Finishing projects instead of starting new ones

T

throwaway

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After a long hiatus of making music i've had a problem of not finishing projects and instead I continue to start new tracks, or come up with new ideas for an album. What is a way to combat this?
 
i tend to split up the bars into what will go where for example i might decide the first 16 bars are a intro and get myself to write something
for and intro then a 8 bar break and so on or i might go into one of my fav synths like ni massive and literrelly mess around with no idea what i will come up with and the end sound usually sparks some new ideas for me :) and if it doesnt i save it as a preset because you never know when its usefull and if all else fails listen to music for inspiration :)
 
I have the same problem but it helps when I organize my time. Treat production like a job and give yourself deadlines. Make yourself go back and finish tracks. It's the only way because there will always be an instance when you don't finish a track.
 
I typically put my beats away for a few days before completing them. I'll create beat A, create beat B, mix beat A and see if any changes are needed, make beat C, mix beat B, etc. Especially when working with different genres, some of my projects have influence on the one's waiting to be completed. Like maybe I was stuck on transitioning between verses and hooks on a trap beat as it was just a big drop off when I took the brass away or something and then I make a EDM beat where I learn a technique using delay to bring the emotion of the chorus into the beginning of the verse, I will then use that on the trap beat and complete it.
 
I sometimes have the problem of not finishing projects and what I usually do is post works in progress and get other people's opinions to see if it's even worth finishing. I organize my time too, but I feel like if you give yourself deadlines it does more harm than good because it may stress you out if you get super busy. Another thing you can do is just skim through your projects and see what you like most or what you personally want to finish most and trash what's not worthy :P
 
This is a common issue with all of us.. I generally try to finish every single beat that I start. If i cannot finish it I generally put it in an "idea" folder, and come back to it when I am looking for new inspiration. But I know that if i cannot finish a beat it is because it is not the "right one" for me at the time. Think about the time you did a beat from start to finish. You knew it was "the one".
 
Don't even worry about it. Just keep working, and don't go on hiatus. That's what is most important. When you keep working your songs will finish themselves as you continue developing your craft. I have dozens of chord progressions saved with a simple drum pattern or click track. I'm always going into old projects and turn those tracks into full songs.

Keep putting down new ideas, and figure out what is missing from your tracks that leaves them unfinished. In a few short weeks, you may find yourself with a voluminous output of music. Best of luck bro, I think you'll be doing good.
 
Drtro said:
I typically put my beats away for a few days before completing them. I'll create beat A, create beat B, mix beat A and see if any changes are needed, make beat C, mix beat B, etc. Especially when working with different genres, some of my projects have influence on the one's waiting to be completed. Like maybe I was stuck on transitioning between verses and hooks on a trap beat as it was just a big drop off when I took the brass away or something and then I make a EDM beat where I learn a technique using delay to bring the emotion of the chorus into the beginning of the verse, I will then use that on the trap beat and complete it.
Click to expand...

This is how I work...it keeps things more exciting for me.

I always think that if a beat (or anything) is hot enough, I'll want to finish it. If I don't have the urge to mix or master that track, it probably isn't good enough.
 
I tend to start stuff, leave it alone for a day or two, come back to it to add new ideas, and then finish it. A lot of people can finish a beat/song in a few hours, but I find that taking it slow helps me finish tracks. I have a lot of unfinished stuff, but I've been finishing my more recent tracks with this development cycle of sorts. While this may or may not seem obvious (and isn't intended to be a dig at anyone), make interesting stuff. I like certain ideas more than others, and I tend to finish the tracks that I like the most. Lastly, find a part of the process you really like. For me, it's mixing. I won't stop until the mixdown sounds good enough to me. Whatever part of the process you like, it might motivate you to get to the end of the track. Hope this helps.
 
I have hundreds of not finished stuff in my computer that wouldn't fit anything (a release or it was just sounding bad at that moment), but I go back to them regularly after some time and some of them are useable for new music I'm making.

So, my advice is not to throw away anything you do. You might actually end up using it for future tracks.
 
You can either force it or just keep doing what you're doing until you have one that you are really inspired to finish. Too combat the problem, just take the loop and stretch it out over about 24 bars (enough for a verse and chorus).. Then, modify it, get the hook down, tune the arrangement, try different sounds/samples, experiment with effects, slow it down, speed it up.. There's lots you can do to bring a loop to life.

Sometimes I find once I get a decent loop going, I'm like, "okay I can work with this.." So I start laying it out and it just doesn't sound the same without all the parts playing at once like in the loop. That causes me to not want to finish a beat sometimes, but after I tamper with it for a few hours it usually starts taking shape. The bottom line is just that it takes a lot longer to finish a song than it does to make a little loop. If after you've spent a good deal of time on a song and still don't feel it.. Just trash it, you make better music when you are confident with what you have done in the early stages of the song.
 
As hard and cruel as it might be - just finish it by any means necessary. I've been in the same boat, when I was producing trance as my main musical output I had a piece I was working on that was by far the best track I've ever produced. I got about four minutes in and I had no idea what was going to happen next. I listened back and listened back for ages, tried a few things that never seemed to fit.

This carried on for over a year. The amount of times I fired up Ableton and listened to it once, then powered everything down was heartbreaking. From time to time I'd start a new track, but I'd only get as far as finding a great kick sample, and on the odd occasion I made a bass patch. But my heart wasn't in it, all I could think about was this other track. I hit a real rut, even contemplated selling my gear and giving up.

I met with a producer who's inspired me quite a bit over the years at a party we were both DJing at, and I was telling him my problem. He told me that if I didn't finish that track, that I may as well quit music altogether. He told me to finish that piece, and then make another finished track the same day. Make four tracks a day if I had to, just get them finished.

At first I was skeptical, I wanted that track to be the dogs bollocks - not some rushed piece of music that I finished and forgot about. However, if it was finished, it was finished, and not just sat on my hard drive ruining my passion for music...and he was right. It isn't the finished product I wanted, but it was complete. Then I finished another track, and another. And the frustration was gone.

I don't find that I finish everything I start, like I tried to back then, but I know now that it can be done. I feel that getting over that block was a massive change in my life. I feel excited to work on music again, and I know that if I need to, I can get it done.

So tl;dr - finish it even if it sucks, you'll feel better about it.
 
I do most of my stuff in Maschine which has a loop based sequencer. So I'll make a loop and then make a few variations on that loop (change-ups/drop-outs on the drums, stutters on the sample or swapping one sample out for another: definitely 3 things I do regularly).

Then I'll make an entirely different loop; usually with the same sample/drum set-up (although I'm not tied to this) and again make a couple variations on that.

A bit of 'drag'n'drop' and I've got the basic arrangement.

Its at this point I export (sounds in some cases, groups in others) to a file in my projects folder. Then dump them into Cubase or S1 to have a play about using their linear sequencer and mix tools.
 
I generally find that if I leave an idea/loop alone for a week/fortnight/month and return with those fresh ears it just comes out. The beat gets finished and it gets it's first mix down.

A fresh perspective is everything.

I think patience is the key. You need to feel comfortable leaving a beat shelved for some time until it feels right to rediscover it. Never force it.
 
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