How do you break through that wall

[Ditchy]

Hello Guys/Gals,

I consider myself no expert in producing and purely do it as a hobby (I am Military and it helps me escape :) ).

Looking through my projects I have sooo many unfinished tracks (some sound pretty decent), but whenever I sit down to finish or even start another - I just hit a wall and have no idea where Im going with them.

It can be pretty frustrating seeing a lot of potential tracks just sitting there and I cant even finish them lol
On the odd day I will easily flick between each one and just listen, maybe add/delete a tiny bit or just exit.

Looking at youtube and tutorials etc some people just make it look so easy...the majority of my tracks have been created 'in the moment' rather than me going "today im going to start a trance track!" *boosh*

How do you cope/get around it?

Much love!

[Sequenced]

take practice bro

[Step]

I find that the secret to continuing a piece of music is to actually have a clear plan of what you're going to do. It's useless bringing up your project file, and just doodling around and tweaking knobs. You need to think - what do you want the track to be? What's your goal? How will you achieve that goal - what style? What sounds do you plan on using? How are you going to structure the track? What's the next step? Your focus shouldn't be doodling around until you find something that sounds cool, but actually thinking about clear answers to those questions.

Apart from that, it really does help to listen to tracks as inspiration. I'm sure you already do this, but I'm just saying that it definitely helps. Everything we make isn't entirely new - it's a product of different ideas, concepts and techniques we've picked up from other audio we listen to, and you're going to need to embrace that fact if you want to continue your ideas. Listen to music in a similar genre to what you're making, and you might get inspired!

Hope that helps.

[MetalRenard]

That's interesting, @Step, because I'm the exact opposite most of the time. Of course if it's for a project then I have to have a goal in mind, that goes without saying, but when I'm writing music for the sake of it I tend to just feel my way through it, write it as it goes along. I've finished pretty much every project that I did this way.

[Eagleon]

At 9/5/14 04:02 PM, MetalRenard wrote: That's interesting, @Step, because I'm the exact opposite most of the time. Of course if it's for a project then I have to have a goal in mind, that goes without saying, but when I'm writing music for the sake of it I tend to just feel my way through it, write it as it goes along. I've finished pretty much every project that I did this way.

A lot of musicians work this way, even if they do have vague goals like 'make something spooky that's seven minutes long.' I like electronic music because the instruments I'm working with are different each and every time, the sounds are never the same, and there's no telling where a track will go - I can't imagine working differently. Planning a track out comes during the process once I've found a little kernel of truth.

OP, you have to think about the fact that you've made music you've at least felt good enough about to share. You don't have to worry about not finishing something, because you already have. You are a musician. The quality and lengths you're willing to go to to keep making and improving your music is how you break through that wall - the walls are never ending, for writers, artists, musicians, etc. etc. if you can't think of anything new to make, it's because you aren't willing to try anything new, and of course, you don't want to remake the same song as you did before.

It can help to put down limitations sometimes, as in art (use C# enigmatic scale == use only yellow, white, and neon pink) to focus your efforts on things you haven't done yet. Try using a new synth (especially the broken-ass ones like Sakura that people don't typically use), an effect you think is normally cheesy in the genre you like to produce, a predetermined song structure (look something up if you don't have many in mind yet), learn what it takes to make a waltz, ragtime, glitch j-pop. It's especially important to start enjoying this stuff when you've just started - what possible harm can it be to make something you don't like if you can just start fresh straight afterwards?

[EctiBot]

Use sheer force or just use explosives.
You can push the wall down with force by just not caring about how the track will sound. Just force yourself to make it, even if you don't like the sound of it at first. After doing this for a while, creativity will flow into your brain and you'll be able to be more creative in your songs.
Or you could use explosives. The faster, but more messy way. Try listening to another artist who makes simillar music that the music you are aiming for and try to listen how he or she makes his tracks. At first you might find yourself simply copying another persons style, but after a while you will be able to implement some more of yourself into the songs.
ILol, I know. That was a horrible analogy XD, thought that it sounded cool for a mintue, but now I understand how stupid it lame it sounds X3.
Anyways, hope I helped somehow.

[Step]

At 9/5/14 04:02 PM, MetalRenard wrote: That's interesting, @Step, because I'm the exact opposite most of the time. Of course if it's for a project then I have to have a goal in mind, that goes without saying, but when I'm writing music for the sake of it I tend to just feel my way through it, write it as it goes along. I've finished pretty much every project that I did this way.

My music creation is usually spontaneous too, and to be honest I prefer it that way, but if you're suffering from writer's block, I find it actually helps to plan about what you're going to make, as opposed to just letting the inspiration flow. Thinking about what you're going to do gets stuff done, and that's precisely what you want when you're in a creative slump. Of course your plan is probably going to change like a million times while you're making the piece (which I think is a very healthy thing), but if you want to make something, you need a doable and reachable goal of what to make next, rather than just a vague idea.

[Ditchy]

Really chuffed at the responses guys.

I deffo find that my style is more spontaneous though as when I make a track its usually based on a melody i think of on the spot and just continue to build around it...but sometimes I lose the plot, and the track will just go down a completely different slope than originally intended (or I just lose motivation when I get stuck).

[ErikMcClure]

If I ever get stuck on a track, either it's because I need a secondary melody, or I need to fill in the background with some sound effects. If I need another melody, I'll search through my 1000+ ideas for a suitable alternate idea. If I need a sound effect, I'll dig up a few random synths and start making random shit until I find something that sounds cool.