Ever since april, since we are lost (my best song) came out, I have been trying to make something even better. But, i just can't improve. I don't know what's wrong, but I can't make great songs anymore. every time i make a song I try to beat we are lost but to no avail. What am i doing wrong?
You have a lot of submissions. How much time do you spend on a song before you give up?
not much. I just think, If it sucks now, why work harder on it?
Oh and also, I consider We Are Lost to be perfection. What... do I make now?
This is called writers block. It happens sometimes, dont worry, you'll get your groove back on soon, and when you do, you'll be even better.
I suggest trying a different style, that can help you break Writers block.
At 6/22/09 03:28 PM, statueofdiveo wrote: not much. I just think, If it sucks now, why work harder on it?
because that's the only way to make it better. jesus, get some patience.
Oh and also, I consider We Are Lost to be perfection.
well, you're wrong. It's not that great of a song man. Get over it. Make something new.
At 6/22/09 03:31 PM, statueofdiveo wrote: Oh and also, I consider We Are Lost to be perfection. What... do I make now?
Well there you go. An artist should never consider his/her work perfect. There's your problem.
There are always ways to improve.
Other than the perfection thing, someone just sitting down thinking they can write or come up with something right on the spot is kidding themselves. Wait until you have enough inspiration to write something. Wait till something hits you, and you can't help but write.
At 6/22/09 04:02 PM, TheRat wrote: Other than the perfection thing, someone just sitting down thinking they can write or come up with something right on the spot is kidding themselves. Wait until you have enough inspiration to write something. Wait till something hits you, and you can't help but write.
I do that all the time....
At 6/22/09 04:24 PM, btriangle wrote:At 6/22/09 04:02 PM, TheRat wrote: Other than the perfection thing, someone just sitting down thinking they can write or come up with something right on the spot is kidding themselves. Wait until you have enough inspiration to write something. Wait till something hits you, and you can't help but write.I do that all the time....
It's ok to sit down with some ideas in the ahead. But starting thinking "Ok, I hope I write an amazing song now!" is not a good mindset to have. It easily makes you aggravated. If it works, good for you. Sadly, most people simply cannot do that.
It's ok to sit down with some ideas in the ahead. But starting thinking "Ok, I hope I write an amazing song now!" is not a good mindset to have. It easily makes you aggravated. If it works, good for you. Sadly, most people simply cannot do that.
I agree, I dont think that happens often. I dont write like that at all, i write in a different way.
There are two ways of msuic writing -
The first way is Enlightment. You walk about the street, minding your own business, when suddenly - BAM! It's like a slap to the face. Like a rave party in your mind. You figure out an awesome song.
The second way is the way most songs are written. You sit on your ass with your instrument, decide your direction, and start to look. You look for riffs, for chords, for lyrics. You look for a song. Don't look for insperation - that's way #1. You hopefully find something good, and you evolve from it, morph it into a good song. It's much more difficult, but that's just how it's done. Sometimes you'll figure out an awesome riff, but it won't go anywhere, and sometimes you'll sit for hours and won't find anything. it's annoying and somtimes causes despair, but that's the works.
Good luck. Just remember to work hard and let go of past songs.
ehh... Ive just run out of inspiration
At 6/22/09 05:01 PM, statueofdiveo wrote: ehh... Ive just run out of inspiration
I know what you mean, my stuff keeps getting worse and worse.
Oh world, whatever shall Ido
:'(
At 6/22/09 05:01 PM, statueofdiveo wrote: ehh... Ive just run out of inspiration
This problem occurs when you actively pursue inspiration. Wait for it to hit you when you least expect it. Everyone has writing slumps.
I just got out of a little writing slump myself. What I personally did was just recompose one of my old songs and fix the errors I made in the original for the newer version. Also came up with a much more foreboding name for the newer version, The Fall of Eden. (lol I think my best accomplishment in that song though was the name rather than the music.)
Suggestions to break your block:
1) Experiment with something new. Keep it relevant to what you currently use, cuz dropping everything and starting completely different will just lead to another form of block.
2) Improve one of your earlier works. That's what got me out of my recent block.
3) Acknowledge trends that you have in your music production, and work to change them. I was made aware of my own trends when one friend said that I had a specific style to my music, and that he could tell a song of mine from someone elses.
4) Sit down and just start freestyling on whatever instrument you play, or your program if you don't play an instrument. Write anything, it doesn't even matter what.
5) Teach yourself a new musical trick. For example, I just forced myself to learn neapolitan chords today, and I forced myself to master key changes in my song La Guerra De Los Dios. I plan to combine the above two skills in my next song. My plan is to completely master composition at some point and gain the ability to write the most entertaining songs possible.
At 6/22/09 03:31 PM, statueofdiveo wrote: Oh and also, I consider We Are Lost to be perfection. What... do I make now?
not much. I just think, If it sucks now, why work harder on it?
These two statements, especially the above one, almost made me think you were trolling. Then I realized that no one ever trolls the audio portal. But these are still some bad statements.
I'll start with the second one, since it's not as bad. There are some cases where it's a good idea to abandon a song:
-when you realize that you're going in the wrong direction for a song and it's too late in the game to turn back
-when you've just started the song and haven't invested too much time or effort into it.
But oftentimes, investing a little energy in an song that initially sounds like ass can yield some amazing results. Once again, I'll mention Las Guerras, because that song is a perfect example of that. That song really doesn't get good until after the first slow section, when I start to get a hold of myself kinda. In fact, oftentimes it's one section of a song that turns out amazing that keeps me working on a song. For my last song, it was the choir sections that kept me going. For the song before that, it was two specific sections that ended up sounding much realer than I previously thought possible. For the song before that, it was actually the ending that I put on it that really stuck with me, although the section with the woodwind melodies did hit me a bit.
Onto the first quote, about the one song being perfection: No song is perfection. Ever. Consider this: What's your main motivations for producing music? For me, it's self-improvement, self-entertainment, entertainment for others, and someday becoming a prominent musician. Self-improvement is the first one on the list though because it's the most important for me. If you read my other post, you'll notice that I said that I hope to one day be able to craft the best melodies instantaneously. If I start to believe that one of my creations is unsurpassable in terms of skill, then I remove the single most important motivation for creation of music that I have and severly damage the rest.
Well, that sums up my wall of text.
At 6/22/09 05:27 PM, TheRat wrote:At 6/22/09 05:01 PM, statueofdiveo wrote: ehh... Ive just run out of inspirationThis problem occurs when you actively pursue inspiration. Wait for it to hit you when you least expect it. Everyone has writing slumps.
While this is true. It's not an option in the professional world.
Well, someone else pointed this out but I'm about to do it again to help clarify. There's no such thing as perfection. Everything we know about music is subjective and the "rules" only exists because we live in a world that made them as such. It's a good thing to like your work but it's a bad thing to become pretentious about it. Sorry if that sounded like an insult but you really need to learn to consider things a little more subjectively or you'll never get over your writers block.
Now, what I do when I hit writers block is I just start a new project. I'll put those other ones on hold until I can think of a better solution. Sometimes I completely forget about them by accident. We all hit those blocks so the best way to beat them is just to remember that if you keep making music eventually you'll get over it.
Unless you give up at music/ die :P
it exists, you just dont have the listening apparatus to appreciate it ^_^
At 6/22/09 07:17 PM, pr0ded wrote: it exists, you just dont have the listening apparatus to appreciate it ^_^
You're not allowed to talk.
You're not allowed to talk.
ive been here much longer ^_^, now look to afx for perfection, and some cid
"beauty is in the eyes of the beholder."
You just lost, Pr0ded. Now give me my 50$.
Sorry for saying this, but my above statement just reminded me of The Game, which you also just lost.
At 6/22/09 07:19 PM, pr0ded wrote:You're not allowed to talk.ive been here much longer ^_^, now look to afx for perfection, and some cid
afx? You mean aphex twin I LOVE THAT HGUY OLOLOOLOLOL
see what I did there?
Also, I was joking. Of course your allowed to talk. Just have less biased opinions and your good. Seriously, if someone said "your music sucks" to kraftwerk back in the day and they took it seriously and all quit, where would EDM have gone?
yes, i am towards people who can hear clearer
At 6/22/09 07:14 PM, nathanallenpinard wrote:At 6/22/09 05:27 PM, TheRat wrote:While this is true. It's not an option in the professional world.At 6/22/09 05:01 PM, statueofdiveo wrote: ehh... Ive just run out of inspirationThis problem occurs when you actively pursue inspiration. Wait for it to hit you when you least expect it. Everyone has writing slumps.
Sam Hazo, who has commissions throughout the concert band world, follows those rules.
At 6/22/09 09:19 PM, TheRat wrote:
Sam Hazo, who has commissions throughout the concert band world, follows those rules.
Well I guess that means he has tons of people under him just WAITING for that next big idea.
Thing is, when you get good enough you can crap out good music. What ultimately determines whether it's passable or not is what the artist thinks of it. I'm sure Hazo has made some pieces he's not been happy with, regardless he's put them out and they've probably done really well. That "rule" he follows is probably only true for half of his songs, otherwise he's lying.
