Blank.

 

Last edited: Aug 27, 2015

I think you should ask yourself why you're making music when you feel that way. I believe the answer will make you satisfied.

There are too many songs in the world. We can say enough. But no, people are always wanting a new one. A new sound, a new tone. So I think that's another challenge. With every new song, it's getting harder to make a new song. Possibilities are decreasing even it's nearly limitless. So I think I should be in hurry and work more. That's how I try to think when I feel like you.

Going outside and breathing some fresh air is also a need. Just like a short kind of vacation for a musician.

 

too many songs? No, maybe try reducing time you spend listening

software/sample burn out? stop downloading, maybe even delete stuff, and concentrate using just a few things

take up some other hobbies, do other things that are not music based, go get some more life experience

 

I`m kinda feeling ya Rasputin. Every once in a while I gets to feeling like knowing the trade tricks kinda makes for predictable listening.

I also get the shine loss of new softs, unfortunately we are spoiled bloody rotten by the "Z".

For music, I`d suggest checking out some new styles and genres. If your an EDM man, go check something acoustic, or vise versa.

For the softs, Sir Silly has you covered, stop DLing new stuff and try and pick a few stock processors and learn them inside out.

Hope it all comes back for ya, best of luck.

 

Pick a key and a single chord progression. Try to write a 100 songs using those exact same choices. That is what I call a journey of discovery.

 

I'd say do the same with the software you use. Start with a clean system, reinstall your DAW of choice and add your indispensable plugins, or even the just stock plugins from your DAW and try to make do with what you got. Bare bones, dude. You might have a challenge there.

 

As John Lennon once said "I'm an artist, and if you give me a tuba, I'll bring you something out of it."

 

Never do I tire of either listening or creating music do to the fact that there is an amazing and incredible plethora of choices in this modern age to access, being it passively listening or actual creation of novel ideas. Perchance there too is excess, however it is only conceptual, a construct of the individual, personal mind. I do not know how many hundreds of times since I was 13 years old that I have listened to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon, but it never ceases to amaze me. I always listen to new things that are usually outside my normal scope, asking young people to turn me on to what is pulsing through their veins and being happily rewarded in my pursuits time and time again. There are wonders everywhere, new fruits waiting to be tasted and savoured wherever we point our attention. And about your burnout to synths and sound-packs, take heed of Sir Silly Sausage, Pilzy and Zenarcist's words of wisdom and pare down to leverage your own skills with the familiarity and expertise that can only come with synths that truly you resonate with. If all else fails take a break. I once for a six month period listened to no radio, watched no television, read nothing and was able to get out of my familiar self inflicted boundary. The other side of this time period in my life was pure bliss as I once again learned to be influenced by my own bias. Good luck with yours.

 

I've been involved in some form of music (playing or listening) since I was still wearing short pants for many more decades that I care to reveal. I can definitely relate to that feeling of "music malaise" you describe. In spite of the uncountable number of sounds and variations from all of the known scales in the world, over-saturation can still be possible for certain musicians. Usually, I just take some time away from ALL music for a week or two and then hit my mental "reset" button. As a long-time "Jazz" pianist, I need 'inspiration' these days. For me, it's not a matter of elaborate software and fancy plugins (I have tons of that on my computers). It all starts from every day interactions and experiences with either people or events in my life. The biggest mistake one can make is to try and 'force' creativity. Once the music creation process becomes laborious, it is no longer fun (as it should always be).

 

I feel you bro. Some times I sit on the bus with my headphones on and nothings playing. We all need brakes like body builders need breaks for their muscles to heal and grow back stronger.

 

This is a bit of Human nature. Human curiosity is one of the bigest force in our universe and also sometimes big curse, if we not managing it right. If we want to stay interested in long run and not become bored from experiences that repeat itself, we need explore, what we feel in present moment we enjoy most. We are explorer, if this not be the case and we be satisfied and not bored with repeated experience, there will not be progress in human evolution. Even sex can become boring thing despite all pleasure if we not investigate and explore all the time or even take pause from it and in the meantime find some other interests This is just how our brain works. And if we do particular things again and again our brain will react naturally as OP describe.

 

Start mastering an real instrument, that should bring back the joy of actual playing music rather than clicking it together ;)

 

I feel that I can relate to what you're experiencing. I've been going through a similar phase, in which I don't really want to listen to music, nor do I really want to create any. The latter part of that, however, isn't entirely true, since I do want to create music, and have an abundance of ideas to pursue - but there is a fine line between inspiration and impetus. I feel both burned-out on how I've been going about things and impatient for novel motivation to strike me. I recognize this as a time to "recharge the batteries," or to let a field lie fallow in order for it to collect nutrients for a future crop. This goes for both sample-based music and playing a real instrument. It's best not to taint something one enjoys doing with a forced obligation to "produce" when one just ain't feelin' it.

Additionally, I am really tired of trendy music, and feeling sorry for or disdainful toward people who produce music because it's what's currently "hot," which is the result of a worldwide culture of marketing. A week ago, I was craving to hear some live blues guitar, so I went out and found a place where blues bands play - because nothing's more down-to-earth than roots. I have to seek musics which have perennially inspired me for what music is really about.

Having seen/heard a lot of trends come and go by now, I often just hear trends, not musical forms nor individual artists, in a lot of popular music. For example, "EDM" is the trendy-marketing form of what's by now an old, established genre of music. Or: any Auto-Tune song sounds like just another Auto-Tune song; it's in one ear and out the other.

Sometimes, while producing my own music, I feel for justamoment a little sheepish about something's not sounding recognizably "current" or "relevant" in its style or production techniques - but then I realize that, instead, I'm likely doing something which a lot of people would not think of doing, and would certainly not be doing if they're, say, downloading all the sample and loop "packs" and just copy/pasting generic musical styles together, or trying to replicate "that sound" that's in the clubs this month. Anyone who endeavors, and enjoys, the process of discovery and self-surprise in creating compositions and productions which sound unique to oneself and are exact reflections of what one is trying to express, hears in one's head or heart, could not care less about that, and will respect the need to step back, gain perspective, and then re-approach his/her art with refreshed perception and renewed passion.

 

Totally agree
Have you watched the interviews with Hans Zimmer?
In my opinion a nice guy who really loves music,

 

By the way it doesnt need to be a real instrument, a great sampled piano or string can be very enlighting as well.
Play slowly and listen how certain intrvalls alter your mood.
How does it feel ? ...

 

I feel you, bro. It happens to me every now and then, too. More lately than 10 or especially 20 years ago. I couldn't stop listening to and making music in the 90s. *yes*

As with any love, you have to become more creative, find something new in old things, try something you haven't tried before, or something along these lines. For example, I recently bought a new distortion pedal [yes a guitar one] and I've been having much fun with it processing VSTs and everything through it, and that gave me a new wave of inspiration. Speaking of music that other people make, when I feel tired from listening to the same ole same ole but I want to listen to some music I go to Soundcloud and browse through it. I always find something interesting and worth a listen.

I also take "holidays" from listening too much music... just trying to live for a week or so without any music making or listening to music. I'm fortunate that I have other love, a "mistress" called computer, so I might play a game or play with a new Linux distro or something really technical just for the sake of doing something different.

I completely agree about finding inspiration in mastering new instruments and listening to something completely different be it organic or not. I love blues, jazz, classic, street musicians, everything... although my primary love is Industrial Electronica and EBM! Music is a universal language and a universal love. I really enjoy recording acoustic guitars and smaller choirs, and organic music in general... *yes* Don't confine yourself to just one type of music, ever!

Cheers !

 

I have those moments too. Usually a change of genre does the trick for me.
Recently I started downloading a heap of country music, it's not my favourite but I've developed a kind of connection with it I never had before.
A while ago I took my mum to the symphony orchestra and was blown away. I'd never been a big fan of classical but the complexity of the whole composition was inspiring.

For a real change of pace, try some middle eastern or asian tunes.
And give it more than an hour of your time you may be pleased. or hate it. either way it's mostly a fair way from the standard tricks of western music.

hope this helps,
cos it's a shame you feel this way.
music is personal but I know I'd rather be blind than deaf

 

I ve precisely listened to your 1200 swords album (I guess it is couple years old or perhaps oldish than that...dunno), and to be honest I found it refreshing to my ears. The lyrics are kicking ...very cool stuff.

Obviously my ears aren't formulaic or professional at all, I think my ears are emotional, perhaps as very far culture driven so I don't get tired of messing around with plugs within a DAW mostly coz I consider this type of software as the ultimate toy for expressing myself in terms of sound.
Under my intake to finish a track might perfectly take months... type of time management very far from production standards, not to mention in terms of quality, but the fun is always assured...
Maybe the expectation, the degree of professionalism, and accomplishment might interfere with the experience...


Go for walks and shout at the moon...it might help