I recently did about 10-15 hrs of tutorials. I learned more in the month working on these then I ever had before. I felt the exact same way. Music theory isn't supposed to limit or inhibit your artist creativity. I believe in the end your new found knowledge will help you. You just need to keep pushing forward. The new "rules" are just guidelines and it comes down to what sounds good to you that matters. Eventually if you keep pushing yourself to get into it you will create something far greater than you ever did before. Think about what you've learned and incorporate it bit by bit into your work. I find writing things down helps. Make a list of 2-3 things (at a time) you've learned and go and try them out. Separating actually writing a track and trying out a new trick is important. I find that most the time it leads to a really cool breakthrough and that motivates me to start a new project.

I have been producing for 8 months now so here's how I first began -

I watched a lot of tutorials. I had no idea what I was doing and spent a majority of my time watching ADSR Courses and YouTube tutorials to learn Sylenth and Massive masterclasses, sound design, EQing, mixing, mastering, parallel-sidechain compression, so forth.

(Good YouTube accounts to follow: SeamlessR, ZenWorld, DigitialVideoFX, Sound Design Tutorials)

What I realized was i had all this "knowledge" but no way to apply it. I ended up watching EQ tutorials, mixing, mastering, compression, and all this other stuff that was "way above my pay grade." Let's be real. I was just beginning to produce, I had no use for any of that.

Some suggestions:

1. Masterclasses (LEARN YOUR SYNTH) - Sylenth, Massive, Serum, whatever it is, KNOW IT. Know every single damn function of your synth so you can control every parameter to the ultimate precision.

2. "Music Theory" - Learn to write melodies and chords. No, you do not need to know music theory, but it helps. If you're going to write music one day at a professional level, you WILL need to write in key. There is a reason music theory exists. It is harmonics, mathematical breakdowns of frequencies, which chords sound good together.. it works and it sounds better. You may disagree here, but any professional musician will tell you music theory is there for a reason.

3. "How to make X genre" - Watch a full hour long video production of a song. It may sound like a long time but ask yourself this... how many movies have you watched in your lifetime? A lot.

4. KNOW YOUR DAW - How can you manipulate your sound through a multitude of parameters? How can you use a filter cutoff to transition from your introduction lead to a full, fat, supersaw? How can you use everything your workstation offers to make a more complete track? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH3RJBUZ_f0)

If you want to be successful at producing music, you need to make this your life.
What do I mean by that? You watch four hours of TV a day. You play three hours of video games a day. You go hangout with your friends every single day of the week.

No. I learned the hard way. You will have to make sacrifices. Success does not come easy, and one of the hardest parts if telling your friends that you don't have time to hangout because you want to be successful

Sounds crazy. Easier said than done. But it's the truth.

I have been producing for 8 months now so here's how I first began -

I watched a lot of tutorials. I had no idea what I was doing and spent a majority of my time watching ADSR Courses and YouTube tutorials to learn Sylenth and Massive masterclasses, sound design, EQing, mixing, mastering, parallel-sidechain compression, so forth.

(Good YouTube accounts to follow: SeamlessR, ZenWorld, DigitialVideoFX, Sound Design Tutorials)

What I realized was i had all this "knowledge" but no way to apply it. I ended up watching EQ tutorials, mixing, mastering, compression, and all this other stuff that was "way above my pay grade." Let's be real. I was just beginning to produce, I had no use for any of that.

Some suggestions:

1. Masterclasses (LEARN YOUR SYNTH) - Sylenth, Massive, Serum, whatever it is, KNOW IT. Know every single damn function of your synth so you can control every parameter to the ultimate precision.

2. "Music Theory" - Learn to write melodies and chords. No, you do not need to know music theory, but it helps. If you're going to write music one day at a professional level, you WILL need to write in key. There is a reason music theory exists. It is harmonics, mathematical breakdowns of frequencies, which chords sound good together.. it works and it sounds better. You may disagree here, but any professional musician will tell you music theory is there for a reason.

3. "How to make X genre" - Watch a full hour long video production of a song. It may sound like a long time but ask yourself this... how many movies have you watched in your lifetime? A lot.

4. KNOW YOUR DAW - How can you manipulate your sound through a multitude of parameters? How can you use a filter cutoff to transition from your introduction lead to a full, fat, supersaw? How can you use everything your workstation offers to make a more complete track? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH3RJBUZ_f0)

If you want to be successful at producing music, you need to make this your life.
What do I mean by that? You watch four hours of TV a day. You play three hours of video games a day. You go hangout with your friends every single day of the week.

No. I learned the hard way. You will have to make sacrifices. Success does not come easy, and one of the hardest parts if telling your friends that you don't have time to hangout because you want to be successful

Sounds crazy. Easier said than done. But it's the truth.

Gonna follow this advice. I also get overwhelmed by all this music jargon and waste time vst hunting 

This image is connected to dancing but you can substitute that word for literally any artistic skill that requires a lot of time and training:



Your ability to create good work is somewhat linear curve - the more time and effort you put in, the more you get out of it.

Your ability to understand what is good and bad is a fluctuating cycle of peaks and valleys surrounding your ability's growth. There will be times when your ability to know what is good is LESS than your current understanding of how to make what is good. These are the cherished moments of discovery and learning, when you're breaking through a lot of barriers and feeling like you might be onto something. There will also be times when your taste will be much HIGHER than your ability to make what is good for your tastes. This is the real challenge, and where most people stop.

It's important to keep in mind that EVERYONE encounters it, and the only way to get past it is to keep making work even IF you think it's not up to your own standards. The only way you'll know how to make things that sound good is by making a whole lot of stuff that sounds bad. Don't give up!

This image is connected to dancing but you can substitute that word for literally any artistic skill that requires a lot of time and training:



Your ability to create good work is somewhat linear curve - the more time and effort you put in, the more you get out of it.

Your ability to understand what is good and bad is a fluctuating cycle of peaks and valleys surrounding your ability's growth. There will be times when your ability to know what is good is LESS than your current understanding of how to make what is good. These are the cherished moments of discovery and learning, when you're breaking through a lot of barriers and feeling like you might be onto something. There will also be times when your taste will be much HIGHER than your ability to make what is good for your tastes. This is the real challenge, and where most people stop.

It's important to keep in mind that EVERYONE encounters it, and the only way to get past it is to keep making work even IF you think it's not up to your own standards. The only way you'll know how to make things that sound good is by making a whole lot of stuff that sounds bad. Don't give up!

That's very cool. Here's my personal curve:

Just get more comfortable with the new knowledge. What happens is that what you know isnt deep enough in your brain yet for it to instantly remember while working, so your brain has to switch between left brain and right brain tasks to get the necessary information, usually not good for flow. Just make a lot of stuff until it becomes natural to use the new knowledge. Can't get better without practice.

I have been producing for 8 months now so here's how I first began -

I watched a lot of tutorials. I had no idea what I was doing and spent a majority of my time watching ADSR Courses and YouTube tutorials to learn Sylenth and Massive masterclasses, sound design, EQing, mixing, mastering, parallel-sidechain compression, so forth.

(Good YouTube accounts to follow: SeamlessR, ZenWorld, DigitialVideoFX, Sound Design Tutorials)

What I realized was i had all this "knowledge" but no way to apply it. I ended up watching EQ tutorials, mixing, mastering, compression, and all this other stuff that was "way above my pay grade." Let's be real. I was just beginning to produce, I had no use for any of that.

Some suggestions:

1. Masterclasses (LEARN YOUR SYNTH) - Sylenth, Massive, Serum, whatever it is, KNOW IT. Know every single damn function of your synth so you can control every parameter to the ultimate precision.

2. "Music Theory" - Learn to write melodies and chords. No, you do not need to know music theory, but it helps. If you're going to write music one day at a professional level, you WILL need to write in key. There is a reason music theory exists. It is harmonics, mathematical breakdowns of frequencies, which chords sound good together.. it works and it sounds better. You may disagree here, but any professional musician will tell you music theory is there for a reason.

3. "How to make X genre" - Watch a full hour long video production of a song. It may sound like a long time but ask yourself this... how many movies have you watched in your lifetime? A lot.

4. KNOW YOUR DAW - How can you manipulate your sound through a multitude of parameters? How can you use a filter cutoff to transition from your introduction lead to a full, fat, supersaw? How can you use everything your workstation offers to make a more complete track? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH3RJBUZ_f0)

If you want to be successful at producing music, you need to make this your life.
What do I mean by that? You watch four hours of TV a day. You play three hours of video games a day. You go hangout with your friends every single day of the week.

No. I learned the hard way. You will have to make sacrifices. Success does not come easy, and one of the hardest parts if telling your friends that you don't have time to hangout because you want to be successful

Sounds crazy. Easier said than done. But it's the truth.

You seem quite an enlightened person......all that you wrote is what i can totally relate to!!!