Three things hamper my music-making. Age, complexity and lack of consistency. They seem to work together to confound, confuse, and intimidate me. I am nearly 60. I remember a couple of decades when I had a much simpler setup and a keener mind, when I could just sit down, even if I hadn’t used my instruments for a few weeks, simply flip a few buttons to turn things on, and then start playing–entering worlds of bliss.
Now, older, less keen, my mind not as flexible with new OS interface stuff, and having dramatically increased the complexity of my studio (Pandemic binges, and wanting to go DAWless or hybrid), I find myself often wanting to go into the studio, but anxious about it too, especially if I hadn’t been in there for a few weeks, knowing I will have forgotten stuff that I need to re-orient myself to them. My niece suggested I commit to spending 30 minutes a day at the least, forcing myself to go into my studio room, turn stuff on, and just see what happens, with no expectations. I started this weekend, and can see it is going to be a very good idea, to address both age and inconsistent use (forgetting stuff, elasticity fading) and the complexity (more hardware boxes to learn and remember).
Anyone else find that committing to a daily schedule in your studio helps with getting stuff done and being more comfortable in your studio?
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Dr.K
2
Yes, recently i’m trying to use my gear daily. It really helped my creative flow and my overall well being. And i got a better feeling of my studio. Sometimes it felt a bit overwhelming before and a bit like work instead of fun. And now i don’t feel bad anymore that i spent all this money on gear.
The hardest part for me is not to watch videos instead.
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Yes, regular practice is the way forward. But not every single day because breaking up a schedule that has turned relentless can in itself be rejuvenating. We need time to contemplate and repair. Mix it up with some form of outdoor recreation activity and the benefits are compounded.
What dramatically increased my cognitive ability to appreciate and retain ‘what happens’ was to dramatically decrease the complexity of my setup. It’s not about engaging in some minimalist thought exercise (those wear me out!), it’s about putting extraneous things away in order be able to concentrate on specific things I’m trying to learn. So I rotate things out without prejudice as needed. Gradually, I’m finding equilibrium and more creative connections are being made.
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Yes. I’m preparing a short set of Xmas tunes to play at the neighborhood open mic. I’ll play violin live and the Roland MC will play the backing parts. So I put in time regularly to work towards finishing up the tunes.
I could have just downloaded backing tracks then play them on my iPhone plugged into the PA but it’s not as fun and educational as recreating them on the MC myself, then having the MC play them, with some probability introducing variations in drum parts and stuff.
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Another angle which recently worked for me was to start listening to more music. The music I like to make. I’m more motivated to make beats when I’m inspired. Inspiration usually comes from music. That’s just me though.
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That’s an interesting one. I feel like the more I am making music myself, the less I listen to music. Not concerning concerts/sets. But when I then do listen to music, I hear it a bit differently than before. Fortunately still an amateur and not immediately going „oh, I see what you did there, that‘s this and that and that’s why it‘s lame“ (I suspect that could happen easily if you are more experienced, but maybe just a cliche).
Without a doubt! I absolutely think it’s crucial to not let it go more than a few days, maximum, or I’ll start losing control over details.
Nice to hear you’ve find a good approach (and a great niece) 
Lum
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watching videos instead is real!
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I do. However, I usually establish one or two specific goals for the day that will move me closer towards completing a track. It can be as simple as working on a hi-hat pattern, programming a bass patch, or creating a transition. Overall, the daily goals help me to accomplish something of value, on most days, in a manageable time-boxed interval.
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This is a good next step for me. For now, I like the idea of just getting myself back into the habit of being in the studio every day. Once I get back into that habit (for maybe a month) I can work up to setting specific goals for myself.
BLKrbbt
11
I think the anxiety is more about just knowing more about production then you did back then. And also knowing now what truly goes into it.
I didn’t read the whole thread, but what helps me is breaking up the studio. Take just one piece of gear, or get something new, and bring out to the couch. Then just make something… anything on it. Then take it back to the studio to get going.
Or reorganize the studio and make it new.
Plus, you need to jam more. Don’t go into it thinking about arranging a track. Just groove out, with a record button near by.
You’ve built it up in your head and you need to just break out and have fun making noise.
Lastly, try the mission briefs here. Do a genre you don’t normally like, like folk or hip hop and let someone else supply the sample, and have a deadline.
Lots of assumptions and generalizations in my post, but I’m just throwing some stuff out to try to get you going.
How about you make a track right now and post it in this response thread.
I want to hear what you got.
Let’s go!
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HBIII
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The first step of doing anything is ‘show up’. Everyone I’ve seen fail at doing something failed because they didn’t complete step one.
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There are many studies across a vast spectrum of activities that show shorter, high frequency practice/learning sessions can lead to quicker and more positive results.
Learning guitar, studying, exercise, language learning, and all manor of activities.
Here’s just one Less Is More: Latent Learning Is Maximized by Shorter Training Sessions in Auditory Perceptual Learning - PMC
An internet search will bring up many more. A more targeted search will drill down to music specific studies, but they all have the same idea in common. 10 minutes of daily practice over 6 days (for example) is seemingly better than a one hour session every sixth day.
When wouldn’t this be applicable? An activity that takes a minimum of 60 minutes to complete is an obvious candidate.
Reducing your gear to concentrate on one or two pieces at a time is wise, writing out daily practice goals could help (on this day practice X, next day practice Y, repeat).
If you are dreading even turning things on and sitting down to create, then that is the first goal for the first week - fire everything up, sit down, success reached. Anything else you do in these sessions is extra credit.
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d0nk3y
14
Kinda funny to read that as I’m going to spend m’y day at work waiting/carving to be in my studio… But I guess that’s all about age and perception.
I did have a kind of studio schedule last year but a newborn baby has not kept things on track haha.
I had a few hours a day split into a few tasks and alternating every other day
Eg.
30 mins keyboard practice / Guitar next day
30 mins learning new DAW / Hardware feature from tutorials
1 hour making something
Also sometimes a reconfiguration or tidy up of home studio gets me motivated in a weird way to get back to things
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All good advice! This in particular is a surprisingly good mental hack that reminds me of one I learnt in the productivity world. Make the first item on your todo list ‘Finish writing this todo list’. Boom, you’ve already made progress and have momentum.
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subduct
17
I had this situation last year, and the cause for me was having too much GAS-acquired gear on the table. I cut this down to 3 boxes with the rest packed away or sold, and now I can make progress every time I sit down.
I try to finish each session with picking (or even starting and leaving unfinished) a definite next task to start the next session with.
I still have a separate issue with laziness/motivation though 
reeloy
18
…that grass, that’s always greener somewhere else…
…while routine worx wonders…
…ur mind, that always plays trix on u…
…motivation leads to innovation, innovation to inspiration…or the other way around ?..
…repetition makes the hit…
…the luxury, when ur hobby makes ur living and the realization, whatever makes ur living becomes ur job…but a job is a job…no matter how much u love what u do, once it becomes ur job, it goes along with flaws, form time to time…
cycles and circles…only daily routines, no matter what, will make u grow…
commitment makes all the cut…and all the difference…
while no one ever can call the amount of energy u had in ur 20ies, still the same u got, once u joined that half century club…
schedules and routines make ur days…and ur chances.
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Daily practice is certainly beneficial in all possible ways, but I would say in order for that to happen it needs to be fun for you and not intimidating. And I think you’ve already identified the main reason why that’s not happening: too much gear to remember how to work with!
I suffer from GAS just like everyone else, but I honestly feel that it’s the biggest hindrance to being creative, at least for me. When I have lots of gear in front of me I get total option paralysis, and a lot of the times I spend more time trying to figure out how to use something than actually making music.
Personally, the times I’ve been more creative have always been when I’ve focused on 2 or 3 synths/grooveboxes at most, that’s why I did some serious downsizing in the last couple of years. For example, I bought a Deluge back in January and that has been the main hardware I’ve been using all year; although it’s super complex and relies on a lot of “hidden” shortcuts, I know them all by heart now because I’ve used it almost everyday for almost a year.
So that would be my main suggestion to you: choose 2 or 3 pieces of hardware (max) that you really like to work with and commit to using just those at least for a few months. Eventually you will reach a point when you are TOO comfortable with them and it might actually get boring, that’s when it’s time to switch it up and choose some different gear again.
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That Chinese proverb about planting a tree, although it doesn’t directly apply to the scenario OP described, I feel like whenever I get down from some age related / not being productive type mindset it helps to motivate me or ease my tendency towards beating myself up vs doing something about it.
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
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