Sigh...

[ItsHeavyMOFO]

Whats up guys I have had this problem ever since I started producing music and I know there are probably hundreds of these threads but whatever. Anyway onto my problem, ever since I started producing I have always heard people working 24/7 on there productions and I this is what I wanted to do with my life.....make music. I mean I just don't see myself doing anything else. But I just cant force myself to do this everyday. I really want to do it, but I just cant lol. Its really silly but I cant explain it in any other way. Before I would go maybe a week without producing and I ll be like whatever, log 2-3 hours one day and be alright with it. But now I try to force myself to do more and I am doing less :/. The way I see it, the more I do it the better I get. Thats why I have this feeling that I have to be going 100% on this everyday!

I don't know if its a lack of motivation or I am just not cut out for it. What do you guys suggest I do?

[drake89]

you don't have to do it 24/7 to improve. If you don't feel like producing most of the time, then why do you say you can't see yourself doing anything else? I know what you're saying though. I took a pretty long break this summer. getting blazed kind of kills it for me so i need to do that less.

[Today]

i reckon it's what you'd call a hobby, then
for me, it's a career and a hobby and a passion

(those motivations revolve around different styles and genres of music, though, mind you -- i'm not lucky enough to make the stuff i love for a living)

this gets kinda shitty when it's like i want to take a break from work and mess with a hobby, but it's sitting in the same spot at the same computer same software, etc and im a little burnt out at some points

conversely, when ive been enjoying my hobby all week and the time comes i need to make a track for work, but I'm sick and tired of producing
though for me the answer is almost always "do it anyway" cuz i love my work and i wanna keep doing it
then once in a while i find the time to really put in work on music i'm passionate about
rare, but fulfilling

as for you, i'd just do it to the degree i enjoy it, and be glad it isn't my job considering you can't stand doing it all the time
Do a different job for money, at the end of the day work is work ... i like mine, but it isn't exactly fun .. its just a job like any other, that happens to revolve around a certain skill set.

[3za]

You have to balance things in life, you can't be a 100% committed to just one thing, because everything else in your life will crumble.

Just try to fit in a few hours everyday, and you will improve quite quickly, without the rest of your life going to shit.

[ItsHeavyMOFO]

I see what you guys are saying and I sometimes I can go all day. I mean I usually start off slow and then something hits me and I just keep going. I really want to make a career out of this because who wouldn't want to doing something they enjoy for living. I guess its kind of a double edged sword. I guess I am just looking for some advice to get me off my lazy ass and do it more frequently.

I am not saying I dont enjoy, but I just want to be able to do it more often.

[Today]

I really want to make a career out of this because who wouldn't want to doing something they enjoy for living. I guess its kind of a double edged sword.

this is true for almost everything.. make it your career and you'll learn to hate it
but anyway I took the opportunity to start a career in production after having been a hobbyist for years, and had developed a background of knowledge and skills that i later found applied to a work opportunity (when i first scored a video for pay)

because from trying to make hip hop beats in college, i had learned some stuff that meant -- oh, well this guy needs a score that hes licensed to use, and well, i can make pads and SFX and drones because i know how this synth works, and i can mix and master the thing and even drop it into his video for him and also learn to edit . So i made it and got paid then pursued a career in writing after finding a style of music i could get good at.


I do not think it's a good idea to start at square one and decide "i want to make a career out of this"
It's disillusionment. Chances are no ones going to buy the music you want to make
If you're unfortunate enough to fall into a job producing, you probably aren't going to enjoy what you need to be working on
and someone else is always going to force you to change it. cuz they're the client and that's all that matters
getting an old fashioned record deal is no walk in the park either. It basically sucks cock.

You could try for that, long term, by building up yuour catalog and spamming your shit everywhere and performing, promoting, advertising and wearing costumes and all that shit
Or you could keep enjoying it and make free music that no one can tell you to change.

[Swelly]

You're probably not feeling that into it because you aren't totally comfortable with your DAW or maybe your approach toward producing. Once I had a template set made and once I had figured out a lot of minor things in ableton, my production time increased because it became so much more fun when everything is ready to go. I suggest working on increasing your workflow by making a template set that open when you open your DAW. Also, learn shortcuts and such to increase your workflow.

[ItsHeavyMOFO]

I really want to make a career out of this because who wouldn't want to doing something they enjoy for living. I guess its kind of a double edged sword.

this is true for almost everything.. make it your career and you'll learn to hate it
but anyway I took the opportunity to start a career in production after having been a hobbyist for years, and had developed a background of knowledge and skills that i later found applied to a work opportunity (when i first scored a video for pay)

because from trying to make hip hop beats in college, i had learned some stuff that meant -- oh, well this guy needs a score that hes licensed to use, and well, i can make pads and SFX and drones because i know how this synth works, and i can mix and master the thing and even drop it into his video for him and also learn to edit . So i made it and got paid then pursued a career in writing after finding a style of music i could get good at.


I do not think it's a good idea to start at square one and decide "i want to make a career out of this"
It's disillusionment. Chances are no ones going to buy the music you want to make
If you're unfortunate enough to fall into a job producing, you probably aren't going to enjoy what you need to be working on
and someone else is always going to force you to change it. cuz they're the client and that's all that matters
getting an old fashioned record deal is no walk in the park either. It basically sucks cock.

You could try for that, long term, by building up yuour catalog and spamming your shit everywhere and performing, promoting, advertising and wearing costumes and all that shit
Or you could keep enjoying it and make free music that no one can tell you to change.

Haha you got some good points. I probably have been trying to motivate myself to much about this.

[Attila]

Production, for me, is about 97% complete and utter frustration and 3% pure magic...but if you push through that 97% you realize that the remaining 3% is so fucking worth it. Nothing better than listening in awe of something you just created.

[ItsHeavyMOFO]

Yeah sometimes I just listen to what I make until I get sick of it lol.

[Today]

well i would hate to discourage someone from going for a goal
whether its just to make dope beats or to get a pop music career started

so the point about your DAW template and shit is a great idea. you need to be comfortable in there to be able to enjoy it, instead of scratching your head while a loop plays for 3 hours

but just remember it's called a "learning curve" cuz it's a curve. As in, at the beginning is really fucking long, then mid way through your rate of progress picks up, and increases until it takes you very very little time to figure out new challenges. This is because all the learning is cumulative. You get frustrated as fuck for a while then figure out some bit of software that had been holding you back.,.. Then you never have to re-learn that bit. You've got it forever. And figuring that out helps you get hip to how to solve other similar problems. Couple this with some manual reading, tutorials and experimentation, and you'll be riding up that curve until you feel well comfrtable twerking sounds and producing tracks

after that, it's just a matter of how good your taste is and how close you can match the ideas that are in your head, and all that time you're still learning new tools and solutions to problems, get a few tracks done and behind you, and later on you can hear the difference of how much u improved


that is kinda the general progression for this kind of craft, afaik/imo of course

[ItsHeavyMOFO]

well i would hate to discourage someone from going for a goal
whether its just to make dope beats or to get a pop music career started

so the point about your DAW template and shit is a great idea. you need to be comfortable in there to be able to enjoy it, instead of scratching your head while a loop plays for 3 hours

but just remember it's called a "learning curve" cuz it's a curve. As in, at the beginning is really fucking long, then mid way through your rate of progress picks up, and increases until it takes you very very little time to figure out new challenges. This is because all the learning is cumulative. You get frustrated as fuck for a while then figure out some bit of software that had been holding you back.,.. Then you never have to re-learn that bit. You've got it forever. And figuring that out helps you get hip to how to solve other similar problems. Couple this with some manual reading, tutorials and experimentation, and you'll be riding up that curve until you feel well comfrtable twerking sounds and producing tracks

after that, it's just a matter of how good your taste is and how close you can match the ideas that are in your head, and all that time you're still learning new tools and solutions to problems, get a few tracks done and behind you, and later on you can hear the difference of how much u improved


that is kinda the general progression for this kind of craft, afaik/imo of course

Yeah well I took the bodybuilding approach to music production which I don't know if was the best thing to do. Basically work hard as fuck and get results.

[Today]

well yeah, it's the same
but you know better than to curl day after day
you need the repair time, and obviously to work other muscle groups as well

same goes for this .. decent analogy, you have there

[ogunslinger]

Mountain dew my friend, lots and lots of mountain dew.

[Gurnumsbug]

^ what about diet double dew?



On a serious note though, just keep at it!
I don't produce everyday, but I keep my mind active and separate my hobbies out.
I love animation, film, music, (graphic) design, art, acting, dance, etc..
So every now and then I take breaks from everything else and focus on just one.
You never know where you'll go in life, and if you love music and have a passion for it than go out and do it!
Don't let anyone stop or get in your way of doing what you love most.

[ItsHeavyMOFO]

Sugar is poison!

[JBE]

I see what you guys are saying and I sometimes I can go all day. I mean I usually start off slow and then something hits me and I just keep going. I really want to make a career out of this because who wouldn't want to doing something they enjoy for living. I guess its kind of a double edged sword. I guess I am just looking for some advice to get me off my lazy ass and do it more frequently.

I am not saying I dont enjoy, but I just want to be able to do it more often.

Do you want to make a career out of being an artist, or a producer? They really are 2 different things. Generally an artist makes the music they want, and then they sell it or sign it over to a label and the label sells it. They will perform and go on tours. Generally this is where the money is made.

A producer, or at least I think the most professional form of a producer tends to make their living making music for other people, or helping people make their music better, so someone else can sell it.

As an artist I feel you really don't need to go at it 24/7. I would actually go as far as to say that actually might hurt more than it helps. Your brain will only hold so much information at any given time. If you're constantly pushing it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it may cause you to lose more information than you gain. You'll be just as burned out and exhausted, but you'll have learned less.

No matter what you do, if you wanna get better you do have to work at it. But you don't have to work at all of it at the same time. Instead of spending all your time trying to make music that ends up going nowhere, try learning how to use a compressor for a little while. Maybe try opening your favorite synth and figuring out those few parameters that you may not understand as well as the others.

Setting smaller goals that you are able to achieve in a few hours or even a day or 2 can actually help with that lack of motivation or prevent that burned out feeling. By doing this you now have a progress you can actually measure. It definitely makes it feel like you've used your time wisely and you did something productive that day.

Then again maybe I'm just talking out of my ass. All I know is it's something that does work for me.

[Maxxan]

I get what you're saying. I've been working on this remix for a couple of people for a long time and I wasn't really happy with how it turned out for a while. It was stressful and I felt I was making music because I had too and not because I wanted to, which really blocked my creativity and took a toll on my psyche, couldn't relax and do other stuff etc. Had a hard time working on the track too. Anyway, I finished it and sent it over to them the other day and immediately after that I felt so relieved I made a killer track right away (released it last night, you can hear it in my sig if you want)

The point I'm trying to make is, just relax and take a break. Play some videogames, have a couple beers. Your stuff will sound better if you come back with a better mindset.

[Sharmaji]

i always think back to Martin's interview w/ Skream when this topic comes up. he must've been 20 at the time:

http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.com/2 ... chive.html

[Italus]

I agree about the point with your DAW. I use FL and I love it, I'm a creative mofo on it. But I used Ableton when I went away for a few weeks, I hated making music on it but I had the habit of forcing myself. So I forced myself on Ableton and it just didn't work. Try out all the DAW's find what you are the most creative in and just work little by little. Get out too, go for a bike ride. Inspiration comes the most when you aren't making music. Also, I find that listening to music all the time keeps me going. When I hear how the big guys got to where they are it just inspires me to keep going. Change your mindset when your producing too, instead of thinking about making a banging track, just think of it as playing around, dont get too serious with it. Try new things, play with a vst you never used before. Even just take a piano vst and click around until you get a cool tune. All of these things will help you, don't give up on producing. I know that I and all the producers that ever lived went through the same thing as you. Don't give up, don't try too hard, and have fun with it. In the end it's just all about the music, not the money and the career.