So...i believe i could write a simple tune maybe, but i lack of motivation due to the following reasons

1) I don't feel like writing words and showing them out there, it seems pathetic to me right now, i mean growing up and even now i like listening others do that but if i'm gonna do it i dont' know its personal....I mean there are songs like michael jackson annie..which is not based on feelings its more like a story but still i dont' feel like it..i would find it weird coming from me.

2) I don't feel like working for libraries doing the music they want (even if i don't think i can) its something i would hate i think to do long term, even the thought bores me

3) I could maybe try do instrumentals but I can see that going to be like "oh look how cool i am writing some instrumentals...look i can write some drums..look i can write a melody..i mean who cares...... i don't wanna inflate my mental state and waiting others to approve

basically i don't know if any of the above would help me mentally or if it would benefit me long term mentally

its just how i think about it right now, doesn't mean anything for the future, maybe i start thinking otherwise

 

Make music just for yourself, do what you enjoy. If others like it too, fine. You are not a slave to other opinions. Be yourself and find out how you want to live. Sometimes it takes a long time until you know what your heart is burning for and what you really want to do. Many know what they don't want and few know what they want. Maybe you read a book about the meaning of life.

Turn off the whole distraction industry for one day, don't read newspapers and go into nature and ask yourself what do I want to do or who do I want to be?

Anthony Hopkins - What's The Meaning Of Life | One Of The Most Eye Opening Speeches

“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.” -Alan Watts

 

Hopkins proves that not every old white man needs to be an idiot*

He talks a lot about "reality". I've had the same feeling of (lack of) reality and that it is not always the same - if ever - when I've been in a ICU after an accident for a week. Since then, my attitude towards what is real has changed significantly. A bit of a 'Matrix feeling' sometimes.
Our brain sometimes plays funny tricks on us.


*btw: I'm an old white man

 

Last edited: Apr 23, 2022

Then why should that be important to you at all. As @BEAT16 said: Just make your music for yourself. Why force yourself to achieve goals in the field if the motivation is so completely lacking.
Maybe it's smarter if you find a good job that you enjoy and just do music as a hobby. That's not the worst thing to do.
And who knows, maybe the motivation will come when the pressure you put on yourself stops.

 

The responses above are (excellently) saying the same thing.

So here's the exact same message repeated as a 2-minute philosophy course.
This is the 2-minute version of ideas that are literally thousands of years old.

Intrinsic value versus Extrinsic value.

Intrinsic value:
something that has real value 'in its own right', e.g., food.

Extrinsic value (also known as 'Instrumental value'):
something that is just a means to an end but has no intrinsic value, e.g., money (that you can use to buy food)

Think about all the stuff that 'seems to matter' to you personally.
Ask yourself... do those things have instrinsic value (for you they really matter)
or do they have only extrinsic value (for you they're just a means to an end).

But it's totally personal! So, what does 'making music' mean for you?

For person X, 'making music' has intrinsic value; it is NOT a means to an end - it IS the valued goal in its own right. Hence person X typically doesn't give a shit about what anyone else thinks about it! Motivation to engage with 'making music' comes easy to person X. S/he just loves doing it.
You can't stop person X from trying to make music, no matter how challenging it is.

By contrast...
For person Y, 'making music'' is just a means to some other end, like trying to be rich or trying to be famous. For person Y, 'making music' just has extrinsic value. Unsurprisingly, when person Y discovers that making music is time consuming, demanding, and not actually the easiest way to make money or become famous, their fragile motivation to 'make music' can collapse.

Only YOU can figure out what 'making music' really means for you.

But recognise that there are traits of person X and person Y in all of us.
It's not totally either/or; so just find the right balance for you.

 

If you have a lack of motivation do something else. I´ve been weeks, even months without launching the DAW. And thats fine.
The last time I was months away of it I managed to read a doctoral thesis about "The semantic processing of counter-intuitive religious ideas with event-related potentials" why? because I thought that It was a very interesting subject that no only will help me to understand the neurological and sematical ways of how the religious belifs (that I do not posses) penetrate into our brains because we are practically neurologicaly wired to accept some kind of histories and metaphors but not others. And then I wrote some lyrics based on the findings of the scientific experiments narrated in the thesis, trying to mimic the counter-intuitive concepts that those experiments prove that work in religion to talk about other subjects. Just because.

Lack of motivation is 90% of the times a lack of extenal stimulus.

 

Hello @samsome, Sick societies produce sick people.

Spoiler: Psychological explanatory models for depression:

Psychological explanatory models for depression:
- Learned helplessness (according to Seligman): If one's own behavior over a long period of time has no influence on (negative) events, then it is learned that one's own actions are meaningless and environmental circumstances cannot be influenced. This results in the following disorders: Loss of motivation; learning deficit (even under conditions in which one could very well achieve something with one's own actions, one hardly succeeds in adapting to these new circumstances and becoming active accordingly); anxiety, stomach ulcers, loss of appetite, depression.
- Reinforcer deficiency theory (according to Lewinsohn): A lack of feelings of success leads to moodiness, dejection, physical symptoms and finally to behavioral deficits.

- Depression as a cognitive disorder (according to Beck): The depressive has had certain negative experiences in the course of his development, which have solidified as cognitive schemata and are repeatedly activated by certain trigger situations. The person thinking in depressive schemata sees himself, the environment and the future negatively.

Thoughts revolve irrationally around topics that devalue one's own person. The depressive puts himself down, rejects himself, interprets failures as a sign of his own inability and sees himself confronted with insurmountable obstacles and burdens. Consequences of this cognitive disorder are: Dejection, loss of pleasure and satisfaction; low self-esteem, negative expectations, self-blame, distorted self-image; avoidance and escape behavior, indecision, suicidal desires, increased dependence on others; loss of appetite, easy fatigue.

Individuals prone to depression should be primarily concerned with uncovering and changing irrational patterns of judgment and thinking, and subsequently promoting constructive thinking with all consistency. In addition, one should try to become active, to build up manifold interests, to maintain or take up stable social relationships - partners, family members, friends and acquaintances play an important role in overcoming depression - and to promote independence and adaptability.

Negative aspects of currently uncontrollable circumstances one tries to devalue somewhat in their significance, to accept and make the best of them. Positive aspects, even if they seem to be small and insignificant in comparison to the negative ones, should be valorized and brought into focus.
The depressive is often tormented by fears of failure, feelings of hopelessness and meaninglessness. Therefore, it is crucial to develop strategies that fulfill two conditions: on the one hand, they must be able to master upcoming tasks and solve existing problems, but on the other hand, they must not overburden the person affected (the depressive is often overwhelmed by even the simplest action).

Reconciling these two conditions often proves to be an almost insurmountable hurdle and often requires all the skill of even the most experienced therapist.
The goals and measures should correspond to the personal needs and possibilities - and not contradict them. The goal should not be total change (that doesn't work anyway), but rather the activation of unused potential (in thinking as well as in doing) - this, of course, applies to all of us, not only to depressives.

Spoiler: Self-worth

Self-worth

Self-worth, a fundamental and influential personality trait, can be defined as how one feels about and evaluates oneself. The emotional sensation and cognitive evaluation relate to criteria such as personality, abilities, experiences, coping skills, social interaction, performance, achievements, appearance, self-image, self-experience, and efficacy or external evaluation expectations.

A stable self-esteem presupposes that one values and accepts oneself - that is, respects, likes and accepts oneself as one is and as one acts. Self-esteem influences to a great extent how one deals with oneself, one's social behavior, one's relationships with others, one's communication, and one's performance behavior. Self-esteem does not develop on its own, but from the confrontation with oneself and the environment.

A good self-worth develops above all when the essential reference persons (above all the parents, also relatives, educators and teachers) for their part have a healthy self-worth and express and behave accordingly. The expressions and behaviors of the important attachment figures are therefore of great importance.

Individual symptoms that may indicate a self-esteem disorder or self-esteem disorder compensation include the following:

- excessive need for affection, recognition, harmony or security
- excessive striving for importance, success, money, attractiveness, control, dominance, power or achievement
- inhibitedness, shyness
- Insecurity, weakness in decision-making, fear of conflict
- Excessive concern and caution
- Distance, defensive behavior
- Imposing, pushiness
- Difficulty in expressing and representing opinions
- Difficulty expressing, communicating and asserting own feelings and needs to others
- Difficulty saying 'no' and criticizing when it would be appropriate and necessary to do so
- Fear of speaking in front of groups
- Inhibitions about approaching or talking to strangers (people you don't know very well)
- Insecurity in conversation, especially small talk conversation
- Feelings of embarrassment
- negative self-assessment regarding appearance, abilities, performance
- negative self-portrayal
- Taking things personally, being offended
- Being offended, defiance
- Fear of falling short
- Authority anxiety - strong insecurity in the presence of people judged as authorities
- Guilt - feeling bad about certain actions that are okay in themselves
- Fear of criticism, fear of failure
- Argumentation and justification urge
- Withdrawal, hiding, avoidance
- Envy, jealousy
- Know-it-all attitude, stubbornness
- Patronizing, lecturing, criticizing
- Arrogance, cynicism, intolerance
- Self-esteem, devaluing the other person
- Manipulability
- Belief in the irrational
- Evasion of reality
- susceptibility to problematic ideologies
- Excessive passion for someone or something - fixation, idolatry, excessive collection or consumption
- dependence, addiction
- Tendency to exaggerated risk-taking (especially in men) or to be overweight or underweight (more in women)
- Tendency to aggressiveness, destructiveness or violence

Steps and goals of self-esteem strengthening

- Self-reflection: Constructively thinking about oneself, fellow human beings, and circumstances, and developing appropriate insights.
- Self-awareness: Knowing one's own needs, desires, goals, strengths, weaknesses and limitations.
- Self-responsibility: realizing that one is responsible for oneself and one's life.
- Self-confidence: Confidence in one's own abilities and possibilities to be able to achieve the goals set or to master the tasks set.
- Self-confidence: expressing needs, feelings, and opinions; expressing criticism (when appropriate); saying no (when necessary); making demands; starting conversations,
and end them; face the public, push through projects against resistance; deal constructively with mistakes; neutralize (unfounded) feelings of guilt.
- Self-esteem: evaluating one's own actions positively (when objectively justified).
- Self-acceptance: Accepting oneself as one is, even with one's weaknesses.
- Satisfaction of needs, independence, serenity, relaxation, balance, stability, attractiveness.

Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance, is a 1982 American experimental non-narrative film produced and
directed by Godfrey Reggio with music composed by Philip Glass and cinematography by Ron Fricke.

 

Last edited: Apr 22, 2022

Naah, those answers are philosophies for the sake of filosophy. Empty words.

To win at life you need to be skilled: skilled to have fun, skilled to be healthy, skilled to learn new stuff, skilled to be open minded, skilled to be able to laugh at yourself, skilled to get up again after you’ve been punched down (both realistically and metaphorically), skilled to not take life and your craft always too seriously, skilled, very skilled at your craft.

All these have a single common ground: work.

100% of the people I met, one way or another, consider that they are entitled: to people to like them even if they are assholes, to any women/men to live them even if they’re fat and dirty, to people to like them even if they contribute with nothing to the respective circle, to people to like their music at the same level as they like a top producer even if their music is objectively weak.

as soon as you organize yourself, write down the things to improve and start working in all domains, every single day, little by little, the results come. As i said in a previous post: the law of 80/20 works everywhere - only 20% of those who try will succeed.

But at least fucking try. If you make a sketch, other people contemplate making music without making anything so you’re ahead. If you finish a song, a very shitty song, other people only watch tutorials so again you’re ahead. If you finish 50 substandard songs in a year, you gather a lot of experience while other people look to chat on forums and still have zero (yes, theory without practice is zero).

You can be ahead of thousands of people by doing the fucking work. I know my posts are not popular but this is the truth: volume of work makes the experience, there’s no way around it.

if you write a one minute song every week, in a year you’ll have 52!!! For sure at least one will be absolutely awesome.

but if you only complain on forums and watch tutorial the whole year, guess how many music ideas you have after a year? ZERO!

here’s your motivation

 

Now that's what I call a rant - and I like it!
But I think it has just one flaw - so here's a counter rant...

As a workaholic myself, I can easily support your preaching for people to 'do the work'
but that's just me being as biased as you.

There is of course the allegedly supportive but also allegedly debunked '10,000 hours to become an expert' myth and the related counter arguments about innate talent, etc. But quite apart from all that, you have to consider the lottery of life, roll the dice issues. Some people will have a natural passion for working at stuff - and some just won't. You can influence a child's character to become more devoted to work, but for adults, frankly, (I think) they either love work or they don't. I'm cynical about adults really achieving significant core behavioural character changes. I think the best you can hope for is that they can bump into new ideas, and look at themselves honestly in the mirror and face up to what they're good at and what they're not good at. If you're in the lucky camp then learning new stuff is one of your primary passions and working at it is just taken for granted.
Otherwise - good luck.

 

So, I Believe. (c)Samsome
--------------------------------
G D Am
So...i believe i could write a simple tune. maybe,
C G Em
but i lack motivation due to the following reasons.
C D7 G
I don't feel like writing words,
C D7 G
and showing them out there

it seems pathetic to me right now,
i like listening to others do that,
but if i'm gonna do it i dont' know,
its personal....

There are songs not based on feelings,
its more like a story, but still i dont' feel like it..
i would find it weird coming from me.
i don't wanna inflate my mental state,

and waiting for others to approve.
i don't know if any of the above would help me
or if it would benefit me long term mentally
its just how i think about it right now,

doesn't mean anything for the future,
maybe i start thinking otherwise.


Heh, It's all in the editing...

 

Last edited: Apr 22, 2022

Wait until you are inspired and in the meantime consider what musical means / techniques you want to work with - the easiest thing in the world is to make a little sound.

Myself:
I hate making music directly on a computer (it has never worked for me) .... I prefer to play the piano first, write down my ideas and then boot the computer up.

There are endless ways to make music - you have to find your own way.

NB: You dont need words unles you´ll write a song.

 

Check out Mike Monday on YT https://www.youtube.com/c/MakeMusicYourLifeTV
Also check Steven Pressfield' s War of Art. Excellent book on the subject. https://stevenpressfield.com/books/the-war-of-art/
The above comments are fantastic.

 

i think what actually is annoying me is.....

for example when you write something you like,

or even when you load a good bass sound and you start adding things to it

I get feelings of pride/boastful, or like waiting to become popular over that (even if there's 0%), plus even if that becomes true who guarantees thats healthy to become popular

i just don't have the appetite at this moment to be controlled mentally like that

i'd rather have my peace rather than lifting myself up to the skies in my own head

 

Last edited by a moderator: Apr 22, 2022

If you wish to write a song but feel not motivated lyrically, collaborate with someone else to write the words.

Grateful Dead - Robert Hunter
Elton John - Bernie Taupin
Everyone and them some - Kris Kristoferson

 

you should make stuff because it brings you joy to make stuff, whether that joy is derived from the process or the end result (or both)

i think there's a lot of merit to imposing a dedicated routine on your creative practice and working through low points, and i also think it's important to recognize when you're in need of a break or maybe just some new inspiration. input always affects output, try to find something that gets you excited to sit down and create every day

art can be a selfish pursuit by nature, but i think a true act of killing ego is learning to be completely fulfilled by just creating something you're proud of. any audience it finds or does not find beyond that point becomes purely incidental

 

Another fairy tale.

https://audiosex.pro/threads/writers-block.64446/#post-637613

 

I have given zero fucks for years now.

Hey, didja ever notice G DD Am kinda looks like goddamn?? I'm gonna do something with that. Little inside blasphemous joke.

 

There is so much OTHER stuff to do when you already know you won't write anything good today. Remember, the work part?

Prep work can always be done. Auditioning samples, organize a hdd, delete some unused plugins, setup a new FX chain, try something out that came bundled with your DAW you haven't bothered with. (for me ES M most recently, I love it now).

When you are in the mindframe to write something, you will have all your ducks lined up and ready to shoot.

 

Last edited: Apr 22, 2022

The best thing is to just turn off everything electronic and go for a walk, do some cooking
or clean the windows to clear your head. A medial withdrawal is hard but really helps.