FWIW, I got ripped on when I posted my first few tracks, largely on a technical basis. I got discouraged for a month or two before finally trying again.

It was pretty funny looking back at those criticisms a year later. While I'd been able to pick up most of the technical stuff (which really isn't that hard, you just have to work at it), a number of the same critics were still struggling to write more than beeps and bleeps with the occasional random-sounding discordant melody.

(Note - I'm not referring to anybody here on the production forum, who were mostly helpful when I started posting here; this was local.)

If you can write music, you're set. It won't take long to learn the ins and outs of mixing. That just requires patience, not talent. (Well, some talent maybe, but not much.)

___________________
My party schedule:
2009-02-21 - DJ Attention @ I'm So Popular
2009-06-18 - DJ Annoying @ People Need To Know Where I'll Be
2012-11-32 - DJ Insufferable ɸ Or At Least the Stalkers I Complain About
2048-06-66 - Spastic & Whocares ¶ Although I'm Actually Flattered
9999-45-81 - Tweaker Gimp ☼ I Probably Won't Even Go To This But I Have To Make Sure I Fill Up All The Available Space Here

My advice.....Take a break

leave it for a couple of weeks - listen to some music you like, music that youd like to make, maybe go out and see some djs

When you come back to it you will be more determined.
Look at the stuff people were criticising and work on it.
It takes years to get some of this stuff right unless you are super talented but you will get better all the time.

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Like I said before thanks guys I actually do feel better after reading all the replies. I'm on holiday for 2 weeks from my music course (half term) im gonna just chill then have another go when I am back at uni in a couple of weeks.

Really means a lot you guys coming in sharing advice/experience I was half expecting to be flamed

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Processing a highly structured and complex pattern of sensory input as a unified percept of "music" is probably one of the most elaborate features of the human brain.....understanding how music is perceived and how it may elicit intense sensations is far from being understood.

smoke weed for 2 weeks then go back to studio inspiration will be unbeatable if you don't smoke then well ummm do yoga and drink tea for same duration.


the best personal advice i can give you is changing setting of your recording, make something experimental outside of your traditional bounds it doesn't matter if its gonna be good or bad but you must have as much fun as you humanly possibly can. Be random use random plugings, tunings, make elaborate random effect chains bounce the audio and put another crazy 20 plugin chain on it but make sure that you finish it and leave it as is.

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It's hard man we all burn out from time to time. You'll come back from this when you are ready. Just don't force it and give yourself plenty of time. Do some other things that interest you in the meantime. For me it has always been videogames.

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hey man, i feel you. The thing is, WE'VE ALL BEEN IN YOUR PLACE. You think it's bad when you're skills aren't to your potential yet, think about when you get your first release. You are going to want to top that off (which is what's happening to me right now!).

To my knowledge, Arksun stopped making trance because he couldn't top off "Arisen". I don't even think that's his best song. BTW, if you read these boards Arksun, make some trance IMO!

The dark cloud is going to stay with you no matter what--pro, amateur, legend--it doesn't matter. It's how you deal with it.

and remember: the best producers out there have sacrificed a lot of time to be good at the whole music thing. You are going to have to pump in more hours. When you practice, don't think of it as "ok i'll shoot this basketball 100 times today" but think of it as "i'm going to have to think critically in order to get the basketball in the hoop 100 times today. take not of what arm positions worked, what didn't work, and hypothesize on how to make my shot better"

yeah man, get away from the normal shit you've been doing...

then have a change of styles! stop making 130+ Trance, and make some really different stuff, try making some 90bpm breaks, or some ambient stuff, or some trip hop...

i got turned down for 2 remixes on different labels in the same month... as well as having my first tracks i ever signed CONSTANTLY pushed back...

it's really aweful and demotivating man.. i had a few months where i cbf doing anything, especially because the remixes weren't even really in the styles i liked since i was trying to make them better for the label... i should have just said fuck it, and made whatever i wanted: it would have still been rejected, but at least i would have made something i like..

anyways, really got back into it a couple months ago, by just making some really slow stuff... got over some mates to record some live instruments etc too, and now i'm really back in full swing.. and have a really far mroe healthy view of my own style, and my own interests...

you can't ever just give up man, as the song goes: "you got the music in you", but it might be worth having a break, nothing wrong with that... there's no timeline to creativity... no end date.

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Hey, I just listened to your track.. I think it´s quite nice! There are just a few things
I don´t quite fancy though.. I´m not much of a fan of acid lines, and it runs for the
mayority of track. Other than that, I just feel there´s a bit much of mid range, and the
high end seems a little muffled.

Ohhh believe me buddy, I´ve been where you are now.. Maaany times :P I´m still doing it.
It became a chore for me eventually, making remixes for a friend. I lost my perception on
what was important. I started with this because I was curious on how tracks were made,
and it quickly became an obsession. I probably flunked out of uni because of it
Just take a break from it. Think about other things, listen to music you love.. You´ll
find that when you get back on the horse, you´ll be burning for it again.

I can hear you got what it takes to make a club stormer, so don´t even think about quitting
altogether. I´ll come find you

What track?

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quote:

Originally posted by dj_alfi change your avatar for fucks sake.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!

quote:

Originally posted by Beyer Hey, I just listened to your track.. I think it´s quite nice! There are just a few things I don´t quite fancy though.. I´m not much of a fan of acid lines, and it runs for the mayority of track. Other than that, I just feel there´s a bit much of mid range, and the high end seems a little muffled. Ohhh believe me buddy, I´ve been where you are now.. Maaany times :P I´m still doing it. It became a chore for me eventually, making remixes for a friend. I lost my perception on what was important. I started with this because I was curious on how tracks were made, and it quickly became an obsession. I probably flunked out of uni because of it Just take a break from it. Think about other things, listen to music you love.. You´ll find that when you get back on the horse, you´ll be burning for it again. I can hear you got what it takes to make a club stormer, so don´t even think about quitting altogether. I´ll come find you

Lol cheers man I am gonna chill for a while, like I said and I did put the best of pvd on in the car earlier and I was like man I love this shit what is wrong with me. :P

quote:

Originally posted by Jason_R When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit Rest if you must, but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and its turns, As everyone of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about When they might have won, had they stuck it out. Don't give up though the pace seems slow, You may succeed with another blow. Often the goal is nearer than, It seems to a faint and faltering man, Often the struggler has given up When he might have captured the victor's cup; And he learned too late when the night came down, How close he was to the golden crown. Success is failure turned inside out The silver tint of the clouds of doubt And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far; So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!

Lol thanks :P

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Processing a highly structured and complex pattern of sensory input as a unified percept of "music" is probably one of the most elaborate features of the human brain.....understanding how music is perceived and how it may elicit intense sensations is far from being understood.

Last edited by Sonic_c on Apr-09-2010 at 20:09

quote:

Originally posted by EgosXII it's really aweful and demotivating man.. i had a few months where i cbf doing anything, especially because the remixes weren't even really in the styles i liked since i was trying to make them better for the label... i should have just said fuck it, and made whatever i wanted: it would have still been rejected, but at least i would have made something i like..

I think your right, this was actually the first time I tried to write for someone else, in a style I thought appropriate. I didnt just do my own thing at all. I even posted a thread on how to make basslines like tyas which also stressed me as I couldnt get it right.

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Processing a highly structured and complex pattern of sensory input as a unified percept of "music" is probably one of the most elaborate features of the human brain.....understanding how music is perceived and how it may elicit intense sensations is far from being understood.