track 2 sounds like you've spent way to long reading about music rather than making it...

Obvious synth sounds, obvious transitions, obvious arrangement...

rather than copy what the experts say about making/producing music maybe you should go with what your heart feels...

If you spend more time on compression/eq'ing than the melody/harmony you are going wrong somewhere...

 

Hello abletonmax, If your issue is a lack of inspiration you could try Inspiration from Musical Entropy, it's a useful little freeware. Maybe it could help you to come out from the comfort zone.

 

Do this, Do that. This is better. Never use that......
Millions of advices, but when sitting behind your DAW or instrument, you're doing automatically what you'd like or sounds better even without thinking, unintentionally forgetting what you've heard like an addict using drugs or masturbaters. Are problems with the DAWs (drugs) or us (addicts)?

Reading the bible, going to the church, listening to JCTV shits but finally we do what satisfies us. Satisfaction is just by our feelings inside us not advices!

 

Last edited by a moderator: Nov 19, 2015

Not at all. Knowledge is a precious start point every time you want reach every kind of goal. In my case, I envy whoever has music theory knowledge (not me) because they can understand thing (ie what the hell means that a pad is in D#) that make harder to complete every my remix. Believe me.

P.S.
The creativity doesn't depend on knowledge. IMO The creativity comes through the way you live your life and the way you look at the world around you.

 

Last edited: Nov 19, 2015

None taken!

 

Those tracks on Reverb Nation are all from at least 5 years ago however I would say my tracks have continued to be undefined (random) in terms of any specific genre.
Interesting that the guy who posted after you, suggested that I should try doing even more new shit!

 

Ha... That is my point exactly. Yes the last track was then quantized but then I believe I used Ableton's groove pool feature on most of the tracks to take it off grid. Despite this, the first track is still groovier.

 

My opinion .. your current music isn't bland, I don't think you have any problem with creativity at all, it sounds much more professional now. Having insider or expert knowledge means that you are now listening with different ears - professional ears. Do you think that a movie director can enjoy watching movies even though he knows exactly how scenes are put together and all the work that goes into it? Of course he can. OK let me put it another way. I am well aware that Star Trek is a pure invention, the product of a couple of people's incredible imagination, the characters are actors who have memorised all their lines etc. But I 'suspend disbelief' and watch it and love it like it's totally real. Magic is made. If the magic is there there's no need to think about how it's made. It's time to stop thinking about how it's made. Just create the magic. Try to listen to your work as a listener as well. String some of your songs together and play them like background radio while you're washing the dishes or play it low while driving. What's the vibe like? Learn to listen with different ears, not just the overly-critical producer ears. This may be a sad fact but when we reach professional level in any creative endeavour all that matters with each project is making it 'good enough.' You will ask others, 'Was that alright?' and move on to the next project. Because your self-confidence is fairly high in the knowledge that you can do it, can get it done you don't spend too much time perfecting things. I leave you to think about those creators who spend a lot of time in some kind of perfection process whether they are confident in their abilities to get it done.

 

Last edited: Nov 19, 2015

+ + = GOOD!

 

Music takes practice.

If you keep doing the same over and over, don't expect different results. Learn to break down things to small musical elements, that's where theory comes in handy.

Doing the same thing over and over in a mindless way just won't bring out any magic. That's why people become "tired" of their own music in the first place.

What you do is a result of the way you think.

 

I totally agree with your paragraph on having a signature flow, I think it's very important to have that 'signature flow' which defines what's so special about an artist! Every successful artist has his own signature sound! say Thrash metal you'll think about Slayer, brostep you'll think about Skrillex etc. But of course your signature flow can be changed from time to time (that's just my personal thought, please correct me if you think I am wrong)

I think human is strange, it seems sometimes the "More knowledge" you have, the more your mind is bounded by that certain knowledge you have. Ideally speaking having "more knowledge" should help you to execute and implement your ideas in your mind instead of holding you back

 

I have been thinking about this lately myself. I see old PC and Amiga demo scene music legends from 20-25 years back trying to put out something today and it's just AWFUL. Stuff from their peak is some of the best music I've heard in my life, comparable to any synth legend (technical aspects aside).

Personally I don't feel that my creativity has dropped, on the contrary, but productivity has. Might have something to do with a busier life.. I know one thing, if I didn't have the urge, I wouldn't try to squeeze out any more, I'd just let go. But oh no, it's still there, like a curse..

 

Last edited: Nov 20, 2015

Man you got to get back. try to remember the state of mind you were in
when you made those old tracks. DJ Shaggy is definitely more interesting to hear.

i am in the field of visual arts and design, and explore music and sound obsessively because of its magic.
This is a very relevant discussion, i keep thinking about this because i went to a professional school for art and design and a self learned musician, so its interesting what these paths do to you..
some of my humble observations, in general

- stop thinking of it as a skill. skills developed in isolation will not be so handy, as opposed to when in practice.
- magic will begin to happen when we "play with our knowledge". or use it imaginatively.
- the rules and theory in music / sound ( or anything ) are time based and contextual, they are important to know like its good to know history.
but simply knowing history doesn't make us better today. maybe the time is different, the vibe is different. but history keeps us appreciative of the great and not so great things happened in the past. Its a part of our story, but not our current reality.
- new things will always happen when you transcend( if you are highly skilled ) or ignore ( if you are unaware or simply dont care ) the "rules" or in other words " what is the standard ". standard is in most cases boring. either work above the standard or below it ( lo-fi / DIY )
- would you rather see a perfectly made boring film or a film that is evocative and talks to you. or something thats plain crazy
- don't do it for others. i think true experimentation will happen when you tap into your own sound, that lives inside you and follow it obsessively. Surprise yourself. make art. think what wendy carlos did for clockwork orange, can we really know how it happened? the magic is hers and whatever she did only she can tell. but its singular and obsessive and amazing in my opinion. so i dont really want to know how she did it, but it will be really great if i can make something with so much power some day, the process will be my own. it might take time or it might happen one night.
- keep your mind and heart open. listen harder, some songs are portals into the hearts of their makers, their lives and times.
- go deep (intensity); dont just skim the surface.

what we are discussing here are matters of creative process.
its an open field, there maybe some patterns but there are definitely no rules.
hope you make something amazing soon.

cheers to everyone!

 

I think one of the dangers of making music for a long time on the same DAW is that you get stuck in some routine workflow u set for yourself over time. You create sounds a certain way, buildup your track a cetain way and cant see passed your own routine anymore. I sometimes need to switch DAW/plugins/workflow in order to break free of my routine patterns. Basicly just a different GUI already helps me when i get stuck at times.
Also u might learn new skills/theories/techniques over time but u also forget certain old ways. When i listen to old tracks i sometimes have the idea like they are better then my current stuff, but thats often because im not making music the same way anymore which can make my old stuff sound like "if someone else made it". And its much easier to like something u havent created yourself because nothing is more predictable then ur own music

 

Back then you focused purely on the creative side, nothing held you back, now you are also dealing with the technical stuff and you may prioritize it over your song writing skills.

 

Great point.
I am also starting to see benefits of working in different daws for this same purpose.

 

More knowledge

= Less appreciation for the garbage we've been fed compulsorily by the mainstream and formed our minds based on them.

= Realizing we're nothing in encountering the big composers.

= Reforming our insight and having retrospective view of what we have had and also feeling more responsibility for the art.

= Producing meaningfully and feeling the internal gratification that any artist should have.
.
.
.
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I'm waiting for the nastiness.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Dec 13, 2016

thightrope walk between technical knowledge, talent and using your brain to a certain extent.