10 years and I've still not managed to finish a track, any advice?

[Chapelle]

I've been producing for 10 years now, I've started a new track every other day but really just can't get myself to finish one. I've come close some times, but then I always got a new idea for a track that seems to be better than the previous one, so I prefer to focus on that. There always seems to be something more important to do...

I have bought so many mixing plugins that I rarely need, and I've never used any of the 6 mastering limiters that I've purchased over the years in case I would need them some day.

But anyway, CAN YOU GUYS HELP ME WITH MY PROBLEM? I don't understand why this is so hard. Should I just hire someone to do the work for me? How do you guys do it?

[xalama qo]

outsource

[recursive one]

What exactly you are struggling with? Mixing? Sound-design? Track structure? Do you follow some existing genre(s) or do your own things?

[thecontrolcentre]

I've been producing for 10 years now, I've started a new track every other day but really just can't get myself to finish one.

So ... you actually haven't been producing for 10 years

Finishing tracks needs focus as well as vision. I find setting myself a deadline can help. Avoid sitting listening to "loops" and set out intro, verse, chorus, break, etc. I know its clichéd, but it gets things done.

[deastman]

Outsourcing is kind of correct. You need a writing partner, or a producer (in the traditional sense of the word) to keep you honest and on track. If you can't find the internal motivation to finish a track, you'll need external motivation instead.

Another tip: create an artificial deadline. Imagine some label is waiting for your release. They need the finished track no later than noon on Friday. Go!

Or give yourself one day to make a finished composition. Or one hour. Or ten minutes. When time is up, the track is finished.

[deastman]

Oh, right... as thecontrolcentre said, work on the framework first instead of looping a single section:

Record a drum part. That is the verse. Now make a second drum part. That is the chorus. Make a third drum part for the bridge or middle eight or whatever your format requires. Now go back and add bass parts to each one. Copy and paste to repeat sections to lay out the entire structure of the song. Now go back and add one (and only one) new part to each section. Repeat.

[sjm]

Make a really short track.

That might sound flippant, but consider making something like a jingle or a short opening for a show, or even something like the Windows sound.

[jethrobull]

A good quote I remember from an interview with the FSOL is... a song/track or at least the idea for one is a moment in time. They talked about hundreds of songs they never finished. Obviously they finished a lot but I kinda get what they were saying. Maybe a silly question but do you want to finish the track (s)?, do you just get board and/or run out of ideas? When I get an idea for a track and start writing it, I sort of know within the first 20 minutes or so if this is one I definitely want to finish. Then I actually really want to finish it just to listen to it. I love it and it's my hobby but if I started to think I needed to outsource or get someone else to finish it for me then that sounds more like a chore than something to enjoy. Having said that, you should take everything I said like a pinch of salt as I am still a noob and I'm 40
I wish you all the best in your music making

[jethrobull]

Make a really short track.

That might sound flippant, but consider making something like a jingle or a short opening for a show, or even something like the Windows sound.

This is a great idea by the way..

[donkey tugger]

All good advice so far.

One thing that you can sometimes get hung up on is trying to make something totally original and/or perfect, or trying to cram too much in, rather than just accepting that it's just one song of many, and when it's done it's done..onto the next one.

[ariston]

Hmmm.. isn't the OP joking? Like "help, I've been releasing stuff on the internet for 20 years and I'm still not famous" or "I've been eating carrots for thirty years and I'm still blind as a bat".

Apologies if the OP was sincere. In that case, the problem is your IDEA of what makes a "'track". Forget that idea. Anything can be a track. Use something you've recorded, cut it off at 2:00 and call it a track. Burp into a mic for two minutes and call it a track. Call up a pad sound and press some keys and call it a track (or an ambient masterpiece, whatever floats your boat). Don't think about "finishing", nothing is ever really finished. Don't let yourself be led by what you THINK you need to do, try to follow your intuition. You'll end up with interesting failures and a few shiny successes. All of these are "finished" tracks.

[V0RT3X]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=music+production+video+courses

[Chapelle]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=music+production+video+courses

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+to+stop+being+an+asshole

[Jace-BeOS]

I'm kind of confused how someone can be making music for ten years and never have finished anything. Maybe you don't like the music you're making or the genre you think you should be working in, or maybe you aren't even focusing on what music is to you and how it fits into your life. Maybe you're not even making songs, when all is said and done. Maybe you're just making noise with rhythmic bits and pieces that can loop forever. Is that music to you? If the answer is yes, then that's great, but then you yourself need to answer the question:

What does "finished" even mean to you?

[nordickvr]

...Don't let yourself be led by what you THINK you need to do, try to follow your intuition. You'll end up with interesting failures and a few shiny successes. All of these are "finished" tracks.

That is pretty smart.