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So the question is... Anyone have any suggestions on keep your creativity up and fresh, after working on a project for multiple hours. I know we've all been there... sitting at the comp, working on the same mix for hour.. tinkering with eq's, reverb's, mastering effects. Motivation starts decreasing and your eyes start getting fried from the monitor/s. I, unfortunately, only have time to produce in the late night hours too, which also doesn't exactly help either.. when having to work 7am to 6pm. ALSO, I tend to spend, IMO, too much time on perfecting, so when i finally look at the clock, 4 hours have gone by and i only have a 16 bar intro.. IT LEAVES ME SO FRUSTRATED! I understand it's a personal problem, but if anyone has, or have had a similar issue, I'd appreciate any advice or rec's.. Thanks guys!!
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So the question is... Anyone have any suggestions on keep your creativity up and fresh, after working on a project for multiple hours. I know we've all been there... sitting at the comp, working on the same mix for hour.. tinkering with eq's, reverb's, mastering effects. Motivation starts decreasing and your eyes start getting fried from the monitor/s. I, unfortunately, only have time to produce in the late night hours too, which also doesn't exactly help either.. when having to work 7am to 6pm. ALSO, I tend to spend, IMO, too much time on perfecting, so when i finally look at the clock, 4 hours have gone by and i only have a 16 bar intro.. IT LEAVES ME SO FRUSTRATED! I understand it's a personal problem, but if anyone has, or have had a similar issue, I'd appreciate any advice or rec's.. Thanks guys!!

 

 

http://lifelessons4u.wordpress.com/

 

You can read articles like the one above or you can come to terms with whatever it is you are really trying to accomplish.

 

For example, some of the forum members actually work in the music business procuring work , and are on some sort of a scheduled deadline. In other words, they HAVE TO DO THIS. Most everyone else does this as a hobby.

 

Not knowing what you are producing will limit what ever advice people will offer you.

 

What is it you are trying to accomplish? What style is your writing? Why are you trying to perfect something you haven't even written yet?

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Rather than keep my original post up I decided to edit and share my new learnings from the thread below:

 

So, if you suffer creativity issues:

 

- Don't attempt any form of structuring to help you get to a creative stage of workflow quicker - it's the antithesis to fostering creativity.

- Do something else - including turning Logic off and doing something completely different.

- Try something completely different in Logic. So, if you normally produce EDM; change tempo....change time signature...try different instruments...do a cheezy synth-pop cover of a folk song or a childhood favourite...find a dance accapella and try to arrange a string part for it - or anything else for that matter.

- Vary where you start in a track e.g intro, riff's, melodies or, try to create a track from start to finish.

 

Key point: don't take tips from LPH - by doing so you are essentially confirming to the advice of others. Conformance to convention will not solve creativity - it will probably stifle it.

 

And finally, if conformance to convention is your only hope, and you do take advice, wait for at least 3 weeks until any initial posts with offers of help have been ripped apart.

 

Andy

Edited by Andyreww
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If you're working 11 hour days then spending all night making music, it could well be tiredness rather than a lack of motivation stifling your output.

 

Also, the perfection thing can be procrastination in disguise, sometimes you spend hours on the first few bars because you don't have any more ideas. Learn to accept this and move on, you might suprise yourself as to when a small idea can turn into something more complete. And don't be afraid to have ideas you don't use; they'll still inform your other work in some way.

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I always have nights off and even if I intend on writing something and nothing happens after about 30 mins I usually go off and learn something new, a new trick or method of doing something.

 

Sometimes that starts the creative process then if that don't work I call it a night and not worry about it at all. I found that if I let it bother me that I hadn't writing anything in a few days then I would be anxious on the next session about not creating anything and it all becomes a vicious circle.

 

When I stopped worrying about it the creativity came back. Your not alone and also agree with Rev. Juda$ Sleaze, some nights you should just kick back and watch a movie or something.

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wow! i appreciate all the responses guys! After reading all the posts and suggestions.. It made me realize I have alot things I need to work on. To answer acouple of questions, I do only produce as a hobby, I enjoy making all genres of music (EDM, hip hop, along with recording live instruments for rock groups) And shivermetimbers really brought up a good point...

 

"What is it you are trying to accomplish? What style is your writing? Why are you trying to perfect something you haven't even written yet?"

 

I'm spending nights upon nights attempting to tweak a certain kick over and over and over... Think it might have to do with OCD!? :wink: Thanks shivermetimbers for the life lesson article.. At the moment, I'm going through some difficult times, having lost family members. So this article really hit home, not only in regards to music and productions, but in life in general. Thanks.

 

My boy ANDY!! Can't thank you enough on your elaborate response! Really appreciate the techniques and suggestions! I have created a couple templates to help save time (including all that you have mentioned), along with assigning markers to designate major sections. I'll put alot of these tips to use tonight when I sit down to the comp.. especially the last one...

 

Don't hang around on LPH when you should be producing music

 

Gotta get back to work y'all... but thank you Judas Sleaze, rhys and camillo jr for your advice as well!!

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It's not a personal problem it's something that happens to a lot of people.......

 

So, from the track you shared recently:

 

http://logicprohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=80561

 

...it sounds like you are producing EDM....so here's some tips that I work by:

 

- Listen to a lot of EDM music, old school, new school, progressive, any genre - The good tunes will keep you motivated.

- Listen to tracks that suit your genre e.g Electro in your case. Tech House in my case.

- Create a template in Logic that improves your workflow - I have one with the following:

 

- Audio Kick (Used for sidechaining

- Basic 4/4 Kick/Snare Loop

- Drums Bus

- Synth Bus

- Vocal Bus

- Short Reverb Bus

- Long Reverb Bus

- Filter Bus

 

Having a basic template improves workflow dramatically and avoids wasting time on tasks you do on every track.

 

- In the template create markers. Do this by studying good tracks in your genre. You can pull these track into Logic and mark major sections using markers; e.g drums intro, bass intro, pause, main riff #1, pause, main riff #2, breakdown, main riff #3, pause, outtro. Doing this allows you to arrange quite quickly one you have a 16 bar idea down.

- Don't start with an intro, start with a 16 bar idea - The 16 Bar idea will translate to a main riff in the finished track.

- Use Apple Loops to get beats and baselines down quickly - You can fine tune and tweak these later.

- Use Apple midi loops to get riffs, melodies etc. You can move the midi region to another track with a better sounding synth.

- Only mix levels in or 16 bar idea to start with - You'll find that you will spend a long time getting 2 tracks to work well together with effects, EQ and compression only to find that when you add a 3rd the mix goes off.

- Build a library of sounds to match the genre you are producing. For example, go through the factory presets in the ES2 and any that sound line with the genre you are producing e.g save bass as My Electro Presets >> Bass. This will save time trolling through 100's/1000's of presets.

- When you have a basic idea down make a decision will it work or, not? If yes carry on, if no scrap it. Don't spend too much time trying to sugar coat a 16 bar idea that won't work in a full track (I have a graveyard folder full of 16 bar ideas that don't work) - Today's 16 bar idea will probably end up in the graveyard folder incidentally.

- Generally, you should be able to get a basic 16 bar idea down in 30-60 minutes.

- Once you have the idea down you can start to arrange. If you've created a marker template you'll be able to put a general arrangement together pretty quickly.

- Learn the basics of side chain compression, gating, filtering, automation and how these can add interest to a track.

- Get a collection of rise/fall fx together - you can use these time and time again.

 

Here's some more general tips:

 

- Take plenty of ear breaks, go watch tv, listen to some other music, read a book etc. taking a break from your tracks will help reduce monotony and allow you to listen to them more critically when you come back after a break.

- Work with something that works - You've just finished a nice Electro Track. Why not re-edit/re-mix it. Try changing out some of the sounds, put a different beat pattern together, add some gating/filtering etc.

- Try copying a track you like. I've found that I'm no where near skilled enough to re-produce an exact copy of a track however; the structure, beats, baselines get pretty close. You find as you try to replicate synth sounds that you'll create your own that work and give the track a different sound.

 

A tip that I should adhere to - but don't:

 

Don't hang around on LPH when you should be producing music

 

The most important tip IMHO is to persevere - tenacity will get you there.....

 

Hope these help....

 

Andy

 

though i appreciate every one of these tips to achieve a certain end, i kinda feel them the antithesis to fostering creativity....

 

setting out templates which would tend to lead you towards the same end, albeit with time saved, is already setting up for restriction, which could help to limit creativity

 

i guess everyone is different, but i'd advocate turning everything on it's head, every opportunity you can...if you normally start with a beat, try starting with melody and harmony...and whatever you do, keep broadening your listening outside of your intended genre...

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elbo makes a great point about templates vs creativity.... I'm a person who starts most tunes with a kernel of an idea which could be anything, drums, arps, a string line, a chord progression, whatever. So I could stand to have maybe just a wee bit of standardization, some kind of template to get things flowing more. But I would always regard that as a launching pad and nothing more because I really like to explore when I'm writing. It's a case of balancing presets with flexibility. For instance, I have yet to make a really good orchestral template so I end up choosing new instruments every time I write something like that. So, for now, with that kind of music, the balance is on "exploration".

 

I'm spending nights upon nights attempting to tweak a certain kick over and over and over... Think it might have to do with OCD!?

 

Could be! But it might also have to do with the aforementioned perfectionism. Sometimes it's really a good thing to think in broad strokes until you've got enough good stuff down that you can start paying attention to details. And the details can be fun! If you really know that you're making a difference to the whole tune by focussing on, say, a rhythmic filter that needs to peak on certain off beats and it takes an hour to do this, well then, go for it!

 

But if you aren't moving forward on a certain sound, then put it on the back burner and work on other parts of the song. It might actually sound better later without doing anything to it.

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...I enjoy making all genres of music (EDM, hip hop, along with recording live instruments for rock groups)...

 

:lol: Yep, that's all of them! :wink:

 

@camillo: I don't think there's anything wrong with getting stuff out there that you feel isn't ready, art is never finished - you just decide when to stop (to paraphrase: "A painting is never finished. It simply stops in an interesting place." —Paul Gardener). There's stuff in every piece of music I've ever produced that I'd clean up or do differently, but I don't sweat it, just get it out there and move on! Also, the music is the important part, you have to have your head completely up your arse to ruin good music with bad production skills (not that it can't happen, but it takes a special talent to make music unlistenable).

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though i appreciate every one of these tips to achieve a certain end, i kinda feel them the antithesis to fostering creativity....

 

setting out templates which would tend to lead you towards the same end, albeit with time saved, is already setting up for restriction, which could help to limit creativity

 

elbo makes a great point about templates vs creativity.... I'm a person who starts most tunes with a kernel of an idea which could be anything, drums, arps, a string line, a chord progression, whatever. So I could stand to have maybe just a wee bit of standardization, some kind of template to get things flowing more.

 

I couldn't agree more. Generally, too much process/structure leads to creativity being stifled. This is true in many walks, not just music production. Having the the right amount of process/structure can enhance creativity by maximizing creative time. The tips above hopefully reduce the # of repetitive tasks and allow the OP to get to work on a 16 bar idea earlier etc.

 

Andy

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allow the OP to get to work on a 16 bar idea earlier etc.

 

i dig what you mean, but the above is the kinda thing i'm talking about :) i'm guessing that'll be 16 bar's of 4/4 yeah ?? :D

 

Exactly! I used to teach a GarageBand course to teenagers every summer. (First lesson - how to right-click on a Mac :lol: )

 

I'd make them change the default tempo and key for every project after I noticed that they were all writing tunes that were 120 bpm in the key of C.

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I'd make them change the default tempo and key for every project after I noticed that they were all writing tunes that were 120 bpm in the key of C.

:lol: Exactly what happened to me the first time I got Logic: after a couple of weeks I realized all my old songs were in Am or Em (I'm a guitar player), and all my new songs were in C Maj at 120 bpm. :lol:

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gotcha...not something i normally do, at least not the melodic ones

Come to think of it, I never do it either. I originally thought that maybe I was doing it when I first got Logic, but it was version 4, and Apple Loops didn't exist back then.

 

No, I think the only reason my first Logic songs were all in C Major is because this is also the first time I was composing from a keyboard rather than from a guitar. :D In fact if I remember correctly the first non-guitar songs I composed were in the Kurzweil K2vx's internal sequencer, while I was waiting for my first Mac, my first copy of Logic, and later for that Griffin serial to USB adapter just so I could plug Emagic's old serial dongle into my brand new USB-only Power Mac G4. Wow that was a while ago. :lol:

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allow the OP to get to work on a 16 bar idea earlier etc.

 

i dig what you mean, but the above is the kinda thing i'm talking about :) i'm guessing that'll be 16 bar's of 4/4 yeah ?? :D

 

Yep, 16 bars of 4/4 - now I could see how this could not be a good approach for other genres of music, classical, rock etc. I haven't studied these so I wouldn't know exactly the best way to develop an idea....

 

Andy

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allow the OP to get to work on a 16 bar idea earlier etc.

 

i dig what you mean, but the above is the kinda thing i'm talking about :) i'm guessing that'll be 16 bar's of 4/4 yeah ?? :D

 

Yep, 16 bars of 4/4 - now I could see how this could not be a good approach for other genres of music, classical, rock etc. I haven't studied these so I wouldn't know exactly the best way to develop an idea....

 

Andy

 

I haven't studied these so I wouldn't know exactly the best way to develop an idea....

 

there is no best way, that's what i'm saying...even within dance genres there are gonna be people who won't conform to certain conventions

 

the best thing to do is keep listening to a broad range of music and just have a go at different things

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gotcha...not something i normally do, at least not the melodic ones

Come to think of it, I never do it either. I originally thought that maybe I was doing it when I first got Logic, but it was version 4, and Apple Loops didn't exist back then.

 

No, I think the only reason my first Logic songs were all in C Major is because this is also the first time I was composing from a keyboard rather than from a guitar. :D In fact if I remember correctly the first non-guitar songs I composed were in the Kurzweil K2vx's internal sequencer, while I was waiting for my first Mac, my first copy of Logic, and later for that Griffin serial to USB adapter just so I could plug Emagic's old serial dongle into my brand new USB-only Power Mac G4. Wow that was a while ago. :lol:

 

:D :shock: :D

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there is no best way, that's what i'm saying...even within dance genres there are gonna be people who won't conform to certain conventions

 

There is for EDM - it's using a 16 Bar loop to get an idea down. True, a sub-set of folk who don't conform to this however; the EDM producers I know/follow/have been taught by use the initial 16 bar loop idea development method.

 

Andy

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there is no best way

 

Right on man!

 

even within dance genres there are gonna be people who won't conform to certain conventions

 

And why should they!

 

There is for EDM - it's using a 16 Bar loop to get an idea down. True, a sub-set of folk who don't conform to this however; the EDM producers I know/follow/have been taught by use the initial 16 bar loop idea development method.

 

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