Knowing when to stop/ over playing your own project.

[Crazy Dubb 7]

Hello, I sometimes when working on the project think that what I have so far is awesome, However, sometimes if i listen to it too many times trying to see what else I can add to it I sometimes start to dislike it more and more. Probably because over hearing anything will sound less good. Sometimes my opinion for a project is fair weathered. I find it difficult to know the balance of when to stop, or add more. I am very satisfied of my progress and how I just keep getting better and I enjoy my sound. Also, when I hear all the artists I love to listen to and get inspiration from, I sometimes get critical on my own sound. Because what im hearing is rock solid. Just wondering who anyone else experiences things like that and looking for some tips on how to be less critical or to find the balance for when your project is better off left alone at a certain point.

[Brothulhu]

Don't have it looping while you work on it. Make a bit then listen to it, don't just have it on in the background

[Mike Renai]

I was thinking of starting this exact thread 2 days ago. My workflow is still quite slow and I end up listening to loops of my own stuff until i'm sick of it. When you reach that point you need to just take a brake from production for at least a day or two. Then play what you have to people you trust for their opinion and get back to work with a fresh outlook.

Its good to draw inspiration from the big names out there but rather than comparing your tracks to theirs just do your best even if its not great its your "personal best", compare your past and present work and then aim to beat that on the next production. The more you work at it, the better you get. Its a simple and beautiful truth. I have a long way to go until i'm happy with my own work I nearly deleted my sig track due to frustration but decided to try finish it and use it as my next benchmark.

[Dj Rephlex]

Hello, I sometimes when working on the project think that what I have so far is awesome, However, sometimes if i listen to it too many times trying to see what else I can add to it I sometimes start to dislike it more and more. Probably because over hearing anything will sound less good. Sometimes my opinion for a project is fair weathered. I find it difficult to know the balance of when to stop, or add more. I am very satisfied of my progress and how I just keep getting better and I enjoy my sound. Also, when I hear all the artists I love to listen to and get inspiration from, I sometimes get critical on my own sound. Because what im hearing is rock solid. Just wondering who anyone else experiences things like that and looking for some tips on how to be less critical or to find the balance for when your project is better off left alone at a certain point.

Ahhhhh yes this problem. Just like the first guy said, don't keep your song on loop. If you're adding something or curious as to how something sounds, play that section then stop it, replay if you need to but don't keep it looping. Another thing that helped me was when I started setting the master volume of my DAW to -6db and adjusting the sound using my computer volume if needed. Hearing something really loud over and over tends to fuck my ears up to the point that I can't tell the difference between sparkle and mud. A big factor here is mixing. The more Eqing you do, the more you learn, the better you sound. As you get better at clearing sounds up with fx like Eq, saturation, and so on; you'll see that you don't lose interest as fast because muddy/harsh frequencies won't dwindle around in your eardrums. You have to accept the fact that the artist you're listening to has WAY more experience than you. If you can't accept that than you probably shouldn't listen to the same genre of music you're making.

[Dustwyrm]

A good thing to do is have two projects going on - That way when you've heard too much of one that it's starting to bug you, save it, close it and open the other project. Shit, you can have 5, 10 or 20 projects. I guess the point is; You don't need to turn off your DAW and relax for two or three days. Keep learning more and more, it's the only way to get better.

[mthrfnk]

A good thing to do is have two projects going on

This 100%.

I used to get bored easily and just start new stuff over and over, I'm now finally managing to continously work on the same few tracks to make them better and better - and one good thing is that personally I'm taking bits from one track and using them in another, it's helping to make the tracks more cohesive (in terms of being on the same EP).

[twilitez]

When you thought it was amazing a couple of hours ago, and now your starting to get bored of it. Repetition for a bit can be fine for the actual track which is x minutes, but 3 hours of anything is bound to be offputting almost without exception.

[hdubber]

This happens to me toward the middle/end of every project. You start to question if what you've been working on was even good in the first place. Like mentioned above I try to not listen to it so much while working on or just listen to sections I'm adjusting then listen to the whole thing at beginning and end of project work hours. You have to just tell your self that you liked what your working on at one point and that the listener may feel the same way.

[Lichee]

i'm almost sick of some of my own tunes, you start finding faults that aren't there. When it starts to happen I take some time off making tunes and particularly off of that one tune. I think the point depends on what it is you're changing, if you have the same loop on over and over and can't think of anything new to add or are obsessing over one sound it's probably time to relax and re visit it. Also make sure you have lots of save points over the course of the project, whenever you make a big change, then you can revisit that point which you loved the tune or just before you over did it/listened to it.

[legend4ry]

Meh, this is why I work in 1 sitting and if the track isn't complete in a few hours I don't even save it.

Work when it feels right and as soon as it don't - forget the fuck about it.

[Monosphere]

Meh, this is why I work in 1 sitting and if the track isn't complete in a few hours I don't even save it.

Work when it feels right and as soon as it don't - forget the fuck about it.

This is actually what I've started doing. If I don't have something workable within a couple hours then I tend to just scrap the idea completely.

[Toolman4]

at the end of the day, if you're bored of something you've been working on, move elsewhere. Either start a new track, work parallel to something else, as someone else above me has mentioned, etc....

"Whether it's good or not"....focus on this for a sec....who determines this? Don't seek validation through others. Only within yourself does this need to take place. If you still think it's great, awesome. If not, then scrap it. But don't worry about it being accepted. This kind of piggy-backs the motivation thread lurking about.

Your original question, at a very fundamental and not theoretical level, has already been answered by twlitez: Repeating the SAME thing for hours would bore just about anyone. Shit, put a dope koan track on for 3 hrs on repeat...I'm sure you'll get bored of that shit real quick. Any other worry you have about this thing is arbitrary. Take a break for an hour or two. Come back...Still Dope? cool meng....Not dope...like leg said, fuck it an move on.

cheers all.

[Still Young]

first of all i've been producing for 4 years now,
i was making ambient/downtemp at first but then i discovered the ambient side of dubstep which was really beautiful thing to me so i decided go that way anyway let's get to the point..
so i finish a tune that i really like and just feel like aigh im ready to post it. and i do so and i get good respond from people saying it is beutiful but after awhile i feel like this tune is just bad and feel 'ashamed' of it
so every once in a while i delete all my tunes on soundcloud and keep producing on a low profile till i get that im ready feeling again and after awhile i realise i'm not

anyone else feels that way?

[pembroke]

Who doesn't this happen to?

You're supposed to change the way you feel about stuff as time goes on. It's a sign of internal progress.

[Still Young]

yeah i guess you're right i do work constantly but its fucking depressing that i spend so many years and not even in the stage where i feel comfortable with my music

[Mike Renai]

Your not alone in feeling that way. I was recently in a thread where people get sick of their tracks before even completing them. Always keep a log of your old stuff both good and bad so that you can measure your progress along the way. Continue to share your music and get feedback because that is the best way to gain confidence in your work and to really understand what's good/bad about your music. Lastly constructive criticism is a gift, make use of the WIP thread as there is a decent amount of feedback in there and everyone has a little something to offer.

[dickman69]

Must be because youre still young

[Samuel_L_Damnson]

I think this is unavoidable if you listen to your track looping round constantly. Its the reason i never finish anything.

[psychedelicatessen]

Some author I met once told me that it takes 10,000 hours to truly master something, and that the first million words you write are usually total shit, but everything you do works up towards that mastery.
Don't stress it too much, it might be a while before you feel you've 'got it' or whatever.
Sorry if this post isn't helpful

[charles1]

Also, when I hear all the artists I love to listen to and get inspiration from, I sometimes get critical on my own sound. Because what im hearing is rock solid.

This isn't true. There are probably little issues in most songs, even ones by top producers. But from your perspective, you automatically assume that they are perfect. If you try to take the perspective of the producer and you listen to enough of their songs to understand their style and their habits, you will likely pick up on some errors. For instance, I've found a few buggy things in a couple of rusko's and skream's songs. You wouldn't think it, but I guarantee you those guys are thinking the exact same thing about their work as you are about yours.