Lack of creativity?

[Pyrollusion]

Hello there,

 

i recently started getting into actually trying to make music myself and watched a lot of Tutorials and Guides.

The problem is that most Psytrance tutorials tell you how to make a basic beat,bassline, maybe some effects.

But that isnt the part that i really need to learn more about.

Usually when I have an idea I create all that and then i get to my actual problem. Intro? Mainpart? Buildup and drop? When and what?

At some point i just dont know what to do next.

I tried to analyze other songs, to see how they do it, but that didnt really make it easier for me. Also i hear a lot of ambient sounds and pads in the backround, some extra percussions here and there and i dont really know when to use that or what.

So how do I get a feeling for that stuff? I am tired of starting something and then just stopping at some point because I dont know where to go with it. Is it just my lack of creativity or somethingy that you learn on the way?

[Padmapani]

So how do I get a feeling for that stuff? I am tired of starting something and then just stopping at some point because I dont know where to go with it. Is it just my lack of creativity or somethingy that you learn on the way?

 

hey.

 

by finishing tracks. if you've already done the analyzing of other people's music there's no other way. really, finishing tracks is the only thing that teaches you how to finish tracks.

 

i think that's a problem most of us have at some point in time. i have found that it helps to not start seuquencing until an idea for a complete track pops into your head while still in the making-loops phase. so usually i have at least 15 minutes of material before i even start with the intro. this also forces me to select the best parts and throw out the garbage, which can be difficult for some.

a problem that can arise if you work that way is that different parts don't fit together well, but you can circumvent this by having one or two melodies playing most of the time in your "pattern library". of course they shouldn't play the whole time in the track you're building, but it ensures that your track won't be a disjointed mess of parts that don't have much to do with each other.

but of course others may have completely different strategies...

 

for the general structure, it of course depends on the subgenre and how much you want to deviate from the template, but in very generally speaking you'll have an ambient intro that leads to kick and bass, then percussion comes in, then you introduce different elements sequentially, working towards one or more smaller climaxes, seperated by quiter parts or breakdowns, then you'll have the final buildup and climax when everything comes together and blows the listener away. finally you start to take elements away until you end up with an ambient outro.

of course nothing is set in stone and if you always stick to the same formula (as everyone else or even as yourself) your music will be predictable and boring. listen to different kinds of music and experiement!

[Purple Sunray]

Hello there,

 

i recently started getting into actually trying to make music myself and watched a lot of Tutorials and Guides.

The problem is that most Psytrance tutorials tell you how to make a basic beat,bassline, maybe some effects.

But that isnt the part that i really need to learn more about.

Usually when I have an idea I create all that and then i get to my actual problem. Intro? Mainpart? Buildup and drop? When and what?

At some point i just dont know what to do next.

I tried to analyze other songs, to see how they do it, but that didnt really make it easier for me. Also i hear a lot of ambient sounds and pads in the backround, some extra percussions here and there and i dont really know when to use that or what.

So how do I get a feeling for that stuff? I am tired of starting something and then just stopping at some point because I dont know where to go with it. Is it just my lack of creativity or somethingy that you learn on the way?

 

the only thing you need to know when producing trance is 32

32beats (8bar) is your unit of measurement in tance, this where you usually change something. i.e.

1-8 kick

9-16 kick + bass

17-32 kick + bass + closed hihat

33-40 kick + bass + closed hihat + snare

41-48: kick + bass + closed hihat + snare + pad fades in

...

at the end of each 32beats do a crash, or a drum roll or, ..

That's all you need to know - create a bassline and a drumtrack and use the magic number to create a basic track structure, like

16bar into, 8 bar minibreak, 32bar buildup, 64bar climax, 32bar break, 32 bar buildup, 32 bar climax, 32 bar outro

After you are done with that, safe it as template for your next track.. and now it's time to turn on the fancy synths and start to get creative, you won't get lost on the track anymore while fiddling with the synths.. because the structure is already done.

[Panoptes]

limiting your options is one way to spruce creativity. When you have an open DAW the possibilities are endless and in a way this makes writing more intimidating.

[Veracohr]

I'd second Padmapani, and add that you should make lots of anything. Whole tracks, partials, loops, anything that comes to mind. Don't worry about making crap because there's usually more of that than the good, finished stuff. Just get it all out and take each piece as far as you can, and eventually you'll get to where you want to be.

 

Also try just playing around with sounds without trying to actually write anything. You may become inspired by a sound.

[Purple Sunray]

But than you don't get it finished^^

I know the problem of Pyrollusion very well - you have a nice idea, put it into your DAW and end up with a 16 bar loop. This is great for research or just experimenting, but if you wanna get a track finished you need some kind of structured approach.. at least until you finished a couple of tracks and know how it works.

 

> So how do I get a feeling for that stuff? I am tired of starting something and then just stopping at some point because I dont know where to go with it. Is it just my lack of creativity or somethingy that you learn on the way?

 

That's the whole point, for me it was like:

WOOHOOO blasting killah loop, but needs a build up. So you start to compose the track backwards, which is considerably more difficult than in the other direction.. afterwards you start the next loop.. WOOHOOO blasting killah loop too.. but doesn't fit very well to first and.. oh wait, where I'm am? Is this supposed to be the climax? ... You get lost on the composition, or at least this was happening to me a lot of times when following the experimental approach. Wasn't a problem anymore after I switch order of first doing the structure work and than being creative, instead of being creative and than trying to bring some structure into it.

[Balance]

Go modular.

[desysko]

I would disagree with you here, Balance-Music. Modular is something that requires lots of attention and money. Plus it is easy to get lost in modular stuff. Sometimes, simple is better. Then again, it depends on the person, situation, and etc. But I wouldn't mind some modular craziness.

[Purple Sunray]

nice tip xD he is struggling with setting up the fundamental structure of a track and the solution is to go modular .. "How can I calculate 1+1 on a PC?" => "Get Matlab!"

[Veracohr]

but if you wanna get a track finished you need some kind of structured approach..

 

I don't think that's necessarily true. If you're not inspired enough to finish whatever you're working on, maybe that particular piece just doesn't have the level of quality. In my opinion anyway, if you approach creating music like one might approach laying bricks for a wall, you'll end up with boring, contrived music.

[Purple Sunray]

That's true, but I'm not talking about laying bricks.

There are certain constants that are same for all tracks, e.g. post a track where there is crash on each 3. bar, instead of the 4.? Or where the buildup is 30,889 bars long instead of 32. Or where the snare drum plays 3/4 in between the kickdrums instead of on it. ect.

If you create a track that just randomly plays something w/o any structure behind this is highly creative ofc, but probably not what the thread author is looking for. He is there already as of today. He is able to put his ideas into a DAW already, but what he lacks is the knowledge about how to build a track. So he is probably more interested to find out what those 99,9999% of the tracks have in common instead of the advance to be creative on stuff where everyone else sticks to a set of rules (for good reason)

[Pyrollusion]

Thanks guys, thats a lot of answers. So yeah, its kinda about building the track. Looks like with your tipps on structure in mind i should just try.

And hey, doesnt really matter if it sounds terrible, creating it is fun.

 

So thanks guys, lets so what abomination i´ll create^^

[Padmapani]

That's the whole point, for me it was like:

WOOHOOO blasting killah loop, but needs a build up. So you start to compose the track backwards, which is considerably more difficult than in the other direction.. afterwards you start the next loop.. WOOHOOO blasting killah loop too.. but doesn't fit very well to first and.. oh wait, where I'm am? Is this supposed to be the climax? ... You get lost on the composition, or at least this was happening to me a lot of times when following the experimental approach.

 

i know that problem well from a while back. that's why i loop at least one element into the new section i'm building. this may be a simple melody, pads, anything that has the same progression/feeling/spirit. now they all fit together

also, with more experience, i can now think "i'll make a smaller climax that comes before the final one, do a breakdown and buildup that leads into the main climax" and most of the time i'll actually succeed at doing that.

 

And hey, doesnt really matter if it sounds terrible, creating it is fun.

that's the spirit. if you just do it for the love of music and having a good time playing around with your own ideas, you can never fail. even in the track turns out to be no good you've had a lot of fun (and learnt something new) along the way

 

if you keep producing music, you will soon arrive at a point where you think "wow, now this is really good. anything i've made before is rubbish". the bad news is: this will happen to you many times. the good new is: respected artists with many releases under their belt will often think the same of their earlier works. it's a steady learning process with no apparent end. the path is the destination

[Monib]

I think you're having problems with flow/development. I always get stuck making loops as well. But its realizing when you have a good idea and how to take it further.

 

I would suggest looking into Texture and Structure. Start hearing them in the music you listen to, and how you would change them to make the song better. More of a mental exercise .