Author Topic: What keeps you positive?  (Read 7150 times)

FarleyCZ

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What keeps you positive?
« on: January 11, 2016, 09:02:58 pm »
Ok, guys, sorry If I turn the vibe down a bit, but ... I kinda can't hold it.

I think I might not be the only one here who felt in love with this hobby some years ago. It's awesome hobby, probably coolest there can be, but sometimes it has it's dark sides. (Vader jokes in 3...2..1... :D) What I mean by that is, eventhough it's first and foremost about the music, about the emotions, you can't stop the world around you. Trust me, I've tried.

First two or three years it's so cool. You work on your new hobby. BTTF shit. You're life's completely unwritten. Who the hell knows what it might lead to? So liberating from the real world ... and cool at the same time.

The next three years, you start to doubt, if you just didn't find a right source of information to learn from, or if you're just useless. Especially as younger guys then you start to appear with songs you'd kill for to be able to make. (That one really hurts at the time.) ...the hobby's still really cool. But the lifes starts to throw some reality checks in your way. Colledge, uni, life plans, money... Everything somehow connects back to the hobby. You need time for it, place for it, some gear for it. Also your friends invest their life in different hobbies, doing well. But damn. That piano, that synth, it always works right? It gets you out of everything.

But then another two years pass and ... your friends still support you, but not becouse your hobby is cool anymore. It's becouse it's just you now. That unwritten life starts to define itself pretty clearly. You're that guy, who tries to produce for years, who's never satisfied with himself. That's just it. And what's worst, sometimes even that piano and synths don't cure it anymore. Believing in your own stuff becomes hard, becouse you know you're gonna listen to it few years later and cringe. You start to procrastinate from the hobby you've put a big chunk of your life into. ...and that sucks, becouse you know it can make you happy. It just isn't that frequent anymore...

If anybody's been through something like this ... what got you out of it? Becouse I feel like i need to find something ASAP.

...also, for the newbies: That saying: Keep your feet on the ground and eyes in the skies. Don't forget about the feet part. It might kinda hurt in the future.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2016, 10:05:49 pm by FarleyCZ »
"Earth is round right? Look at it from right angle and you'll be always on top of the world."
...but don't overdo it, because that's called being a d***k.

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Re: What keeps you positive?
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2016, 09:59:50 pm »
So glad somebody wrote about it here. I totally know the feeling. My problem is that I don't have as much time for production as I'd like to have. I currently study Informatics and it's really time consuming and often also hard as f***. I started producing in 2012. Now it's 2016 and I still haven't released any listenable piece of music. Always prety much moving around basics. Feeling like an absolute beginner even after more than 3 years and in doubt about my future musical "career". Sometimes it's really depressing to realize I can produce only few hours per week. And when I finally find more time for production, I often end up closing Ableton with almost nothing new in the project. Without consistency it just doesn't flow.

What could help with that? It's important to remind yourself why do you do it. Think where were you before, where are you now and where you could be in the future. Have goals and remind them to yourself every single day. Works for me. It's those little steps that make difference.
I also personally know some successful producers. Not only their music inspires me a lot, watching them getting higher every day shows me I can do it too. That's another thing that makes me want to get to the studio (even though I don't have one lol) and make something awesome.
Also, don't forget about people that believe in you. If they do, you should believe in yourself even more.
And maybe sometimes we just need another point of view and we would see things in different perspective.
Exploring the world of beautiful vibes. Looking for inspiration. Living for trance music. Enjoying it.

Tiongcy

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Re: What keeps you positive?
« Reply #2 on: January 12, 2016, 01:21:54 am »
Always go back to why you started. Listen to that song that got you into it. Open up old projects that make you cringe and listen to how far you have come. Yes reality seems to throw itself at you but you need to remember how much you love it. People wont understand that, you love for the music. Its conpletely different from when people say they love music. You spend time not just listening but creating it too. How i got over it was to take risks. I was studying engineering in college but i really knew i wanted to make music. I begged my parents so much to allow me to studying music production instead. They thought it was to risky and that it was too specialized. Eventually they let me and now im happier than before, more inspired. Its no longer just a hobby it turned into my life.

Dot

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Re: What keeps you positive?
« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2016, 03:09:40 am »
Here's something I posted on Reddit recently in a Music DOs and DON'Ts topic:

DO: Make a priority to make your room and acoustics sound and work right. And listen to lots of great music and tune and train your ears and brain.

DON'T: Get overly absorbed in reading dos and don'ts on the internet about recording.

DO: Listen more than you play.

DON'T: Play more than you listen.

DO: Appreciate the tools the universe has put in your hands. Hone your talent. Deeply.

DON'T: Devalue others, whether they have more or less gear than you do. Gear does not = talent.

DO: Appreciate that there are others more experienced and talented than you. Seek them out.

DON'T: Get too pussy whipped about others experience and "authority." Forge your own path. Create.

DO: Catch a good buzz now and then if it helps you create.

DON'T: Don't let stuff you read in forums about recording get you uptight or make you feel less than.

DO: Be creative.

DON'T: Be intimidated.

DO: Look for a pattern in forums if you're looking for gear recommendations.

DON'T: Think that "pro audio dealers" are really experts. Most of them don't know jack.

DO: Make BOLD decisions. YOU HAVE DA POWA.

DON'T: Be an indecisive pussy wimp. Don't give your power to others.

DO: Use what you have. Life will always give you the tools you're ready for.

DON'T: Not make music because you feel you don't have just the perfect, ultimate set-up.

DO: Don't make music sometimes. Go out. Fuck, drink, explore, etc.. Live life. Have a full life to express through your music. Have something to say.

DON'T: Think you have to make music every second just because you have a studio.

DO: Strike while the iron is hot. If you're in a really creative spree...stay with it. Milk those Muse titties.

DON'T: Let people or obligations pull you away when you're in a really creative zone.

DO: Throw lots of shit on the wall.

DON'T: Be afraid to suck sometimes.

DO: Express your feelings and life through your music.

DON'T: Jack off too much and waste your energy.

DO: Eat enough protein and fat. It feeds the brain and gives you energy for the longhaul. We're talking to you meat, eggs, cheese, nuts...

DON'T: Eat and drink way too many carbs and get tired and sleepy after 30 minutes. We're talking to you pizza, pasta, cookies, cakes, sodas....

DO: Realize that music is in your life to heal you first.

DON'T: Quit just because things get tough. Good things are hard to do.

DO: Get spiritual, 'cause you're gonna' need it. You're gonna need to go deeper than you ever thought to really make music.

DON'T: Let anyone sway you from what you know deep inside you need and want to do. Don't ever let yourself become someone else's path of least resistance.

DO: Follow your dreams. They're far less risky than playing it safe.

DON'T: Let your dreams be dreams.

DO: Focus on what you want.

DON'T: Focus on what you don't want.

DO: Learn even a little bit about everything. If you're around a drum kit, play it. Fuck around. If you're around a bass, grab it. French horn. Congas. Kazzooo. If it's around, don't worry that you have to be an expert. Just jump on that shit, play it. Get some of it in your bones.

DON'T: Miss any opportunity EVER to check out an instrument, amp, piece of gear, etc..

DO: Listen to all kinds of music. All kinds of genres. Listen for great songs, and great music.

DON'T: Get pigeon-holed or intimidated into only listening to one style or genre of music.

DO: Keep what you're doing on the down low a bit until you've got something.

DON'T: Talk to everyone about every little thing you're doing. You'll scatter your energy.

DO: Keep the garden and seeds of your music until it germinates and sprouts. Seeds need to be in the dark in the beginning.

DON'T: Let other people trample on your creative garden.

DO: Do some don'ts sometimes.

DON'T: Don't do some dos sometimes.

PEACE OUT. -----drops mic-----
Dan Richards — Pro Studio Reviews

Justvibin

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Re: What keeps you positive?
« Reply #4 on: January 12, 2016, 03:13:30 am »
Go watch ill gates workshop, he talks about this as well. He has produced with bass nectar and some of the best in the biz and still has days where nothing sounds good to him. I personally try something I've never done before when I feel this way. For instance try a brand new genre I've never tried to make before or use a sound that I don't like and work with it until I find a way to use it. Most importantly go listen to a track you made when you first started, listen to how far you've come and realize the only thing that is gonna bridge the gap between what you make and your musical taste is work and practice. Hope this helps in some way, stay up and keep grinding!

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Re: What keeps you positive?
« Reply #5 on: January 12, 2016, 08:38:22 pm »
Things got a lot more positive for me when I structured my ambitions. I thought about what was realistic and what I really wanted. Another way to put it is, I refined my definition of success.

What I realized I really wanted was to be able to make the music I liked, the way I wanted to make it, and then share that music with people--especially my friends. So I do only what is necessary to accomplish that.

Everything beyond that isn't necessary, it's just for fun. If I never get better at production, if I never find musicians to go into the studio with to do a proper recording, it doesn't matter as long as I can still record in my basement and share the songs somehow, even if it means mailing CDs.

Tylox

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Re: What keeps you positive?
« Reply #6 on: January 12, 2016, 09:06:21 pm »
I can relate to this thread. The key is to remember why you started in the first place. As long as you are having fun in the process, that is all that really matters. The more you play, the better you will get. If you find yourself stuck, take the time to analyze why and break out of the box. If you have been in a box for a long time, it's going to be hard to break out of your old habits, but as soon as you make a dent, endorphins will flow and inspiration will come.

Remember, practice is key, even if you only have a few minutes a day. A day without music is a wasted day.

Also keep in mind this is electronic music and an army of 1 man bands. Learning  a single instrument to mastery can take years...learning to compose is a different beast and can take equally as long, if not longer to master.

If your sole interest in music is to get big...become a DJ instead.

Sapa

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Re: What keeps you positive?
« Reply #7 on: January 14, 2016, 11:40:11 pm »
Don't be afraid to put it down for a week or a month even. If making music becomes a part of the grind of life, take a step back. Go on vacation! Experience other things... when you miss music, come on back! It'll be brand new!