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Six years in
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| cl0ckw3rk |
I've been floating around these forums for about six years now. That's about the time I specifically started learning trance production (mainly with help and resources here).
I've come an unbelievably long way, scraping useful tips and information from anywhere I can. I've learned more music theory and exhausted more creative energy than I have anywhere else. This hobby has driven me to the edge of madness, frustration, and self-doubt. But at the end of it all, I've sincerely cherished every dumb 8-bar loop and half-completed track I've come up with as a result.
The catch 22 of it all is:
The more I learn about trance production and understand how it's done, the less I want to make trance. This genre is so over-saturated these days, as I'm sure many of you have long since realized, so I think it's really time to start exploring other styles in depth. Even moreso, I think it's time to go my own way and find out how to put my own fingerprints on my own brand of music. Whether that be electronic or not (of course it will be to some extent), I'm going to make sure I use everything I've learned here going forward. The production techniques used in this genre are, to me, still cutting edge compared to other electronic genres - there's no ignoring that fact.
I regret not having time to contribute more and get to know you all better rather than just lurk most of the time, but life happens and I've never gotten to treat this hobby as anything more than that since my career takes the driver's seat. I'm not going to disappear completely - I will still show up from time to time - but I'll have even less opportunity to contribute. I'll do my best regardless.
Thanks to all of you contributors out there (you know who you are) who consistently put out useful info, even if the question has been asked a million times before. And as for you newbies - don't stop trying at this even if you think you're not getting anywhere. I've been learning for six years and I've only barely entered competency. It takes time, effort, and hours+hours+hours of trial and error.
I still have a long way to go - just not in the same direction.
Cheers,
Mark |
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| Vector A |
Welcome to the rest of the wide musical world. There is plenty of room here, and so much to explore. And the cool thing is, I can tell you from experience that it is still worth posting on TA even after you no longer make trance.
:p |
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| Looney4Clooney |
I took a huge detour 10 years ago going from production to oldschool composition. For about 4 -6 years, did not do anything production related. But honesty, the more I've branched out , the more every thing is kinda the same. Conducting is mixing, adding partials to synth lines is orchestration. I guess not much has really changed.
I only seriously pursued EDM for about 3-4 years till boredom kicked in. I find I go where the challenges are well at least for me. Something gets my attention , I do it ad nauseaum till I am ready for something else. |
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| Raphie |
I've given up on genres or making music that i think others would find cool. Now i just do my own little boring cheezy mediocre tracks which make me happy. I find fulfillment in sound quality and mix quality. laying down melodies and chords i like. Some people dig it and other don't, but i makes me happy :D
Every now and then i can expedite my expertise on other peoples tracks mixing them for them, which gives me fulfillment as well.
I will never be a great composer, but I'm happy being a decent engineer. and still love playing. |
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| Looney4Clooney |
| i find the term composition needs to encompass any sort of music creating regardless of genre. I remember all my class mates where so damn adamant about being considered a composer. And they would work with left field stuff like max msp basically making electronic music , of course they would call it electro acoustic music and it would have a score but they were composers, not producers. And a producer was in no way a composer. Not even close. Music students tend to be giant nerds that like , i mean would consider drinking like pretty bad ass. |
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| Beatflux |
| quote: | Originally posted by cl0ckw3rk
I've been floating around these forums for about six years now. That's about the time I specifically started learning trance production (mainly with help and resources here).
I've come an unbelievably long way, scraping useful tips and information from anywhere I can. I've learned more music theory and exhausted more creative energy than I have anywhere else. This hobby has driven me to the edge of madness, frustration, and self-doubt. But at the end of it all, I've sincerely cherished every dumb 8-bar loop and half-completed track I've come up with as a result.
The catch 22 of it all is:
The more I learn about trance production and understand how it's done, the less I want to make trance. This genre is so over-saturated these days, as I'm sure many of you have long since realized, so I think it's really time to start exploring other styles in depth. Even moreso, I think it's time to go my own way and find out how to put my own fingerprints on my own brand of music. Whether that be electronic or not (of course it will be to some extent), I'm going to make sure I use everything I've learned here going forward. The production techniques used in this genre are, to me, still cutting edge compared to other electronic genres - there's no ignoring that fact.
I regret not having time to contribute more and get to know you all better rather than just lurk most of the time, but life happens and I've never gotten to treat this hobby as anything more than that since my career takes the driver's seat. I'm not going to disappear completely - I will still show up from time to time - but I'll have even less opportunity to contribute. I'll do my best regardless.
Thanks to all of you contributors out there (you know who you are) who consistently put out useful info, even if the question has been asked a million times before. And as for you newbies - don't stop trying at this even if you think you're not getting anywhere. I've been learning for six years and I've only barely entered competency. It takes time, effort, and hours+hours+hours of trial and error.
I still have a long way to go - just not in the same direction.
Cheers,
Mark |
I can relate to what you are saying and in my experience the more you know a genre the more restrictive it becomes and the more you know the less creative you become.
Ultimately, the problem isn't the genre or the artist, its a lack of creative thinking.
One question that has always bugged me is the question: why do artists seem to push out their best work earlier in their career rather than steadily get better? It would seem logical that the more experience you have the better you get, but I find that its really the opposite. Artists make their best work when they are unknown, become famous, and then push out the same that made them famous.
When you first start making music, generally the you make sounds pretty wretched in same way or another. But...this is a big but here...you are more creative. Newbies try and make trance or dubstep or whatever with almost little to no knowledge and all they can do is hope and pray for the best. They have no "how-to" formulas that they know, so all they can do is shoot in the dark and hope for the best. They probably won't get close to what they are trying to make, but they may make something entirely different that's just as artistic because they don't have any procedures.
Switching genres is only a superficial answer to the boredom that comes along with producing a genre. Once you "master" the genre you switch to, you'll get bored of that one too because all you do is follow the same procedures you have established for yourself.
Learning about a different genre and mashing two genres together can work to spark creativity, but its not the only way. Creativity is essential blending two or more ideas in the same mental space to form new ideas. These ideas don't have to be musical at all.
This book can explain how to be creative:
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Thin...25876939&sr=8-1
It's really no wonder that people fall into these creative ruts when they have been trained to follow a logical and set procedure for accomplishing tasks in every area of their life. |
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| cryophonik |
| quote: | Originally posted by Vector A
And the cool thing is, I can tell you from experience that it is still worth posting on TA even after you no longer make trance.
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I reckon that there is a good contingent of regular contributors here who don't produce much trance, at least not exclusively. Whereas Anjunabeats, etc seems to be comprised primarily of hardcore tarnceheads, TA seems quite a bit more diverse IME. |
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| cl0ckw3rk |
| quote: | Originally posted by Looney4Clooney
I took a huge detour 10 years ago going from production to oldschool composition. For about 4 -6 years, did not do anything production related. But honesty, the more I've branched out , the more every thing is kinda the same. Conducting is mixing, adding partials to synth lines is orchestration. I guess not much has really changed.
I only seriously pursued EDM for about 3-4 years till boredom kicked in. I find I go where the challenges are well at least for me. Something gets my attention , I do it ad nauseaum till I am ready for something else. |
I mean, I've always loved listening to trance. Even the crap out there nowadays. Sure I like pre-2000 productions better, but I still enjoy the sounds well enough.
It's just...trance production is so...mechanical. Redundant. Formulaic. I mean, anyone can figure that out before even starting production. You lift up, then you break down. It's a good euphoric rollercoaster but you can only ride it for so long.
Then I look at just good old fashioned songwriting and "olschool composition" as you say. It's so organic, less predictable, full of life, and dynamic by comparison.
People get older. Taste buds change. I'll always dig the electronic scene, even if it is going in awful directions (dubstep)...It just doesn't keep me interested enough production-wise anymore. |
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| Vector A |
I think most people take "composing" to mean writing down scores, something a lot of producers never do.
| quote: | Originally posted by Looney4Clooney
Music students tend to be giant nerds that like , i mean would consider drinking like pretty bad ass. |
:stongue: |
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| cryophonik |
| quote: | Originally posted by Beatflux
Switching genres is only a superficial answer to the boredom that comes along with producing a genre. Once you "master" the genre you switch to, you'll get bored of that one too because all you do is follow the same procedures you have established for yourself.
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Are you really "switching" genres if you have diverse musical tastes? And, by "genre" I'm referring to the obviously and substantially different ones (e.g., NOT prog trance vs. uplifting or whatever). I think too many people get into the mindset of "I'm a [deep/prog/uplifting/neo/blah/blah/house/techno/trance] producer and let that define who they are and what they should be doing. As people mature and their tastes change, I would guess that those people who have defined themselves so rigidly struggle with branching out and just give up, or keep doing what they've been doing out of habit. In contrast, I think that people who just become a student to the process of making music and have more diverse musical tastes have a much easier time diversifying. |
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| tehlord |
| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
Whereas Anjunabeats, etc seems to be comprised primarily of hardcore wanabee tarnceheads, TA seems quite a bit more diverse IME. |
Much better |
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| Looney4Clooney |
| quote: | Originally posted by Vector A
I think most people take "composing" to mean writing down scores, something a lot of producers never do.
:stongue: |
I don't know how much more on paper a DAW is. Every single parameter is there. More so than any scoring practice. |
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