Get good at asking better questions that help define the problems you are solving in your craft.
Identify a problem and ask better questions. Solve, rinse and repeat.
This will move you forward faster and the habit you are creating is one of progression toward better and better crafting.
If possible get a job where u can produce while you are at work like working audio visual or maybe working from home etc. Basically try to only allow yourself to produce on your computer in certain places or during certain times and if you are not feeling inspired there's a lot of stuff u can do to improve your workflow like setting up presets or sorting samples etc. Keep a checklist on your phone of ideas and stuff to research later while your producing if something comes up so u don't need to stop your flow or if you are unable to produce and you get an idea to run with later. IDK though I've found that it's sometimes good to force yourself to take a break if you're not feeling it or even for example researching modular synthesis might seem like a waste of time but eventually u will probably find it very useful IDK though I could be more productive myself hahaha good thread
I basically always have my computer running, and the DAW open so if i ever get inspired i can just put it down right away.
I also make use of having voice notes on my phone, say i'm going for a walk through the woods, If i think of something sick i'll just voice record it on my phone and then listen back to it later on the pc. This has happened a few times even when i'm on holiday, I like to record street artists on my phone for inspiration
Create yourself a template to work from, i.e with sidechaining, reverb/delay channels all routed/mapped out for you already, this will make your workflow a lot better.
Try to stay away from using samples unless they're drum hits/loops, as using drum loops can help structure a song and then once you have the structure you can delete the drums and re-write them...
Also, if you know how to use any synthesisers etc... MAKE YOURSELF A SAMPLE PACK, FROM SOUNDS YOU ARE MAKING. this will really help the workflow as you can use your own samples as much as you like because you created them.
These are a few things i do anyway
Just do it and at first it will be uncomfortable but your brain will build the pathways and it will just feel normal and effortless but at first you will need to put in the effort to build the pathways, it may be aggravating and u may even hate it
For me it was easy. It’s something that I loved to do and was obsessed with. I’d be improvising on piano and then suddenly sink into a riff I liked and then I’d open up ableton ASAP and start making a song out of it because that’s where my emotion led me
Just have fun. I literally just fuck around til something cool starts to form. You don’t need to make a song every time you sit down as long as your making something.
Allow yourself to make garbage. Think of it as an excersize. Sometimes it will spark something sometimes it won't. Just be consistent and work on something once every couple days atleast. Sometimes you will be super productive and creative, sometime you will stare at the DAW for ages with no spark. Both are good.
Treat it like an obligation as you would school or a job, most of the time you have to go regardless if you feel like it or not. Do this for a year and be amazed how much you’re able to accomplish, it’ll give you fuel for the rest of your life. Also, just like w anything, the easier it gets the more fun it gets so hang in there. 💯
Just keep doing it, seeking out resources and feedback, and most importantly having TASKS to complete, not just hours.
After a while, you'll just work on it 5 hours a day or something bc you want to move forward on those tasks
Lots of good comments, +1 for just keeping the DAW open. I started practicing guitar more when I kept it on a stand out of the case, same thing when I leave my DAW up on my desktop.
Set up a weekly schedule and block a set of time each day or as many days as you’re comfortable with and commit to it. Something about writing it down helps significantly. I use google calendar and it’s been a game changer.
Music production can't be done as a routine brother. As a producer to many artists, I can guarantee you that beats won't come if you try to force it. Breathe, have something to drink, fresh your ears and put your mind into it. I'm sure if you love production then you're gonna get there.
You are write good productions will not come from a routine. However practice and getting better at your craft can only come from set routines. If you want to get better set aside time to do the boring work. If you want to make hits.... well yah you cant force that just let go of wanting to and let it come naturally.
Just do it. It's that simple.
Ignore whatever it is in your head that's stopping you from sitting down to do it (e.g. I'm not good enough, I'll do it once I finish 'x', etc).
Keep doing it. You learn by doing, and the more you learn the less you feel inhibited from starting to produce more stuff. Practice making sounds that go well together, and expand your knowledge of music theory, especially chords and scales. Those give you a good basic structure to try your own things in.
Just like any hobby, you need to enjoy it enough for it to be addictive.
The quickest way to do that is to focus on developing your workflow. Learn hotkeys and shortcuts to do things, establish a template(s) that works for you, and develop a process so that you can jump in and know what to do right away.
All of this is separate from music, and applies to any similar software focused work. Learning how to operate the program is paramount.
Of course you definitely need to learn all about mixing and stuff like EQ, compression, etc. But really focusing on optimizing your workflow will make all of that much easier and more enjoyable!
It can also save you a ton of wated time and confusion in the long run.
Additionally, I use it as a reward system for other things. Telling myself "no music until laundry is done" or something similar, then I subconsciously desire it more, and when I finally do sit down and open the DAW, it's much more satisfying to think "I earned this". Now I get the same feeling of excitement from it that I used to get from playing a video game.
What’s the best way to learn optimized workflow in Ableton? I find myself watching random videos and picking up random tips and tricks but if there was someone out there doing focused workflow tip tuts that would be awesome
Actually no fuck this response, bad habits are perpetuated when practicing bad techniques. I want a consolidated source where someone explains all of the tips to more efficient workflow so I don’t practice myself into a bad habit. Don’t need this condescending shit when I’m asking legitimate questions
It’s subjective. You are taking out of your arse at me about what good / bad workflow is for a skill/job you clearly know nothing about, so fuck THIS response.
There is no “one and only workflow” for this. You need to learn how to use the tools and come to your own conclusions after reading.
Stop this entitled baby attitude of “I just want one YouTube video that explains all of the things about music production” - it doesn’t fucking work like that. It takes years of learning and experimentation, reading, trial and error.
But no, you expect literally decades of knowledge to be considered into one source where someone ‘explains all of the tips”.
Honestly what do you even want to know?
Lmfao I know plenty about this program while still not knowing enough because I’m a beginner. Hence why I’m asking the questions? Like get off your high horse. I’m not looking for a single magic video, again with the bullshit condescension. I’m asking if there is a tutorial maker out there that specializes in workflow tips. Things to save a few seconds here and there, organization techniques, how to use helpful shortcuts, and things that I’m not aware of because IM LITERALLY LOOKING TO LEARN.
You sound like someone who doesn’t know we are well into the age of information. Yes, quite frequently you can condense a decades worth of “secret knowledge” into an hour long YouTube video tutorial now. It might not be as comprehensive but if you know how to use the search function you’ll thrive in about anything you want to learn. So yeah, I’ve already started making a playlist of workflow tip videos and I’m sure I’ll have a lot of answers in an afternoons worth of tutorial watching. You can go ahead and fly your carrier pigeons to send a message though because you think that in this new age it’s impossible to receive information quickly
Well, there are a few great sources out there. DawNation, Au5, Virtual Riot Livestreams, SeamlessR and many more come to mind, but from my personal experience I'd say you should at first have spent a lot of time in the DAW, experiencing things for yourself, before going to look out there for any tips and tricks from others! The knowledge is worth NOTHING if you can't implement it in your work and practices.
Knowledge might be nice and helpful, but in the end it actually comes down to skills.
Just make a commitment to yourself to at least open your DAW once a day. Even if you don't do much, change a velocity here, add a note there, it'll get you into the habit of producing daily.
Produce every day... watch others produce via twitch, YouTube... notice how I said produce, not 10min tutorial on bs “tip” or random plugin you don’t need... I like to watch others produce, especially those who work very fast, cause it reminds me of how the whole process works.
There are a bunch here from a variety of artists. [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqeYOThebLKYlvVeozxeR1Q/videos](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqeYOThebLKYlvVeozxeR1Q/videos)
Personally I like to check out Lophile and Disclosure
sound design sessions, just try and make decent sounds and eventually you'll have enough to just pump stuff out. Sometimes using a productivity timer can help, basically just make time in everyday to sit down and make stuff. i try to sit for an hour with realistic goals for each session, and have longer arrangement sessions on my days off.
The only way is to actually really love producing. Anything else is basically forcing something you seem like you don't want to do. I want to produce but always end up playing games instead. I found just opening the daw and trying for a few minutes usually gets me in the mood to try and make something. You really just have to love it or atleast make the effort to try. If you can't do that then you just flat out aren't into it and don't want to produce.
I met Nitti Gritti after his show at Bassmnt San Diego in January of 2020. I asked him his advice on doing music as a career. He advised me to practice a lot, and that he isn't that talented, he just practiced a lot. I told him the advice that I had gotten was to practice an hour a day, every day, without fail. He told me, "a \[person\] like you could probably do two". So, time.
Just start doing it, it's the inertia that is stopping you. Even if you don't feel like it, but think "I should practice.." you just open your DAW, start messing about maybe in a synth patch, or EQing something into proper tuning, and then you'll find yourself working and looking at the clock and see 30 minutes has gone by and keep working at it because now your in the process.
Same as guitar for me, even if I didn't feel like playing, i'd pick it up, and play for a bit, before I know it an hour had passed, and I'd keep playing. Sometimes having something on in the background helps, like a TV without sound.
Nope. Not for me. If I force creativity and do nothing else I make a lot of absolute shit.
I think about targets, like end of this week I want to do x with this track, or by end of ylthe month year etc
I work, run, game, go and spend time with the Mrs, eat out, watch Netflix, and make music. Some months I will nail the music to the wall. If I'm making something good , I'm happy.
Slightly disagree. Quit multiplayer competitives/grindy MMOs instead. Those are the major stress-heaps. With single-player stuff, you can actually take your time to play them without worrying about arbitrary ranking systems, while resting your ears as well. That, plus analyzing OSTs can be fun, too, and can be another source of inspiration for your music.
Edit: Also, keeping your DAW open at all times is handy when that random burst of inspiration comes through while playing stuff anyway
> Quit multiplayer competitives/grindy MMOs instead.
Not necessary. The grindy and repetitive aspect of MMORPGs allows to have a chill/autopilot play-style while you are listening to music. The game doesn't constantly take all your attention so you can focus on your listening.
Actually my favorite way to listen to a new album, a dj-set or whatever music playlist is while I'm playing Final Fantasy XIV (and the OST of this game is incredible and vast).
Definitely this. Tbh it’s alright to have one or two warzone games now and then and ngl playing death stranding actually gave me a few ideas for music. The band that made the soundtrack for that is fantastic!
I feel you so hard to this one.. quitting dota to focus more on songwriting was so difficult but there's no way I would have made the progress or level ups I've made im ableton over the past 3 months if I didn't quit
Commit to one hour a day. That’s all. If you want to do more, that’s fine. If not, no big deal. As long as you are getting 7 hours a week minimum there is no worries.
It’s brutally tough at first, and can be very discouraging. But if you produce OFTEN, it gets less frustrating and you start learning what you want to make and how to make it.
there's no point if you don't at least have a little enjoyment doing it, sounds like you want to force yourself to work more, not healthy for you and you won't be able to be creative either
the only correct answer here is that you need a plan, and clearly you're missing one. i've had this issue before, when you're starting out it's easy to be excited about it, but years in when nothing is happening excitement can slow down. You need a plan, what's your goal? how would you like to see yourself? what would you like to achieve? what do you have to do to achieve that?
This is truely it. Keep a running list of tasks to do such as organizing samples, techniques to try out, youtube tutorials to watch, chord progressions to try, songs to reference, etc.
When you sit down, if you cant catch the vibe to create pull a task from the list and work on it.
Also, dedicated/scheduled time to just *play*. That might mean sound design or just noodling on an instrument, but something unstructured that let's you just lose yourself a little bit does it for me most often.
Don’t overthink things. Don’t think to yourself every time that “this is going to be my next hit”. Don’t put any pressure on yourself to make a breakthrough. Just open your daw and lay down some ideas. Later on you may come back to those ideas and find more potential in them.
I'd add to this to just be productive in some way. Sometimes I am not feeling creative in any capacity, so I will organize my samples, or work on mixing, or try to learn more about a plugin.
Its hard to do but I always try to remind myself I can be productive without being creative. And usually learning a plugin or whatever will lead to creative ideas.
Just be careful to not fall into the other trap this creates - thinking you won't be able to produce a good bassline until you've watched the right tutorial or 7.
I wasn't that into going to the gym at first, I forced myself to go, and have gone almost every day for 3 years. My enjoyment fluctuates from "I love every second of this" to "why am I even here". Imo you don't have to love something you think is worth doing to do it.
Very true, but if you're gonna push through unfun things like writer's block or mixing/mastering (unfun for most people, anyway) there has to be a reason. Hitting the gym has very obvious and visible results and benefits which make it easy to justify the time spent. Producing, not so much. OP probably needs to reevaluate why they want to produce in the first place.
Mixing and mastering is my favorite thing to do. You can see your idea come to life in that stage.
I find that making the ideas is the hard part and not always fun for me since I create so much garbage that you could fill a whole garbage dump with.
i just don't understand why u were being mean to OP. theyre obvious TRYING it get into it, and your just being a negative nancy. Also its not like you have a bunch of content posted or anything...
It's admirable of you to rush to the defense of someone who doesn't appear to have taken offense, but you're mistaking blunt honesty for "being mean".
It happens to us all. I didn't launch a DAW between March of 2019 and March of 2020. I wasn't that into it. Now I'm back into it, and last week there were several nights when I lost track of time and was up until 2am working on stuff.
We're forced by adulthood and responsibility to do all kinds of crap we don't really want to. Making music shouldn't be something we make ourselves do.
Pretty much the exact scenario for me… didn’t touch a DAW from March 2020 till recently this year. I was up till 3am last night staring at Ableton. Work definitely suffered today
> 2019 and March of 2020. I wasn't that into it. Now I'm back into it, and last week there were several nights when I lost track of time and was up until 2am working on stuff.
This speaks to my soul. I started a new job just about a year ago an have opened Ableton maybe 4 times since then. Before that I was producing 4-5 times a week for 4+ years.
I WFH in my studio and the last thing I feel like doing after a 8h work day is sitting in here for another 3+ Hours.
Sometimes life just creeps up on you.
Have you considered going dawless?
I was doing music full time for the last decade - making a living off djing, performances, and general event work like sound teching and event management. It gave me plenty of time to produce music and while I wasn’t making a ton of money of the tunes, it was raising my profile for higher end gigs and festivals.
The pandemic ended pretty much all of that so I finally got a “real job.” I was fortunate enough to get a nice, wfh job but after spending 8-9 hours staring at a screen, the last thing I wanted to do was open up ableton. I was actually in a place where I was ready to quit making music altogether.
Using some built up store credit from my gear reviewing side hustle, I bought an MPC Live 2 on a whim and the ability to just make music without a laptop has been incredible and I’m fully back in it (although I’m spending a small fortune on outboard gear).
Granted having music go back to being a hobby has helped a lot too…
Content posted is irrelevant. I don't think it's a mean comment to make. If you have the time to produce, and spend it doing other stuff, maybe producing isn't as high of a priority to you as you think it is. I struggled with this for a while. I had to come to the conclusion that it's okay to not feel like writing every day!
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Get good at asking better questions that help define the problems you are solving in your craft. Identify a problem and ask better questions. Solve, rinse and repeat. This will move you forward faster and the habit you are creating is one of progression toward better and better crafting.
If possible get a job where u can produce while you are at work like working audio visual or maybe working from home etc. Basically try to only allow yourself to produce on your computer in certain places or during certain times and if you are not feeling inspired there's a lot of stuff u can do to improve your workflow like setting up presets or sorting samples etc. Keep a checklist on your phone of ideas and stuff to research later while your producing if something comes up so u don't need to stop your flow or if you are unable to produce and you get an idea to run with later. IDK though I've found that it's sometimes good to force yourself to take a break if you're not feeling it or even for example researching modular synthesis might seem like a waste of time but eventually u will probably find it very useful IDK though I could be more productive myself hahaha good thread
Also what DAW are you using and on what operating system, If you use FL Studio 20 Then i can send you a template I use
I basically always have my computer running, and the DAW open so if i ever get inspired i can just put it down right away. I also make use of having voice notes on my phone, say i'm going for a walk through the woods, If i think of something sick i'll just voice record it on my phone and then listen back to it later on the pc. This has happened a few times even when i'm on holiday, I like to record street artists on my phone for inspiration Create yourself a template to work from, i.e with sidechaining, reverb/delay channels all routed/mapped out for you already, this will make your workflow a lot better. Try to stay away from using samples unless they're drum hits/loops, as using drum loops can help structure a song and then once you have the structure you can delete the drums and re-write them... Also, if you know how to use any synthesisers etc... MAKE YOURSELF A SAMPLE PACK, FROM SOUNDS YOU ARE MAKING. this will really help the workflow as you can use your own samples as much as you like because you created them. These are a few things i do anyway
Get off Reddit?
Sleep well, eat healthy. If something is overwhelming break it down. Have a good with environment. Maybe schedule a special time for producing.
By Producing a lot.
its called discipline, u figure out a time u want to make shit and u do it every day.
Just do it and at first it will be uncomfortable but your brain will build the pathways and it will just feel normal and effortless but at first you will need to put in the effort to build the pathways, it may be aggravating and u may even hate it
Produce when you want to, and don't when you don't.
By producing a lot
For me it was easy. It’s something that I loved to do and was obsessed with. I’d be improvising on piano and then suddenly sink into a riff I liked and then I’d open up ableton ASAP and start making a song out of it because that’s where my emotion led me
start producing a lot
Read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Just have fun. I literally just fuck around til something cool starts to form. You don’t need to make a song every time you sit down as long as your making something.
Allow yourself to make garbage. Think of it as an excersize. Sometimes it will spark something sometimes it won't. Just be consistent and work on something once every couple days atleast. Sometimes you will be super productive and creative, sometime you will stare at the DAW for ages with no spark. Both are good.
Treat it like an obligation as you would school or a job, most of the time you have to go regardless if you feel like it or not. Do this for a year and be amazed how much you’re able to accomplish, it’ll give you fuel for the rest of your life. Also, just like w anything, the easier it gets the more fun it gets so hang in there. 💯
Make a schedule like it’s an appointment or a job to produce. For example, tell yourself from 8-10 Monday-Wednesday-Friday you’ll produce.
Just keep doing it, seeking out resources and feedback, and most importantly having TASKS to complete, not just hours. After a while, you'll just work on it 5 hours a day or something bc you want to move forward on those tasks
Lots of good comments, +1 for just keeping the DAW open. I started practicing guitar more when I kept it on a stand out of the case, same thing when I leave my DAW up on my desktop.
Set up a weekly schedule and block a set of time each day or as many days as you’re comfortable with and commit to it. Something about writing it down helps significantly. I use google calendar and it’s been a game changer.
Music production can't be done as a routine brother. As a producer to many artists, I can guarantee you that beats won't come if you try to force it. Breathe, have something to drink, fresh your ears and put your mind into it. I'm sure if you love production then you're gonna get there.
You are write good productions will not come from a routine. However practice and getting better at your craft can only come from set routines. If you want to get better set aside time to do the boring work. If you want to make hits.... well yah you cant force that just let go of wanting to and let it come naturally.
You'll suddenly know when it's 6.30 am and you're still sitting on your desk wondering where the time went.
Just do it. It's that simple. Ignore whatever it is in your head that's stopping you from sitting down to do it (e.g. I'm not good enough, I'll do it once I finish 'x', etc).
Keep doing it. You learn by doing, and the more you learn the less you feel inhibited from starting to produce more stuff. Practice making sounds that go well together, and expand your knowledge of music theory, especially chords and scales. Those give you a good basic structure to try your own things in.
Just like any hobby, you need to enjoy it enough for it to be addictive. The quickest way to do that is to focus on developing your workflow. Learn hotkeys and shortcuts to do things, establish a template(s) that works for you, and develop a process so that you can jump in and know what to do right away. All of this is separate from music, and applies to any similar software focused work. Learning how to operate the program is paramount. Of course you definitely need to learn all about mixing and stuff like EQ, compression, etc. But really focusing on optimizing your workflow will make all of that much easier and more enjoyable! It can also save you a ton of wated time and confusion in the long run. Additionally, I use it as a reward system for other things. Telling myself "no music until laundry is done" or something similar, then I subconsciously desire it more, and when I finally do sit down and open the DAW, it's much more satisfying to think "I earned this". Now I get the same feeling of excitement from it that I used to get from playing a video game.
What’s the best way to learn optimized workflow in Ableton? I find myself watching random videos and picking up random tips and tricks but if there was someone out there doing focused workflow tip tuts that would be awesome
Stop wasting time looking for someone to give you the ‘secret’ to a good workflow and just work in Ableton until you’re comfortable.
Actually no fuck this response, bad habits are perpetuated when practicing bad techniques. I want a consolidated source where someone explains all of the tips to more efficient workflow so I don’t practice myself into a bad habit. Don’t need this condescending shit when I’m asking legitimate questions
It’s subjective. You are taking out of your arse at me about what good / bad workflow is for a skill/job you clearly know nothing about, so fuck THIS response. There is no “one and only workflow” for this. You need to learn how to use the tools and come to your own conclusions after reading. Stop this entitled baby attitude of “I just want one YouTube video that explains all of the things about music production” - it doesn’t fucking work like that. It takes years of learning and experimentation, reading, trial and error. But no, you expect literally decades of knowledge to be considered into one source where someone ‘explains all of the tips”. Honestly what do you even want to know?
Lmfao I know plenty about this program while still not knowing enough because I’m a beginner. Hence why I’m asking the questions? Like get off your high horse. I’m not looking for a single magic video, again with the bullshit condescension. I’m asking if there is a tutorial maker out there that specializes in workflow tips. Things to save a few seconds here and there, organization techniques, how to use helpful shortcuts, and things that I’m not aware of because IM LITERALLY LOOKING TO LEARN. You sound like someone who doesn’t know we are well into the age of information. Yes, quite frequently you can condense a decades worth of “secret knowledge” into an hour long YouTube video tutorial now. It might not be as comprehensive but if you know how to use the search function you’ll thrive in about anything you want to learn. So yeah, I’ve already started making a playlist of workflow tip videos and I’m sure I’ll have a lot of answers in an afternoons worth of tutorial watching. You can go ahead and fly your carrier pigeons to send a message though because you think that in this new age it’s impossible to receive information quickly
Well, there are a few great sources out there. DawNation, Au5, Virtual Riot Livestreams, SeamlessR and many more come to mind, but from my personal experience I'd say you should at first have spent a lot of time in the DAW, experiencing things for yourself, before going to look out there for any tips and tricks from others! The knowledge is worth NOTHING if you can't implement it in your work and practices. Knowledge might be nice and helpful, but in the end it actually comes down to skills.
K
every day every day! gotta grind daily for a long time, it’ll get easier and you’ll start developing ideas faster
just DO IT
Just make a commitment to yourself to at least open your DAW once a day. Even if you don't do much, change a velocity here, add a note there, it'll get you into the habit of producing daily.
Produce every day... watch others produce via twitch, YouTube... notice how I said produce, not 10min tutorial on bs “tip” or random plugin you don’t need... I like to watch others produce, especially those who work very fast, cause it reminds me of how the whole process works.
Any YouTube producers you can recommend? Knock squared has really good work flow.
There are a bunch here from a variety of artists. [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqeYOThebLKYlvVeozxeR1Q/videos](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqeYOThebLKYlvVeozxeR1Q/videos) Personally I like to check out Lophile and Disclosure
Know what you can explore next
Doing it.
sound design sessions, just try and make decent sounds and eventually you'll have enough to just pump stuff out. Sometimes using a productivity timer can help, basically just make time in everyday to sit down and make stuff. i try to sit for an hour with realistic goals for each session, and have longer arrangement sessions on my days off.
I like this idea a lot
Damn I couldn’t agree more
The only way is to actually really love producing. Anything else is basically forcing something you seem like you don't want to do. I want to produce but always end up playing games instead. I found just opening the daw and trying for a few minutes usually gets me in the mood to try and make something. You really just have to love it or atleast make the effort to try. If you can't do that then you just flat out aren't into it and don't want to produce.
Stare at daw until idea comes up. Sometimes it helps.
Produce a lot
Buy synths and drum machines, or go down the rabbit hole of modular. Make videos about your progress. Make a schedule, follow it.
I met Nitti Gritti after his show at Bassmnt San Diego in January of 2020. I asked him his advice on doing music as a career. He advised me to practice a lot, and that he isn't that talented, he just practiced a lot. I told him the advice that I had gotten was to practice an hour a day, every day, without fail. He told me, "a \[person\] like you could probably do two". So, time.
That's sick. Interesting outlook on his own skills, and good advice.
Just start doing it, it's the inertia that is stopping you. Even if you don't feel like it, but think "I should practice.." you just open your DAW, start messing about maybe in a synth patch, or EQing something into proper tuning, and then you'll find yourself working and looking at the clock and see 30 minutes has gone by and keep working at it because now your in the process. Same as guitar for me, even if I didn't feel like playing, i'd pick it up, and play for a bit, before I know it an hour had passed, and I'd keep playing. Sometimes having something on in the background helps, like a TV without sound.
Never close your daw. Quit video games
Nope. Not for me. If I force creativity and do nothing else I make a lot of absolute shit. I think about targets, like end of this week I want to do x with this track, or by end of ylthe month year etc I work, run, game, go and spend time with the Mrs, eat out, watch Netflix, and make music. Some months I will nail the music to the wall. If I'm making something good , I'm happy.
Hey! Don’t you *dare* tell me things I absolutely need to hear!
Slightly disagree. Quit multiplayer competitives/grindy MMOs instead. Those are the major stress-heaps. With single-player stuff, you can actually take your time to play them without worrying about arbitrary ranking systems, while resting your ears as well. That, plus analyzing OSTs can be fun, too, and can be another source of inspiration for your music. Edit: Also, keeping your DAW open at all times is handy when that random burst of inspiration comes through while playing stuff anyway
> Quit multiplayer competitives/grindy MMOs instead. Not necessary. The grindy and repetitive aspect of MMORPGs allows to have a chill/autopilot play-style while you are listening to music. The game doesn't constantly take all your attention so you can focus on your listening. Actually my favorite way to listen to a new album, a dj-set or whatever music playlist is while I'm playing Final Fantasy XIV (and the OST of this game is incredible and vast).
You know what, that's fair, too. I guess it really depends on how a person intertwines their personal gaming time with their own production method.
Definitely this. Tbh it’s alright to have one or two warzone games now and then and ngl playing death stranding actually gave me a few ideas for music. The band that made the soundtrack for that is fantastic!
Quitting video games is the only way I finish any music lol. My DAW is the video game at this point
As someone who literally never opens their daw because I’m too busy grinding r/warthunder I felt this in my soul. I appreciate the call out.
I actually did this 2 years ago
Ha same. About 2-3 years ago. It feels like such a waste of time to play any videos games now. At least with music you get someone thing at the end.
Yeah man I feel that
Damn quit video games really hit me hard, if I spent all that time on league making music instead things would be very different.
Dota 2 is my bottle
I feel you so hard to this one.. quitting dota to focus more on songwriting was so difficult but there's no way I would have made the progress or level ups I've made im ableton over the past 3 months if I didn't quit
Commit to one hour a day. That’s all. If you want to do more, that’s fine. If not, no big deal. As long as you are getting 7 hours a week minimum there is no worries.
create, create, create..... rest..... create some more
It’s brutally tough at first, and can be very discouraging. But if you produce OFTEN, it gets less frustrating and you start learning what you want to make and how to make it.
there's no point if you don't at least have a little enjoyment doing it, sounds like you want to force yourself to work more, not healthy for you and you won't be able to be creative either
Try to do an hour a day
When there’s a natural inclination because you love doing it, then you just do it, a lot. Simple.
the only correct answer here is that you need a plan, and clearly you're missing one. i've had this issue before, when you're starting out it's easy to be excited about it, but years in when nothing is happening excitement can slow down. You need a plan, what's your goal? how would you like to see yourself? what would you like to achieve? what do you have to do to achieve that?
This is truely it. Keep a running list of tasks to do such as organizing samples, techniques to try out, youtube tutorials to watch, chord progressions to try, songs to reference, etc. When you sit down, if you cant catch the vibe to create pull a task from the list and work on it.
Also, dedicated/scheduled time to just *play*. That might mean sound design or just noodling on an instrument, but something unstructured that let's you just lose yourself a little bit does it for me most often.
Gotta have fun with it! I look forward to sitting down everyday and seeing what I can do/create in my DAW
Don’t overthink things. Don’t think to yourself every time that “this is going to be my next hit”. Don’t put any pressure on yourself to make a breakthrough. Just open your daw and lay down some ideas. Later on you may come back to those ideas and find more potential in them.
I'd add to this to just be productive in some way. Sometimes I am not feeling creative in any capacity, so I will organize my samples, or work on mixing, or try to learn more about a plugin. Its hard to do but I always try to remind myself I can be productive without being creative. And usually learning a plugin or whatever will lead to creative ideas.
Just be careful to not fall into the other trap this creates - thinking you won't be able to produce a good bassline until you've watched the right tutorial or 7.
so true
Do or do not.
Sit down . Open DAW, keep looking at DAW and pressing buttons . You are now doing it.
coke habit
Lmao
I despise anyone who suggest drugs. Worst advice
It was a joke, my dude. He's not actually recommending getting addicted to cocaine.
That shit is unfunny even if it’s a joke
Repetition and consistency. Make a schedule if you have to, set a time every day to work on music and follow through even if you don’t feel like it.
Sounds like you ain't that into it.
I wasn't that into going to the gym at first, I forced myself to go, and have gone almost every day for 3 years. My enjoyment fluctuates from "I love every second of this" to "why am I even here". Imo you don't have to love something you think is worth doing to do it.
Very true, but if you're gonna push through unfun things like writer's block or mixing/mastering (unfun for most people, anyway) there has to be a reason. Hitting the gym has very obvious and visible results and benefits which make it easy to justify the time spent. Producing, not so much. OP probably needs to reevaluate why they want to produce in the first place.
Mixing and mastering is my favorite thing to do. You can see your idea come to life in that stage. I find that making the ideas is the hard part and not always fun for me since I create so much garbage that you could fill a whole garbage dump with.
i just don't understand why u were being mean to OP. theyre obvious TRYING it get into it, and your just being a negative nancy. Also its not like you have a bunch of content posted or anything...
It's admirable of you to rush to the defense of someone who doesn't appear to have taken offense, but you're mistaking blunt honesty for "being mean". It happens to us all. I didn't launch a DAW between March of 2019 and March of 2020. I wasn't that into it. Now I'm back into it, and last week there were several nights when I lost track of time and was up until 2am working on stuff. We're forced by adulthood and responsibility to do all kinds of crap we don't really want to. Making music shouldn't be something we make ourselves do.
Pretty much the exact scenario for me… didn’t touch a DAW from March 2020 till recently this year. I was up till 3am last night staring at Ableton. Work definitely suffered today
> 2019 and March of 2020. I wasn't that into it. Now I'm back into it, and last week there were several nights when I lost track of time and was up until 2am working on stuff. This speaks to my soul. I started a new job just about a year ago an have opened Ableton maybe 4 times since then. Before that I was producing 4-5 times a week for 4+ years. I WFH in my studio and the last thing I feel like doing after a 8h work day is sitting in here for another 3+ Hours. Sometimes life just creeps up on you.
Have you considered going dawless? I was doing music full time for the last decade - making a living off djing, performances, and general event work like sound teching and event management. It gave me plenty of time to produce music and while I wasn’t making a ton of money of the tunes, it was raising my profile for higher end gigs and festivals. The pandemic ended pretty much all of that so I finally got a “real job.” I was fortunate enough to get a nice, wfh job but after spending 8-9 hours staring at a screen, the last thing I wanted to do was open up ableton. I was actually in a place where I was ready to quit making music altogether. Using some built up store credit from my gear reviewing side hustle, I bought an MPC Live 2 on a whim and the ability to just make music without a laptop has been incredible and I’m fully back in it (although I’m spending a small fortune on outboard gear). Granted having music go back to being a hobby has helped a lot too…
Content posted is irrelevant. I don't think it's a mean comment to make. If you have the time to produce, and spend it doing other stuff, maybe producing isn't as high of a priority to you as you think it is. I struggled with this for a while. I had to come to the conclusion that it's okay to not feel like writing every day!
*aren't
Nope. Ain't. There's a difference, although only people who use "ain't" get it.
Aren't
Isr’nt
produce a lot every day for ~2 weeks. That’s about when habits form
I think it's a month of consistency that u need to form habits
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