Abstinence

[Stalker]

What do you guys feel when you have to face a period out of your production?

I am now entering into a tree mounths phase with out producing!

 

I feel weak and sad

 

[xiphiaz]

What do you guys feel when you have to face a period out of your production?

I am now entering into a tree mounths phase with out producing!

 

I feel weak and sad

 

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I know the feeling, it's not a pleasant one =( You really want to produce something great but you just can't, you feel drained of inspiration. But forcing it won't do any good. Been there a couple of times, and there's nothing to do really, just hang in there and the magic will return in time (:

Just try not to think to much of it and do other stuff instead.

[Digital Psyence]

oh i know this really good!!

 

forcing it wont help, no! i can use days, weeks even months producing only small bits of a track. My magic recepie is (works for me everytime): i go out to a psyparty, party like its 1999 and next day when im awake again, i can just feel my inspiration pulling me into the studio, and i can make up to 80-90% of a track in 10-12 hours, and i have the energy to stay in the studio and just produce like a well-oiled machine.

 

ps. i was out partying @ 24. december, so watch out for my next track

[Cybernetika]

I know that too. I think almost every musician is in this state some time and indeed, sometimes it takes months to get your head clear.

 

I have several ways to get rid of this, forcing it wont help...

- If possible, draw back some days without music, stress and distraction, ideal would be a really lonely place in the wilderness, but I know thats not possible for many of us. Anyway, the loneliness and abstinence from music are the most important factors in my case. Somtimes it helps...

- The "light" version: go for a walk in the woods or in the city at night. Again, silence and loneliness enhance your perception for details you wouldnt notice otherwise.

- Psychedelic experiences. Take some time, chill out, and pull on your headphones and try to "feel" some really intense and trippy music. Hallucinogen, Derango, Son Kite, and other deep, psychedelic music helps me. Some might need to enhance this by some substances. After that I tend to look upon the music from a different angle, sometimes that helps with producing.

- try to discover phases where you can produce more easily. I for example produce mostly during the night or in the evening, where I can focus on production 100% and nothing else can distract me.

 

In any case: If you cant produce, just do something else and dont think like "shit, I got to produce, now where are my ideas". dont panic. Completely forget about production for some days or weeks and suddenly, your genius will return in form of an urge to put new ideas suddenly coming up into notes

[Kalki]

i was about to post the same subject as i feel the same like u

 

workin on the same track for months makes me fedup of it. i prefer making multiple tracks at same time. when get bored of one track i change to other. it really helps.

 

mentally sadness n lonliness will make us more creative.an artist is who find benifit from sadness n lonliness.

 

walkin alone at night helps me to write songs n get ideas.

 

what i often do is turn off the lights, close my eyes and dance to the psy tracks and visualise mysterious things like i m alone in a jungle or desert n some thin strange is happenin in the sky n make psy sound with my mouth, then it might turn to a tune or idea

 

watch horror movies for psy creativity.

[Wave-particle]

hi ive just been to an aura lecture and the woman told me i hve to slow down my creative expresion she said im a frenetic of making music and paintings and that i just feel good when im doing it so i dont pay atention to the rest of my world that i dont want to open and share my heart and my music with nobody ......i really do that....first i felt like shit but after thinking a lot she is right i have to open my heart to the people so i can have new expiriences and feed my spirit....then ill have more to say and make better music..

 

 

i will start sharing my music with u guys

i feel good being part of this forum

[Stalker]

First of all, i would like to thank everybody for such nice words!

 

 

And wave-particle, we would be more them happy to listen to your music

Its great in terms that now you can have an idea on how your music affects us

I would be more then glad to give you constructive feedback

 

See ya

[Amygdala]

Been there... All the time

 

I try to do stuff out of the ordinary, when the inspiration doesn't come. For instance, I was in a bad mood the other night, when some boat was delayed, and my trip got extended two hours. I went out to the rear of the boat (it's one of those catamaran style shit-fast boats), smoked a cigarette, and just looked at the 30 feet high jets of water coming out beneath the boat - and listened to the engines... I stood there for about half an hour freezing my ass off, but I got some pretty good ideas

 

Another "trick" is to work on some music in a completely different style. Make silly music that could fit in some arcade-game from the late 80's. Chances are, you will stumble across some sound, that can be the base of the kind of music you usually write.

 

-A

[mikelogic303]

A.) Keep a small notebook and pen with you at all times. Write down any ideas you have, as soon as you have them. Even if you can't write proper musical notation, you can make something up. This will be a source of inspiration when you're sitting in front of your sequencer.

 

B.) If you have written a nice bass line or lead which doesn't quite fit the current track, export it as a midi file before you delete it. Include at least the key in the file name. When you're stuck, just start importing these midi files you saved earlier. It might not fit perfectly, but could get you going again.

 

C.) During "downtime", take a track which you like made by another artist and make a copy of it in your studio. This will help your arrangement, synth and listening skills. It's not stealing, it's just what artists do! (you wouldn't shout at a band for playing a cover version of a track would you?)

 

D.) If travelling with a cd/mp3 player, get out your notebook and start writing out the track you're listening to on paper. Count with the bars, note down when important things start/finish (such as leads). I tend to draw squares every 4 or 8 bars, but that's just my system. Then you can draw a simple sequencer like view, and will quickly learn how tracks are put together. Very usefull if you want to broaden your horizons and make some other style of music.

 

E.) Try simply writing patches for your synths.

 

F.) Get on ebay and buy some cheap and cheerful sample CDs. They are out there, you just have to look!

 

G.) Get on amazon and buy some music technology books. Much better value in the long run than music magazines, where you are just paying for adverts. Pay for the information instead.

 

H.) Shut down your studio at least 1hr before sleeping. Do something else for a while. Otherwise you'll wake up the next morning still humming the same tune.

 

I.) Take inspiration from various sources. Write a track about a book, movie, object, experience or whatever you like.

 

J.) Don't wait for inspiration. Fire up your sequencer, sit down and start playing around. You didn't wait to feel like doing your homework in school did you? But it was done all the same! (ok, smart ass at the back, most of us did our homework)

 

K.) Get on KVR and downlaod some of the latest free VSTs. This should take a few hours/days/months....

 

I.) Remember to enjoy yourself. If you're enjoying making the music, people will enjoy listening to it. If it's not working, get out of there. Make a cup of tea, come back and start sorting things out. Don't just sit there playing things back and tweaking it, delete everything which isn't absolutely necessary, no matter how long you spent on it. If it's not working in the track, get rid of it.

 

Hope some of this helps some of you!!

 

Peace out,

 

miKe

[Qualium]

One of the most useful and meaningful threads I have seen for a while in this subforum - imprtant tips on how to cultivate and care for your creativity.

 

 

A.) Keep a small notebook and pen with you at all times. Write down any ideas you have, as soon as you have them. Even if you can't write proper musical notation, you can make something up. This will be a source of inspiration when you're sitting in front of your sequencer.

406154[/snapback]

 

In an expansion of this point, you can just draw shapes and patterns (possibly using various colours) that somehow seem like a visual representation of the sounds you hear in your head. A lot of musical patterns used in psy are difficult to tabulate in any form, so if, like me, you get visual imagery along with the music in your mind, you can just draw something that has the same kinds of aesthetic qualities.

[Slammered]

I'm no expert here but I've a few opinions on personal creativity.. They my not apply to other people but here goes & they may inspire or they may see me flamed to ground.. either way it's better than the C code infront of me so :-

 

I've always felt the musical ideas & phrases which were created during times of personal stress , crisis or tirmoil have always been more melodic, better quality & more numerous. I couldn't sequence them because my head was a bit messed but the music scratchpad filled up very quick.

Also this applies to times when things are going great.. I mean really good.. Times when things are just ticking over well , didn't do it..

 

I think this may be because I beleive music creation can be another form of emotional release if we are keeping things bottled up that can't come out in other ways. whether that's good or bad things..

 

Try thinking back to times when you wrote your best stuff.. What were you doing??.. what was the bigger picture that was going on in your life at that time.. Can you recreate the scenario in your head & can you relive some of the moments??..

 

You just need to reverse up the road your on & back onto the creative motorway with many exits..

 

Take a break from writing Psy.. do some blues , jazz , something completely different.. your mind will bring you back to it when your ready & you may pick up a few extra ideas on the way.

 

Also have a listen to styles you don't like & analyse them optimistically, filtering out & looking for patterns you can understand.. Maybee your mind needs some variation to the theme...

 

Or maybe I'm talking shite & should get back to work, instead of being on this phorum !!!

[slyman604]

well i havent made a track in almost 6 months now. this is how its been for about 5 years now, i get really into it for 4 months, then get sick of producing and quit for 6 months but everytime ive come back the tracks have gotten better. hopefully this time ill actually get something released.

i dont think there is a point in forcing it, just give up for awhile, the urge will click again and you will just be hungry to kick some ass in the studio.