Whats the difference between forcing composition and just not being lazy

[wreckd]

Been working on a beat this particular beat for awhile now. There's just something about it, i know it has potential. So, I sit down and try to work on it but nothing has been coming lately. So i've been walking away and doing other stuff waiting for "it" to come. I'm sure everyone's read/heard you shouldn't force music.

However this morning i was fed up with nothing coming, so i forced myself to sit there and write something, the results weren't good or bad. Though, i'm finding impartial judgement of my own art is becoming incredibly difficult.

It was a mildly painful experience, though certainly not the worst thing i've done. Should music always be a joyous, divine event? Or do you just have to suck it up and finish the damn track or you'll be waiting forever for that perfect moment of inspiration to strike?

Interested in opinions/experiences from other composers/beatmakers, and tricks you have to stay sane?

(I'm referring to composing by yourself. I find it hard to give up when there are other co-writers involved, unless they are being negative/difficult.)

 

[jayzeus]

you should have fun and never be forced to force anything, if your not happy with your music then why make it???
i know exactly what your going through, its happened to me a few times before, you should just be patient and try to come up with the perfect **** instead of forcing it, thats my opinion

 

[VexaDJ]

While you shouldn't 'force' stuff too much, you should persevere as much as possible. What I mean is that you would benefit a great deal from just setting goals and then seeing them through. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was the 'Finish Every Song' rule.

'The Finish Every Song Rule':

You will learn an enormous amount from finishing tracks. So, start a track in the morning and beaver away until it's done. It DOES NOT MATTER if it's not fit for anybodies ears - what matters is the process you are going through, the learning. You are the only one who can tell if your track is finished, but a good rule of thumb is that if you are faffing around endlessly with eq settings or compression on a particular snare hit then the track is DONE. Leave it. Burn it to CD. Listen to it in the car (or anywhere else away from the studio).

Even if you hate the song, it will be yours to learn from. Unlike other ppls music, you will know how the song went together and will know what to do next time, to capitalise on your strengths and iron out your problem areas.

So, don't create a folder with a million unfinished song ideas - see them through no matter how pony they seem. It's all a learning process...

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Another thing you can try for dull days is creating samples or loops without the context of a song in your mind. Sometimes I spend a day just making hi hat sounds with my synth and sequencing them up in my sampler. Then when you DO have a great idea you will have a load of your own original samples and loops to play with......

Hope that helps - do try that 'Finish Every Song' rule though - it's gold.

 

[wreckd]

I appreciate the replies, thanks guys.

Man i have soooooo many unfinished tracks, ya know just drum loops with minor variation, chords, rough hook and structure, then i get stuck and just make another one up. Definately gonna change that.

Its a fine line between being disciplined and forcing it i'm starting to realise.

 

[Bezo]

Wreckd,

Obviously, I don't know your skill level, but some of what you're experiencing may be due to lack of experience and/or musical knowledge, especially if you're composing your own stuff. When I get stuck like that, I stop trying to create and practice on one of my instruments or try learning something new.

It doesn't seem like you're in this boat, but I think this is what keeps a lot of folks on this site away from theory. They learn a little, find themselves getting stuck, and blaming it on theory, saying it's constrictive.

Try learning some new progressions, chord substitutions, a new scale, ect. Maybe pick up a song book and analyze some tunes. Sometimes, expanding your knowledge can open your creativity. The more you know, the source material you have for creating new ideas.

I've been working on a jazzy peice for a couple of months. I got stuck. As much jazz guitar I teach myself, and as many jazz chords I know, I came to realize my jazz composition skills were very limited. I got stuck because what I was hearing in my head, and what was inspiring the tune, was beyond my skill level. I cracked open a songbook by one of my favorite artist, analyzed a tune I liked, and utilized that theory to continue my tune. Still not done, but I'm not stuck any more.

 

[BASSINVADA]

making music can be compared with having sex. if you force it and push, it will end in a desaster.
but you have to discern between being lazy and being uninspired.
if you listen to your track and hear the things in your mind which are missing in your track, then put em in. dont take the cheap way and tell yourself, that you cant do it. just do it. dont be lazy.

if you hear nothing in your mind then dont do nothing till something magic happens. if you do music for living for some years you will have learned what to do and you mute your inner voice and music becomes lifeless, made from formula. dont think! feel!

 

[xtraclip.com]

What I do when Im stuck is

-Burn a CD of the track.
-Bump it in my car
-Note what I don't like and whats missing
-WRITE IT DOWN
-Fix it the Next Day

Never fails.

 

[Forbidden_Silence]

I like the finish every song rule, but I have my own way of using it. If I have a few ideas that I just cannot get to work for the life of me, I save them to use later. I never know when I'll be stuck on one little part of a song and that melody or rhythm that I couldn't finish before would fit in perfectly with what I'm doing at a later point in time. I find it perfectly okay to have a few bits and bobs lying around, but I try not to keep folders full of unfinished ideas. It makes me feel like I've done alot but accomplished nothing.