This isn't a pity party thing, just a rhetorical ask. When you consider the amount of hours each of us take to learn about production, come up with ideas, flesh out a track, mix, master to completion a full track, there has to be a genuine reason why we continue to do so.

I have friends who work professionally as producers and engineers, and career aside, they would probably still be producing music even if it wasn't monetarily viable. I started my career as a professional illustrator before transitioning into media dev. Before money was even a factor, I was drawing and painting purely for the love of it. My music journey started in a similar fashion and still does, although I'm now beginning to make some money from the music I make for myself rather than what I'm commissioned to make. That's a strange crossroad to find myself at because monetizing my hobbies is something I've never wanted to do.

Making music to me is no different than working out. I don't workout to become Mr. Olympia. I do it because I NEED to do it in order to maintain my well being. That's about as simple as it gets for me.

How about yourself? Why do you make music and continue to do so?

 

Last edited: Dec 19, 2023

Cause I wanna ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Honestly I feel whenever this question comes up, there's always some misguided notion of "usefulness" in play. Maybe people were traumatized by their "hard-working" parents' attitude, who were in their turn traumatized by extreme poverty or something.
If I personally were to go off of usefulness, I'd go into an Orthodox Christian monastery and dedicate all my time to prayer for the world and those I know.
You can help others, relieve their burden, however you can. That's about the end of any usefulness. Survival is a means to an end, not a goal. And there's no end other than to remain human until the end.
My genuine take on the matter.

 

Had about 100 unfinished songs in the vault. A friend said, "One of the biggest losses for the music of our country was your early retirement." I was humbled and felt the duty to flesh a couple of them out.

 

It is the question / curiosity that leaves us no peace.

 

For personal enjoyment.

When it stops being fun, than it stops serving the intended purpose. But it stops being fun as soon as money walks in the room and people who are paying expect something more from me than what they are getting or I start thinking about what anyone else expects from it. Was in similar situation like yours and that ended up being an job and product, which backfired yet again. It's vicious cycle for me, think I need to really stop showing anyone what I'm making to preserve my well being, people around me really like to hype me up about it and even start throwing money and opportunities at me, than they become my worst creative enemy.

 

I want to be rich and famous.

 

For me its my escape and a way to let go and get my true feelings out in musical form as I dont share personal stuff in conversation with people.

I am pretty much a closed book where people are concerned these days (once bitten and all that), I am extremely private in so many aspects of my life.

The music speaks when I dont have the voice to, only I know the story or meaning behind anything produced and once its finished and complete the reasoning for its creation goes with it. People can listen to it and make up their own story or thought about it without ever knowing any of mine.

Never been happier

Although I do need to spend more time actually writing music instead of just tinkering.

 

I quoted you for a truth that probably applies to most homines sapiens apes who feel an affinity for music.

That is the overwhelming reason for me at least.

It refocuses me away from mental states that are not healthy, if not necessarily for me for everyone else that is around me as well.

 

Because 'music' is such a vast topic. It could easily keep you occupied for several lifetimes. There's something for everybody at all times. Lyrics, harmony, rhythm, DSP, plugins, mixing, DAWs, hardware, software, forum wars, scandals. It never gets boring, there's always something new to learn and practice.

 

Because its one of only a few things in human existence that actually matters. to me at least.

 

You can easily widen the topic to 'why do humans make art?'. It seems to be something we've done long before financial reward or fame was an incentive.

 

Flipping the script, you could argue that the usefulness in your example could be to relieve your own burden / self-interest / whatever. Eitherway, it's an interesting point you make.

 

I have fun doing it, keeps me away from wrongdoing... I think.

But yeah, maybe I entertained the adolescent dream of getting rich & famous playing my geetar, but to quote This is Spinal Tap:

"As long as there's, you know, sex and drugs, I can do without the rock and roll."
-- Mick Shrimpton

 

mental illness

 

Compulsion

 

It does feel like that sometimes.

My wife gives me the "this motherfucker right here" look while slowly closing the door to my office whenever I'm cycling through my snares folder.

Which reminds me...

 

Last edited: Dec 19, 2023

Not as useful to yourself, for two reasons. First, cause you can always switch perspective and just feel better. Or worse, you can do that too. Second, the world is largely meaningless and in order to feel better you will *have to* shift your perspective away from meaningless things. Which is most of things, especially those that decay and fall apart.
Meanwhile, other people can only shift their perspectives themselves. They exist *objectively*, they are as important as you are and you can only help them out.
Anyways, I feel like it's a huge talk in itself and we're veering off into the off-topic. Curiously enough art can actually be *very* helpful and useful in this system, as it's a form of communication. Both with the listener and with yourself.

 

You don't have reasons to make music, music finds reasons in you to do it

 

then
adverb, adjective [ before noun ]
uk:
(at) that time (in the past or in the future):
next or after that:
in addition:


than
preposition, conjunction
uk:
used to join two parts of a comparison:
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then and than
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THE SAME WORD, INTERCHANGEABLE, apparently...