How to be inspired and not copy

R

RuSty1

New member
I have a lot of issues when it comes to making music. I have been doing this for like almost a year and its the hardest thing I have ever done. I've had so many problems with mixing and mastering, creating synths, almost every facet of production I've had a problem with.

I've just finished a song. After every song I've made I listen to it and I just dont like it. It doesn't sound like a song I wanted to produce. Yes I know almost a year experience in music production isn't that much but I have been doing this everyday. I listen to electronic music everyday, the thought of producing music keeps me awake every night. I just graduated high school and I'm currently going through my final exams and I said to myself (amidst all these problems I've been having) "you have to take a break". I tried taking a break but I couldn't lol.

What I'm trying to say is that I always have problems after I finish a song I've been working on. After producing the track I notice things like I need to get better at doing my mix downs or I actually need to learn how to use a compressor and when to use it. All this can be solved with some research on google and some practise which I'm willing to do.

But I'm never making music that I truly like. My music does not sound like the music I listen to.

I'm trying to improve my drum programming, so I did a little research and it said that you cant get better at programming drums if you don't listen to drums or
You can't draw a house if you don't know what a house looks like
Click to expand...
.

What I'm trying to say is how can I draw inspiration from the music I love without just copying it and not making it my own.

I'm starting to get sick of spending so much time on music that I don't like to listen to.

Please I need some help. I always find that after I produce a song I'm not creative, I'm not happy and I'm not having fun producing music, I have a lot of issues with music and I find myself searching for answers on here. Every time.

I would also like to say thank you to all who read my posts and help me out because it has a really big impact on me and helps me out heaps.
 
Don't overanalyze making music, just create. Take a hiatus from what you listen to and listen to other genres. Everything that music falls under is difficult (or not, depending on musical education background) takes more than a year to be competent at. Refuse to copy but know that no idea's original.
 
Been a producer since 2010 myself, it takes time to understand all of that stuff in a daw but if you stick to one it should take some months to get good at it.
 
I think the trick is to look at a lot of different houses – if you just listen to, say, deep house or trap or, more broadly put, current mainstream electronic music, it's very likely that your stuff will end up sounding more or less like it. The people that truly innovate almost always have a very diverse musical background, or taste, or both - which ends up blending into something new.
 
Two things to say.

1. This is all part of the learning process, so don't fret too hard. Not every song will be perfect. Sounds like you do need to do some training on hard skills like mixing or sound design, though. Maybe check out Udemy for a cheap course on one of those subjects.

2. You say "copy" as if it's a bad thing. I'm here to argue the exact opposite. If you hear an idea that you love, the best thing you can do is replicate that exact idea in your DAW. It trains you to explore how other people work and how other people make the music you like. When you're done you can fuck around and put your own spin on it. Maybe it will come to be a song, maybe it won't. Either way it was worthwhile because you just learned how someone else creates the sound that you love. You can now bring that idea out of your tool belt at a later time when you're stuck in a different song.

Just food for thought. I also agree with the guy who said don't over-analyze, just create.
 
Ok Thanks guys. Knowing that no idea is original kind of makes sense. I think I was putting to much pressure on myself to come up with something new whereas new things are usually a mix of two different ideas.

I'm definitely going to listen to other genres of music so I can find new musical ideas and then bring them into my projects.

I know music is very tough so I'm just gonna go through the basics, Im probably not even going to make a full song anytime soon just practice the fundamentals like sound design, drum programming, mixing and mastering and music theory.

Thanks for the help!
 
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