Keeping Your Ears Fresh

[Turnipish_Thoughts]

I've recently become aware that one of the biggest things in the way for me creatively is losing track of musical ideas when in the production process. I'll have a certain idea in my head and it'll be consistently drowned out by what I'm doing trying to achieve it and more often than not I'll come out with something that's pretty different to the idea.

When I'm thinking about music I'll hear very vividly when and how different elements will come in and out of a tune and how all the different parts will sound and interact, but the process of actually making what I'm thinking totally fucks with that clarity. It's easier in the beginning of a session to work from imagination, but conversely the actual creative flow only really falls into place after a couple of hours, by which time my output isn't entirely what I 'want' to be doing as my head's been influenced by what I'm doing and I lose the clarity and end up making something much more mediocre.

From listening to well produced tunes, its observable that the producer has developed (presumably) some way of keeping their ears fresh and in tune with their mind. So I'd like to ask, how much does this effect you and have you found anyway of keeping your mind closer to your initial inspirations when in the flow?

I would appreciate a discussion more involved than 'just get better it'll come with time'. I understand that much. This is a topic that I'd like to explore.

[TNORTS]

If I get stuck and lose the flow, I usually focus on making sounds that might be useful for the song I'm working on or other songs. But as far as keeping my ears fresh and staying in the zone, if I'm stuck I'm usually done for most of the day, and have to wait till the next time something sparks some inspiration in me.

[Attila]

Whenever I get a really vivid idea of a song I want to make, right before I wire in I record it vocally as best as I can-all the different layers of melody/bass/pads etc... and speak about it in as much detail as possible so when I finish it in Live I can go back and compare it with my original vision. But that's one of the things about producing music, it's a constantly evolving process, so when I'm in Ableton and fiddling around I'll inevitably add dozens of layers of melodies that I probably couldn't keep mental track of beforehand. It's just a matter of being able to deduce whether or not those additional elements add value to the track. Thus I think the majority of my focus should be spent on having a concrete copy of the melodies themselves because once I'm fiddling around with plugins and effect chains, I'll eventually find a sound that works that I most likely could have never thought of.

In "Think And Grow Rich" Napoleon Hill says that one of the most important things someone has to do when striving for a goal or success in some area is to react immediately to the moments when true inspiration hits. I just take those "ah-ha!" moments of mental composition as a general message that my mind needs to get some creativity out, and I instantly drop everything to get to work. So I think when you get one of those more full-formed musical ideas (you know, when your heart starts beating, your ass starts burning and you're like "holy fuck I need to lay this down NOW"), it more important to acknowledge it as a catalyst to begin what's-99% of the time-an intently focused and productive session as opposed to remaining completely faithful to the original idea you have.

[viberous]

Ya man definitely agree with attila....i live for those "ah-ha!" moments. there are times i'll hear an entire track/melody/beat in my head and go to put it down and my idea will completely change and my initial idea is lost to some part of my brain. I've noticed that this usually happens when i get caught up on the more technical side of things (eq/mixing/sample hunting). To compensate for this, a small digital recorder always works: record your voice (waweeee yoii yoiii blee blah yoii yoii ), then play it back and make sure it reminds you of how you heard it in your head. Also, make sure you have a good setup to allow your ideas to get from your head onto your daw in a timely fashion: in ableton, having a stock drum rack with a kick/snare/hats/perc to get your beat down asap (you can always go fiddle with what samples you want to use later). The same could be said for bass and leads....have a stock patch setup to get your lines down, then you can go back and change/sculpt the patch to what your looking for. I think by getting your ideas down it helps to keep your ears fresh and interested. Also, just stepping away from a tune and doing something else for a while is always good. This way you get to reevaluate your idea, which may or may not be a good or bad thing
hope all this makes sense lol

[wub]

If it's a long session, I take regular breaks like I would if I was working on anything else (i.e. my job, studying etc)...10mins out of every 60 should be spent away from your workstation, regardless of what you're doing. Keeps the mind (and in this case, the ears) fresh and uncluttered.

For times I'm away from my machine, I'll have a notepad & pen with me at all times to write down anything that strikes me as a good idea...samples to use, songs to do re-edits of, time markers on films that I want to sample etc.

[Disco Nutter]

Regular breaks are a really essential part of sessions! Your ears get fatigued, so a break every hour is beneficial to you and your track, unless you're in some kind of creativity zone that just doesn't let you stop.

[Njamimars]

Try another project, make presets, go to soundcloud and listen what you following people made, watch some TV or just simply play the song over and over.

[MaZa1]

I usually take brakes, like if i get frustrated i just go away from computer and watch tv or listen music and get ideas from there. I've also noticed that it is helpful to just play the track over and over again with like middle volume, but take the heaphones away and put them like to the table so i can hear just the loudest or whatever,things like high freqs and hats, snare etc. and it gave me many new ideas because those things didnt drown into the rest of the track.

And when the track is just about done I just leave it for a day or two and then come back and listen it again and if i still think its fine, i'm done

[subfect]

I'm the total opposite - I almost always end up with something different, but I don't fight it - I just let the creativity go where it must. I always end up happier with this method than trying to stick with what was in my mind to begin with. That said however, quite often I'll be moving along and an idea will pop in where I think "oooh, that could work well there" and go straight to it. Again, I don't let technicalities or over-thinking get in the way of my own creativity. Let it flow I think trying to hang onto the original idea is nuts, because fresh ideas come and go all the time...

[nowaysj]

TT a few things: this is why it is essential to shorten the list of your tools to the point where they are largely invisible. You reach for a a sampler, a phaser, a reverb, a comp and an eq, and they're on a send feeding a buss, and it is done. No technical thought, it is just done. I, at times, get to that point, but I'm still shifting about a bit with my tools. But getting closer, daily. It really is hard when so many fantastic tools are available.

Also, who is to say that the original thought is better than the processed thought? Maybe the original thought was just as okay as your processed mediocre thought, just you weren't in a critical space when that original idea hit, so you don't really have a consistent frame of reference to evaluate either, the original or the resultant.

I have to say that my original thoughts are usually pretty shit, it is only after working for 2hours - 2 days that something starts to catch fire. Getting to the point, now, after a long time, of letting that be, and letting that original stuff go, accepting that process, and taking what I physically can from the original ideas, and letting the new truly inspired idea grow (and then driving it into the ground again in a total lack of musical talent coupled with the subtlety of an angry bull).

And I think, really, that is what you are asking about, how to make a song I honestly think the mediocre amongst us get wrapped up as we are working and lose perspective, forget what good music sounds like. I think it is very helpful, if you consistently fuck up making songs, to play good music alongside your own, just so you can remember what good music sounds like, and not what music that is good because you made it, sounds like. That is a good line, I'll leave it there. A moral?

[deadly_habit]

don't listen to the genre(s) you produce constantly or regularly
best advice i can give

[didi]

don't listen to the genre(s) you produce constantly or regularly
best advice i can give

Really?

How much does that help?

I don't think I'll be able to stop myself listening to Dubstep or Grime.

[Comfi]

I like to start a tune with nothing in mind, and then I won't get frustrated with not being able to recreate my brain noise.

[Eat Bass]

im by no means good at it and still have the same problem but the trick is separating left brain tasks from right brain tasks (analytical/creative). i usually first start out by thinking of a general theme for a song. i then collect samples, sounds, ambiences, etc. then i start making some basses and synths. then i go on to picking my drum samples. at this point i basically have all the main sounds and a general idea of how i want the song, so i make basic drum pattern. now i dont have to waste time and precious creative flow picking sounds and doing sound design in general. so i usually get a start that way but some point later i end up creating or finding a few more sounds that fit the tune.

so in short, try and prepare all of the technical/analytical left brain tasks before you go in to write with your right brain this way you can let those juices flow freely for a while without having to get too much into the technical side of things.

[kaimera]

don't listen to the genre(s) you produce constantly or regularly
best advice i can give

THIS.

I wouldn't say never listen to it, but don't listen to it all the time. And when you do, listen critically, not thinking "OMG THIS IZ THE BEST SONG EVUR HOW CAN I MEK IT AGAIN", but thinking instead what the producer could have done better, what they're doing that works, how the mix sounds generally, etc. Not how their bass is so filthy you gotta look up youtube tutorials on how to reproduce it.

Plus it gives you a chance to challenge your tastes and incorporate new influences into your music. Who knows, you might find out you like accordion gypsy punk and fall in love with ciprian scales. Shrug.

[deadly_habit]

that and it's going to leak into your subconscious and more than likely rather than coming up with something original it'll be a mish mash of what you listen to, and if all you happen to listen to is just dubstep, and taking that one step further just the popular latest stuff with a limited shelf life...