This is a question I spend hours and hours thinking about. Why even make music at all?
Don't convince me why I should, I know why. But tell me why you make music at all. Why not play video games, or go out to the bar? What is it about music that really gets you going?
Personally it's something akin to self therapy for me. I find it hard to understand how I feel, and it's difficult for me to consciously process emotions in the moment. So I write music to externalise my subconscious emotional state. At the end of the process, I have an artifact that I can experience as a listener, and when I'm listening to what I made, then I understand how I felt. That's about the basics of it, and when I don't do it, I quite litrally end up suicidal, it's like a pressure valve. It's not really about other people listening for me. Don't get me wrong, I love validation as much as the next person, but that's not its primary function.
Is going to the bar fulfilling to my innermost self? No.
Is playing video games fulfilling to my innermost self? Maybe, but it more often than not fulfills that when there's musical narration.
Does making music fulfill my innermost self? A lot of the time, yes. And it helps communicate the things that I can't verbally.
And that's all there is to it.
Because it's fun. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The funny thing is that I started making music in the first place because I wanted to have some unique soundtracks in my "home movies". xD I decided to check out this thing called Fruity Loops because the name implied the music making process would be an idiotproof drag-and-drop loop-based experience. But I was wrong. The loops FL8 was bundled with sounded crappy and I got the impression the program's interface sorta proritized original user-made melodies. xD For some reason I wasn't discouraged, gave that a try, and found it rewarding. :)
I just like making things.
It is nice to be able to make something I wanted to hear. It can feel oddly therapeutic at times.
For me personally, its a creative outlet
I just love being able to make something of my own and put it out online for people to see/hear
Anything where I have the freedom to make whatever I want, whenever I want, is very likely gonna make for a super fun hobby for me
And of course, I love to improve! It gives an amazing sense of accomplishment and feels very rewarding when you take a step back and look at what youve done
Charl
No reason, in fact, I am not a music person, haven't even listened music this year. Music making is as frivolous as watchin Gmod videos, probably worse because I got pretentious about it. So yeah, I don't know why I do it when I don't even enjoy making it or hearing it. I guess I need to do something, but it didn't have to be music.
I'm doing it so other people can enjoy it, and, to be honest, for fame, and it's just fun by the way
At 2/9/24 03:52 PM, slowfreq wrote: This is a question I spend hours and hours thinking about. Why even make music at all?
Don't convince me why I should, I know why. But tell me why you make music at all. Why not play video games, or go out to the bar? What is it about music that really gets you going?
It relaxes me, to make music. It stirs my motivation for life and is one of the reasons life is worth living. Sometimes, like now, it's a bit hard for me to make music because of creative stumps and writers blocks and all that. But communication is key for me to be inspired to make music again.
I'll never look back, I've got no regrets,
Cause time doesn't wait for me
I choose to go my own way
It's a way to express your ideas and tell stories in a way that doesn't necessarily involve written prose or visuals.
The physiological response we have to music is also pretty well documented and researched, if you're wanting a more clinical reason.
At 2/12/24 10:23 AM, Bansheebutt wrote: It's a way to express your ideas and tell stories in a way that doesn't necessarily involve written prose or visuals.
The physiological response we have to music is also pretty well documented and researched, if you're wanting a more clinical reason.
I’m here for the storytelling aspect as well! I’m a storyteller at heart and narratives are how I tend to make sense of the world, but I also have a strong leaning towards musical expression. I guess I just grew up with it. I use songs, even by other people, as an outlet for emotions I can’t always express publicly.
About the clinical part: For a while, I wanted to make music to nurture happiness in other people, but I realized afterwards that my own happiness needs some maintenance first before I do that. I have yet to get back to making music for myself to make myself feel better, though I’m still pursuing it in a professional capacity. Perhaps that’s a good place to start again with music for NG.
Someone please help me revive my clubs
Music is my way of artistic expression; just in a sonic form.
To activate lots of dopamine, to bring fourth gose bumps, and to modify context.
Quinnfinity NG
To put it simply, music gives me purpose. Without it I have nothing. Without it I wither, I die.
That is not an exaggeration. I would not have anything to channel my emotions through without music. It would stagnate inside me until I became too depressed to keep going. I have to keep making music. I have to keep creating.
There's no better feeling than creating something and sharing it no matter what it is. It's also super satisfying seeing where you were and how far you've come.
Like others already said, it's fun for me. Like playing in a sandbox.
It's hard to make music when I'm not feeling it, but sometimes I have anxious energy I need to burn and I can channel it into a song. It doesn't feel like work if I'm not presenting it to myself as such. Recently I've found it best not to focus on results or success, just to appreciate the fact that I'm capable of creating a work of art that didn't exist before.
Same reason for any creative endeavor. You're inspired, and the voices in your head won't let up. You know how the lead sounds, or the bass, or the progression or chords or timbre or anything really, and it's so overwhelming you have to see if creating that envisioned something from nothing can be as good as it can be. And if not that, casual experimentation and fun. I love soundscapes, and I would be definitively less happy without creating or messing around with them.
because i like it when my guitar goes "bwang-bwang-bwaaaaang~~~"
jokes aside, it's just an outlet for me
I enjoy being creative and expressing thoughts and ideas through music. It's a very rewarding medium to me, because I can see the progress I make with every single track; every time I work on music, I can feel myself learning more and opening my mind up to different techniques while simultaneously using what sounds good to me.
It's something I can get into and sink hours and hours into. I both love and hate listening to the same track or parts of a track over and over and over again just to fix minor details. It's also a matter of overcoming challenges within the process of creating music that I find enjoyable, even when it's tedious at times. Sure, there are "rules" to music, but the fun comes from stretching them thin to be able to create sounds that are unique and enjoyable. There are so many cool and interesting ideas you can accomplish with music.
God gave us music, so we ought to enjoy it.
Music is the shower of the soul
you just gotta chose the scent of the shampoo
The world is filled with Rhythm, the very basic your own heart. You stop making music when you die.
