if that's your focus, why not give yourself a break on 'not productive'.Functional wrote: ↑Tue Nov 13, 2018 7:29 pmFor me the biggest problem seems to be that I like to experiment with signal processing. A lot. Most of that doesn't result into anything, so it's not that productive. But then sometimes it leads to huge revelations, so who knows?
It seems to me the word 'produce' is the capitalistic mindset you spoke about. Producers (rather than musicians, we never see 'composers' as a thrust), being productive. It's almost as though since the means of production can be set up in your house now you have to produce. Produce what? Is my whole point.
But you seem to be saying you've changed focus to DSP and mixing. I have no idea how that works so I'll keep my mouth shut. I have something to mix so I learned specific things and obtained specific tools. I have something to produce (except when I don't! Nota Bene.) so I make the thing. If I have a job to do I'll do it on time. Typically I'm just being an amateur (the original meaning of the word), doing it for the love of it.
But:
Any activity that leads to "revelations" I think one should be open to, where they clearly have the means to.
The other side is:
If one's goal is to make a living with teh DAWs and such, one has to get their shit together and place themselves in the world and accept the pressures and vagaries of the life. School sometimes is a path to a profession. A producer in the old-school sense was a social animal, managing people quite successfully in order to have access. I watched it happen in more than one town, it's impressive and intimidating to me.