I'm proper stuck, help

22 Replies, 5230 Views

I've hit a brick wall of massive proportions. We've talked about it here so many times before, but nothing bears relevance to my feelings on this right now.

I get to the same point in every tune I start where I can go no further. It's been like this since I first loaded Soundtracker in 1991. Nothings changed. I've tried different DAWs, even moved to the Maschine for a different type of sequencing full stop. I can't seem to break my ways.

There's no magical answer to this but barring colabs all the time, which tend to get results, I just don't know where to go from here. Maybe I'm at my limits of production (lack of) talent. Maybe I need to just do colabs or remix stuff for people. Maybe I'm answering my own questions just typing this - half the reason for starting the thread.

Different genres get results instantly then one tune later I'm stuck again. I've even started a classical track.

Help a brother. Sell up? Give up? Pour acid in my ears?
Still searching for the answer to this question myself wilshy... is it a case of you getting bored of your tracks before you can finish them or do you just run out of ideas?

Neutral
What is it that collabs do that you dont seem to be able to do?

Sometimes you just have to force yourself to finish a tune even if it becomes a grind.

Bounce out a load of samples and start again. Remix yourself.

More later.
One thing i try and do when i think i have the skeleton of the tune pretty much done but then hit a wall is to bounce new copies of all the samples,loops etc in the tune and then spend some time chaining up effects and mangling them all several times so ive got lots of variations of all the elements of the track.
Just gives you more material to flesh out the track and get you one step closer to finishing it.

Even if you move on to something else, when you come back to that tune you'll have some new sounds to be playing around with rather than firing the tune up playing it back and thinking.....yeah same tune, same old samples so im still stuck as to where to go from here Smile
Thanks chaps. I don't get bored of them at all, they all have genuine potential. I just get stuck with sounds. Got so many great sound sources but my ideas lack massively. I'll listen to like for like material, go away happy I can do something then try & get no further.

Colabs bring fresh ideas. Someone else to carry on where I get stuck.

Remix myself. That's an intriguing idea from an unfinished tune.
Another good tip i got from blumarten is to set one locator at the start, then one at the end (around 5.30/6mins).

then you can see your tune instead of an infinite blank canvas.

You can then also paint in starts, ends etc and you find you have far less to do than you thought. Use all your ideas where they seem appropriate and all suddenly you have more ideas than you thought. Start chopping around, finer details, etc. Working from the outside in as it were.

you can always move the end locator later if needs be

Also

Change drum tracks to synths for interesting basslines etc.

Bounce bounce bounce (best thing ever IMO. bounce a sound and stick in a sampler, especially with loads of modulation sounds mint, with all the varied timings etc.

Do everything wrong - put 4 reverbs in series on your bass, stick a chorus on ya drums.

Set a time limit - must finish this by wednesday or im deleting it.

use only 3 notes.

Limits are really inspiring, was so much easier before when i only had 10secs sampling time, one synth and a midi sequencer, tend to get lost in plugins and kick drum samples. Make a kit of sounds before you start and stick to em, mashing them up to mek em more interesting rather than going through 18 gb of samples.

Xyxthumbs
Limits Xyxthumbs

Also, not starting something unless you have a specific idea to get out always helped (past tense JEDIcrying !) me.

Starting a track without having any idea where it's going to go can be fun, but getting that thing that's you've been working on in your head out 'onto paper' can be more satisfying, and less open-ended. You know when you have satisfied/realised that idea, that's when the tune is done.
[Image: protabl3.gif]
Don Cherry Wrote:Every human is blessed in her or his life with one love (passion), no matter how long it may last. This Absolute love will last in one's heart and soul forever.
throw yourself completley out of your comfort zone

personally lately ive not been writing any drumandbasses at all, been playing guitar again and writing some deaths metals

and its been great, ive not at one point got stuck, the only things im thinking about is what the track needs "can i play it?" (probably not) but its never been "damn i dunno what this needs"

so maybe in your case wilsh you can try and source samples that are completley different to what you would normally use, that sort of thing. Maybe if you always sample stuff try hitting the synths and playing stuff rather than sequencing
yeah a weekend going through random cds sampling is always good when ya bored, much better than dling sample packs.
Some good advice here Xyxthumbs

Love what you're all saying. Have been working outside of my comfort zone with the classical track. On a deep glitchy house Trentemoller style track I got really stuck.

Keep them coming, can see myself coming back to this thread time and time again Grin
sometimes when i get stuck i just leave it for a week or so, then come back to it with fresh ears, i find that quite useful. It could also be that the track you're working on is pretty much finished and just needs filling out a bit. Every couple of months i seem to get writer's block but if i take a break for a few weeks the ideas start coming back.
AbstractDrumz Wrote:sometimes when i get stuck i just leave it for a week or so, then come back to it with fresh ears, .

It's a great theory for most people, but it's been happening to me since 1991 (how fucking depressing is that, 1991 I started music making and I've only had 3 tunes released - then again I can say that the first 8 years it was for computer demos / games only) so it doesn't hold true with me. That's a great way of working if you're not sure about an idea in a tune though, come back to it a couple of days later see if it sounds right.
Sorry to hear that you're feeling that way Wilshy, i'm sure in time you will find a work pattern that works just right for you and you won't run into the same problems.

I get 'stuck' frequently on tracks - although I also find spending too long on one track sucks the life out it. I guess it's different for different producers.

I usually have a handful of tunes on the go at one time and I find moving between them helps keep my interest and imagination for the tracks in a good place.

Also the remixing of your own tracks that has been mentioned in this thread is a genius idea. I think each and every track of mine is in fact a remix of another track in some sort of way.

Also try not to view it as getting stuck.

Most things you create will have a use somewhere along the line even if you don't finish the track - you might have made a wicked sound or break in the production process that ends up being the missing piece in a different track - so it's part of the creative mixing pot in my opinion!

St ick with it bro [Image: falconslayer.gif]
I dubbed the sheriff
step away for a while, forget all about it.
carry on mixing, get pissed or what ever you wanna do.
i know when i've broken my computer i'm always itching to use it but i cant so when i finaly get it fixed it just flows.
also, go and listen to someone else produce a track but dont get involved that alway's give's me ideas aswell.
fingers crossed for ya.
Icon_sad not far from chucking it in myself now, my priorities have changed and so has my need for making music, it may come back but not looking like it right now
well i was going to say set some limits, but that's been covered Smile

have you answered why you want to spend time making music? or what you enjoy about it? when i get stuck, answering these usually inspires me to make a move. and try writing those answer down. Wink
i remember when i had my amegia 1200, octamed wiv 4 channels and no idea (no change there) i never had a problem with trying to get tracks down (if that's wot you'd call em) the ideas was flowing faster then i knew what to do with them.
my point: i was more creative when i had basic gear and no idea then when i have loads of gear and years of finding out i still aint got a clue what i'm doing.

you just gotta get on and do it, polish it and mould it how you want it, but dont force it, do it when it's right.
Amiga. Please. Wink
supoz u was on the atari then??
No mate, no chance, die hard Amiga fan (still got 4) hence my disgust at it spelt wrong Wink hardcore Octamed user in the later days. 12-bit sampler for the a1200 with built in midi interface running the Sy85. Proper limits.

Can't wait to drag those tunes out some day. Already got some of my early jungle efforts, Photek type thing which actually still sounds good. Plenty of unfinished tunes as well, showing it's always been a problem.
write a tune using only a signal generator Teef
good fun
Wilshy Wrote:No mate, no chance, die hard Amiga fan (still got 4) hence my disgust at it spelt wrong Wink hardcore Octamed user in the later days. 12-bit sampler for the a1200 with built in midi interface running the Sy85. Proper limits.

Can't wait to drag those tunes out some day. Already got some of my early jungle efforts, Photek type thing which actually still sounds good. Plenty of unfinished tunes as well, showing it's always been a problem.
Doh still didn't notice the smellin mistake. Why don't u try finish of one of these bad bowyz?
I used to have similar problems, but if you force yourself to finish the tune... no matter how shit you think it is, then after a while finishing tunes will become second nature. Arrangement and that side of things really improves.

When I listen to some of the tunes I did in my first 2 years, it never fails to crack me up... they were terrible. But I think by actually turning them into a full tune it helped me in the long run.

I still have moments though where its like my heart has been torn out, because ideas just don't flow... but as someone else said I take a break for a couple of days or so, or maybe just mash samples / work on different tunes.

Also another thing that helps me, is when listening to the current unfinished tune(s) I make some notes as thoughts pop into my head.... when I go back to the tune I check my note pad and straight away I have ideas of what I want to do. Warning though, they may sound good on paper but sometimes... Smile

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