Realizing the tune I just spent 3 days on is Terrible

[nnny]

FluidMoShun really hit the nail on the head. Best advice given, follow it!

[JTMMusicuk]

nightmare

[OzoneJunkie]

Anyone here play video games? Or just games in general? My analogy - I play Golden Tee - a video golf game. The thing that I tell noobs when they ask for advice is: assess the set up and take your shot as you normally would. But afterwards, take a moment out and figure out what went wrong (or right) AFTER YOUR SHOT. Most people have post-shot amnesia. Everything you do is teaching you something.

If the song sucks, why? Did you try a different process in your writing:

mouse input vs midi-keyboard?
drums first? bass first? melody first?
did you hear the part first and then figure it out, or just noodle and came up with something good?
etc.

Save your work - don't delete it. You can always delete it later (a year from now or whatever).

I'll throw another thing out here:

The mood you're in when you write usually has a huge influence on what you're doing. Watch Skrillex (sorry, but he's a great example, and I happen to love his stuff - his sense of melody and beat is amazing) when he's working on a beat - he's up, bobbing his head, getting into it. He knows it bounces, and that in turns feeds back into himself.

If you wake up the next day, and it doesn't sound as good, you're likely in a different mood than you were the night before. Be working on multiple tracks over the course of time - like a band does. One track at a time can be tough - you need to maintain that same mood. Of course some people may say the opposite - that it's easier to maintain a single mood over the course of a time period while working on a track. Point is - assess what works, what doesn't...

Don't fear mistakes. Don't fear crap songs. They're gifts. Learn.

[Samuel_L_Damnson]

Im trying hard not to turn this into a skrillex bashing contest.

[Aufnahmewindwuschel]

just add some ragga vocals with dubdelay works always

[legend4ry]

Then a tune you can't stand gets put out

( for me ) the last 25% or so of producing a tune is all about breaking through the *pain barrier* and actually finishing it ( to a level of getting it played out or potentially signed ), so its not surprising if you're bored with a tune or over it by time its finished.



** ( dont stop making something because the impact or the vibe has numbed your own senses, it may still sound good to others / new ears. )





i find by making music with longevity it makes it easier to listen to hundreds of times without the track breaking me

I actually adore all my releases and keep a good handful of tunes to myself because I don't want no else playing it haha..

Just that one tune .

[OzoneJunkie]

Im trying hard not to turn this into a skrillex bashing contest.

yeah, sorry, I know his name is touchy subject... was only trying to make a point. Thanks for not giving in

I hope what I posted is of use though - it's advice that I'm telling myself every day...

[Samuel_L_Damnson]

Im trying hard not to turn this into a skrillex bashing contest.

yeah, sorry, I know his name is touchy subject... was only trying to make a point. Thanks for not giving in

I hope what I posted is of use though - it's advice that I'm telling myself every day...

more than i can say. I end up scrapping ALOT of tracks.

[Today]

i was stopping by to say "innit" and "resample the hell out of every bit, and browse thru it later"

i guess that's been covered

[OzoneJunkie]

Im trying hard not to turn this into a skrillex bashing contest.

yeah, sorry, I know his name is touchy subject... was only trying to make a point. Thanks for not giving in

I hope what I posted is of use though - it's advice that I'm telling myself every day...

more than i can say. I end up scrapping ALOT of tracks.

I've done the same. I was happy that I kept tracks that I wrote 20 years ago (yeah, I'm an old guy hahah) - because I like a lot of my old stuff. I was able to disconnect myself from them years later, and went back and kinda fixed up a few. I did chuck some stuff - some was utter rubbish.

I fairly recently deleted an album's worth of lyrics (on purpose) - mainly because I decided I didn't want to put music to that dark period in my life. I realize now how stupid that was - trust me! The lesson I got - a hard lesson indeed - don't delete, in particular when you're moody...

onward!

PS: some (actually many) of those old tracks I basically consider "sketches" - unfinished, but they still hold some magic there, and were learning experiences. Music is a gift - even the stuff that you know sux...

I decided that deleting my own stuff is like saying "f you" to the muse - something I will not do any more. Respect and love music/art, and it will do the same for you.

[zonetrooper5]

Had this happen to me alot, one of the best things to do is to go back to that "shit" tune and find the synth/drums or bass that you think sounds awesome, then either get the rest to work with that chosen element or bin the other elements and then rebuild from that chosen element into a new song.

[krispy]

Better than thinking your shit tune is awesome, I think!

And 3 days is nothing!

[ambinate]

Take out your aggression on the song. Resample everything and cut it all up. You'll have a whole library of cool sounds you've made at your fingertips. Seriously, go at it from a completely different angle than you were before. Worst comes to worst, you spend a little extra time trying to give your tune new life.. better than just throwing it out. Its probably the arrangement that you don't like, so take all your sounds and rearrange them into something completely new. The new creative perspective should shake everything up and unlock lots of new possibilities.

I've been there man. The best thing to do is rip the song to pieces and rebuild something new. Still don't like it? Move on. Best of luck

i do this all the time and it can be really effective sometimes (though not always). when it works out, you can end up getting a ton of the tune done because you get in the zone - all of these elements you spent a few days working on and hating suddenly sound fresh with a new perspective, so you find interesting new ways to arrange them together. although sometimes you just spend a few more days trying to make something work and come up with nothing. it's all practice, though...i don't really think of any of it as being wasted or anything...

[ephyks]

3 days?



Bitch please. I've spent months on tunes, finished & mastered to only realize that I hate it.

[Gurnumsbug]

^ Perfect Yao Ming response

It's been only 3 days..
Anyway, I think we've all been where you're at now.
The best way to deal with it, is to change it up a bit. Add some life to it! And if you're tired of it, just save and maybe one day you'll come back and finish it!

[JemGrover]

Try; Getting stuck in a rut after 5 years, looking back at everything and realising all your early stuff had a lot more of a vibe to it and you'd made barely an progression...

THEN having some filmmaker/photographer ask to use one of your tracks in a video she wanted to screen during London Fashion Week

THEN having her drop you at the last minute for a much better track



...

[Zkeeto]

ya man...shit happens. as said before, just save wat u like and start over or delete the shit that makes the tune sound bad and do somethin else

[nowaysj]

...

Haha, pain is just you getting stronger, Jemmy!

[joegrizzly]

there will be something in that tune you can use later

save it


move on...

Right here

[sunny_b_uk]

i feel you man...you almost trick yourself into thinking its good....

why does this happen...

it happens from spending too many consistent hours on one thing and forgetting what sounds good, this happens to me sometimes. hearing the same loop over and over without listening to any inspirational songs/material will just end up making you tweak things so they end up sounding worse
its the whole reason i A & B with other songs, not to sound like other douches or to mixdown but just to wake up and stop making crappy sounds