Staying focussed...

[LeVzi]

Thanks for the replies, definitely food for thought.

I think a lot of my problems are due to sound design. I try to create patches n sounds from scratch to suit the track and often they are not as I envisage them to be, and that's why I get disgruntled.

Certainly on things like the kick drum , which in Hardcore, is essential, and if it's not powerful enough, I lose all interest in the track.

[dark_virus]

... and I end up deleting the whole project.

Wrong. Keep everything, since you may want to return to a certain technique you discovered while doing the ill fated project.

Also, sometimes you discover, some time later (years?), what that project needed at the time you were making it and returning to it can be interesting, even as a measure of what you have learned in this time period. Save these bits/loops as wav/mp3, so you have rapid access to them.

If you're struggling finishing your songs, you can try something simpler. Sometimes we keep adding things to the track and get overwhelmed by the complexity of it. Make a simple track, something like drums, bass, melody and a couple fx. Stay in your confort zone (optional) for the sake of finishing the track. There's nothing more exciting than a finished song and it's a fantastic motivation to try and finish another one.

[dark_virus]

... I often find stuff from years back and think "did I write this?"

LOL, me too! And whenever it happens, I'm like

I think a lot of my problems are due to sound design. I try to create patches n sounds from scratch to suit the track and often they are not as I envisage them to be, and that's why I get disgruntled.

Yeah, it sucks for sure. But something that helped me a lot was to make separate sample folders with few samples by sytle. But these are my absolutely best samples. Like, 5 kicks, 5 snares, 5 hihats... while composing, it's crucial to not get struck in the sound creation process, it can be very frustrating. Same with synth patches.

Once you have your song "skeleton" done, things became a lot easier. You can then concentrate in sound design in a much more productive way.

[jancivil]

I've had one thing in a decade I abandoned. There was a single reason (other than half of the piece rather sucked, not thru itself a reason for giving up) for the abandonment: I had something going with a library that wasn't enough to follow through with (the baritone violin in RA) as it sounded fantastic but in terms of its articulation was quite shallow. It wasn't going to happen and I found something else to do that was doable. Ultra frustrating but it was time to move on.

*Focused*, btw.

I do sound design as the map for a piece usually. I don't get stuck in it. I'll take more time with that than you even want to know, but it's always conducive. That's what focus is.

[gunnar]

get out of your brain

get into your body.

feel.

feel the music which you want to to

get into the process of doing the music.

start with your first idea.

listen to it

stay connected

listen to it again

add only elemts when you know which one

if you are again in your brain remember this list and come back into your body and feel

f**k the brain

[Zexila]

I've noticed over the last few years, i've not actually completed anything, started so many projects, made progress, designed sounds, created kicks, etc etc, started to compose the track, then get bored and cannot stay focussed on it, and I end up deleting the whole project.

Start with composing first, not last, that way you might just have something worth making sounds for.

[low_low]

Same as anything else ...

- Break it down into manageable steps
- Commit to doing at least one of those steps w/ a deadline
- Deliver to yourself the same way you would to your employer.
- Rinse, repeat

[Ronny Pries]

I've noticed over the last few years, i've not actually completed anything, started so many projects, made progress, designed sounds, created kicks, etc etc, started to compose the track, then get bored and cannot stay focussed on it, and I end up deleting the whole project.

Let's assume you were a software developer. How long could you sustain your business not shipping anything without going bankrupt? It's easy to understand that example, because you've got expenses and a lack of income.

Imho it's the same with creative projects. Starting too much, finishing too little piles up "creators debt". The feeling of knowing about the unfinished business. Over time it gets in your way ending with a nice and fluffy block.

This part stands out for me, too: "then get bored".

I can totally relate to that. And whenever I was thinking about it in such circumstances I frankly didn't know how to act upon that. I designed more sounds, created another kick... But didn't make progress.

If you think about it, your brain tries to tell you something:
"The thing you've been giving me to process for the last 6 hours isn't interesting! Get me outta here! AND IF INSIST ON PLAYING THING FOR ANOTHER 6 HOURS I WILL MAKE YOU THROW IT INTO THE BIN, IDIOT!"

I really cannot seem to work through to the end of anything. I have a project going right now, I want to finish it, but I just think "This sounds shit" and want to delete and try something else.

Does it really "sound like shit"? Or is it simply too boring for your brain because it's too static? Does the foundation of what you're working on lack movement? And can you really trick your brain by adding another static layer?

And what the heck do I mean with that?

If you listened to a loop of what you're working for an hour, would every iteration of it sound exactly the same?

[Unaspected]

Thanks for the replies, definitely food for thought.

I think a lot of my problems are due to sound design. I try to create patches n sounds from scratch to suit the track and often they are not as I envisage them to be, and that's why I get disgruntled.

Certainly on things like the kick drum , which in Hardcore, is essential, and if it's not powerful enough, I lose all interest in the track.

I wouldn't worry too much about the power of your kick whilst you compose. If EQ and/or transient shaping can't save it in the mix then you can always swap it out or add a layer to it. But if you designed the kick yourself, you can always have a separate project file for tweaking the kick with the rest of the track loaded as an audio file - or load the kick and its full FX chain into your mix project to tweak.

You'll have to at least get some mixes going to learn what is wrong with your kicks - then you can design them better to suit your needs.

There are so many stages to audio production that it's natural to favour certain skills over others. Maybe you need to explore other working methods to make the process more interesting.

[stratum]

I've noticed over the last few years, i've not actually completed anything, started so many projects, made progress, designed sounds, created kicks, etc etc, started to compose the track, then get bored and cannot stay focussed on it, and I end up deleting the whole project.

I really cannot seem to work through to the end of anything. I have a project going right now, I want to finish it, but I just think "This sounds shit" and want to delete and try something else.

Has anyone actually his this issue ? Years ago I had no problems, I could start and finish a whole project, not a problem. Now I can't get halfway without wanting to trash it.

Make sure you have a silent room and a cup of coffee. If that doesn't work, see a doctor and get examined for sleep disturbances.

[jancivil]

You'll have to at least get some mixes going to learn what is wrong with your kicks - then you can design them better to suit your needs.

Everybody, heed this. The thing soloed which seems awesome might be a problem in the mix. The thing fitting in the mix might be really dodgy soloed. A whole lot of time futzing with a synth kick drum is not conducive if you are not writing while you're doing it at all. Where's the musical idea of this sound? One receives this notion from around, to have this awesome punchy bigass kick, in itself. Fine, if what you're doing is selling soundsets and it has to demo just fantastic. But it doesn't seem very musical what you're doing there.

[IncarnateX]

weeks? Sometimes I go through my folders and discover stuff years old that I forgot all about when I put it on the back burner

Exactly. ^^^^ Me too,indeed. It is actually only recently that I have collected all my drafts during a decade on software, mastered it in Final Touch for iPad and put in on soundcloud. Couldn’t remember over 50% of it and recalled it only sloooowly when I finally did: WTF? Did I do that?! Like the opening poster, I tend to get tired of my tunes before finishing them. I went all hardware in 2015. Haven’t made anything but drafts since but this time I am not going to allow my artistic superego to hammer me. It will probably be finished within the next couple of years and send to the clouds.

[Muied Lumens]

Nothing helps you focus like playing live. It forces you to make things work no matter what. It's a good experience.

[Bombadil]

Tru'Dat!

[IncarnateX]

Certainly on things like the kick drum , which in Hardcore, is essential, and if it's not powerful enough, I lose all interest in the track.

Actually I once was where you are as far as kick drums concern. And oh, have I been a fool to rely on already made samples and bought tons of drum VSTis to get those kicky kicks I needed. In the end I found out that I simply had to learn to proces them myself to get what I wanted. I will give you an overview over the techniques I have aquired and hope these may inspire you to experiment a little yourself.

1) Layering of different samples where you high pass filter one drum sample to lose a little of its low end and low pass another to lose some of its high end. This to avoid phase mess. Together they can have a dramatic synergy.

2) Compressors are really efficient if you learn to master them and thus make a kick that would usually sound like someone hitting a pillow into a very snappy one. If you have a sidechain compressor, you can enhance the effect further in your mix.

3) Experiment with your own distortion VSTs to get that classical hardcore kick instead of relying on already made samples.

4) If you have a reverb with a good "room" algorithm, then try to lower its tail and decay as far as possible and then raise it subtly in the mix until the point where you can hear the room effect very clearly. Then lower it again until it becomes "one" with the kick, e.g. you do not actually notice that there is an added room reverb but nonetheless you can hear its effect.

5) Equalization. Try to take a mid band peak and raise its Q as far as possible until you have a very thin peak. Then raise the volume high and sweep your frequency band. When you find the spot where it really kicks, then lower the volume and the Q to your liking.

6) Sometimes all of the above may not even be necessary if you control your mix and ensure yourself that there is headroom enough to simply place the drum in front of all other elements. If you send the whole mix through a good master unit that can open the midsides, stereo spread the upper frequencies, while at the same time "monorize" the low end, the effect can be dramatic.

7) Related to the above: Sometimes the bass and the kick drum are fighting in the same low end frequencies creating phase mud to an extent where they almost cancel each other. Now allow yourself to pan the kick drum a tiny whiny bit to the left (or right), while you pan the bass in the opposite direction and they both suddenly become quite clear without anyone noticing that they actually are a little shifted in your stereo sound. HOWEVER, do not use this technique together with the above mentioned "monorizing" approach or you will end up in the phase mud again, naturally. It is either one or the other.

[Edit] Damn, I missed one. I will just add it. I call it "Pseudo-sidechain":

8 ) Depending on your material, you may find that if you e.g. are going for a good old 4-to-the-floor that you really do not need any bass on the same beats as the big drum. Make your 4-to-the-floor, compose a bass figure on top of it and then simply delete the bass on every kick, e.g. 1, 5, 9 and 13 and there you go. A clear and undisturbed bass kick.

Hope this can help a little as far as kick drums go.