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Never satisfied anymore... perfectionism kills productivity (pg. 4)
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| flutlicht junky |
| Render to Wav so it's more set in stone, that way your not tempted to tweak because there's no real right sound. You just choose one of a near infinite range. |
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| derail |
That's actually something that's both an advantage and a disadvantage of using hardware.
With hardware, you make sure you get a good set of sounds happening from the start. It's a hassle to get a few hours into a production and then start to second guess the sounds that have been used. You find sounds that work well together, without EQ, without compression. You record them, and then you're done with the sound selection phase. You get on with the job of mixing - adding EQ, compression and so on.
I use software synths with the same mindset now - find the sound, render it down, move on to the next stage.
As flutlicht junky said, there's no real right sound - no "perfect" sound. Another way of looking at it would be to say there are many perfect sounds, not just one. All of your favourite songs could have gone in different directions, used different sounds, and still be your favourite songs. It's only that at the point we hear them, all the decisions have been made, the song sounds the way it does, and we assume it was 'always meant to sound that way'. |
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| Subtle |
| quote: | Originally posted by derail
That's actually something that's both an advantage and a disadvantage of using hardware.
With hardware, you make sure you get a good set of sounds happening from the start. It's a hassle to get a few hours into a production and then start to second guess the sounds that have been used. You find sounds that work well together, without EQ, without compression. You record them, and then you're done with the sound selection phase. You get on with the job of mixing - adding EQ, compression and so on.
I use software synths with the same mindset now - find the sound, render it down, move on to the next stage.
As flutlicht junky said, there's no real right sound - no "perfect" sound. Another way of looking at it would be to say there are many perfect sounds, not just one. All of your favourite songs could have gone in different directions, used different sounds, and still be your favourite songs. It's only that at the point we hear them, all the decisions have been made, the song sounds the way it does, and we assume it was 'always meant to sound that way'. |
Yeah i do that too, mixing down hardsynths and softsynths pretty fast.
And even if it isnt the right sound, you can always chop it up and use it as an effect, layer or whatever.
And yeah people will most often listen to the whole thing as a finished product (if the sounds arent horribly wrong of course) |
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| WhatTF |
I too am plagued by this perfectionism. There are a few things I do to try to combat it. One, many times its not that particular sound that is all that important it's how it sits in the mix. I can't tell you how many times, I have made some sound and been like this is total Sh*t (which sometimes it is) but then I have added one or two more layers and it ended up sounding quite pleasant. On this note, just play the loop with the kick and maybe some percussion and see what you "hear in your head." Maybe I'm just crazy, but I can actually hear the next sound I want to put into the track after listening to the loop for a bit. That way you will not focus on what needs to be tweaked in that sound but rather what you are looking for.
Also always save, sometimes today's cr*p will be tomorrow's gold. Starting at 5% is always easier than starting @ 0%.
If all fails, get your FAVORITE synth and create a patch that is a pure sine wave. Listen to it for 30 minutes, at some point during those 30 minutes it will annoy you to being creative. |
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| mysticalninja |
| quote: | Originally posted by WhatTF
If all fails, get your FAVORITE synth and create a patch that is a pure sine wave. Listen to it for 30 minutes, at some point during those 30 minutes it will annoy you to being creative. |
lol wut? |
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| WhatTF |
| quote: | Originally posted by mysticalninja
lol wut? |
A pure sine wave AKA a test tone.
It was a joke. Then again jokes aren't funny if you have have to explain them, oh well. I was saying: If you can't be creative; listen to something so repetitive and annoying it will make you creative. |
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| daeus |
Its crazy how many years you hear people have tried to produce for and are still not finishing tracks, I think I've been playing with Cubase 3+ years and worried the same could happen to me...infact it probably already has as I havent finished anything yet, but I'm starting to get very close and be at the level of producion I feel is nearly at the quality I expect in others tracks (check my website for samples).
Anyway its obviously about approaching the track the wrong way if you havent produced something decent for years, so you have to drastically change your production routine to actually move on.
I think one good way is to import one of your favourite tracks in to the bottom of your production to give you a guideline on how your track should progress, this should force you to keep moving the track along, its started working for me!
I've come back after work each night for months on end and not really moved too far, now I try to have a good session a few times a week and make progress, changing projects too.
Also I'm going to buy the Dance Music Manual and also Music Theory for Dance producers (roughly the books names) which should give me more techniques to play around...and get something released! |
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| Beatflux |
| quote: | Originally posted by daeus
Also I'm going to buy the Dance Music Manual and also Music Theory for Dance producers (roughly the books names) which should give me more techniques to play around...and get something released! |
How do you make melodies and harmonies without any music theory? |
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| G-Con |
| quote: | Originally posted by Beatflux
How do you make melodies and harmonies without any music theory? |
You dont NEED music theory to make a dance track. A lot of tracks dont even have melodies - techno, house etc. And even tracks that do, dont require music theory to create melodies.
I don't know ANYTHING about music theory but I still manage to create tunes with melodic content.
Admittedly, you'l never create melodies that are complex with counter melodies and what not, but often the simple ones can be the ones that work best..
Thats not to say that learning music theory won't be useful because obviously it will, but I think when people say it is essential, they are wrong.
My 2 penneth.. |
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| Beatflux |
| quote: | Originally posted by G-Con
You dont NEED music theory to make a dance track. A lot of tracks dont even have melodies - techno, house etc. And even tracks that do, dont require music theory to create melodies.
I don't know ANYTHING about music theory but I still manage to create tunes with melodic content.
Admittedly, you'l never create melodies that are complex with counter melodies and what not, but often the simple ones can be the ones that work best..
Thats not to say that learning music theory won't be useful because obviously it will, but I think when people say it is essential, they are wrong.
My 2 penneth.. |
You're preaching the choir. My question wasn't,"How can you make melodies and harmonies without theory?" It was "How Do you make melodies and harmonies without any training?" So do you just bang on the keyboard until you get something? Or do you listen to a reference track and alter the melody to your like? Etc? |
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| owien |
teach your self that's what i did. still am in fact and will go on teaching my self. the trick is not to try and make up to speed sounds and leads like the pros.
at least not in the beginning stick to pianos and strings until you can reconise what is happening to the music. |
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| Beatflux |
| quote: | Originally posted by owien
teach your self that's what i did. still am in fact and will go on teaching my self. |
What do you do when you sit down and write? I'm interested in what you non-theory guys think when your banging out a melody.:conf: |
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