Author Topic: Always getting stressed & frustrated when making music  (Read 11933 times)

rusty1

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Always getting stressed & frustrated when making music
« on: July 15, 2016, 11:28:11 am »
I've been making electronic music for about 7 months. I really like electronic music, I really like djing it and I like to make it(occasionally like it) and I want to build a career out of it. Whenever I do something in life I want to be able to do it good. I've been putting in a lot of work (I'd like to think its a lot of work for 7 months whilst at school) such as learning my DAW, my synth, general music theory and other little areas of music production. But my music still sucks and I still suck at being creative musically. I want to make better music so badly and I want to show other people what I can do. I want to be proud of my work but I just can't because it isn't that good. Not only is my work suffering but so is my creative side. I always sit at a blank project not knowing what to do with it, what type of song it could be come. All I know is that the song has to be good. I want to be proud of it.

How can I fix this issue? I know its a bit weird but making music has just become so stressful and frustrating. Most of the time I don't have the effort to go further into a project because I know I will get stuck and get frustrated.

Any help would be great. I really want music production to be fun and not stressful.

Also I've heard that you should just keep making crappy music until its good but whats the point of making music if you're not trying to make good music that you like?

Arktopolis

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Re: Always getting stressed & frustrated when making music
« Reply #1 on: July 15, 2016, 11:49:21 am »
Consider starting playing an instrument. Learning to play other people's tracks is a really easy way to build your "chops" for writing your own stuff. Also, check out Mussar's ear training podcast (https://soundcloud.com/mussarmusic/sets/the-mussar-method-bi-weekly) - this stuff can help you immensely, because it will give you the tools to analyze other people's music. At this stage of your journey, basic musical skills are MUCH more important to learn than how to make wavetables with Serum.

And accept that 7 months is nothing. Getting good will probably take you years, if you started from zero musically.

Fanu wrote a nice post yesterday, I highly recommend reading it (especially the parts "Love it" and "Don't try to handle all at once" are relevant): http://fanumusic.com/advice-for-producers/

rusty1

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Re: Always getting stressed & frustrated when making music
« Reply #2 on: July 15, 2016, 12:03:19 pm »
Thanks for the help.

I did play drums for like a year a couple of years ago, pretty much forgot most of though aha. Getting more musical skills would be great but I don't have enough time to learn a new instrument. I've got school, work and producing and djing. how else can I learn these musical skills?

Thanks for all the links, I'm gonna read/listen to them now.

vinceasot

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Re: Always getting stressed & frustrated when making music
« Reply #3 on: July 15, 2016, 02:06:44 pm »
hmm... maybe you should start off small and with the fundamentals like learn basic music theory,
its nice to play around with the piano once you understand music theory

and try learn a synth and try make some sounds by yourself by looking at presets, a basic bass, lead, pad, etc and try build on from that



« Last Edit: July 15, 2016, 02:23:50 pm by vinceasot »

bryan

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Re: Always getting stressed & frustrated when making music
« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2016, 01:59:15 am »
rusty, i've been producing for something like 7 YEARS and I still struggle with what you're struggling with. That empty, anxiety-filled feeling of an empty project or when I've not produced in a while. I want to do music so badly that I feel it in my bones and I feel it in my soul in a way that I don't feel about other things. Not everyone cares about electronic music, but I feel I've been given a passion for it and so I trudge on.

What I'm learning (and any producer will tell you that the learning never stops) is to "go with the flow" and don't be too critical.  This advice is for both micro (riffs, sound design) and macro (producing as a whole).  When you're not so hard on yourself, you free yourself to have more FUN, and thus fulfillment. 

So the next time you open your DAW, don't set some unrealistic or pressure-packed goal.  Instead, do something FUN - something you want to do.  Maybe it's just going through the presets of a new synth, or trying to make a 4-bar drum loop.  Keep rolling with it, even if it isn't what you thought would happen. Just because it isn't a "4 on the floor banger" or an "uplifting, ethereal 9-minute trance anthem" doesn't mean it can't be fun and fulfilling. 

This is something that my wife tells me and I try to tell myself and it goes for both music making and life:

DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY.

:)

Lydian

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Re: Always getting stressed & frustrated when making music
« Reply #5 on: July 16, 2016, 02:31:36 am »
I always sit at a blank project not knowing what to do with it, what type of song it could be come. All I know is that the song has to be good. I want to be proud of it.

How can I fix this issue? I know its a bit weird but making music has just become so stressful and frustrating. Most of the time I don't have the effort to go further into a project because I know I will get stuck and get frustrated.

I would HIGHLY suggest writing your music on a piano first. This eliminates SO many problems with "sitting at a blank project and not knowing what to do with it".

I think the issue might be is you're trying to mix, do sound design, and choose notes all at the same time. This combined with deciding the arrangement and structure make things hard especially when you're a beginner and don't have the ears to be able to decipher why your music sounds "bad" (subjective of course don't shoot me.)

When you write your music out on a piano you can immediately tell whether or not the notes are going to sound bad. You can experiment with different chords and harmonies until you come up with notes that sound pleasing. (All it takes is an 8bar chord progression/theme to build an entire track)

Once you have all the notes figured out then it will be a lot easier to get started on your blank project because all you really have to worry about it is instrumentation, mixing, and arrangement. Don't get me wrong it's still a lot of stuff to think about but getting it done is significantly easier if you know the notes sound good by themselves. Then if the song sounds bad but good on piano then you know that the problem is the mixing or the instrumentation and NOT the actual notes.
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rusty1

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Re: Always getting stressed & frustrated when making music
« Reply #6 on: July 16, 2016, 04:24:21 am »
Thanks guys for the help. Didn't think so many people would understand my situation.

I'm just gonna have to accept that 7 months is nothing no matter how much work I've put in because it's all about how much practice I've had. I'm also just gonna have fun with it and break my project down into smaller pieces so I don't get too overwhelmed.

Thanks guys for all the links and support!

Marrow Machines

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Re: Always getting stressed & frustrated when making music
« Reply #7 on: July 16, 2016, 05:25:06 am »
Music production encompasses many aspects of the musical realm.

If you aren't well versed in at least one or many of the sides of music,  you'll going to have to grind through a ton of stuff to get the idea of one thing.

it's taken me six year and a few gear upgrades to fully undrestand and learn the technical side of music production.

So keep that in mind.

Seven months ain't a pimple on the ass of the life time spent in the journey of this art form.

take it slow, compartmentalize your problems, and work on things as they come. take notes and be diligent.

i also suggest you consider an academic route and self learning if you plan on making this a career.
Josh Huval: Honestly, the guys who are making good art are spending their time making it.