Hey guys. It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but after producing for 2 years I've only finished a few songs. I don't like telling other people that I'm a producer when I don't have much to show for it. Don't get me wrong I'm LIGHTYEARS better than I was when I first started. Producing and mixing music have changed my ears in ways that I would've never imagined.

The catch is, most of those songs that I finished were back when I first started producing. I feel like the reason for that is because I didn't really care if my mixes sounded like crap or not. I was just so excited at the idea of being able to make music whether it sounded bad or not.

Nowadays however I get stuck very often. The reason why I get stuck more often I feel is because I've begun to set my standards much higher than when I first started. A bad mixdown or bad music in general just isn't gonna cut it. If the music isn't unique and doesn't sound good being played on a piano then it doesn't deserve to be produced in the first place. If the chord progression isn't beautiful enough then I won't even bother creating a melody.

I feel like this is a good thing because I'm finally beginning to identify my tastes musically. However because of it I've been having a lot more trouble finishing songs that I'm actually proud of. Often times I'll be halfway through a song and then lose the motivation to finish it because I'm just not proud of it.

At first, I thought this was an arrangement problem but upon further analysis I believe this is much more related to me not being able to get a solid mixdown. I have a hard time getting all the frequencies to be as balanced as I hear in professional tracks.

With that being said the question I have for you guys at this point is should I even be worrying about my songwriting speed? I would rather produce 1 masterpiece than 10 turds but I feel like because of that it takes me a long time to finish my songs. At the same time however I feel like once I'm finally able to habitually get good mixdowns the songwriting speed will eventually catch up to me.

In summary...

Should I be concerned about my producing speed?
Will my producing speed eventually get faster as I get better?
What are some things you do that helped you get past the same situation that I'm in?

Thanks for reading.

I am glad you wrote this because i am going through the exact same thing, i never finish tracks to there full potential, always second guess them halfway through the process then give up, hopefully some good advice is replied to this post

It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but after producing for 2 years I've only finished a few songs.

A "few songs" just isn't enough... come back when you've done like 100. Watch this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbC4gqZGPSY and this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqZAxLqJkzA&index=59&list=WL

I have a hard time getting all the frequencies to be as balanced as I hear in professional tracks.

So work on it! You already know what you need to work on. Mix with reference tracks, put them up against your track, I mean literally place them in your DAW and A/B them against your track. Listen to professional mixes attentively. Analyze them with spectrum analyzers... etc..

I would rather produce 1 masterpiece than 10 turds but I feel like because of that it takes me a long time to finish my songs.

This is the wrong way to look at this, it does not work this way. Watch the first video I linked again. You're not going to write 1 masterpiece if you've only written 10 turds... you need to write more like 100 or 1000 turds, seriously.

At the same time however I feel like once I'm finally able to habitually get good mixdowns the songwriting speed will eventually catch up to me.

Again, focus on your mixdowns for a few weeks/months. Grab some unmixed song files here http://www.cambridge-mt.com/ms-mtk-newbies.htm#Triviul and get to work. Practice mixing A LOT to the point that you feel you've gotten somewhere.

Should I be concerned about my producing speed?

No. Your concern should be more about how you can get your 10,000 hours in, since it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to be a master at any given skill.

Will my producing speed eventually get faster as I get better?

Or course it will... if you practice something over and over again, you get faster at it, right? Also, there are things like setting up your own templates so that you can make the process even faster.

What are some things you do that helped you get past the same situation that I'm in?

Un-plugging the Internet and getting to work. Doing something about it. Putting in the 10,000 hours. I know there's nothing glamorous about it but that's the truth.

You have identified the problem yourself ... the problem is not about writing faster... the problem is that you feel your mix downs are sub-par. What you need to do next is already cut out for you.

I use several techniques to help me get stuff finished.

1 - Previews
Post previews all over the place. Even if you've just got a drop, a break, even an amazing intro. Nail one part of the song, then upload a preview to Soundcloud, Vine, Twitter, this forum, Instagram, Snapchat. When I do this and have people commenting begging me to finish it, then it really makes me want to. In my experience Vine is the best for this. There are tonnes of channels dedicated to making edits of good songs, but a lot will also repost WIPs. I have built a relationship with one of these accounts with just under 10,000 followers who knows revines most things I upload and I get loads of people asking me to finish stuff.

2 - Only carry on if you're improving things
This might seem fairly obvious, but I often find after I've got the full structure of a track completed I dedicate a lot of time to tweaking bits and bobs to try and perfect it. But I always get to the point (usually quite quickly as I tweak a lot before I get to the finished structure) where I am tweaking for hours and then it sounds no better than it did at the start. At this point I export the song and release it.

3 - Start new projects
Sound stupid, but if I'm struggling to finish a track. I start a new track, get it to the point where I've got something good and want to carry on, then ban myself from working on it until I've finished the previous one. Doesn't always work but can work really well.

4 - Remix comps
These give you a definite deadline and while you may not make your best work, you will get it finished.

Hope some of this helps,

Harwood

Quote from: Lydian on January 24, 2016, 07:04:48 pm

It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but after producing for 2 years I've only finished a few songs.

A "few songs" just isn't enough... come back when you've done like 100. Watch this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbC4gqZGPSY and this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqZAxLqJkzA&index=59&list=WL

Quote from: Lydian on January 24, 2016, 07:04:48 pm

I have a hard time getting all the frequencies to be as balanced as I hear in professional tracks.

So work on it! You already know what you need to work on. Mix with reference tracks, put them up against your track, I mean literally place them in your DAW and A/B them against your track. Listen to professional mixes attentively. Analyze them with spectrum analyzers... etc..

Quote from: Lydian on January 24, 2016, 07:04:48 pm

I would rather produce 1 masterpiece than 10 turds but I feel like because of that it takes me a long time to finish my songs.

This is the wrong way to look at this, it does not work this way. Watch the first video I linked again. You're not going to write 1 masterpiece if you've only written 10 turds... you need to write more like 100 or 1000 turds, seriously.

Quote from: Lydian on January 24, 2016, 07:04:48 pm

At the same time however I feel like once I'm finally able to habitually get good mixdowns the songwriting speed will eventually catch up to me.

Again, focus on your mixdowns for a few weeks/months. Grab some unmixed song files here http://www.cambridge-mt.com/ms-mtk-newbies.htm#Triviul and get to work. Practice mixing A LOT to the point that you feel you've gotten somewhere.

Quote from: Lydian on January 24, 2016, 07:04:48 pm

Should I be concerned about my producing speed?

No. Your concern should be more about how you can get your 10,000 hours in, since it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to be a master at any given skill.

Quote from: Lydian on January 24, 2016, 07:04:48 pm

Will my producing speed eventually get faster as I get better?

Or course it will... if you practice something over and over again, you get faster at it, right? Also, there are things like setting up your own templates so that you can make the process even faster.

Quote from: Lydian on January 24, 2016, 07:04:48 pm

What are some things you do that helped you get past the same situation that I'm in?

Un-plugging the Internet and getting to work. Doing something about it. Putting in the 10,000 hours. I know there's nothing glamorous about it but that's the truth.

You have identified the problem yourself ... the problem is not about writing faster... the problem is that you feel your mix downs are sub-par. What you need to do next is already cut out for you.

magnificent. this should answer all your doubts Lydian!