I’m getting tired of trying so hard to make music. It’s wearing me out trying to come up with A parts and B parts with variations and auditioning a bunch of different sounds trying to get the “perfect” fit.
It’s time to drop down a gear and start getting the revs up.
I’m going to get more performative in my songs so I can pump out way more, even if they are trash.
I want to switch up my mentality to that of working out in a gym.
Do your reps. Get your gains.
So instead of treating it like a cerebral exercise, I’m gonna just go with my ears
But seriously, this is going to change what I post.
I try to throw out 3-4 min tracks.
Now I think I’m just going to throw out like 1:30 to 3 min tracks. 3 min if it comes easy. But really just put up what hits me, and as soon as I start thinking too hard, I print, post and bail.
I want to do this for a couple months then go back to trying to form more complete tracks.
I think I need to clear some noob hurdles before I feel better about production.
And start using loops more too. I want to develop more critically then use more finesse once I know what Im doing more.
You also have to accept when it’s time to move on. Sometimes I’ll make 4 completely separate patterns and 3 will be shit the next day. That one though was a keeper. Stick it into the arranger and continue on.
I know lots of Elektron users like to do things manually but arranging is philosophically and literally linear progression. It gets you closer to finishing something beyond a loop.
Organization. The faster you can get organized the more time you have for sound design.
Honestly this is the way that I come up with a lot of my best music. The songs that I like the most tend to be the ones that for more spontaneous, at least at first. I can always clean it up later if I need to
This is a good point. I put up a quick finger drumming track last night, and woke up a relistened. It was “okay”, but you’re definitely right. There has to be some self criticism before I toss out music.
I’m trying to figure out how I should work, and I think I may need to jam more to work out styles and ideas that I use later.
I’m not really a fan of going back to old tracks, when I can make fresh ones on gear I haven’t used as often. And if something really hits me, I’ll drill down on it.
Would say though, and I think you’ve touched on it; If you happen upon some really stellar ideas, treat them with more care. They’re more rare than one would like them to be.
That’s what Current Sounds is for. Now I don’t just toss any old shit up there. But if there’s something interesting about what I’m doing in an evening, then I’ll post an MP3 snippet. Some of these posts have been developed into full tracks later on.