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AAARGH

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 11:40 am
by epitome
I wanted to get into making music for it to be a fun pastime... but everything I make sounds like crap (probably because I don't really know what I'm doing), so whenever I try, far from having fun and relaxing, I end up even more stressed than I was before I started. AAARGH!

:shock: :evil: :mrgreen:

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 12:25 pm
by mcbpete
*everyones* (and I mean everyones) music sounds shit when they first start out. You can't expect to sound amazing right from the get go - unless you're lucky, pretty much anything you make over the first couple of years will be pretty darn mediocre, but with every track you learn more and more.

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 12:33 pm
by epitome
I know you're right, but whenever I'm not doing well or if I feel stuck, I start to think I'll never succeed and I'm just wasting my time. Maybe I've left it a bit late in life to bother :oops:

I don't suppose you can recommend any good resources for learning? At the moment, I'm mainly just using YouTube videos and a lot of trial and error.

I might be the most impatient person in the world... 8-)

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 1:11 pm
by Ross
YouTube videos are a great way to start, find a channel with some good tutorials on and work through them all, practicing as you go.
Up until incredibly recently I've been completely self-taught. I learned a bit about how to use Logic Pro (my software of choice from 2004 - 2010) from my Music Technology A Level, but otherwise I just stumbled my way through everything. Which is why there's some very questionable mixing in my back catalogue, ha.

In one way or another, I'd been making music for about seven years before I actually made my first really good track, although only a year or so of that was using software. So yeah, be patient, learn some skills either by experimentation or by using tutorial videos (or both), hone your skills, and at some point down the line you'll realise you've made a track you really, really like.

What software are you using?

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 1:29 pm
by epitome
Ugh, "patience"... "some point down the line"... not things I like to hear :P

I'm using FL Studio. I also have a Waldorf Blofeld synth (was cool to see in a recent pic that FSOL are using one of those as well!) and a midi keyboard.

I played around with the 3xosc in FL last night and got a couple of nice things out of it. Some sounds I want to make and I have absolutely no clue how to go about it. Also, I'm now at a point of realising I don't know which layers to add or how to build on what I have... but yeah, as you say, it'll take time and patience... two things I lack! :x

I have tried (and given up) a few times before. I made a couple of tracks (obviously not very good) about 5 years ago, then started again last year (or was it earlier this year?) but didn't finish anything.

Thanks for the help :)

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 4:06 pm
by seedy
haha yeah dude if you aren't going to have patience and enjoy the journey then this might not be for you
remember we're talking about a very complex craft
strumming a few chords is one thing but turning it into a somewhat viable commercial product is a completely different beast
you can read up and watch tutorials for the next 2 months straight and still find yourself at the end of all that with questions

beyond the actual schooling and learning best practices etc there is also the need to find your own way through all of this. trial and error - just getting your feet wet and figuring out how things work. what you are attempting right now isn't just "making music" - you are taking a stab at music PRODUCTION

so like i said - you are either into the journey or you're not
the instant gratification maybe you can paste a few loops or piece together a sample stem pack - but ultimately you won't really get the satisfaction or feel you attained the goal you were shooting for - making something original you can call your own.
my thought is if you can record a good 10 seconds or so of something you like and might want to use - then you had a small success

it's all building blocks dude
each session you will be better than your last and eventually you'll reach a point where you can at least start putting some things together and the software/workflow feels natural.
from there......your journey has STILL only begun ;)

lol dude i've been working on the same 22 min track for over a year
it's the learning curve you are seeing and also time....oh the time
i've probably taken about 8 months of hiatus combined throughout this whole period
life n stuff ugh

good luck!

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 4:39 pm
by epitome
Cheers seedy. Maybe this isn't for me. I'm sure it is supposed to be fun, but I'm just finding it frustrating and stressful - mainly because, like you say, it's hard enough to find time to do it, so it's really disheartening when you then feel like you made no progress in that time.

If I made one good track, I'd probably relax, because then I'd know I could do it. Right now, for all I know, I could work at it every day for 20 years and still not make anything decent. Ugh, oh well!

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 4:54 pm
by Ross
seedy wrote:viable commercial product
Ooh God no go away. Get out. Don't say that! Ugh.

I'd definitely recommend sticking at it, personally. It might be worth not having too many plans in your head. To this day, whenever I go into a track and/or album with an idea of what I want, it never works that way and I get disappointed. Go into it blank, with no expectations and work up from there, you might surprise yourself with what you make. Most of my best stuff has come about by accident.

Also, don't be afraid to sample. We're on all FSOL fans, sampling is something I'm sure we've all tried many a time. A lot of my most enjoyable music-making experiences have come about from sampling, be it individual sounds to use as a percussion or lead lines, or taking loops and sounds and fucking about with them to make something completely new. These days I start with a few samples and layer a rough idea for a track together and then go back and add some bass, chords, sounds etc. with my gear.

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 10:30 pm
by seedy
haha well we probably don't mean it in the same way ross
perhaps poor wording but either way i'm talking about something you would wish to present to the public - stamp your name on and such

something beyond "for home use only" :)

that said we still ARE ultimately reaching for something that matches the professional/commercial realm
just in terms of production quality i mean (even if you are aiming for lo-fi etc there is a bar set)

i'm not talking about brickwalled popstep ;)

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 10:25 am
by epitome
To be honest, if I did manage to finish a track to a standard I was happy with, I'd probably still be the only person whoever listens to it :P Maybe that makes the whole thing pointless anyway, I dunno!

I wish I had more patience. And more time. But above those, I wish I'd got into this about 15 years ago when I did have a lot more time and a bit more patience :)

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 11:57 am
by Ross
epitome wrote:To be honest, if I did manage to finish a track to a standard I was happy with, I'd probably still be the only person whoever listens to it :P Maybe that makes the whole thing pointless anyway, I dunno!
Nah. Make it for yourself first. If other people listen, it's a bonus.

seedy - yeah, I know what you mean. Just a horrible phrase. Particularly the word 'product'.

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 4:07 pm
by seedy
epitome wrote:To be honest, if I did manage to finish a track to a standard I was happy with, I'd probably still be the only person whoever listens to it :P Maybe that makes the whole thing pointless anyway, I dunno!
not at all in my view
it's the only reason i dabble myself - i make it first and foremost for myself and secondary for my friends and loved ones
just a matter of putting to track the notes dancing around in my head and if anyone else cares to hear them i'm happy to share ;)



haha ross i would have guessed your beef was with the term "commercial"
using "product" here doesn't give me any type of connotation
i mean by default you're the english expert between the two of us - makes fine sense to me that a music producer would create a product :P
what word would you use? piece?
"to create a tune it usually takes me 2-3 weeks from the early conceptual ideas to the final __________"????
what do you put there? or would you just not get caught in a phrasing trap like that in the first place lol

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 4:32 pm
by mcbpete
I personally would whack 'track' in there

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 10:02 pm
by Ross
Producer -> product. If only the English language was so simple!
Product might be the least artistic word I can think of. I absolutely hate it.

Re: AAARGH

Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2015 8:09 am
by epitome
Gah, I think I'm going to have to stick with it and keep trying... I can't bring myself to give up for some reason. I should be able to find a few hours to work on it this weekend, so hopefully I'll feel like I'm heading in the right direction...