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Setting Deadlines

I fancy trying something new because I always start projects and end up getting stuck in a never-ending mass of tweaking e.g. changing melody notes, synth settings, looking for the perfect kick and so on.

The idea I have is to set a deadline for myself on TA to pressure me into finishing a complete track. I'm gonna post it for some feedback no matter how good/bad I think it is.

If anyone else fancies joining me I'm setting my first deadline for JULY 1st 2006. I'm busy with college until June the 16th so that gives me about 15 day's to finish a track.

We could set the deadline for the 1st day of every month. One track a month shouldn't be too hard and after a year we'll have an album!

There's only one rule - you have to have fun!



BTW. Please try to use 'savefile' or 'putfile' to post mp3's, they are really good sites. 'Yousendit' has limited downloads and a few people have problems with 'Rapidshare'.

so, what if you don't make a deadline?

quote:

Originally posted by Pjotr G so, what if you don't make a deadline?

This is just an idea I had to try and motivate me to finish more tracks. If anyone else wants to join me that's fine, if they don't - that's fine

Well the last track I have finished is back in August 2005! For some reason I cannot finish any tracks anymore. Also I get bored of it after a while and I quit.. start a new one.. I like it really much and after so time I am not satified with it anymore.. and I start again.

Hehe so I've got the same problem that's really frustrating in my opinion maybe I also need to set deadlines.

quote:

Originally posted by Drazzic Well the last track I have finished is back in August 2005! For some reason I cannot finish any tracks anymore. Also I get bored of it after a while and I quit.. start a new one.. I like it really much and after so time I am not satified with it anymore.. and I start again. Hehe so I've got the same problem that's really frustrating in my opinion maybe I also need to set deadlines.

Sound's a lot like what I'm experiencing!

Why don't you aim to write a track by 1st July like me, and even if our tracks are crap we'll just pretend they're great and compliment each other!

Only kidding, I'm sure they'll be monsterous!

This is a good idea, I also have that problem like most I guess and end up tweaking, changing kicks, synths melodies etc and end up making slow progress. Sometimes I end up searching for refills, samples, reading tutorials then I'm demotivated to carry on producing, or simply just dont have the time or dont dedicate enough time on producing (very annoying). I guess knowing that others may want to listen to your progress by an agreed deadline motivates you to carry on and hopefully improve your technique at the same time. Count me in.

Im currently working on a project that i'd love to finish , can I use that?

quote:

Originally posted by music2dance2 This is a good idea, I also have that problem like most I guess and end up tweaking, changing kicks, synths melodies etc and end up making slow progress. Sometimes I end up searching for refills, samples, reading tutorials then I'm demotivated to carry on producing, or simply just dont have the time or dont dedicate enough time on producing (very annoying). I guess knowing that others may want to listen to your progress by an agreed deadline motivates you to carry on and hopefully improve your technique at the same time. Count me in. Im currently working on a project that i'd love to finish , can I use that?

Hey mate, of course! Like I said - There's only one rule - you have to have fun!

All good hopefully then I'll have it done by 1st. What style do you make by the way?

quote:

Originally posted by music2dance2 All good hopefully then I'll have it done by 1st. What style do you make by the way?

No style in particular, I guess most of the stuff I listen to is uplifting trance, but I'm in the mood for a dark melodic style in a minor key right now.

For this track, before I do anything else, I'm going to write 3 riffs in the same key that compliment each other. After that I'll lay down the bass, kick etc.

Anyone here heard of "Nanowrimo.com"? It's a forum dedicated to maddening the month of November; making it legal to be insane. It's where the goal is to write at least 50,000 words of fiction in 30 days! I did this once, and I think it helped me somewhat.

Perhaps We could host something similar here... In the month of November write a track per week (or something likened that)! It's the trancewrimo month!

quote:

Originally posted by Four_On_Four-er Anyone here heard of "Nanowrimo.com"? It's a forum dedicated to maddening the month of November; making it legal to be insane. It's where the goal is to write at least 50,000 words of fiction in 30 days! I did this once, and I think it helped me somewhat.

Helped you become insane?!

quote:

Perhaps We could host something similar here... In the month of November write a track per week (or something likened that)! It's the trancewrimo month!

Well If I stick to my plan of writing at least one track a month, hopefully by november I'll have a good enough workflow sorted out to try this idea

quote:

Originally posted by Pjotr G so, what if you don't make a deadline?

you`re dead haha :-D

(i hate pressure) no deadlines for me :-)

but it isn`t really a deadline, how it`s stated here.
It`s more of a funline, with a little despair on the backhand.

i used to have that too, very frequently, untill (sorry for the language mistake, i used "since" which gives the gives the thing a whole different meaning) a few days ago i started working on a song, there`s almost no beat in it, but it is my intention to finish it, because it has a nice flow (with more vst`s
and tweaking it could be a fine track)
The only thing holding me back is my cpu (intel 1.9) which can`t handle the job.
And i don`t like freezing/unfreezing, because i need to work on all parts when i want to, without freezing/unfreezing the whole thing again.
(and need a lot more power for extra vst`s/plugins, even when i freeze most of it, i do not have the power hahaha
So i got to save first, for a amd x2 4800+.
Meanwhile i tweak a little.

Making music isn't a deadline job. It will only make you do uninspired and samey sounding tracks because you leave yourself no room for natural creativity.

The ideas come if they come and if they don't they don't. Forcing them never brings out anything good.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr.Mystery Making music isn't a deadline job. It will only make you do uninspired and samey sounding tracks because you leave yourself no room for natural creativity. The ideas come if they come and if they don't they don't. Forcing them never brings out anything good.

You can't generalise like that, some people work better under pressure.

If my goal is to make the most perfect trance track ever, then I'm never gonna be happy. But if I set deadlines (one track a month isn't too tight anyway) then I'll at least finish a few tracks.

After a while I'll have learnt quicker ways to put my ideas into a track. I'll be able to go back to older tracks and spruce them up with new techniques I've learnt.

I don't think you understood my post, your reply gives the impression I'm putting loads of pressure on myself. I made it clear that I'm gonna enjoy myself, not care too much about what people think of my tracks and set reasonable deadlines.

mwa, better one good track than 10 short time produced things, but if you`ve got the experience to do that, you should, if you want to.


three weeks left, lol

quote:

Originally posted by -_1_--Ben--_1_- mwa, better one good track than 10 short time produced things, but if you`ve got the experience to do that, you should, if you want to. three weeks left, lol

On the flip-side, better ten decent tracks that you enjoyed making than one great track you had to tweak for months, and listened to so many times you're sick of it!

I think there are some good points here as Mr.Mystery mentioned its sometimes better to have no deadlines as the creative touch can be lost but by what Synchronicity also mentioned he doesnt get to complete tracks. I guess the main gain here is to learn more and stick to it, which in theory could work, but as you say Synchronicity no pressure so if nothings finished or it sounds rubbish it doesnt matter you can always stick with it till its done, if thats the case. It'll certainly encourage me to finish a track or put sometihing together.

quote:

Originally posted by Synchronicity On the flip-side, better ten decent tracks that you enjoyed making than one great track you had to tweak for months, and listened to so many times you're sick of it!

if it`s a great track you don`t get sick of it.
two months..mwa, that`s short.

but i understand you want to finish something.

Personally, when a deadline arrives I'm going to move on to a new track whether I'm happy with the one I'm working on or not. If I keep working on it then I'm just falling into the same old habit.

My principle aim is to enjoy making music, if I end up writing tracks that other people like and want to buy then that's a bonus.

So when I rule out making money and satisfying my ego, there is no other reason left but to have fun. Tweaking a track for ages just isn't fun to me. I think spending a month on a track (keeping in mind I have other commitments) is quite a good estimate of how long I can last without getting sick of it. After that it's time to move on and enjoy creating some new melodies, sounds etc.

Everyone has their own way of working, and good luck to them.

Anyway, I think I've made it clear now where I'm coming from.

I'm now banning myself from TA until I finish college anyway. A Bruce Lee quote springs to mind - "Knowing is not enough, we must apply"!!!

If I post on TA between now and the 15th of June I'm a fucking loser. -provokes predictable reply -

ok, i`ll keep watching the forum for your track, always like to hear someone`s track, unfortunatly when i visit some record labels sites i`ll end up laughing and saying or thinking that it can`t be serious they`re making money with that.
I`ve heard tunes of members on this forums that are better then that.
Dj sea has quite a talent, wright sea ?
maybe the sound spectrum is better of the records on those sites, but i think good tunes are just as important, which are rare.

quote:

Originally posted by Synchronicity You can't generalise like that, some people work better under pressure. If my goal is to make the most perfect trance track ever, then I'm never gonna be happy. But if I set deadlines (one track a month isn't too tight anyway) then I'll at least finish a few tracks. After a while I'll have learnt quicker ways to put my ideas into a track. I'll be able to go back to older tracks and spruce them up with new techniques I've learnt. I don't think you understood my post, your reply gives the impression I'm putting loads of pressure on myself. I made it clear that I'm gonna enjoy myself, not care too much about what people think of my tracks and set reasonable deadlines.

No, I mostly meant that when you sit down thinking "now I'm going to make a track" it will most likely end up being crap. At least that's how it works for me anyway. Once you get the ideas down, then I can understand the deadline. After that it's just craftsmanship and not so much creativity.

That might be slightly off topic but it's something to think about anyway

I finished my latest tune in a day - from a blank *.rns to a full tune. Then again I once spent 3 months on one tune and I'm still not happy with it so I understand where you're coming from with the deadline idea as well. I tend to bin my tracks if they take over 2 weeks because I know they'll never be finished then.

Anyone having the opposite problem and forcing yourself to finish projects that clearly won't amount to anything?

quote:

Originally posted by Mr.Mystery No, I mostly meant that when you sit down thinking "now I'm going to make a track" it will most likely end up being crap. At least that's how it works for me anyway. Once you get the ideas down, then I can understand the deadline. After that it's just craftsmanship and not so much creativity. That might be slightly off topic but it's something to think about anyway I finished my latest tune in a day - from a blank *.rns to a full tune. Then again I once spent 3 months on one tune and I'm still not happy with it so I understand where you're coming from with the deadline idea as well. I tend to bin my tracks if they take over 2 weeks because I know they'll never be finished then.

Some very points there dude, very true.

Good idea am in. Will we post our tracks up here when we finnish on the first then?

quote:

Originally posted by armanivespucci Anyone having the opposite problem and forcing yourself to finish projects that clearly won't amount to anything?

Yeah I do that with 90% of the tracks I do. My latest set I'm getting printed! Getting a run of 30 CD's done!! Probably won't go public but I'll flog a few to my mates and send a few to record companies, why not.

Even if this doesnt go anywhere I still think its vitally important to get into the habit of finishing tracks off, as each time you do it the standard gets higher and higher. Also you can listen to your older stuff and see how you've progressed.

I mean - what happens if you make the perfect patch for an amazing melody you've written - and don't know how to finish it off!!(so it's releasable)! That would be worse!

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