| StoreTags: writers block, daw, composing, frustrati
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All day I think about cool melodies, rhythms, sounds, transitions, pretty much entire songs that I could be writing when I am at work/class/riding my bike/talking to my girlfriend, but when i finally get the time to sit down at my computer and open up reason(or any daw for that matter) and start transcribing/writing/recording those thoughts it turns into something terrible and ends up in my chainging together like 40 matrix's and making some wacky loops or spending 30 minutes trying to perfect one subtractor sound or just jamming on my midi controller. Then i finally get one cool loop and im pretty much stuck and dont know how i would build the song into that loop and then make that loop interesting for more than 4 measures and then end the song.
Its terrible.
When i am done i will go to bed and listen to cool songs in my head and then fall asleep.
Does anyone have any tips for transcribing/writing/recording/making music.
I feel like theres something I am not getting, its frustrating. I can play all the stuff i think about, but when i record/transcribe it; it just doesnt sound the same  | |
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03/01/08
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atum
 so many sentences
03/01/08
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elronhubbard
this could help atum:
link
03/01/08
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seanh
get a voice recorder, hum, beatbox, et cetera into it. you may feel a little silly doing it at first, but you will probably get over that.
03/01/08
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cartesia
kind of like the voice recording idea...
instead of using a sequencer,
start playing on a keyboard - and just record everything you do into audio recording software.
While youre doing this try to stay focused on recreating the main line of your idea.
Then save the files (cut it up into usable sections now or later. . whatever)
Then next time you sit down, listen over what you came up with, and come up with a supporting track for that piece.
Then the cycle repeats...
This way you dont force yourself to try and put it all together at once, you can try out heaps of ideas without having to go back and erase old ones first,.. just have the first track playing in the background and you mucking around on top of it.
Dont worry about mixing and arranging until once you have at least the core few tracks done, then load them up in a multitrack environment and start messing around with the 'song' rather than trying to grapple with the tracks and the song all at once.
Just a thought, something that helped me alot.
03/01/08
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everamzah
have fun - build from the bottom up, take it for granted that what u are creating is good (lie to yourself if u have to LOL). and when you're done, do it again.
03/01/08
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jogn
The problem is probably you're thinking of things in loops, because redrum and stuff is very loop based. Just set up your midi keyboard to go directly into the midi track and jam away. Try not to focus on getting the sound right and just do it.
Also a little structure is great too. Just do 3 parts A,B,C and string them together. If they don't gel, simply just add the in-betweens. That way you have something moderately concrete which you know might work if you tweak the sound.
03/01/08
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monkvolcano
do what ever said and also. NEVER LOOK BACK
keep moving forward. keep going. don't give up just keep goin.
03/01/08
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greeezybear
Wow i was not expecting this many responses. Thank you all, I have been sor tof meditating on some of the things you guys have said the past day. I read a few comments at work and then during class i was doodling around, and it kind of struck me. This shit takes time.
and by time, i mean a lot of time.
So, I started drawing... a searhorse. I drew a rough boxy sketch, then started curving the lines a little bit, then added some fins, and a snout. It looked alright. at this point i wouldve just thrown it off as one of my amateur doodles and drawn some squiggles for scales. I did a few of those, and then i stopped for a minute and thought. "Dawg... you definitely arent paying attention to class, you obviously have time to draw in every single scale on this little guy." So i drew in every single scale, and added some eyes, and then drew some neat patterns on his fins. It isnt the best, but I laid down the first rough sketch and started to elaborate on each detail to smooth it out and make the seahorse exactly how i wanted. It was enlightening somewhat.
The be good at art, or even anything takes the same formula. Time, patience, and the need for perfection, not just the want. I have just wanted perfection my whole life, it has stopped me from doing a lot of things.
I think the whole software part of electronic music through me into the idea that the computer would make my stuff sound great if i just show it what i want. (I program a lot, so i expect a lot from computers) But the software is just there to record what i want.
This is a lot of ramble, but definitely a revelation in my life.
Thank you all.
03/02/08
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whitecar
I like all of the advice people have posted. I would like to ad that maybe your problem isn't you or composition but...Reason. I used Reason 2.5 as my main DAW for years(because I come from the gear world and don't understand or care for programs like Max MSP etc..)and for my two cents I think Reason has a lot of roadblocks to creativity.
I went through the same thing -tweaking a subtrator patch for hours or what not and still not getting anywhere. I would hear something on a record and say 'I want to do that' and waste another 4 hours trying to get Reason to do something that it just wasn't designed to do. Don't get me wrong -there are a lot a dope things that Reason can do and I'll always use it, but all my creative woes went away the minute I stopped using Reason as my main DAW.
03/02/08
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rrooyyccee
ah yes, whitecare is right.
if you hear a track, and it sounds like an sh101, and you want the characteristics of that sound. . .
it is more efficient to get a weekend job, work 2 weekends, and buy an sh101. . . rather than try to spend time buyig software/other hardware to achieve THAT sound.
the other better alternative is to not go after certain sounds, but work with what you can make. this is the "good" way.
but sometimes one has to do evil.
03/03/08
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flies
i think the answer is clear:
03/03/08
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lematt
i went through the same kind of thoughts (and sadness).
and then: seriously ! i realized one thing: I'M NOT OBLIGED TO FORCE MYSELF TO DO MUSIC.
it's all a matter of pleasure and passion, so: don't force it ! let it come like that.
the best things i produced were done in one or two days, the others were long struggle until "perfection" and finally i threw them up.
but, on a technical level: i second the idea of using reason as a main DAW, but that's just because i prefer to work visually with sound pasting (and cutting).
also: i recently started to use modular environments like pd or bidule, and now i get a lot of pleasure making random systems and stupid sounddestroying patches.
03/03/08
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ejectorset
ModuLR said: "I'm going to echo the "don't loop" committee, just let it flow naturally start to end. Once you've got a single track down you'll probably be unimpressed... so layer up the next audio delight and repeat. If you are using a synth, just ballpark the sound. Ignore all the tweak possibilities. Accept any mistakes (I think the mistakes are actually a lot of times better). After a bit of layering, your idea will begin to manifest. Then go back and mute parts of individual tracks if you are keeping it simple, or edit in the details. Also, if you are getting stuck... I think you should consider saying fuck the mix. Worrying about even a decent mix will eat a hole in your head when you could be moving on to the next piece of inspiration."
i just have to say this is the single best, most useful thing i have ever gotten from this site. and i've learned a lot from this site over the years! thank you.
03/03/08
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thehydrax
yeah, my advice is similar to yoghurtsuit. Don't think about it, just be it
03/05/08
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codeineparty
i used to have the same problem. i overcame it by coming discovering a setup i could have fun with. before switching to my current set up, making music was a bit of a chore and it felt forced. but now that i've arranged everything to fit to my workflow. i can now sit down and actually enjoy the process of making music. so my advice is to come up with a way to work that you find enjoyable. it could be as simple as creating a template in reason. or finding a new program altogether to get your ideas out.
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