What is fulfilling about producing music?

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

apart from a recent creative lull, i really enjoy listening to my music; i couldn't imagine going through the tortuous (and torturous) process if i didn't.

the times i normally hate my music are when i try to 'produce' something, as opposed to creating something (there is a difference). normally, any attempt to try to conform to a genre, especially one i wouldn't normally listen to, will leave me bored, hating the results

the advice to take a step away from a project, and return with a fresh perspective, is always good. having multiple projects on the go will allow you to do this while still creating and learning

[ntom]

I grew up always hearing "If you want it done right, you got to do it yourself". Becoming quite the hipster cynic of all things mainstream, I dawned my thick rims, scarf, and tight pants and began learning how to do the things that I wanted done better for myself - not for the audience (not that I have an audience).

As sarcastic as that sounded, I'm partially serious (save for the scarf and tight pants - I think that's just weird).

People find it weird and constantly try to tell me how wrong of an idea it is that I mostly only listen to my own music, but honestly, I enjoy it. And whenever I get a new person to listen, it almost seems to reinvigorate my own interest in my own music, as I like to listen through it from their perspective: what might they hear as their first time listening? Sometimes I wind up hearing embarrassing mistakes, sometimes I hear things I didn't even realize were happening in the music, either way, a new audience member means a potential new way of listening to my music. When I get bored of the music I have written, I try to find the creativity to write a new one. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Usually this is a good time to actually discover other artists outside of myself

Over the years I've learned to be a little more respectful about my music though. If I have guests around I typically turn my music off and put the radio (and by that, I mean Pandora) on. I only bring up my music if they ask, otherwise it just seems self-serving to force them to listen to it.

[nasenmann]

it's the same as with any creative activity. i think you have to be in it to really get it. it's sort of a space of evolving possibilities that gives back when you're exploring it.

right now i'm pretty clueless too, haven't really gotten into it in months. the only thing i can say is do it, have patience, and see if it becomes a joyful experience. or an interesting one or whatever.

[vurt]

getting lost for days at a time in sound is quite fulfilling in and of itself
its not for everybody admittedly, but if we where all the same thered be no point living imo.
if you dont find it fulfilling but do love music maybe youd find writing reviews more fulfilling as then you get to listen to lots of music, or maybe a webcast radio show where you share music you love with some listeners.
find something that does fulfill you, lifes too short not to.

[nasenmann]

I enjoy listening to my music. I don't know why, it's not that good

this is also interesting. i often felt along those lines. it's also quite the oxymoron, right? if you enjoy listening to something, then surely it's "good" on some level? shouldn't enjoyment be the criterium for deeming something good or not?

in my case, i knew that my music was often pretty silly, over the top, and naive in some ways. so it was easy for me to call my music crap based on that. i still enjoyed it lots and was proud of almost every tune finished.

so part of it obviously is "omg i did that!!". but that doesn't explain it sufficiently.
i think making music gives you opportunity to listen to stuff really extensively and intently, and that broadens your appreciation as a listener.
you can get better at enjoying whatever you're working on. if you spent the same amount of time with wacky disfunctional tracks done by others, just the same might happen. but you don't. it's much easier to become invested when you're doing the track yourself.

i think most people wrongly think of the track and the listener being in some flat product>consumer relationship. in truth, every track is a trip, and the mindset you bring to it is critical. you can be so tripped out that every sound is a little revelation of a mystery, and you can be so numb and depressed that no sound is going to reach you.

weaving the "trip" yourself is already an act of reaching out. it's much easier to get infected by the music when you're open and listening intently.

[Mivo]

I'm just trying to understand what is so fulfilling for people, who pursue music for the art, if they don't enjoy it themselves?

The enjoyment is in the doing.

I play a couple acoustic instruments, but I don't record myself and then listen to the recording recreationally. The reward is in the actual playing, learning new songs, making my own, getting better (not messing up the timing), adding touches, managing to pull of new techniques, and so forth. The joy comes from the creative, musical expression.

I also write short stories. When they are done, I don't print them out, flop on the couch and then read them for enjoyment. It's not an interesting journey because I built the world myself, and there is nothing to discover.

"Producing" music is a combination of both of those. for me.

[RunBeerRun]

Actually what I like is making mine super loud(process that involves dropping out low, maximizing, saturating) and listening to it in a car. You can hear everything at a low volume.

[William70707]

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Thanks for all the replies.

It seems to vary a lot whether or not people like their own music. But i really don't understand how you can be a musician for the art and not like your music. I wondered the same about movies and movie directors and the results are the same. Tarantino says pretty much what i'm trying to say in this article http://www.3news.co.nz/entertainment/qu ... 2014052714 (http://www.3news.co.nz/entertainment/quentin-tarantino-loves-watching-his-own-movies-2014052714) Although the reason for musicians not to listen to their own music can be different than "because it's flawed".

I guess i just have to give it a try to find out if its fulfilling for me. Music is just such a huge craft and i don't want to have dedicated years to this and then realizing that it's not fulfilling for me.

[RunBeerRun]

There's just nothing else to do. You can't play sports in your house, and how else are you going to relate to females?

[Rah]

I enjoy listening to my music. I don't know why, it's not that good

this is also interesting. i often felt along those lines. it's also quite the oxymoron, right? if you enjoy listening to something, then surely it's "good" on some level? shouldn't enjoyment be the criterium for deeming something good or not?

in my case, i knew that my music was often pretty silly, over the top, and naive in some ways. so it was easy for me to call my music crap based on that. i still enjoyed it lots and was proud of almost every tune finished.

What kind of annoys me is that I can hear the good things in my music, and the heart of a piece of music that's pretty good, but it's let down by dodgy production and weird arrangements and dynamics and stuff... My best stuff happens by accident, when I mess things up less than usual...

I like my music, but I can't see why someone who wasn't me wouldn't rather listen to similar stuff, but executed much much better

Also I like your comment about weaving the 'trip', that's very much what my favourite music is. If I sit down to write, say, dance music specifically, it always sucks.

[jancivil]

I never knew about people that were into music qua music but then they didn't listen to their own music. You seem focused on that. That's weird and probably more an outlier than anything. So if you want an excuse to not get deep into it, I'm going to be frank, it's not for you. If you aren't driven by some real need, do something else, music is ruinous.



Our criminal institutions are full of little creeps like you who do wrong things...
and many of them were driven to these crimes by a horrible force called MUSIC!

[Mivo]

I like my noise and my stories, I just don't listen to or read them recreationally for enjoyment. It's not the same as not liking them, though. To me, listening to music (and reading fiction) for enjoyment is an explorative adventure, and I get this experience only from other people's creations.

[Sendy]

I like my noise and my stories, I just don't listen to or read them recreationally for enjoyment. It's not the same as not liking them, though. To me, listening to music (and reading fiction) for enjoyment is an explorative adventure, and I get this experience only from other people's creations.

If you're prolific enough, you can get it with your own stuff by digging up some old gem you'd made and forgotten about for whatever reason. It doesn't happen often but it's the stuff of dreams. (Literally. How many times do musicians dream about finding the "long lost tape" with their dopest jams on it?)

[Sendy]

getting lost for days at a time in sound is quite fulfilling in and of itself
its not for everybody admittedly, but if we where all the same thered be no point living imo.
if you dont find it fulfilling but do love music maybe youd find writing reviews more fulfilling as then you get to listen to lots of music, or maybe a webcast radio show where you share music you love with some listeners.
find something that does fulfill you, lifes too short not to.

Indeed, we need more John Peels in this world because frankly it's all gone a bit Pete Tong

[jancivil]

I make what I make in order to hear it, to hear things my way, to hear something no one's about to do. I don't really have a choice, it's on my mind and I was constantly trying to make rhythm as a child. If it occurs to you as a cool way to be, maybe it is, maybe you'll catch the eye of the girls in the naborhood, but music in itself and really caring about the result is not that socially oriented. (Hink said 'If you gotta ask'... and that's it. You do or you don't.)

Because I'm thinking about it all the time, I have to compartmentalize somewhat. Other music is not 'recreational activity', it's about study and an appreciation of mastery.
So I love my own product for the very same reason I get sick of it at a certain juncture, because of the detail. I went back over something I "finished" back in 2011 last night, there was this one lick that I think now (and my recollection is it once was) more prominent than it is in that 'final' mix; and I was tempted to get into it all over the place. Not wise use of time, but I did render it again for my own listening (even as I'm not likely to go over this one too frequently) with that bit addressed.