What do you do when you can't finish a song?

Discussion in 'Education' started by AlmostNormal, Sep 15, 2019.

  1. AlmostNormal

    AlmostNormal Member

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    [​IMG]
     
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  2. SineWave

    SineWave Audiosexual

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    I usually bang my head against the wall a couple of times to get inspired, but if that doesn't work I have to flog myself for an hour. That usually helps. :wink:
     
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  3. Thankful

    Thankful Rock Star

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    How about this, and I think Olymoon alluded to the same thing as this:

    Start with this new creation process and it cannot fail... Teachers will say that every story has a beginning, middle and end. Don't think too much about the detail when you start, but what if you tell yourself that every song is a story. It has to be a story or it has no meaning and there would be no reason to listen to it, much less create it. When you tell a person a joke or tell another person that this or that happened, you are telling a story. It has a begining (when/where), middle (what happened), and end (conclusion/punch-line/what you think/a question). You might want to start by creating the end, or you might have the main story (I suspect from what you say that this is what you create and cannot develop it further. Well, OK, so how about a beginning being a build-up to the main story. Musicians use techniques like a tease, or a question/answer (e.g. notes going up [the question], and then the same notes going down [the answer], which might be a lighter part of the main story. Some producers are inspired with the main story first, which may be made up of 5 tracks. For example bass, drums, synth, vocals etc. Well, why not build up to the main story starting with the bass line by itself, then introduce the beats, then add something else, all taken from the main story, but given bit-by-bit from the beginning. Now you have the beginning and middle. Your end could be the reverse of the beginning, letting it down gradually by removing tracks in the same way that you added them at the beginning. Start with a framework. Try this idea with something very simple and see if you can finish it. Then try more complex ideas. Tell your story.
     
  4. quadcore64

    quadcore64 Audiosexual

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    If when you started playing an instrument, you were just discovering (no forced lessons), this is the same thing needed to keep your mind open to connecting the dots musically. Whatever your instrument is, allow yourself time everyday to just explore. Don't over think or analyze, just explore. Overtime you will have more to draw from when inspiration starts to wane.
     
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  5. The Pirate

    The Pirate Audiosexual

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    Maybe we focuse more on the how to go after it has happened rather than asking ourselves "Why can't I finish a song?" Answering this question will help you pinpoint the problem and avoid it in the future.
     
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  6. To finish a song or to finish himself?:unsure:
     
  7. E.T.F

    E.T.F Producer

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    https://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/11-practical-ways-to-improve-your-song-arrangements-637278

    especially this [also really pack your loops out and add variations at ends of bars, drops, builds, etc]:
    2. Subtract to add
    You can turn your eight-bar idea into a full track by incorporating the 'subtractive arrangement' method: first, copy and paste all the parts across the timeline for the length of time you want your track to last. Next, mute channels or regions, stripping the parts back to craft a worthy intro. Now play the track through, unmuting various elements to build up a spontaneous structure as you go. Be warned, though - this approach only works if your initial sketch contains enough material to stretch out into a full track.
     
  8. korte1975

    korte1975 Guest

    i close the project and try to add something to it (or maybe not) next time i open it randomly from the ever-growing list.
     
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  9. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    That's not true at all. You can write a nice little melody and have no clue how turn it into a song.
     
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  10. lbnv

    lbnv Platinum Record

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    I disagree too. Sometimes I like my track very much but cannot finish it. I have enough of materals (or even more), I like a tune, a mood, but cannot. And that means I CONTINUE to write it.

    EDIT: May be, I need a break. May be, I'm planning something (unconsсiously). May be, I have enough time. May be, I fear to damage accidentally all I've created. I don't know, it depends.
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2019
  11. lbnv

    lbnv Platinum Record

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    Completely wrong. Finishing things is about working (working hard), it's not about a talent.

    @AlmostNormal

    Starting is easy and pleasant. Inspiration, you know... Finishing is hard, it requires a discipline, a will, efforts. DEDICATION.
    It's similar to making babies. Pleasant experience, isn't it? Try to make the babies to grow! Feed them, defend them, educate them... From day to day. It's not so easy.
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2019
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  12. lbnv

    lbnv Platinum Record

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    "Why I can't start to finish my tracks?" :rofl:
     
  13. I can see the initial symptoms of human tendencies to totally relinquish the processes of making music and entrust them utterly to the machines (e.g. A.I. etc.) but I can't visualize a favored future for the music.:no:
     
  14. tommyzai

    tommyzai Platinum Record

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    Collaborate!!!
     
  15. bluerover

    bluerover Audiosexual

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    Chop up your song into sections, load into LIVE session, trigger sections into new form/arrangement, add brand new new sections in between old sections with radical experimentation - try with loops/midi/audio to midi/glitch/transpose/arps/random samples/record instruments & found sounds, etc.....you'll run across something.
     
  16. lbnv

    lbnv Platinum Record

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    May be. May be, to the other people. May be, to the musicians of the past (there is plenty of music already, so why do we want more of NEW one?)

    And don't forget, behind the A.I. you'll always find a human being (or humans beings). So nothing wrong with it.

    :disco:
     
  17. Xupito

    Xupito Audiosexual

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    OMG :hahaha: ... too good...

    Don't mind him. He's a troll.

    Weren't you "leaving soon" Foster/Calm Down/etc..../RFallout?
     
  18. Xupito

    Xupito Audiosexual

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    That was good though :rofl::lmao:
     
  19. noize2sound

    noize2sound Kapellmeister

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    When I am stuck in a song, I Try to look for Sylenth 64 bit-Keygen. Then I realize what I have is so precious
     
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  20. garfinkle

    garfinkle Platinum Record

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    Now there's a song that shouldn't have been finished.
     
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