I am really inspired to see people DEVELOP into strong producers, not just being one. I think its pretty important to realize that youre growing every time you open up your daw. Looking back on my old music is pretty rough and unsettling but, listening to what im writing now inspires me so much and shows me how much i have left to learn also.
Id love to know how far youve guys have come and how far you have yet to go before you reach some of the goals you have set before yourself.
Cheers

In the past 7 months, I've learned a lot. I'm still not where I want to be in terms of the music I make, but I still enjoy it all the same. I've gone from somewhat crappy songs with all the sounds being presets to songs I actually have fun making with some sounds being my own. For the next year or so, I want to find my sound and develop it. After that I want to start performing my songs live and meet more local producers.

Looking back on my old music is pretty rough and unsettling

Oh. My. Goodness. So true. lol

The trite lyrics. Horrid unbalanced tone. I can actually hear my unskilled self through the song. "Yep, definitely didn't know about compression very much in this song. (laugh)" "Ugh, why didn't i add a separate sub to this song?"

Then eventually I realize, that's okay. It's all a part of my journey of learning and growing. I'm resolved to not become like George Lucas, going back over and over again trying to re-invent my songs with new knowledge. I think there is something sweet and special about leaving those songs in their states, as a witness of how far I've come in my ability. Also... sometimes it's good to come back to those songs because every once in a while, a song still sounds good, and I think its because I didn't know more about what to do, so i didn't screw it up with over EQing, compression, effects, etc.


I'm working on a new album this year, and i hope to learn how to use my creative time better, so it takes me 2-3 years to complete (not 7 like the last one!). Also wanting to increase efficiency of my work flow. I'm even learning how to value myself enough to set boundaries & deadlines with other collaborators, so we can actually get things done (or move on).


Great post. Good to reflect...

One day Ill probably look back at the music im writing now and ask the same questions. Look forward to that

curious to hear "before & after" pieces from you!

12. Starting playing guitar when I was 12 and got serious with it when I turned 13. Thought I was going to be a professional guitar player. Practiced 10 hours a day on weekends and 6 hours a day on weekdays. Studied music theory religiously like a savant and got my hands on any online pdfs I could get ahold of. Found a mentor on the ultimate guitar forum who taught me about more advanced theory topics like counterpoint.

13-14. Started a youtube channel at 13 and uploaded guitar covers for 2 year. Reached 1 million channel views and became moderately internet famous in my niche. Got retweeted by a couple of the bands I was covering. Stopped doing covers at 14 because I decided I was tired of learning other peoples music.

15. Joined the marching band at my high school at 15 and learned how to read music notation. Taught myself how to use music notation software (Sibelius 7) and transcribed 2 albums worth of guitar notation. At this age I began I was starting to hear music in numbers. Hearing the chord progressions became very natural to me and I could essentially listen to 80% of music and replay it on the spot.

16. Homeschooled my junior year of high school and after listening to guys like Taishi, Zedd, Madeon, & Porter Robinson decided that I had reached a peak in my guitar playing and would give electronic music a try. I had already been listening to electronic music since I was a baby because of my dad who was a DJ and used to play old school ATB, Above & Beyond, Armin Van Buuren & Tiesto. Got myself a copy of Logic Pro and spent a considerable amount of time learning the ins & outs of audio engineering, sound design, and music composition. Spent almost every day in frustration as I quickly became overwhelmed by the sheer difficulty of trying to learn everything at once. Made some really bad music.

17. Went back to high school my senior year and decided that guitar wasn't my calling after all. Taught myself how to play bass, piano, & DJ. Finally started to hear what was wrong with all my bad music and got just a little bit better. Learning to DJ helped me get a better ear for arrangements and learning piano made it easier to come up with interesting chord progressions.

18.(Now) Started full time college & working 32-40hours a week. Bought myself an electronic drum kit and started teaching myself drums using superior drummer. Finally at the point where I'm able to identify my music composition tastes but am still struggling with arrangements and mixing. Signed up to a Mat Zo forum to hopefully find some tips as whatever amount of free time I have goes to music.


Where am I headed? If I'm not good at this by the time I'm 26 probably nowhere. It's been 6 years since I've gotten into music but only 2 since I started producing. Those 2 years weren't always the most dedicated but I've still come a long way and have become a lot better.

I hated music as a child, and now I bask in it.

I initially played guitar to be cool and popular, and then I gave it all up because my life went down in flames and turmoil. Music was long gone.

But then again, it was never really with me, that is, until I reached rock bottom. That's when I dedicated my life to it.

I used to spend all my time doing music--12 to 16 hours a day, because there was so much to learn, so much to discover--so much magic. Then I started doing less and less, not because I lost passion, but because I needed to live my life in order to write. I learned that I ran out of things to write about, so I decided to simply live my life--sometimes in extremes, sometimes in subtle silence. Then I'd come back and write about my adventures.

I've never been happier since!

But then again, it was never really with me, that is, until I reached rock bottom. That's when I dedicated my life to it.

"When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change."

I have come really far. But there are so many things I have yet to make, which is really inspiring to me.

To be honest, I've learned not to cringe too bad at old material. Some of my old songs have decent ideas, just really bad execution.