Dear past self do not make these mistakes...

[outbound]

- Don't just repeat the first drop for the 2nd one (It's boring)
- High-passing things can make the mix sound cleaner, don't overdo it, it will sound weak as hell!
- Think when applying reverb, don't just add it for the sake of it. Usually less is more.
- Stop trying to make 'that perfect song' and just make great music.
- Think about the groove, not every space has to be filled in a track you know.

Thought this would be a fun idea in a hypothetical situation of teaching your past self not to make the mistakes that you did. (I know I know we all learn from our mistakes but if we didn't have these ones then we could me making other much more fun mistakes)

Feel free to add your own, maybe some things in this thread can help others. If not then hey it's a bit of fun in case you don't have anything better to do on a saturday night

[wub]

Don't think that a good mixdown can compensate for a lack of ideas.

[bassinine]

take that fucking 8-bar loop off repeat.
and like wub's... don't think that great synthesis makes a great track on its own.

[lloydy]

Don't let critique stand in your way no matter how bad it is.
Don't get caught up in morning tv and waste a day.
Never try to emulate someone because it can become a very long winded track.
Don't ever rest on your laurels,constantly want to learn and achieve,this is what makes life great and stops you from stagnating.

[Bedup]

Don't get caught up in morning tv and waste a day.

Happens to me like once a week...

[nowaysj]

Digital is not analog, turn everything the farc down, and turn your speakers up.

[mtl6]

avoid repeating melodies, everything should be constantly changing/morphing or your song is going to sound lifeless. every track should have some kind of automation going on.

transitions can make or break a song. lavish your song with risers, white noise, and other background fx.

when you sit down to make a song, 90% of the time you are just not going to have the best ideas and a creative flow. use that time to learn about synthesis and music theory. but 10% you're going to feel that creativity just flowing and that's when you should open your daw. the creative productivity often comes at random and unexpected times, usually around 3AM, but do everything you can to use it well.

[narcissus]

good advice lowpass! er.. outbound. lol

mine is.... don't obsess over finding new plugins! i'm still getting lots of mileage out of simple saw waves

[Genevieve]

Don't worry about making tunes or finishing them for that matter. Just put ideas down and have fun. Some day, one of those ideas is gonna become a tune and will probably includes bits you've done in other project files.

[Attila]

Never doubt yourself and your abilities

[MassAphekt]

dont worry about your wank

[Triphosphate]

Don't ever rest on your laurels,constantly want to learn and achieve,this is what makes life great and stops you from stagnating.

^ This is my favorite so far.
Mine are 'don't use a shoehorn when writing music' and 'never delete your previous work, you never know when you might use it for parts'

[nitz]

- Don't just repeat the first drop for the 2nd one (It's boring)

Yes AMEN!

I hate when you listen to a song and its great so far, it has a good amount of progression leading to the middle 8 then bang the 2nd drop is exactly the same... does my head it!

- Don't be scared to lay down some unorthodox keys
- Don't worry too much about the exact science of mixing, e.g i gotta eq my kick at exactly 100.123hz


P.S good thread!

[Genevieve]

Don't worry about additive or subtractive EQ'ing or any of that shit. Do what sounds good, no matter how destructive or headroom robbing it is. If you produce at a decently low volume, you're gonna have plenty of leeway to fuck around anyway.

[dickman69]

switch ur drums up bro

[ehbes]

shit in shit out

[dbaxx]

when you sit down to make a song, 90% of the time you are just not going to have the best ideas and a creative flow. use that time to learn about synthesis and music theory. but 10% you're going to feel that creativity just flowing and that's when you should open your daw. the creative productivity often comes at random and unexpected times, usually around 3AM, but do everything you can to use it well.

excellent thread outbound! this was probably my fav so far, but all have been very good tips.

one thing i wish i did earlier was download this incredible free app by a guy named Steve Lambert. its for mac users only, PC is yet to have anything similar but basically you can set a predetermined time to lock yourself out of any application or website on your computer, so you can eliminate facebook/dsf/WoW/etc distractions completely while you want to sit and zone out or study youtube videos or whatever you want!

it can be downloaded for free here http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/31289/selfcontrol

also never underestimate the power of practice and experimentation. one of my favorite ways to practice is to take a random 4 bar loop from one of my favorite tracks and try to recreate it from scratch. you'd be surprised at how helpful this is.

never stop learning! work tirelessly to find your workflow and run with it!

[skimpi]

avoid repeating melodies, everything should be constantly changing/morphing or your song is going to sound lifeless. every track should have some kind of automation going on.

Music is all about repetition, yeah like use automation and shit, and it can be good to have maybe some different melodies, but things need to be repeated as thats how you remember a track.

[didi]

Stop looking at dials, knobs, and meters and start listening to the sound you're trying to perfect.

[Mammoth]

Use sends damn it