That sounds really frustrating.. At this point I wouldn't worry about mixing/mastering if you haven't composed a full song yet. It's probably helpful to focus on developing one skill at a time, and good songwriting skills are certainly more important than good mixing skills. You could be letting yourself get discouraged too soon, leading to you giving up too easily, or perhaps you're getting frustrated with translating your ideas on to the DAW.

I feel like most of my songs sound really shitty until I'm at least 60% of the way done with them. It's so important to push through those beginning stages of a track, even when the song doesn't sound promising. Also, maybe it would help to step away from your DAW for a bit. Try fully writing the song (or at least the skeleton), including the arrangement and main melodies (record yourself singing them to your phone to help you remember). Imagine what instruments and textures you would use and try to hear the finished song in your head. Then, return to your DAW and try to create the song. Don't get hung up on recreating exactly what you imagined, and try to get the arrangement down as quick as possible (I find that I'm more likely to finish the song when I do this). Use presets to get your ideas down for the moment.

I've had countless times where I've opened up Ableton and three hours later I leave with a three track song that lasts 30 seconds. You have to find a way to stop worrying about what you're making and just make something. Looking forward to hearing your first track

I was stuck in this same rut a few years back. I'd give up on production, then I'd come back to it, then I'd give up on it again, over and over until I basically gave up on it for good and spent years making barely anything. I'm just gonna throw out a bunch of thoughts about my experience and maybe you'll find something you relate to.


1) I was too self-conscious about how much I sucked and how novice I was. I worked mostly using monitors, so anybody who was around could hear my amateur attempts at everything. I didn't have the confidence not to let that get to me. I sold my monitors way back so I do everything in headphones these days, then take my stuff to try out on a mate's system once it's starting to shape up.


2) Everybody sucks at first. It's easy to think that people who put out amazing music have some kind of innate gift. Not true. It's just that you only hear of them once they get good enough to make release-quality music. Every artist who consistently pumps out good music has spent thousands of hours 'sanding the edges off their sucking', to quote an article I like. These days I don't believe in the idea of 'natural talent' at all. I used to, but I think I was just giving myself excuses not to try and improve.


3) You'll get demotivated easily if a) you don't have the right level of challenge; b) you don't get feedback, or can't understand the feedback you're getting (from your ears, from other people or wherever); c) you don't feel like you're learning anything or making progress. Setting your sights on making amazing music out of the box will instantly demotivate you. The challenge is too big, and until you learn enough about making music, the differences you hear between what you make and what you want to make won't mean anything to you. Start at the bottom and take it one step at a time. Have big goals, but work with tiny challenges to get there. Maybe learn music theory. Then learn synthesis. Try and do things in some kind of logical order and have the patience not to get distracted by things like mixing and mastering if you're still getting to grips with the basics. And never stop learning.


4) Following on from the above point, and as I said elsewhere: focus. Focus, persistence and patience. Saint-like levels of patience.


5) I used to think (without even really realising it) that because I had good ideas, that meant I would make good tracks. When I didn't, I got disillusioned and bored because I wasn't getting results as quickly as I thought I should. Being able to execute is much more important than having ideas. People come up with great ideas all the time that they do nothing with. Don't pat yourself on the back just because you're coming up with ideas. Everybody does it. Great producers are the ones who are able to execute well.


6) At some level, confidence and belief in yourself is important, because without it you won't have the determination needed to keep at it. I'm reluctant to say something that's so self-evident while also being utterly impractical as advice goes, but it does matter.


Good luck!

^ Finding someone to collaborate with is a good shout

When I was 2 years in, I didn't even know which DAW to choose. ...and songs that came out of that were damn bad. I found cool at that point to go and learn a bit of theory. Not much, just a bit. It clearify what is pleasant and what isn't, which helps you a bit at points where you loose all the judgement over a loop.

Collaborator isn't a bad idea. If I hadn't so time intensive job, I'd offer my help. ...but keep searching. Having someone to bounce ideas off is priceless.

The ear condition is unfortunate, but not imposible to overcome. You just need to make sure someone checkes your mix for stereo image before it goes out. It sucks, I know. (Sort of. Tinnitus, both ears.) ...but if you really feel like music is something you love, kick that destiny into a butt. (But be really careful about the good ear, though. Especially in clubs, if you visit them.)

Don't feel discouraged.  Writing songs is a bit like working out. Yeah, some people are naturally gifted and can run a 4 minute mile without trying, but most of us have to put in a lot of practice before we can get to that point.

Also, similar to public speaking, you might think you are fully prepared for a presentation, but once you get up to the podium, you get butterflies in your stomach. Writing music is very similar...you might think you have an idea to put down, but once you start doing it, you might realize you can't get down that synth sound you want, can't translate the emotion in your head to midi, or whatever other reason.

To get past this you need to work those particular muscles that are lacking. Having troubles writing a melody?  Read up on the theory behind it and start doing melody drills. The key here being the drills. The general theory is relatively simple and not all that hard to grasp. Putting it into practice; however, is. There are many practice drills to be found online. 

I also recommend watching YouTube videos.  Either duplicate what they are doing or follow along and make your own version of what is going on. Seamlessr is a commonly used example for this.  This guy has some serious skills and is usually pretty interesting to watch.

Start with just making loops. Even if they don't sound the way you hear it in your head, you have to start somewhere. Loops will eventually become songs, you just have to keep practicing. If you let go of negative thoughts ("this sounds like shit, I'm not talented, etc"), what seems annoying now will make more sense and you'll have more fun.

Also, take small steps. Music theory, sound design, and the actual creation process can be a lot if you try to do everything at once. If you start making loops, you can slowly figure out how to compose and put your ideas together. When you've got that down, maybe you start learning theory to learn why things sound good to you (or maybe not. Theory is optional). After that you can learn how to make the sounds that you hear in your head (or maybe not. This is also optional).