This is kind of a Paradox, coming from this thread of my friend @clone, just to identify where are the block points on our worflow, where we lost time the more, and what can we do to improve on this.

 

Others, at least 33.3% on a Sunday. African Cup of Nations, Arsenal, The Great Pottery Throw Down and it's amazing soundtrack.

The other 67% on the other things.

 

Doubting yourself out of that excessive pride which makes it impossible to just get things done as best you can with what you have - you've got to instead have it all perfect, which is to say nothing will ever get done.

 

Others

It's never my fault, always others'. I'm too humble and perfect to be the source my problems.

 

finding inspiration is pretty time consuming personally and not really in my control; i can make music all day easily - but the songs that people seem to connect with, are when i have something that would be dope to express through music

but especially with song lyrics, definitely taught me patience. some people get away with being hacky or super abstract to where you dont know wtf theyre really talking about - thats not what people want from me though, or what i even find entertaining in songs even if they did

ideas are just so important; but like its not in my control when i come across great ones, no matter how hard i try - i just always have to be in this aware state, cause once i find it; thats when the fun starts, i can grow it. coming across it though is not always easy and stops me from songwriting till i find it. the amount of time can feel like a lot though, especially with albums because it needs to be strong enough to last through a tracklist and not get redundant

i wish i could just turn it on but ive learned thats not how it works, ive also learned i shouldnt force it. so i just live life till i do, being aware so i dont miss it. it feels like forever when im in that space but its worth it - feels scary when i finish too because then i know i have to go back to that and i hope i can find something again, though i always do

 

none.
honestly i've learnt that i shouldn't force my creativity. whenever i feel inspired i do stuff. usually if it's a good idea and i'm liking it, the song is 90% finished in a full day (4-8 hours?), the rest is just the boring, tedious part of mixing, matching the elements, do this and do that, etc. and of course this part is also important, but the CORE of the track is usually done almost instantly. there's like a FLOW that you can feel where you're in it, and that's when you drop what you're doing immediately and focus all your energies on the music. the juice has to be squeezed NOW. you don't need inspiration to do tasks such as adjusting volumes or adding effects. this is why it's very important to have the software/instrument/bongos or whatever always ready, so you don't waste time setting shit up and losing yourself doing other stuff.
this is a general talk but more or less is what i think.

if you're talking about rabbit holes as in stuff you can get lost into with zero advantages, i would say focusing too much on tweaking single sounds by themselves (useless most of the times because they're never being played alone), trying 100 different configurations of an fx chain or a compressor (and realising it was turned off ) , etc.

since i have to work and i'm tired, i'll check what to answer.

1. Finding inspiration. ok maybe this is the main point then. inspiration is a very abstract concept and each one of us gives it a different meaning so i'm not going to talk about it here.
2. Writing. do you mean writing lyrics, writing melodies, etc? this refers to what i said above. if you are inspired, melodies come to you, not the other way around.
3. Bouncing. this used to be a very boring task with my old pc because after a few vsts i had to bounce everything in fl studio (no freeze at the time, im not sure if they added it now, but i switched to ableton). now with a better performing hardware i have no issues and that's for sure a step up
4. Listening. listening to song to get ideas/study techniques/compare? time consuming, sure, but also fun. listening to the current song you're making? maybe a bit boring, yes, but it should be done with care since your ears get quickly used to the sounds and they hide tiny mistakes and imperfections.
5. Selecting sounds. i use different techniques for this one. one i like is to stick with a sound and just move on to the next one. otherwise you could spend DAYS just browsing samples, choosing presets, or tweaking knobs. once i have the first element/core pillar of the ideas, the other sounds just come along naturally.
6. Arranging. not a problem and not time consuming. i don't see how this would be time consuming? it's just playing tetris with music blocks and you already know that 90% of the combinations won't work. still, probably the most important part? the same song arranged like dogshit makes a difference.
7. Losing time trying new Software. each one of us is guilty of this sooner or later. luckily, i detoxed myself and i have been using the same plugins for years now. only every now and then checking out new stuff.
8. Wasting time on internet. well this has nothing to do with music. if you're wasting time doing other stuff with your daw open, then you're not really inspired are you?

remember that i talk from the point of view of a hobbyist. i assume people who have deadlines and do this as a job DO work differently. they can't just wait for inspiration. (and thats i assume why most tracks don't really feel like have a soul)

have a good carnival/start of the week chers

 

I will give you a small list but it will only pertain to electronic music. Most of the poll options are really double-edged swords. Taking time is not bad, wasting time is. Here are some common ones I have done personally, and some you may see people recommend as things to do that I disagree with. In no specific order.

1. "curating sample library". How many people do you know who have chopped hundreds of files using Recycle, etc. they will never use? Lots.
2. "sound design sessions and sample making" outside of working projects. see #1.
3. mixing your own tracks. You can work on them forever and never get them perfect. Neither will someone else. They listen with fresh ears, make objective moves, stick to a schedule, and it's finished.
4. Mixing in the same DAW as you make your tracks. This is a good way to put up a barrier between your creative music making processes and your mix. If you can constantly go back to something, you aren't ever going to call it done. Committing to stems is much more of a restriction from endless possibilities, and it also frees up CPU for your mixing.
5. File storage and backups of sample packs with melodic parts. You won't use them.
6. Midi Files - you won't use them. They are too time consuming to audition them.
7. RTFM
8. Using effects plugins too early in your workflow. There is no point doing elaborate stuff yet, because for all you know you are going to delete a part. It also will need to be adjusted in context later anyway.
9. Hard copy books instead of Youtube. If you use a cookbook to make a recipe, and halfway through look up 4 more of them online; the one you started with in the first place will come out wrong 90% of the time.
10. Room correction. People get way too into this. If you have the money to do it all at one time, have at it. Otherwise, if you need more than some simple fixes because the room is that bad; get used to headphones.
11. Deleting things that you could actually just cut and mute. I even use a custom keyboard shortcut for this, a function called Split At Playhead. If you don't delete something, you never have to put it back. In 2 keys, you can cut anything and then mute that region in your region inspector. If you worry about making changes, this one really helps.
12. This should be #1, but it is Microsoft Windows. Nothing can steal more of your time in the long run. Nothing.

 

Last edited: Feb 12, 2024

Boredom. A mind numbing, soul crushing, all encompassing, swirling gaping essence draining infinite inescapable black hole vortex of boredom.

 

My most biggest rabbit hole in music production is:
Stuck on 8 Bar Loop

I am inspired all the time. Anything could inspire me. I like to creating single sounds from scratch. Experiment, design.
I don't have problems with ideas or creativity. I have problems to expand those ideas.
I have some idea. I make 8 bar. And that's it. I have block. I stuck and don't know what to do. So I just copy it to make it 1 minute long like a brainless and rearrange poor basic drums to give it a little variation and then sit and cry.
When I try to add element it's like it doesn't fit. I have feeling that sound which is now doesn't need anything but in reality this is just very basic crap which I made in 20 minutes.

 

Is it about getting the mood, to stay in the zone, or to not loose it?

Like overdemand, perfectionism. Or Procrastination?

Are you talking about pots?

I added other people option, so you can spicify

Very interesting, to know about the process. What about this FLOW squeezed NOW!!
Yeah my purpose is we think about all this options (I added more), and try to find where, and how to fix this. I like the number 5 specially.
Good to know you made a detox. LOL

Very good unexpected points! Yes I would like to update the poll, but I think you cant change the options, without erase them before. This poll is gonna get infinite. LOL.

What do you do exactly when you are bored?

Yes, that's a difficult one. What about putting together 8bar of diferent origins together and see what happens? I just don't wanna propose you, another rabbit hole to fix this.

 

Last edited: Feb 12, 2024

Some combination of sleep, tv and jacking off

 

You just summarized my whole life in 5 words.

 

"Sola dosis facit venenum"
Paracelso

 

finishing. finishing songs. most ppl start on a ton of things and just dont finish the ideas.

 

I have an excellent daily worth ethic and I have developed ways to find track ideas easily. But I find complex arranging boring and of course have a crippling belief its all a bit shit and not worth releasing. Luckily, I mainly make music to relax.


So like many others arranging is the one area that needs the most time.

 

What the Rabbit made me do to his holes for all those years before I was rescued by the FBI is the fodder for my next rock opera. I'm trying to turn a negative into a positive.

 

Last edited: Feb 3, 2025

I always thought that a "rabbit hole" is an area with seemingly unending things to uncover. You use this phrase as a way of saying "time sink".

 

Selecting sounds, Losing time trying new Software, Lack of energy / laziness

 

It's both. the implication is you can waste a lot of time doing something complex, because you do not realize what you are getting into. People often compare it with taking lsd because of the novel the expression originated from.

quote from google, not me: And there are many other parallels between Alice's trip to Wonderland and a psychedelic “trip,” causing many critics and readers to search for evidence that Carroll put it there on purpose. However, even after much searching, there really is no evidence that Carroll ever used hallucinogenic drugs (Fensch 424).Mar 1, 2011

 

That's a great policy.
I'd like to follow your lead.