What are the most difficult things in making music... for you?

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by aymat, Jul 5, 2018.

  1. Judge Dredd

    Judge Dredd Guest

    KungPao, where you at?
     
  2. KungPaoFist

    KungPaoFist Audiosexual

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    ah yess, the great muscle memory. I've heard its where all of the greats have dug deep to achieve greatness. I tried this once when I attempted to master unlimited masterbation.. i failed...

    Anyway mine was earlier in this thread, but to expand.. When trying to overcome the daunting and challenging "blank page" syndrome I usually noodle (using another thought process from someone else I quoted earlier in the thread) until I get to a point where things just start to naturally fall into place.
     
  3. phloopy

    phloopy Audiosexual

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    I find it extremly difficult to finish projects - that´s my biggest challenge I guess.
     
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  4. Judge Dredd

    Judge Dredd Guest

    And yet you appear to be quite the accomplished wanker :bleh:
     
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  5. MMJ2017

    MMJ2017 Audiosexual

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    me too my brother! ( time constraints are the biggest issue for myself)
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2018
  6. MMJ2017

    MMJ2017 Audiosexual

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    wanker? I don't even know her!
     
  7. massichat

    massichat Kapellmeister

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    Infinite possibilities disable me a lot and prevent me from making a decision :facepalm:
    [​IMG]
     
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  8. hani king

    hani king Platinum Record

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    i know i have weaknesses when it comes to enhancing the sound
    for instance,when i create some melodies using few synths i will waste long time checking recently added new vst plugins
    and forget the old ones (not intentionally but just thinking the new ones has better sounds )
    ,so going through 100s of leads bells plucks and pads hoping to find ''that'' melody will increase exhaustion
    and tiredness ,not to mention blockage of fresh ideas,sometimes you find what you are looking for but
    it sounds just like your previous work or someone else or being used lately ,

    besides ,im not that good in adjusting volumes,sometimes i raise the bass and kick thinking it
    will cover my track and i forget the chords and the pads ,so after mastering i cant hear some keys
    and everytime i think ''well that should be my final touch''..bam where is the crash sound ? yup i forgot again

    and thats why i hesitate to release anything thinking the track is missing something somewhere

    i hope others dont have those issues too because i heard its very infectious lol
     
  9. Recoil

    Recoil Guest

    Everything is difficult, when you're not a musician, and you can't read music:facepalm:
     
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  10. johndoehizzle

    johndoehizzle Kapellmeister

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    id say getting used to new monitors --- if that counts as a difficulty . give it a couple weeks and you'll be set.
     
  11. eXACT_Beats_

    eXACT_Beats_ Rock Star

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    I have couple of ongoing struggles, one of them is balancing the too-little/too-much compression bit, since I like to keep at least a modicum amount of raw feel to my tracks, but compression is, obviously necessary to a degree. I find what sits well in the mix isn't always what I want to hear, so I end up going back and switching out certain layers of snares, kicks and hihats to try and compensate for that. It's not grueling, but it is very much trial & error.
    Another thing is simply assessing what the track needs as opposed to what I feel like doing. Since I play drums, guitar, bass and keys, and grew up jamming with a lot of people, I'm accustomed to just jamming out shit for days, so when it comes time to lay down a bass line or drums or whatever it may be, I always have to remember that sometimes less is more (this was a hard-learned lesson that I came to when I put down some drum tracks in the studio for the first time.) Not everything needs to sound like it has Jaco on bass. :yes:
    Finally, I might have to add on to the initial bit on keeping stuff kind of raw. I find that when I make stuff with a groove or a vybe that's outside of what "should" be played (especially when I pound it out on my 16 pad,) I walk that thin line between giving it that swagger and head-nod vybe and making shit that is too erratc or off-base.
    After playing music for over two decades now, I find that the beauty of making music is that what you're making one day to the next can change quickly, so you always have to keep your technical skills on par with what your creative side concocts. I am sometimes envious of the people who have a dedicated mixing/mastering guru who handles all the tech stuff, but I can't say that I don't enjoy the "'....twiddling knobs' bits," as Beth put it. Sometimes the song really only comes into itself when making those crucial mix decisions.
    Also? reliefsan is absolutely on point. :bow:
    Over the yrs, it's become increasingly difficult to sit back and go "Finsished." I usually end up with three or four takes on one track and each one is arranged and mixed differently, even though they are all easily recognizable as the same track. The differences in each track are very noticable, and it really just comes down to a matter of taste. That being said, when I make something simple, say, a four piece Rhodes, bass, drums and a lead instrument track, and I'm going for a nice clean, studio sound (as opposed to some raunchy Hip Hop I have been known to make,) I always get excited about my mix....until I put on a savagely well-produced Eric Jackson album and sit there shaking my head muttering "....how the fuck did they...." :rofl:
     
  12. eXACT_Beats_

    eXACT_Beats_ Rock Star

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    And, briefly, I'm not coming at you No Avenger, but I couldn't disagree more. Keeping the creating and mixing seperate is usually best, to a logical degree, as so long as you know what you want your end piece to sound like, *but, this requires you to take into account what you will have to do in the mix. I think that if you make music that is even slightly unique, the mixing stage can really make your song what it is. I have heard pre-mixed versions of *a lot* of music, local bands and stuff sitting around in studios, and even the simple choice of where to carve out a spot for your kick and bass can give the song a whole different vybe. Mixing can often times be merely making what you made listenable, but I find that any genre that doesn't have a rigid set of "This is How It Has To Sound," (any radio Pop is a great example of robotic mixing; there's no creativity going on in there,) really comes into its own when you begin deciding how to make all of your instruments compliment one another. :yes:
     
  13. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    Of course it can, I never said the opposite. But you don't need your final tweaked drum sound to play the rhythm, or the perfect sounding bass to play it on your keyboard, don't you.
    So, if knob tweaking distracts you from your creativity, just use a halfway sufficient sound and do it afterwards.
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2018
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  14. blaqmatic

    blaqmatic Platinum Record

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    Wow! What a powerful thread. The responses here are plenty, in depth and resourceful! One of the best threads I have seen on AS.
    Keep up the good work!

    That said, here is my lil 2 cents...Live your life in your Music and nothing will be difficult. Utilizing the process of how and where you
    are in life at that moment and excepting those circumstances instead of trying to do less or too much will ease the pain of what you think is your challenge, no matter the issue. When music is flowing it is like a river. When it is not, it is like climbing Mount Everest. On the days that it is not...you can open that window by just creating by the space that you are in.

    After all, "Q" said it best..."Music is an Emotion".
     
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  15. Oimsio

    Oimsio Ultrasonic

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    Hi there,

    thinking, writing melodies, making arrangements, since we don't invent anything, whatever the genre, with musical culture and a few formulas, it's quite easy enough, my guitar, my voice and it already works,

    but for me writing lyrics that transcribe exactly what I want to say and that are not the opposite of the mood of the music, it sometimes happens but it's very difficult, when it works God knows how good it is.

    every word, every sentence must carry the story that i want to tell, avoiding the nonsense that we hear, that I sometimes write, that ends up in the trash.

    when the melody comes, I already know the subject I'm going to deal with and that's when I suffer...;o))
     
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  16. Contary, mon ami...Pop has had some fairly amazing mixes produced over time. Maybe you don't like these songs, but the mixes are unique, take the raw songs and transform them into beauty.





    See what I mean?







    And anybody that says that Gaga isn't one of the most talented musicians ever has to go through me first!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 8, 2018
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  17. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    I always recognized the bigger amount of reverb in the last verses in Heroes, but that three mic idea is crazy and fascinating. And technically pretty difficult to achieve, because the gates had to be adjusted precisely to David's vocals.

    And Gaga really seems to be a great artist.

    :goodpost:
     
  18. phloopy

    phloopy Audiosexual

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    A comment to my first comment here:

    I´m having this bad habit searching for new interesting chord progressions for my songs - I sometimes end up with five - eight different progressions and it really kills my workflow and ability to get anything finished.
    I sometimes let my grown up boys listen and pick the one they like the best, but it always ends up they like at least two or three versions so that´s not much help :no:
    Making music is indeed a matter of making the right choices and Im not really good at that when it comes to this issue - Im glad I dont have to make a living writing music:rofl:

    Indeed she is:

     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2018
  19. Rudy Manterie

    Rudy Manterie Platinum Record

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    my notes suck, and my lyrics, and the rhythm, and the sounds...still enjoy it though
     
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  20. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    As long as the tempo is good...
     
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