please help me before i kill myself...

dcease · Post by **dcease** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 2:30 am

my wife helps me when i start talking nonsense. i'm glad these swell people throughout the forum took a moment to help you. and only one flame!

bicarbone · Post by **bicarbone** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:40 am

silverlulu wrote:
dcease wrote:still with us, silverlulu?
haha yes i am still with you!

wow thank you everybody so much for what you have written. i have just seen that this has spanned 3 pages so i am going to go back over and read what you have written. i am so grateful for your help, sometimes i feel so trapped because i can't express my feelings through music like i would like to.

i appreciate these replies a lot!!!

Silverlulu is alive!

I was worried... (and Dcease, what a funny name in this situation

)

spiral · Post by **spiral** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:52 am

if your phone has a recorder in it use that to hum stuff to yourself then try and recreate it, or record rhythms on it a you walk around the place.. or play viewing games like walking down the street and only looking at one colour and making up stories from that..

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:02 am

You're feeling the exact same thing ALL artists feel at one time or another. I've found the best strategy is to just not let it get to me, to recognize that the muse always comes back when she's ready, and my music has always made huge leaps in terms of quality after these long downtimes.

I aways tell people to spend those downtimes takin care of other things in your life, relationships, job, exercise, etc. That way when the msuic bug does bite you again, you're that much more free to focus on it.

silverlulu · Post by **silverlulu** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:34 am

^ awesome advice. i was thinking of getting a guitar recently actually and i think now you guys have spurred me on to get one. i also think the idea of humming in to my phone is brilliant.

really though, so many people have chimed in with great advice. i think i will look into getting one of the books you guys advised me on as well. excellent advice.

please keep it coming!

lis102trants · Post by **lis102trants** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 7:26 am

A new piece of gear should do the trick

I'm in the same rut as you and have yet to find a way around it, but heres how I've been dealing with it:
-Set different modes and switch off between them every time you sit down. For me, I have my "alternative" mode, "trance" mode, "live looping" mode, "learn how to use logic" mode, etc.
-Buy new gear. I hate to admit it, but it does inspire me to do more. I just picked up a microtrack II and wow its a great tool for catching those quick ideas or filling up a folder with samples.
-Change the lighting and the mood of your studio.
-If you have a laptop and headphones, go out to the library or Starbucks.
-Listen to other users' creations.
-Check out youtube videos and see how other people use Ableton. Check out Dosh, KJ Sawka and Kid Beyond, to name a few.

minimal · Post by **minimal** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:15 am

dcease wrote: hard work eases the mind, in my experience.

+ 100000000

djgroovy · Post by **djgroovy** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:39 am

You can also do lots of productive musical things, even when you're uninspired to create songs.
Creating mad effect racks, or instrument racks, or checking out new plugins, organizing your samples, buy some sample packs, sound design, presets creation, take some keyboard lessons, reading some manuals or tutorials, read about music theory... the list goes on.

Do all those things that you've been thinking "gotta try this sometime" or "i really should get this done".

Maybe while you're doing that, some idea will sparkle in your mind, and if it doesn't... well, at least when the muse comes, you will have an organized workspace and you'll know your tools better.

silverlulu · Post by **silverlulu** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 10:52 pm

hiya, just thought i'd let you guys know that i have bought a new guitar on ebay so thank you very much for your advice. i have been thinking about getting one and i think it could really help with the creative process!

dcease · Post by **dcease** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 12:44 am

have a great time with it. maybe you can learn to play it better than i. i prefer to just make noise on it

stick with it, it'll take a while, and remember, after practice, you can get a drum loop goin, jam, and then rack the hell out of the guitar recording. i like to do that with lots of things

. can't play a lot of instruments, but i sure can warp them in live!

hey, i was actually taking a break from my music over the past couple of weeks, and i think i got another one... getting involved in a couple of good threads, right here on this very forum! i laughed. i cried. well, mostly from laughing. and that is always supposed to be good therapy

silverlulu · Post by **silverlulu** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 9:06 pm

i got my guitar today, i have learned 5 chords and my fingers hurt! SWEET i am getting there. really enjoying it as well.

so if anyone is wanting to kill themselves because they are uninspired i would definitely recommend learning an instrument on the side. thanks for the great advice guys!

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:57 pm

very cool. The pain *does* go away. And remember that you can ask guitar-questions here, too

dcease · Post by **dcease** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:02 pm

Precision · Post by **Precision** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 10:14 am

silverlulu wrote:i got my guitar today, i have learned 5 chords and my fingers hurt! SWEET i am getting there. really enjoying it as well.

I'm really pleased to hear!

macdeath · Post by **macdeath** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 11:00 am

Nice topic with some humanic conversation instead the forum is for tech talk...

I have been to your situation many times, due to deadlines and pressure. Music is not my job but my hobby. So when I have to do projects to make my living (recording and post production) I have few hours in my own music that are not enough. So I don't have progress and many "sets" finally go to Trash...
I think: "Why????????? I have good gear but no inspiration????"

The thing that really helps me is to get "a big offline period" from audio.

Get out!!! Get drunk-ged

or do a sport read a book and whatever makes u feel chill.

If you go through a period alike this it will be a moment that you will need to make some stuff. This sense is like an instict that comes from your id...

Feel free when you are on studio and remeber that the rules in production are to help you not to suspend u or to define stuff.

And of course keep on using Live. The most inspirational sequencer!!!!