Hello everyone,

Over the last few days I've been thinking, whether it's worth continuing with music production.

Let me give a bit of detail first, I am 26yrs old & autistic

I started at a music tech training centre in 2012 continuing through to 2015.

Back then I was reasonably confident and really into making music and playing the guitar

But now I'm so anxious, suffer from depression, have lost all motivation for music & barely play the guitar anymore...I have been like this for the last few years

I am scared to put music (if I manage to complete any) online for fear of being told I am rubbish etc

When I am looking around in the music forums on the internet and I see people talking about mastering etc it does overwhelm me plus also makes me feel like I am no good, as I am not doing things manually, instead using Ozone advanced 9's mastering assistant.

Ideally I would like to be part of a music project locally, within a studio (obviously when we are able to) but yet again...anxiety holds me back

I have linked one of my songs below for you to give your opinions on, but personally I am unsure as to whether it is worth continuing with music.

GreyMakesMusic - SoundCloud

 

Don't quit that easy. You at the path. In the beginning of path. You're not too old. Look for example at Fatboy Slim.
There's a lot of people which are started career after 40th birthday.
Music production needs a lot of time and effort. You're on good way. If You like doing what You do Don't quit

 

Once musician, always musician. You don't quit, you can't.

 

Dear @Sounddept ,

as @Roject just wrote, music production is a long way. But I should add music , art is a long way.

I'm drummer, composer & producer and I play drums as pro since 25 years, and may I tell you this: don't be afraid to fall, to fail.
Then you learn how to perfect your knowledge and you add experience to your career.

The mindset my friend, your are unique and you can be proud of you, it's just about few things:
- keep working & learning
- don't listen what the others says
- stay focus
- write you a map and stay focus
- don't be shy to ask help
- and again : not afraid to fail/fall

But you know? Even if you will find that music isn't match for you at some point, OK You have tried! Something else could match with you and would give you happiness.

take Care

 

If I were you, I would keep music making in any form as a way to relax. If you are on the autism spectrum as you said, it might be good to take a different path that doesn't put so much pressure on you. A career in the music business is always stressful in my opinion.

However, pursuing music as a hobby as a balance and without pressure to perform can have a calming effect. Out of this calmness good things can arise, maybe even a music career

For me the most stressing factor has always been myself, because I wanted too much. Immediately. And it never worked out well for me. After some personal problems (long ago) I needed to shift some gears down. At that time, I decided to stop setting my goals so high and also to give myself a little more time to achieve them. Since then, I've been doing better.
Think for yourself if this can be similar for you.

Here at Audiosex most people are friendly and try to help you, no matter what your level is. Just give it a try.

 

Last edited: Dec 19, 2020

You're just maturing. It's normal. Remember that music ultimately isn't about acceptance at all, it's about the enjoyment of it. However, writing for the enjoyment of others is also.....enjoyable. i.e playing golf to wind down vs. play golf in PGA competition. Let go of your expectations; focus on how music reflects on your life.

However, when you force yourself to sit down and work for 5 minutes, the anxiousness goes away and turns into a therapeutic experience.

Use reference tracks (in the genres you like) for arrangement, instrumentation, form ideas. This will keep you focused and on track.

*inspiration* :
https://thelistenersclub.com/2016/04/27/good-composers-copy-great-composers-steal/

When you take a long break from this art, you do become anxious to return because you feel rusty. You forget hotkeys, techniques, you're slower to get ideas from brain to daw, hooking up equipment is slower, ideas don't flow. - You've got to ease back into it. 10 minutes a day is better than nothing per day!

But, you'll never lose your talent and collected experience. You can always get back to where you want to be, because it's part of who you are.

I could go on and on, but I'll let others chime in. God bless!

 

Last edited: Dec 19, 2020

Here's my opinion on music.

1. Music isn't for everyone.
2. There's alot more than just making a track, you can just mangle sounds and do sound design. Maybe make sample packs..
3. Keep on chugging, learn techniques to help you achieve sounds, or whoever you are looking to do to help your workflow.
4. Idk wtf I'm talking about lol

 

All good points above.

Just look on YouTube and there's legends getting thumbs down and bad comments. Keith Richards has been slated for decades, but he doesn't lose any sleep over it. Why, because for every nob jockey who says something bad, there's 10 people who'll like your music. That's how it works.
Those are the people you need to keep focus on.

And don't get too caught up in the mixing/mastering hole. I've never spoke to someone who said "I was going to get signed until they found out I used Ozone!". Get working with others, even online projects. You'll learn way more than any tutorial or YouTube video, as it's your music and it's related.


btw not my genre, but I did enjoy Flow.

 

what Webhead said... Just focus on making music for you. If you like it, screw anyone else. Be critical of what you do, strive to be better, but don’t let it stop you creating. Make music you like, and if others don’t, fuck them. Everyone can be better at something, be it mixing, a new instrument technique or genre, but if you love music, make it. Find what it is you love about music and embrace it.

 

You and your music have inspired me.

That is why you should continue music production! You clearly have a great creative music head and know how to put music together.

I enjoyed your music, please continue with creativity. Music will comfort you through out your life time.

 

Some good thoughts in this thread.
I would say, if you quit, it should be a long term decision, based on a process of evaluating all information that you have and all your projections about your future and so on.
What you are proposing now is to quit because the pressure on your psyche is unbearable. This is a reason that has nothing to do with your intrinsic motivation, or with your life goals. It's in the spirit of "I want to but I can't handle the issues that pop up on the way in my particular situation".
So my opinion would be, continue music production and then get help for your problems. Anxiety, doubts, social anxiety, autism, these are things that can be handled and treated, and you can have a good life despite them if you put the work into it. It's gonna be tough and you will suffer, but think about it. If you don't fight now, you will regret that decision for the rest of your life. You will always ask yourself "what could have been if I had decided to fight back when I was in my prime". And believe me, that's not a pain you want, and it's much worse than any doubt you have now.
I listened to your track, it sounds good too me. At the very least it's not a track where I would say "it's garbage, what does he even want". You clearly have ideas and a vision. So I say, follow your inner light and fight.

 

@Sounddept
Your first statement shows that your passion is real. You want to improve, that's the drive every musician always needs.
If you stagnate, do something different than you previously did. Go and mix other peoples' music until you like the quality. This way it's less personal, but at the same time you improve your mastering skills if that's important to you.
Making music is not only mastering. The greatest hit can't be a hit if it's just mastered perfectly, it's mostly required to be a great song.
Keep at it!

 

Man, the recipe to success is trial, failure, and never give up. It's normal to be overwhelmed. And I'm not talking exclusively about music.

 

Dear friend listen to me carefully .Music is not the problem here you must deal with depression .I know what i am talking about i am in the same condition .Talk to your doctor right away and speak only the truth if you want to get the right treatment .Stay away from anything that makes you anxious including music making.Music will be there waiting for you when you feel better.

 

Dont get rid of your stuff.. Give it a rest and when you pick it up again you will be inspired and enjoy it 10 fold
Its therapy. We all need breaks.

 

My dear friend,

I don't know what its like for a person with your disorder. So, please forgive me if I say something that doesn't apply to your situation.

I am 44 and have battled with anxiety all my life... still do so now... almost on an everyday basis. The only way to go on... is to keep going on.

I feel the biggest impediment on our path to peace and serenity is taking ourselves too seriously. We personalise every situation and react as though our core identity is being denigrated. But as the guys from the band Kansas once said "All we are is dust in the wind"... there is massive liberation in this knowledge.

I heard your music... its obvious you have talent. To not pursue music would be a grave injustice to yourself and also to Existence at large.

So, with love in my heart I say get professional/ spiritual help to deal with your anxiety/ depression... detach yourself and your self worth from the music making process... try to approach it as a toddler would approach a new toy... you can do no wrong... its all fun and games... and ultimately, the only person you have to answer to is yourself... who cares what others say? You are perfect just the way you are... just as creation intended.

Lots of love and please post your next track for us to listen!

 

If you scare to put your music out, do it using a different alias, I did that multiple time, and had good surprise when some alias add more success than my main project.

Also, don't compare yourself by looking at what "professional" does. Music has multiple way to reach its potential, some will follow the "rules", other will not and it will sounds great. Also, some professional do use Ozone (not all of them, some of them, just like some of them use analog and other do everything in a DAW), some professionnel even use Ozone AI assistant and charge people for it. Don't look at what you vs what other people use, just listen if it sounds good. Also, Ozone can be a great way to learn (don't hesitate to reverse engineering what the pluging suggest, with time you'll understand what's going on and be able to improve the suggestion, until you'll be able to do it yourself with other plugin, the more you do, the more you'll learn, without realising it).

For motivation, create some little goal, it's easier to go up step by step rather than floor by floor, do some little session, focus on creation only, no quality, just pure creation, save it, listen a week later. Do that multiple time, you'll end up with tons of little idea to work on, and you'll just have to choose the best one (this is from Mike Monday's method, go check his stuff, just his free email can give some great advice, it's all about the creative/motivation/productivity aspect of music, not the technical part)

Also, be aware that music in a long path, and motivation will come and go, sometime it will feel like a long time without motivation (like where you seems to be now), once you understand that's it's inevitable and part of the process, you can focus more on going back on tracks. Don't focus on your lack of motivation, but put your mind in a more positive spirit. Eating healthy, do some excercice and meditate can also help a lot for the brain to rest and improve your focus (and positivity).

At your age, I was making music for 13 years already, without any success. Music gave me enough to buy my 1st car at 30. After I lose motivation and money stop, then it came back (thanks to some Mike Monday's coaching). I'm 38, and still have some of those motivation/unmotivation moment, but now I know how to include them in my process.

 

if you have the desire than do it. or else f+ck it. and tomorrow the same...


this thread is closed.

 

There is no need to be rude ...

 

RIngo Starr keeps going, and i don't think he's struggling financially :p we must learn to like what we do i guess somehow