The Motivation/Creativity/Inspiration/Writers Block Thread™

[Gurnumsbug]

Producing is almost like riding a bike..
It's a little scary at first, you get really nervous, you eat shit a couple times, and now it's up to you if you wanna ride that bike & learn or just give up!
If you're serious about making music, than just do it for you! Don't make it for anyone else, because you will never please everyone!
Cheers man!

[Maxxan]

That song is the oldest I have on my soundcloud. That's before I got my new speakers, before I got FL 10, and before my Skullcandy headphones.

Found your problem right there mate

[Praxisaxis]

Ok, I'm just wondering... I've been producing various styles of electronic music for a little less than a year. I know I've gotten better than when I first started, but I feel as if I should be better than I am now.Take a listen at a few tunes by me, the tracks in this set are ordered Oldest→Newest Soundcloud I'm not very good at creating synths, I usually just make very basic synths, or use presets and edit them a bit. I don't know how to master my tunes, only very basically. Although I try my best to be original, most people say, "It doesn't sound right." or something along those lines. My main point being, am I average for how long I've been producing, or a bit above average, or a bit below, or what?
-Thanks

Some people get good at this game very fast. They either get good advice, or hit upon a particular sound by fluke, or they've got really good ears to start with, etc, etc, etc. But for the majority of us, it takes a long time to get good. And I'm talking more than a year

I've been working as a composer for 15 years, and I've spent the last 3 years getting more into electronic production... I only feel like I'm just starting too. Keep at it The ones who get good are the ones who hang around, as often as not!!

[ljk32]

So it has been said many times, that in order to get ideas more often and improve your creativity, so that you are able to picture tracks in advanced and stuff, you should always write every single idea down. Any advice for somebody who gets literally no ideas to start with? I don't want to copy other producers, I'd love to be able to think of my own thing, but to come up with a inexistant unique style is impossible for me. All I can pretty much do is mimic...

[NinjaEdit]

Take some characteristics, elements and techniques you like, and combine them.

[Bass_Jacka]

by ljk32 » Mon Nov 05, 2012 1:18 pm

So it has been said many times, that in order to get ideas more often and improve your creativity, so that you are able to picture tracks in advanced and stuff, you should always write every single idea down. Any advice for somebody who gets literally no ideas to start with? I don't want to copy other producers, I'd love to be able to think of my own thing, but to come up with a inexistant unique style is impossible for me. All I can pretty much do is mimic...

Personally, I don't think being able to make good music is all down to your technical/musical knowledge, but rather a comination of this and your OWN imagination. My head is constantly filled with melodies, basslines, beats etc etc.... gets kinda annoying sometime; especially when I'm at work, get an idea for a melody/bassline/whatever in my head, and I'm itching to get home to work on it.

My technical/musical knowledge, and production skills are where I'm most lacking, as for inspiration and ideas; my head is full of them.

Everyone at some point will encounter writers block........ but i'd be a little worried if I were

somebody who gets literally no ideas to start with

Just keep going mate. Listen to as many different genres of music as possible etc etc. If all you're trying to do is 'mimic' other producers, your tunes are always gonna sound poor to you, as they're never going to sound like what you're trying to 'mimic', unless you're an amazing sound designer Plus if all you're doing is mimicking other producers, you wont develop your own sound....and we've already got a producer who is producing them sounds-------the one that you're mimicking.

[ljk32]

Thanks for the reply dude . I noticed that when I try to go into a track with the intention of making something that nobody has done before(cause that's what I really want to do, to be able to have my own style like nobody else), I have no sense of direction and make no progress, since I'm pretty much trying to think of a new style to create that is currently in-existent. It's like trying to picture a colour you've never seen before. So, I guess mimicking gives me a sense of direction to kinda follow, and I've heard before that it can be helpful to mimic while you still aren't at a quality technical level, and you're own style will come with time. I hope that is the case. But thanks mate, just gotta working .

[Sure_Fire]

So it has been said many times, that in order to get ideas more often and improve your creativity, so that you are able to picture tracks in advanced and stuff, you should always write every single idea down. Any advice for somebody who gets literally no ideas to start with? I don't want to copy other producers, I'd love to be able to think of my own thing, but to come up with a inexistant unique style is impossible for me. All I can pretty much do is mimic...

Basically all musicians mimic their influences, it's when a combination of those influences comes together that you start getting originality happening. For example, a lot of DnB artists are taking on dubstep (Feed Me, kill the noise etc.) and that influence shows in their music. Some take this idea and push it to new heights, and those ones become successful.

I always recommend people go outside whatever genre they're making for inspiration, even if it means out of EDM all together. For me, that's mostly metal, which is why my tracks are usually a heavier style of brostep. But I also listen to jazz fusion, punk, funk, progressive rock, house, dnb, post-hardcore, indie (mostly just radical face) even some orchestral stuff, and whatever the fuck genre Primus is.

Another thing I try to do is sit and think how I want the song to sound. It never ends up sounding exactly as I play it in my head, but it helps the creative process I think.

[das_raunchy]

Do anything that helps get your mind off of what you are working on. Go do something physical, clean up the house. If it gets really bad where you get frustrated take a break. No use mushing your mind up.

[NinjaEdit]

Primus

are metal.

[Maxxan]

Primus

are metal.

Out of all the weird shit I've seen on this forum, this definately takes the cake

[crunkedxup]

Any advice for somebody who gets literally no ideas to start with? I don't want to copy other producers, I'd love to be able to think of my own thing, but to come up with a inexistant unique style is impossible for me. All I can pretty much do is mimic...

i know the feeling mate, this is exactly how i used to think.

my attempt at advice;

-no one with a style worth talking about came up with it overnight, it happens over time and is shaped by your influences.

-let everything influence you, not just music. instead of sitting down and saying "i'm going to make a (genre) tune" or "i'm going to make a tune like (artist)". make a tune that is influenced by a certain person, location or even just a moment in your life. Be serious with yourself about it, choose something that means a lot to you and practice until your finished work starts being worthy of the subject.

-be open to ideas and let them grow before ruling them out. remember it can start from the smallest element. "i'm going to make a tune with an 808 cowbell in it" is a vague concept but still an idea. be as vague or as precise as you want, you can always build-up/strip-down.

on top of that i believe being creative has to be practiced like anything else, try spending more time thinking of musical ideas when you're just going about your business. you don't even need to remember them, just do it to get your mind in the habit of being creative when you need it to be.

[ljk32]

Cool advice man, thanks a lot.

[tintala]

I don't listen to alot of dubstep, nor do I want to produce it.... the mainstream shit is

I suggest take a listen to this guy for some inspiration.... he uses alot of world elements... it's currently the only dubstep I can stand... but this guy is a badass genius and really inspires me to ..


http://soundcloud.com/kalyascintilla

[Jizz]

What usually gets you to make music, a genuine source of inspiration, or a craving to just sit down and produce? For me its usually the latter, I'm pretty much an Ableton junkie by this point. I do find that my best work always comes out when theres something genuinely inspirational behind what I'm making though, as rare as that is...

Do you reckon we should all just limit our production to just those few times we feel inspired? Because that would be the best way to get rid of a lot of bad music out there today

[wub]

Personally I'd say no. I'm very rarely inspired at the time I sit down at my computer, but after a bit of sound design / messing about looping stuff, I often hit upon something that then inspires me.

Limiting myself to only having a session when I am already inspired, I doubt I'd ever get anything done.

[Jizz]

lol true, I'll probably rarely get anything done myself. But is it worth it then to make music that'll probably just end up lifeless and just shit? I mean, this might all just end up being a huge waste of time and effort

I'm just thinking too much into this lol, just going through a confidence issue with my stuff

[bRRRz]

for me it's usually both. inspiration without me wanting to produce is pretty much useless for me and of course vice versa.

[mthrfnk]

Both most of the time I'm inspired by something be it another song, a film or just an idea I've cooked up in my head at work... then when I get down to it the actually satisfaction I get whilst making the track keeps me glued to my PC for hours on end.

[bkwsk]

Limiting myself to only having a session when I am already inspired, I doubt I'd ever get anything done.

Plus you'd learn at a much slower rate. Which is bad.