This is something i was just discussion with smoothcriminal12 and i was curious about others opinions.

In my spare time outside of work i have worked really hard on beatds and instrumentals with my Logic Studio and my AWS900 etc.

I use my piano, brand new synth and bass for most of my instrumentals and beats... but when i make a song i CANT stick to one genre i have in mind that i wanna do say a rock or r&B song.

But along the way it turns into some jazzbo, electronic heavy metal rock opera hybrid just stuff like that and it drives me nuts sometimes cause i like being experimental but it is ''too much'' at times beyond belief.

For my fellow musicians out there what keeps on point when you are making music? how do you stay focused on a song to a point where every note and sound you are happy with and you can call the song ''complete''

I don't record unless I hear almost a complete idea in my head first. So.. delaying recording until you have "composed" it might help you concentrate and finish.

Silence.

RodeoSchro said:

Silence.

Oh man... that is so true BUT i live close the UCLA fraternities so around Midnight Silence becomes a myth -.-

Cinny said:

I don't record unless I hear almost a complete idea in my head first. So.. delaying recording until you have "composed" it might help you concentrate and finish.

You see i ''think'' i always have complete ideas but i probably don't... this is actually good advice i should try this

Every once and awhile, if I feel like I'm getting a little to ahead of myself, I make myself imagine Bea Arthur in a bikini ...

Oh, wait, you said while making music...I thought you said while making love. Sorry, carry on.

Byron said:

Every once and awhile, if I feel like I'm getting a little to ahead of myself, I make myself imagine Bea Arthur in a bikini ...

Oh, wait, you said while making music...I thought you said while making love. Sorry, carry on.

:DEAD: :BURRIED:

Byron said:

Every once and awhile, if I feel like I'm getting a little to ahead of myself, I make myself imagine Bea Arthur in a bikini ...

Oh, wait, you said while making music...I thought you said while making love. Sorry, carry on.

:FLATLINE:

Byron said:

Every once and awhile, if I feel like I'm getting a little to ahead of myself, I make myself imagine Bea Arthur in a bikini ...

Oh, wait, you said while making music...I thought you said while making love. Sorry, carry on.

:THANK GOD I'VE NEVER EVER CLICKED ON DAN'S BEA ARTHUR LINK AND NEVER WILL!:

before i start working on a new idea i like to say a little prayer to this photo taped over my synthesizer

Gunsnhalen said:

This is something i was just discussion with smoothcriminal12 and i was curious about others opinions.

In my spare time outside of work i have worked really hard on beatds and instrumentals with my Logic Studio and my AWS900 etc.

I use my piano, brand new synth and bass for most of my instrumentals and beats... but when i make a song i CANT stick to one genre i have in mind that i wanna do say a rock or r&B song.

But along the way it turns into some jazzbo, electronic heavy metal rock opera hybrid just stuff like that and it drives me nuts sometimes cause i like being experimental but it is ''too much'' at times beyond belief.

For my fellow musicians out there what keeps on point when you are making music? how do you stay focused on a song to a point where every note and sound you are happy with and you can call the song ''complete''

I can relate to what you're saying. I mess around with Poprellerhead's Reasons and i got so many half finished beats. Ill start something thinking about a certain genre but as i start structuring the song the sound changes into this crazy funk, country, hip hop weirdness. Also my attention span and motivation have been shit lately so at this moment I'm kinda creatively bankrupt.


Also I think what Cinny said about having a complete ideal before recording is important. For someone like me, who isn't a musician, that can be hard.

Strong Coffee or Tea, keeping the blood sugar up and not having a lot of outside distractions help me focus as well.




Anyway when i make music i almost universally start off with the drums. In the past i would do it like this. I would have a ideal about a certain genre, then i would start making some drum patterns in that genre. If i liked the drums then i would add some bass,and go on down the line. What happened a lot of the time was i would come up with a keyboard, guitar, or other sound that i thought was kinda tight but didn't really fit the original drums or bass. I would spend hours(or days)changing the drums(hip hop) to fit the guitar(country steel) or the bass(Saw) to fit the Piano(classical). Sometime i could make it work but most times i would end up overwhelmed and disappointed by a song that sounds like garbage.


What I'm starting to do now is if the new keyboard, bass or other sounds isn't matching the original drums and overall ideal of the song, then ill save a copy of the new sound(s) but ill refuse 2 use it in the song im working on(no debate with myself). Creativity and uniqueness are very important in music but for me the ideal is to not get that far off from the basic vision of the song.



Regardless, making music is hard work but it should, and can be fun.

[Edited 6/19/13 18:04pm]

Just let things fly. Just yesterday I was coming up with a slow mellow piano and synth song and it turned into Gary Numan meets arena rock. Experimentation is a great thing. I've made some really shitty songs but it's always great to go back to those and build on them. And as for feeling complete, I feel like a true musician never can complete their work just get as close to completion before giving up

i record every day

i can definitely go off on tangents, but i find starting with just one or two instruments and then the vocal keeps things moving in the right direction... i then build the song around that


if you're doing instrumentals only, it's much easier to lose focus imo

i'd suggest you try this... write a chord progression... then write a melody... then add other stuff in (eg write some harmony parts to your melody) to colour what you're doing, but hold back... take a less is more approach

aardvark15 said:

I think u should learn 2 flow with what comes out.

At some point u may end of with something that can be edited into your original intention.........

the few times i made music. I think of a scene or a story first. for example, the last thing i messed around in my computer, i imagined being in a woods. i was missing with sounds at first, then i imagined having a sort of religious experience in the woods. how would it sound? well, i added choir voices, piano, and then just simple experimentatons.

right now, im trying to make a song about the girl from the ring coming out of the tv.

Graycap23 said:

I think u should learn 2 flow with what comes out.

At some point u may end of with something that can be edited into your original intention.........

like a sick B-section

NDRU said:

Maybe not being able to stick to a certain genre means that you're finding your own style. Don't be discouraged by that. Embrace it

This too.