What's your biggest obstacle in making music you're happy with?

lesstalkmoredisco · 2020-10-30T14:41:12.082Z

jasl:

predominantly psychologically

And this indeed predominantly. And just to clarify for others, I’m completely not trying to be harsh, that we’re our own biggest hurdle. Because indeed I think that’s predominantly in our own heads, being our own worst critics. What I’m taking from this thread is yet another reaffirmation of just enjoying the ride!

ajbajb · 2020-10-30T14:46:59.716Z

Agreed. This is what freed me up when I play on the boxes: just experiment, feel the vibe go in and out.

Alternatively, when I play guitar I’m learning perfect songs, start to finish.

I use different tools for different outcomes: Elektron boxes for spacing out at the end of a tough day; guitar for playing with friends and sharing / singing songs.

Though I would love to work on the boxes as programmatically as I work in my normal job!

Aen · 2020-10-30T15:43:15.610Z

Damn, that’s cold!

Aen · 2020-10-30T15:44:19.352Z

Honestly I think learning the elektron boxes was a big part of this, trying to wrap my head around Octatrack’s capabilities and then trying ideas out IRL…

lesstalkmoredisco · 2020-10-30T17:53:48.455Z

Once you understand OT all else will be at your brains fingertips

PeterHanes · 2020-10-30T20:06:25.174Z

What’s your biggest obstacle in making music you’re happy with?

My instinct for precision when I am really seeking ambiguity.
My instinct for caution when I am really seeking extremity.
My instinct for solitude when I am really seeking community.

Kegeratorz · 2020-10-30T20:15:31.540Z

Very well said and welcome to this awesome community.

@PeterHanes Lovey use of polar opposites and so true!

ajbajb · 2020-10-30T22:12:38.429Z

Also, this is a real credit to the UX designers at Elektron, but the boxes are really fun to use even when you’re not being productive.

Anyone who’s tried to play the clarinet knows that you need pretty high frustration tolerance to make something decent.

As they say about Othello, ‘a minute to learn, a lifetime to master’.

AFunkyRhythm · 2020-10-31T09:15:33.714Z

Having too many hobbies/interests.

I spend time doing professional development for my job.
I’m a keen golfer.
I love learning/playing the piano.
I love playing music in several bands.
I love synthesisers and learning audio production techniques.
I like to sim race occasionally.

Essentially there’s not enough hours in the day. I would dearly love to produce an album, hopefully I can achieve this over the winter. Ironically the COVID restrictions could help me out, as the golf and the gigging are having to take a back seat at the moment.

tallrobphilp · 2020-10-31T09:32:57.609Z

This might be slightly off-topic but I seem to have forgotten why I started making music in the first place. I started messing around with “computer music” using trackers in the early 90s and then onto more complex DAW software etc and I enjoyed the process of noodling and seeing what happened and I wasn’t that fussed about the end result. Full disclosure - I’m not a musician, I can’t play an instrument and I’ve always just messed around with the technology to make sounds, beats and “electronic” music using whatever tools I had. In recent years (I’m now 40) I’ve become much more frustrated when what I make doesn’t sound “pro” or whatever. But I have no delusions about being a musician/producer and it’s just a hobby so when did that become important?! I think it’s partly the addiction of watching online “content” creators. It’s not their fault, I like a lot of them and they’re just trying to help people make music and have fun but constantly comparing yourself to others is a fool’s game! Of course other people are more productive and talented than me, but so what?! I’m not a professional chef but I still enjoy cooking and I don’t care about not measuring up to that standard!

I also spend 40 hours a week in front of the screen doing my day job of software engineer and I REALLY need to get away from the screen more. Thus I’m back on the trail of a hardware box (preferably just one, I don’t have the time, space, money or patience for a complex setup) where I can just get back to enjoying the process of noodling away and making some noise.

As a related point of interest, I’m looking at getting a Digitone (again). I’m enjoying ambient music lately and I think I could get a lot of enjoyment making that thing drone. I bought one a couple of years ago and was quickly scared off and sent it back but I’m in a different mindset now. I’ve stopped buying software (it doesn’t help me) and although I’m enjoying my M:S it still require me to “curate” samples to put on the unit as raw material and that process is annoying me even though I think the M:S is a great device.

Anyway, I hope you all get past your blockers and enjoy the process!

SP-USER · 2020-10-31T15:55:46.603Z

tallrobphilp:

Full disclosure - I’m not a musician, I can’t play an instrument and I’ve always just messed around with the technology to make sounds, beats and “electronic” music using whatever tools I had. In recent years (I’m now 40) I’ve become much more frustrated when what I make doesn’t sound “pro” or whatever. But I have no delusions about being a musician/producer and it’s just a hobby so when did that become important?!

Same here for the most part, I cannot play an instrument, well not to any sort of standard I can be proud of anyway. I get by with the help of technology. I’d be totally screwed without samplers and sequencers etc. I do occasionally come up with stuff I’m happy with but never turn it into anything completed.

I think it’s fair to say that I finally got pulled into the hobby after hearing “It’s a Sin” by the Pet Shop Boys. I was already drawn to good sounding music through listening to ABBA and Boney M in my uncle’s car, but it was the sheer epicness of the sound of “It’s a Sin” that really made me understand that I needed more than a home keyboard if I ever wanted to sound like that - lol!!!

To me, at the time, the Fairlight machines they almost completely produced their first two albums (Please and Actually) on were “just” synthesizers. Wasn’t until many years later I started to understand the reasons those two albums sounded especially good. It’s good song writing, sure, but it was also largely about the characteristic sound of the Fairlight itself, and the skilled people who used to program all the intricacies into it and handle the production etc.

One of my favourite tracks ever is also on the same album, a track called “It Couldn’t Happen Here”, and to this day, that track is still the track that I always tell myself, that if ever produced something like that, man, I would be so freaking happy! It’s the sort of track that I wish I could be the one to say, yeah, I produced that!

So I totally hear you on how things have turned out. The only thing I have learned in the meantime is that trying to be like those you respect isn’t the way to do it. Consolation for me, however, comes from knowing that I have been brought into the hobby of music and synths because of that burning, air-brained desire I had back then to sound like the Pet Shop Boys.

You’re essentially in the same boat, as are most of us, just with different triggers and influences. It’s a shame that when you’re a teen, you cannot foresee your future wisdom. As a side-note, I do at least have the skills now to sound like I have a Fairlight even though I don’t

Anyway, if it turns out I just have nerd syndrome, then this guy has it even more chronically than I have. He recreated the track using the original data on an actual Fairlight …

… check the description in the video to pick out the geek stuff. It’s not ‘quite’ there, not ‘quite’ Pet Shop Boys, but man, he made a fantastic job of it and I bet he had one hell of a blast achieving it!

Tchu · 2020-10-31T16:04:41.832Z

Thinking that you can do everything in the sounding-pro-track-process can be an obstacle to some people, I presume.

bibenu · 2020-10-31T16:15:32.412Z

Keeping up with this thread

Sorry, I’ll get my coat …

kairos · 2020-10-31T16:21:36.908Z

I’m collecting these

SP-USER · 2020-10-31T16:44:00.659Z

bibenu:

Keeping up with this thread

Sorry, I’ll get my coat …

Well I just sniffed my armpits, nothing wrong there, so I hope it’s nothing I just said has caused your departure sir

Lum · 2020-10-31T16:57:48.631Z

Embrace imperfection & lower expectations helped me a lot.

In other words, stop trying to be the musician you think you’re supposed to be.

SP-USER · 2020-10-31T17:17:37.937Z

kairos:

I’m collecting these

Funny that, I started collecting stuff in this thread as well about an hour ago. I know of people would have a keen interest in some of it.

the_duckchild · 2020-11-02T09:15:31.388Z

used to be: my own brain getting in the way.
now: time and excuses.

the change partly came from an exhibition of art brut at DOX in Prague oddly. and from trying really hard to get over myself for about five years. Very hard (and totally counterproductive) not to compare what you are doing to perfection/your idols and never finish anything.

(I guess getting yourself out of the way and developing process is kinda the key for all kinds of creative work.)

rockpapergoat · 2020-11-02T13:33:03.306Z

friends and people i enjoy working with are all those who have “gotten over themselves.” humility, curiosity, and empathy go a long way in work and creative pursuits. there are probably other aspects of my life where i’m afraid of failure or otherwise hesitant to change or mess up, but i tend to embrace failure when doing creative things, like music. also, it’s great to see such a community of people learning together, supporting each other, and being positive. sucks that participating here is draining my wallet with gear purchases, but thanks. it’s encouraging to learn along with you all.

SanMateo · 2020-11-02T13:51:59.500Z

rockpapergoat:

friends and people i enjoy working with are all those who have “gotten over themselves.” humility, curiosity, and empathy go a long way in work and creative pursuits.

100% agree on this. I have a friend I used to play music with but his ego, need to be seen. And lack of humility really killed working with him and almost broke the friendship as well.