I want to produce but I don't feel like it.

funkypunkk

New member
Hi,

Not sure if it's the right thread for this kind of question nor if it has been asked already before, but I'm curious what you guys think about motivation when it come to making music.

You see, my goal is to produce music for myself and others, and it's the only job I really have a strong desire to do. I hear patterns in a lot of things sound-wise, and always think about things I could produce.

The issue is that I kind of have to force myself to get off my ass and learn sound design/operating Ableton. Not force in the sense that I barely get myself to do it, but I don't exactly have that feeling where I just want to do it all day everday.

There are a few reasons I can think of. First of all, I've spent most of my "career" playing guitar in rock bands. After my last band fell apart and I started listening to loads of other genres such as hip hop, RN'B, electronic, experimental etc. I started learning in FL Studio and it was fun. However, it's all still new territory for me so I have a lot to learn. Now I'm using a free version of Ableton Live Lite 9 that I got with my MIDI keyboard and I love it so far.

When I actually do learn something new I get the thrill I used to get when practicing songs on guitar or writing songs. I also have Caustic 3 on my phone, and I can't describe the thrill I had when learning how to use the vocoder haha.

Maybe it is also the fact that making it in the music business is sorta difficult, and maybe I feel discouraged due to the fact that there's so much to learn and that I'm still not sure what my style of music is.

I want to know your opinions or experiences with this if you have any. :)
 
couldn't agree more.

I play the drums and it's very fun to practice or jam with friends. very spontaneous and stress reliving.

but when it comes to clicking around in Ableton, it can be really annoying and dull. especially when you spend more than an hour getting the snare to sound decent, lol.

I would say try to find your middle ground between jamming on the guitar / keyboard and sound design in ableton. combine the creativity that comes with playing an instrument with the technical nature of ableton.

In other words...record yourself jamming out! Later on you can always slice up the project / create samples out of it / possibly even make 2+ songs out of one jam session. Most of it may sound crappy, but at the very least, it can help generate ideas for a new song. Having stuff to work with is half the battle, make your own library of sounds you can easily drop into a new project to save time.

I need to follow this advice myself, so lazy sometimes :)
 
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I like to compare music with sports. If you wanna be a great basketball player you've gotta practice consistently and constantly. Sometimes that player won't want to play basketball for that day but they do because they know that it will further their skill as a basketball player. So I guess you just gotta find that piece of motivation that keeps you pushing on even when you don't want to. Also, its for your future so the gain from working so hard right now wont be seen until much later on. And that success can never be reached if you didn't put in those countless hours that you didn't really put in. Idk just what I think. I struggle with this problem so much so I feel you.
 
there's a difference between art and science... the lines are blurred now because technology plays such a big part and since the 90's producers have been considered artists but operating technology is science rather than art in my opinion.

don't let technology get in the way of your art and if you dont enjoy the science then dont think of it as a career option because (true) engineers do enjoy it and thats who you will be up against.
 
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Well I guess there's the obvious answers first, such as: You need to work on your workflow. The easier it is for you to produce your thoughts into your computer the more fun it will be. But the more of a pain that whole process is, because it's time consuming and takes more time than it should... well than obviously it's gonna stress you out sooner or later. So one tip is to look for workflow tricks. Create your own templates, make working as easy as possible to yourself, learn keyboard shortcuts, use midi controllers, learn everything about your software and what it offers to make your life easier and about useful plugins. There are two ways drill a hole in a wall. Either you have a manual drill or an electronic one. The better tool gives you faster results and makes more fun because nobody wants to spend more time on something than it could take with a better tool.

So that's that. Secondly you need to make yourself clear the benefits of this software. Playing an instrument has its benefits. It feels alive. You have total control over it. You're not depending on anything, you just play. You can just start playing. With software you don't have these in the same way. But you have other benefits. And I personally use it for those other benefits.
For example you only need to play your music perfetcly once - and then you can replay that a thousand times. You can make small adjustments and play the hugest amount of instruments at the same time than anybody could ever do for the last 3000 years. You can basically do anything you like with your software. With an instrument you can just play what the instrument is capable of. And also your software makes you finish your songs. It enables you to listen to them after you're done. And to be able to do that. That is for me the main reason why I use this software. Because when I'm finished I can actually listen to my songs as often as I like. And I can spread them. I can produce beat requests from other people. And in my software I have the biggest creative freedom that I ever had in an instrument. I'm not limited to the sound of a single instrument. So I think what will help you is realize the possibilities of your software and be thankful for that.

And especially for you. It sounds a little to me like producing beats is a pain to you, not really your thing. Why do you do it? Just for profit? Well I would suggest that you rather do something you love. You can take your software and just record rock songs from yourself or other people. Or you can mix that with your beat making.

Hope that helps
 
making it in the music business is sorta difficult

You don't have to 'make it' in the music business for it to pay the bills. Look at it like any other job, chances are you're not going to make it there either, possibly progressing to supervisor, floor manager etc... The industry is huge, plenty of ways to find your self a place to earn a decent wage.
 
If you don't know what music you want to make.. then.. well, maybe you shouldn't? Sorry to be harsh but you just sound lazy here: It's the only job I want to do, but I can't be arsed to do it.
Nothing personal, I don't know you..but that's how this comes across.

I'll spend 3 goddamn weeks to get my snare decent if that's what it needs.. actually I spent about 6 years, so now I just get them right the first time.
Because I do have that feeling that I want to do this all day, everyday. And I do. Never once lacked for motivation to do it.
 
don't listen to that guy. you don't have to motivated 24/7 and spend 3 weeks on a snare. just do your thing. but he is right in that: if you want to make a living of it, then you gotta do it when you feel like it and when you don't feel like it.
 
I think we all get into the same state quite easily. What I think is really helpful is setting up small objectives that will take you to a bigger goal, but really have those in mind. For example, for my first EP I knew I first had to produce the music, then mix it, then master it, then make sheet music to register the copyright, etc. When you see that all those small things are being accomplished it makes you feel more confident and motivated and gives everything a new more positive perspective. Hope that helped :)
 
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