stuck n a rut

[da hound]

allrite heres my problem for the last 2 weeks when i go 2 write a track my head just goes blank i was wondering wot u guys do for inspiration usally my way of making a track is trial and error approach but no im thinking that mabye this is the wrong approach do u think its better 2 plan a track out first and then go about writing it would really like 2 know the way u guys approach ur tracks and get ur inspiration from

[AcidTrash]

Ditch it. Go away and do something else. Weed the pavement outside or potter in the garden. Fix hoover or put that shelf up. Go for a walk. Ring an old friend. Do anything but tunes. Tunes are about what you're feeling and thinking and if nothings coming it probably means you're not thinking or feeling enough so get out there and exsperience something however mundane it might be. Just make it different to sitting at your kit staring into space. Switch off the internet for 2 months. Worked wonders for me. Stops you getting bogged down in music politics so you're free to express yourself without worrying what's cool this week.

[da hound]

nice one mate ;)come 2 think of it the garden dose need weeding]]

[xfive]

nice one mate ;)come 2 think of it the garden dose need weeding]]

Everything needs a good weeding every now and again :lol:

[audioinjection]

i usually watch tv or have a few drinks to get my mind at ease again......or just put random shit, eventually it will sound good :lol:

[dirty_bass]

You can`t force creativity.
If you go down the same path as money other uninspired techno people you may end up making well produced crap.
If you go blank, then you shouldn`t be making it at that time.
Music should flow out of you.

[AcidTrash]

You can`t force creativity.
If you go down the same path as money other uninspired techno people you may end up making well produced crap.
If you go blank, then you shouldn`t be making it at that time.
Music should flow out of you.

That's very true. Recently I've tried forcing it and just comeout out with some formulaic, reasonably well produced stuff but nothing that teaches me anything and excites me. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever create again. Had a dry spell recently so I'm picking up a programming job for a while and starting a label this year. Need to do something different.

[RDR]

You can`t force creativity.
If you go down the same path as money other uninspired techno people you may end up making well produced crap.
If you go blank, then you shouldn`t be making it at that time.
Music should flow out of you.

That's very true. Recently I've tried forcing it and just comeout out with some formulaic, reasonably well produced stuff but nothing that teaches me anything and excites me. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever create again. Had a dry spell recently so I'm picking up a programming job for a while and starting a label this year. Need to do something different.

Good on ya pete!

[stjohn]

i sometimes get this.... what i like to do like audioinjection said is to have a few beers, play some poker., or if i really want to make some tunes.... i might think about a bong or 2 :roll: that really gets my creative juices goin!!!

[lau]

Drugzz... Copious amounts of Drugzz!..

Anyways..to be honest I never made a track under the influence of anything... except weed, alcohol and coke ofcourse.. :lol:

Always end up mixing the entire track again coz I mix like hell when I'm drunk.. Think its good for the basic ideas though gets the brain going.....

[acidsaturation]

http://www.rtqe.net/ObliqueStrategies/

[slavestudios]

man, i just open an application & faff about til theres a loop or a track or a noodle...



i have NEVER went with an idea in mind outside of a vocal sample. everything is just off the bat in the moment.

[j_s]

listen.

listen to as broad a range of music as possible.
go to a woods and listen for animals.
go to an industrial area and listen for machines.

try and find the most fascinating, exciting sounds you've ever heard.
then go into your studio and try and recreate them.

[Mirsha]

One of the things I'm currently doing is bashing away at making loops to mix it up a bit. Loops I think give you a bit more freedom to really wreck with the sound as there is less need to try and hammer out something consistant sounding. Rendering the loops down into bits then using Ableton to mix them up live can also be a rewarding experience as it can highlight gaps in what you are doing and give you a direction to focus on.

[robin m]

I'm finding it really really hard to finish a tune... I've hardly finished anything lately, but I was a bit stoned the other night and thought I'd have a look at all the loops I've started in the last 6 months or something. There were bloody hundreds, all of which must have sounded good caned at 2 in the morning for one evening but none of which I'll ever go back and do anything with. Basically inspiration lasts for a couple of hours per tune.

Does anyone else find this? It's really irritating me never finishing anything.

[rounser]

You can't force creativity.

*Me takes devil's advocate position*
Not sure I agree. Keeping going when a task is boring and not fun is as much a part of it as the fun and inspired stuff.

For instance, I remember Frank Herbert talking about writing Dune, and how he'd sit down and do a chapter even when he was totally uninspired and it was the last thing in the world he wanted to do, and then he'd look back and be unable to tell the difference between the bits done when he was feeling inspired and creative, and not.

Then there's this quote (from another Frank coincidentally):

We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing.
Action always generates inspiration.
Inspiration seldom generates action.

Frank Tibolt

[auditory hallucinations]

"I'm finding it really really hard to finish a tune... I've hardly finished anything lately, but I was a bit stoned the other night and thought I'd have a look at all the loops I've started in the last 6 months or something. There were bloody hundreds, all of which must have sounded good caned at 2 in the morning for one evening but none of which I'll ever go back and do anything with. Basically inspiration lasts for a couple of hours per tune. Does anyone else find this? It's really irritating me never finishing anything"

Yep I totally know where you're coming from on that. It's hard, and I wish I knew the answer. Recently, I've kept the computer switched off and just play around on the bits of gear I've got. I find it much easier as you don't have millions of options to play with (endless plug-ins that don't seem to do much to the sound etc), but I find you can more easily cycle the sounds through millions of options (especially on the analogue stuff) which for me is more important. Does that make sense? Probably not much, but hey…

I've hit on an analogy and for me it really works. Basically starting out a tune is like being in a sea of chaos…lots of froth everywhere with all the random elements ie basslines you've previously written (or for me, patterns on the tb303), drum sounds, whatever. Then a couple of things will match up, and sound good together - that's the start of an expanding bubble. I basically go with the bubble and see where it takes me. After a while, you might mess it up and the feeling is gone - the bubble has burst. When that happens, you can either take it back down to what works, or what I prefer to do is keep one thing that you made whilst in the bubble and just spin all the other dials and knobs back to chaos and see if you can get into a new bubble.

Then when it sounds good enough, nail it and just start to sequence out a whole track…work on it until you've finished. The problem I find with just making loops all the time (and I've been there enough times) is that when you start working on a track across a proper timeline, you can do stuff which gives further inspiration for your track that you couldn't do if you simply have loop mode switched on all the time.

Anyway, hope that's of some help…no more random gibberish from me for a little while at least…

Peace