Is this a bad idea

[DavidStars]

I've been producing for a little under a year now. My overall focus at the moment is to get better and progress as a producer/musician/artist/whatever. I have a couple tracks that I've worked on and could say are completed if I wanted to, but at the moment, I almost feel like it's more progressive for me to take my time with my tracks and keep learning/progressing while I make changes to them along the way. As of late, I've been thinking about not releasing any music for at least a year to get better and feel more comfortable with my work. Within that time, I plan to improve all the tracks that I've been working on so far and collaborate with other artists to learn from them, share ideas and inspiration, etc.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is that in your opinion, would you suggest this method of taking a long period of time to improve as a producer with your tracks or am I better off taking the year to make as many beats as I can to improve (keeping in mind the idea of quality over quantity of course)? I know many people think the idea of completing tracks allows for progression when it comes to producing, but idk. Some insight would be appreciated.

[jestermgee]

The opinions will vary as individuals themselves do but my opinion would be to be more disciplined in your approach or you will soon sink into the realm of having dozens of half finished tracks that are all awaiting that little "something"

The best artists both in Music and other arts are the ones that will always admit they have a lot to learn. Some of the great musicians of all time will often say after years/decades that they are finally getting better at their art and they may be at the top of the game.

Rather than waste your time and gained experience patching up older works, focus on using all your current knowledge to just complete tracks you are happy with, move them into a "completed" folder and then as you gain more skills, try and create something even better. Each time you finish something (basic or mind blowing) you will be getting one step closer to being better. There's no real end game to skill only a focus to improve.

[ImNotDedYet]

If you want to get better quicker, finish some tracks, post them and ask for constructive criticism. I've gotten a bunch of great advice doing this that I would have never gotten or learned by tweaking my tracks. People are going to tell you aspects of your baby that you've put a lot of time into aren't good, so be prepared, and then work on that aspect on your next song.

Either that or collaborate with someone that has a better knowledge of production than you do.

There's a site that rhymes with Jay Bee Star that has monthly competitions to do your own song from scratch with one synthesizer. You'll learn a boat load about sound synthesis and the people over there will give you all kinds of advice. They also have a monthly mixing competition where I'm guessing the same thing would occur.

IMO, you'll continue to pick up little bits doing what you're doing, but you'll learn a lot more a lot quicker asking for advice and putting your stuff out there open kimono style.

[JoshG567]

Just render some mixes and listen to them everywhere you can. If you wanna get fancy pull them into a new project together and render them to a single master. If you feel confident enough, post them on SC or BC and try to get feedback. It is doubtful it will gain wide exposure, so don't be self-conscious about doing something that isn't "perfect." I think it is interesting to be able to consume many iterations of someone's work; it's far more intimate.

In the meantime, move on with new projects. Keep challenging yourself. When you aren't working, listen to your old mixes. Keep detailed notes on your mixes when you listen. After you've finished new stuff, or just fatigued of it, go back to the older projects. You've probably learned new things in the meantime and your ears will have changed too. Use your notes to make targeted tweaks and then put it back down. Tweaking endlessly while your ears have long habituated (i.e. you've been working too long on one thing) is a waste of time.

[Stromkraft]

I've been producing for a little under a year now. My overall focus at the moment is to get better and progress as a producer/musician/artist/whatever. I have a couple tracks that I've worked on and could say are completed if I wanted to, but at the moment, I almost feel like it's more progressive for me to take my time with my tracks and keep learning/progressing while I make changes to them along the way. As of late, I've been thinking about not releasing any music for at least a year to get better and feel more comfortable with my work. Within that time, I plan to improve all the tracks that I've been working on so far and collaborate with other artists to learn from them, share ideas and inspiration, etc.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is that in your opinion, would you suggest this method of taking a long period of time to improve as a producer with your tracks or am I better off taking the year to make as many beats as I can to improve (keeping in mind the idea of quality over quantity of course)? I know many people think the idea of completing tracks allows for progression when it comes to producing, but idk. Some insight would be appreciated.

Finish tracks and move on. You can always make a remix later if you feel any of them are worth it. I believe in that Quantity leads to Quality, because when you finish tracks you are learning stuff you won't learn not finishing them. That includes feedback, which you can get from posting online, entering competitions or just sharing with a specific group of people.

[TomViolenz]

If you find out now or in a year that no one is gonna pay for your music anyhow, doesn't really matter.

So don't quit your day job either way...

[ian_halsall]

post them on Soundcloud - it's interesting and fun to look at how your play history and likes and reposts grows (hopefully) over time.

You get feedback from the community too.