well, i guess the brilliant deduction that you can load sounds other than percussion into a sampler is all that there is to his music really.

I stand corrected. You coming out on Warp in July or something, yeah? I'll be sure to check out the remix Clark does of track 78 off your 245-track debut album.

i live for fast beats.

if things don't plan out like my dreams i will just keep trying, i've got major doubts in my abilities but they only help to make me grow as an artist

i'm still young!

getting signed isn't the goal, but it is a goal. if you were to ask yourself why you make music, the answer would either be incredibly simple or indescribable.

I find that if I have a block on making music, I just hang out with good friends and find exciting things to do in the world... That always seems to inspire me in some sense, and well, if that doesn't work, then collaborating or doing something else also helps. If you know anyone that does projection shows etc, ask them if they'd like a soundtrack for a later show, and just have them tell you what to make. I happened to have the opportunity once and it got me out of a very long dry spell!!

vamos - forget about "getting signed".

  On 3/18/2010 at 12:37 AM, vamos scorcho said:

i would like to take this chance to thank lube saibot for being harsh towards me because its made me step up my game. i'm working on something purely for the purpose of sending it to a label, having them hear it, and having them say, "ok thats good enough to be released to the masses of electronic music listeners."

 

I have a very, very hard time taking this seriously, dude... you had a few good sounds on the EP, sure... but overall it was average, not ace.

If you're just making music to be heard, and not for your enjoyment, you'll probably end up making shit music that has no soul. It becomes work, not fun.

  On 3/18/2010 at 12:18 AM, Cryptowen said:

  On 3/17/2010 at 10:11 PM, Jonas said:

psychology of setting to high standards which kills creativity

 

Think I agree here. I used to sit down & go "okay, time to make the best track ever". Took me two weeks or so every time to actually get working on something, & the end result would sound like a bunch of half-finished sketches strung together. When I adopted the strategy of 'just sit down & make something. If it's good, it's good, if it's bad, nobody has to hear it' it became much easier to write new material, I found. And my "I actually like this thing I made" ratio has gone way up, and that's all that matters, right?

I think that applies to many things in life.

If you're focusing on the specific goal too much during the act of producing it, you'll fail - like a comedian trying just too hard to get the laughs, rather than naturally occurring humour.

I suppose my method would be

1. Have fun composing whatever element (drum/melody/pad)

2. refine

3. some certain element seems wrong (import a similar track and compare difference to work out the problem)

5. refine some more

6. compare differences to better tracks with certain elements (e.g. another commercial track has better rhythm, work out why by comparing)

7. finish track.

I know from my lessons that

- I should never spend too long on something I don't enjoy as it will put me off

- If I don't feel creative, or very willing, I'll do something else

- I'm happy to import drum loops if it means I'm still enjoying the process

- Sometimes midi editing is better to me than playing the keyboard

- It's great fun to use other genres and styles into your tracks, like folk or country even

  On 3/18/2010 at 10:27 AM, BCM said:

vamos - forget about "getting signed".

why?

terrible advice man, terrible

  On 3/18/2010 at 5:32 PM, Sprigg said:

  On 3/18/2010 at 12:37 AM, vamos scorcho said:

i would like to take this chance to thank lube saibot for being harsh towards me because its made me step up my game. i'm working on something purely for the purpose of sending it to a label, having them hear it, and having them say, "ok thats good enough to be released to the masses of electronic music listeners."

 

 

I have a very, very hard time taking this seriously, dude... you had a few good sounds on the EP, sure... but overall it was average, not ace.

If you're just making music to be heard, and not for your enjoyment, you'll probably end up making shit music that has no soul. It becomes work, not fun.

to each his own creative process.end of story

the fury in my soul that builds up knowing that i have no ability to convey my thoughts properly - always giving the wrong impression, i think the internet is not for me unfortunately. see you all at the record store buying my albums in several years time, hell maybe even a year or so! just look under J for Jantiss. you all can continue making music purely for fun and posting it on forums and in your signatures but i'm going to go for something more. haters gonna hate, but i'm an optimistic fucking bastard and i'm going to try my best and if i fail, so be it.

i love music, i love making it and listening to it, and i want to get better and better until i die. i despise talking about music though, so... soo...e.e.e.e.

also i don't mean to talk down, i encourage all of you to try much harder if being a musician is part of your dream in life! seriously folks, you live once in this talented body of yours, make something of it if you want. and if you're fine with posting on forums and doing it for fun, fine! but if you yearn for more, don't be so damn afraid to try.

this is vamos scorcho signing out. it has been an enjoyable posting experience!

i will continue to post in the max msp thread, however

Hi Sini.

  On 3/18/2010 at 7:45 PM, vamos scorcho said:

  On 3/18/2010 at 10:27 AM, BCM said:

vamos - forget about "getting signed".

why?

 

terrible advice man, terrible

because it's not going to happen any time soon. it's good to have ambition and dreams, and who knows, maybe one day you will get signed to a label, but I'm sorry to say that it's extremely unlikely. your music is in no way bad, but it's certainly not going to get you signed as it is. like many people have said - focusing on making (what to most people is obscure) electronic music for money and fame is only going to lead to extreme dissapointment. if you like making tracks, just make them because you enjoy it and don't worry about the whole recognition thing.