Dubstepforum.com

Your tunes ain't shit anymore?

So you make you tunes and of course you like them, (cuase youve looped them thousands of times) but how do you know when you have reached that other level? Your friends and your girl might say they like your tunes. But how do you know they are not telling you lies? How can you tell that your product is ready to hit the market and you are ready to be released?

Usually when playing my tunes to someone else it reveals things wrong with it without them speaking.

I'll be listening and hear things like, it gets boring too quickly, too much is happening etc

For me, i know when my tunes aren't shit when they are played in a mix between two other commercially available tracks, and you don't hear a huge leap in difference production and musicality. Basically you like your tunes now.. but you have to really really scrutinise your own work, and always think they have room for improvement. Basically be a music naz! and compare your tracks to actual releases under the same 'sub-genre' of dubstep that you make

An artist work is never done ...

Each time you make something the chances are it will be a bit better than the last - and thats kind of true technically from day one till day dead.

So if youre an ambitious artist you will always see where you can improve regardless.

I think there comes a point tho when the battle is internal rather than external ... I know Im not the best int he world but I know I can make some reasonable stabs at music now so its no longer "shit" it just could be better.

Depone has it right in one way tho for sure - hearing yer tune in a mix & knowing stands up to the tunes either side is a turning point.

My advice would be not to concentrate on the negative "shit" but always look to improve.

The other tell tale sign is people dancing like monkeys in an electrified cage.

This site is a good place to start. If people on here dig your tracks then your heading in the right direction, because we all have exquisite musical taste

You gotta drop em in mixes when people are chillin n not tell em thier originals, n then, when they react n dance n say sickness, your gettin somewhere.

Random dj gives you sincere big ups on a download.

Most common feedback I get is "it was ok for a few mins but it gets boring" or "after 64 bars you need the song to change, its too boring"

^ Across the board, that seems to be the difficulty. With the current state of technology, anyone can come up with a good beat or a good line, but crafting that one little nugget into a full fledged song is fuck ass hard. Across all of my artistic endeavors, I've never really been able to make it "the same but different". I can make it different, and I can make it the same, but not the same but different. I've been working at it, but still my difference is either too much or too little.

So much so, that I've come to the realization that I don't like making songs. I don't like the process of making songs. Love the process of making beats.

But Pets, I think when you enjoy the process of making songs, you will soon be making songs that other people can enjoy.

But what the fuck is all this product and market shit? The market place of ideas? If you were to become the best selling dubstep producer in the history of the universe, that would probably just mean that you made the most mediocre drivel that the largest number of people could understand and relate to. For me, not a laudable goal. (and on top of that, you'd of made 20 bucks)

Who is currently the best selling dubstep producer in the history of the universe, btw? Pure idle curiosity...

Feel free to drop em in the Finshed tracks thread mate! Me and Knell and the other guys will give you honest impartial advice no problem

nowaysj wrote:But what the fuck is all this product and market shit? The market place of ideas? If you were to become the best selling dubstep producer in the history of the universe, that would probably just mean that you made the most mediocre drivel that the largest number of people could understand and relate to. For me, not a laudable goal. (and on top of that, you'd of made 20 bucks)

Who is currently the best selling dubstep producer in the history of the universe, btw? Pure idle curiosity...

The reason why I was asking is cause i would not mind gettins a tune signed but i dont want to send stuff out that people arent going to like. I dont want to be a pest and send people bad tunes. And im looking for exposure not greens.

^ that's a smart plan.

best thing you can do is have folks give you feedback-- ones who you trust and will tell you if it's shit, or if it's good.

its all about song writing, if your a good song writer then your tunes are good thats that. If you suck at writing tunes fuck your sick mix bro, thats how i see it. you could spend years writing shitty tunes with a good production value and still have no one interested in what your doing.

tavravlavish wrote:its all about song writing, if your a good song writer then your tunes are good thats that. If you suck at writing tunes fuck your sick mix bro, thats how i see it. you could spend years writing shitty tunes with a good production value and still have no one interested in what your doing.

AGREED

When criticising your own tracks though, when do you say enough is enough and move on?

I could spend weeks/months playing around with synths and effects. If I make something that I think is good I'll always listen to it with a 3rd person perspective and then pick it apart which always results in me saying, "I know it can be better!!!"

I do this for every element of a track and I never get shit finished!! Having a finished product that I know can be better frustrates me. Do you just have to recognise that you've done as much as you can with a track and then move on, hopefully using your improved palette of skills to make a better track?

personally i dont like any of the tracks i make that people like. Like my Holland track in my sig i think its shit personally but if people like it what can i do? i wanna make shit like Mala's Eyez then ill kno im up there with the best

I think it's fairly common for musician's most popular stuff be tunes that they never thought much of themselves, no?

dj tinman wrote:When criticising your own tracks though, when do you say enough is enough and move on?

I could spend weeks/months playing around with synths and effects. If I make something that I think is good I'll always listen to it with a 3rd person perspective and then pick it apart which always results in me saying, "I know it can be better!!!"

I do this for every element of a track and I never get shit finished!! Having a finished product that I know can be better frustrates me. Do you just have to recognise that you've done as much as you can with a track and then move on, hopefully using your improved palette of skills to make a better track?

Well my method for listening to see if a track is done is to play it while im napping on the couch. If the transitions dont work or if something bugs me I make note of it and change it.

tripwire22 wrote:i wanna make shit like Mala's Eyez

Oh really, there are others out there like me?

pets bud wrote:Your tunes ain't shit anymore?

So you make you tunes and of course you like them, (cuase youve looped them thousands of times) but how do you know when you have reached that other level? Your friends and your girl might say they like your tunes. But how do you know they are not telling you lies? How can you tell that your product is ready to hit the market and you are ready to be released?

1. other dj's u dont know start playing them
2. you hear them on the radio
3. you get so many emails you cant reply to them all
4. the cheque arrives @ your door
5. the cheque clears lol
6. the key to your lambo is on your keyring

*your tunes are no longer poop

the best is when you play a song for one of your people and at the end their like "ohh wait, that was you??" all surprised. thats when i know im on the right track.