Ableton Forum

Hi,

Well, to start with I think that I should have done this few months ago, but whatever. Im in music making (and Live user) for about 2 years right now, and I have to admit that I have learned quite a lot till now. But unfortunately I have stopped at certain point and cant go any further. Well to be honest Im not quite sure what's wrong atm. But everything that I create sux for me. There are actually 2 repeating scenarios:
1. Im starting a new project from scratch. Make a beat, bass, and so and so..... and suddenly (WTF !!!!) I have wasted 1 hour. Cos it sux so badly.
2. I start a new project and I really like it. Im adding new track and everything is perfect. My work in session view is over and comes time for arrangement. So I start to arrange and ....... (WTF!!!!!) total piece of crap.

I my trying to find out what Im doing wrong. Maybe its the matter of samples or I cant decide what music fits me best, cos I really like a lot of music (almost everything). But it starts to annoy me cos I cant make any music. I have got lots for started projects which got some potential but so little is finished ( well tbh all my projects are not finished)

Well Im a bit desperate, cause nothing works for me. And I won't let go cos I love music too much (really). I did watch almost all live tutorials that are available on youtube. I even subscribed CM for one year, and tbh most of these tuts are very low quality and sux for me (with all the respect for authors). Im asking more experienced ppl than I am what to do? Did you have any similar problems? Maybe there are some books that are worth buying? I would be glad for any suggestions.

Join the club dude!

What you're feeling is a common thing with Live users, but it's also a universally common feeling for artists of all stripes.

Think of a Live user working in their studio as an oil painter working in their studio. The painter is surrounded by canvases, paint, props, and other tools for their craft. Are all of the canvases masterpieces? No, they're not. Does this artist have at least one masterpiece? Maybe. Or maybe they haven't tapped into it yet.

When you buy Live and get really into it, there is no guarantee that you're going to make a killer single or album. Same goes for buying a guitar, or a set of oil paints.

My suggestion is to mix it up. Do a remix of a popular song that you love. Work in another medium. Play an analog instrument. Go away from the computer for a little while. Do a cover of a song in Live with totally different instrumentation or found sounds. Seek out a creative partner or start a band (which is by far the most difficult suggestion I've made, but if you can find a creative partner the rewards are awesome).

Don't get frustrated with Live. Your struggle is the one we all share.

In session copy in a track you love, warp it and leave it on a muted channel. Every so often drop it in, A/B between your groove and the track.



To be honest though, just make the damn track. Even if it sucks. You learn a lot about writing tracks from finishing them, and if you never finish anything you'll never learn how to pick sounds and write parts that will fit into a good sounding aranged track.

Think about it like learning to take a free kick in football, if you turned away and never acutally saw where the ball was landing because you thought it was going wide as soon as you kicked it, you'd never get good at it. Same kind of principle.

Start writing your tracks in Arrangement view. Helps a lot. Transitions and such...

I've been using live for about 3 years now, which is also roughly when i started getting into actually playing music and learning music theory etc. I got to the point where I understood how to make a simple beat, but arranging was still pretty foreign. What I have been doing is picking a genre and then trying to replicate the typical structure of a song in that genre. So right now I am focusing on writing songs in the verse chorus structure, and I have to admit, it has allowed me to finish tracks and have a lot of fun with it. They might still suck, but it is a finished track.

The process of actually creating the track teaches me new skills, tricks in live, new theory etc that I can build on. I threw out the notion that I would be putting out tracks that everyone loved right away. Instead right now I'm focusing on songs that sound good to me, and actually getting them finished. You have to work at it, and be realistic in your goals. Its like anything, sports, work, whatever, its practice. Hard work however, does pay off. Keep at it, but most importantly, don't doubt yourself.

Tarekith has some REALLY good thoughts and tips about this.

I don´t know if you read his articles, help-me a lot.

Take a look on his tutorials in http://www.tarekith.com/misc.html

Specially this http://www.tarekith.com/assets/arranging.html

Yeaaah
Thanks for all replies. It was really encouraging. I think a fresh start is what I really need. But what you think about all this tuition stuff like books, dvds, etc. Is it worth buying it ? Or it's just waste of time and money ?

try arrange view only! while working in the arrange view I build my arrangement on the fly while you add things. in session view I only get a overloaded loop at the end.I get a sticking point everytime I work in session view only. I just use to tests things.

carry on piti,you will see it through

at least you did not destroy your accoustic guitar today,
but then were unable to make a track out of it:

"I smashed my guitar
and then burned it
she was so beautiful I
didn't deserve it"

Piti wrote:Yeaaah
Thanks for all replies. It was really encouraging. I think a fresh start is what I really need. But what you think about all this tuition stuff like books, dvds, etc. Is it worth buying it ? Or it's just waste of time and money ?

The manual is the only book you'll ever really need..
Other than that, its just trial and error.

Never give up!!!!!!!!!!!!

a book by david bayles and ted orland
called
Art & Fear

could be of use here

shave off those dreadlocks!

oh sorry - misread.

I went through a very uncreative few years for a while where I didn't make (or indeed learn) much, getting back in the zone lately. It's hard to say exactly how I got out of it but here's a few pointers...

- Don't put yourself under pressure to come up with a particular sound or make 'pro' stuff, just make music. I think I was getting frustrated that things weren't sounding the way I wanted them to, but it's a better idea just to get on with it, you'll find your sound eventually. Get rid of your expectations, just chill out and see what happens. Good attitude for life in general I reckon

- If the creative juices just aren't flowing, do something more technical. Get to know your synths better, do some sampling experiments, even just organise your samples folder or something. Or read books, magazines, whatever (although it seems you've been doing that already). These things are good because 1) they might help you get some fresh inspiration there and then, by discovering a good sound or technique and 2) when you are feeling more creative you'll have a bit more knowledge behind you to help you get things done quickly and keep up the momentum.

- Don't get caught up in having lots of instruments/plugins, get really good at using the ones you have. A huge list of softsynths that you can half-use is a bit disorientating.

- And finally an expensive one... more hardware! I don't know what your setup's like, but I was mostly software apart from a MIDI keyboard/synth for a while. Then I bought a hardware drum machine and that instantly added some fun and freshness to making music. Even just a MIDI pad controller or something with a few knobs that you can map to synths will help.

that's all in our head and the question of musical form

when we are having a creative goal to make a cool sound or composing a melody - that's a creative snippet, but only a kick-start
having done 16 bars - we are often faced with the "what's next?" question
kind of burned out and the arrangement is perceived as "work to do"
that could be a problem because in our mind WORK is the opposite of CREATIVITY

take a rest and set your NEW creative goal to make a skeleton of the tune, basic arrangement
make it fast, apply as much imagination as possible (you can always change it up later)
but have it DONE.

have a rest to see it again from a fresher perspective
work on the arrangement some more, make transitions and work on little details and stuff

if you ever felt the urge to make full tunes - remember that this is still a creative challenge, similar to making a sound you like, or a melody.
only from a bit higher perspective.


a nice quote from infected mushroom “Being in the studio is like playing a PlayStation game, where you have to pass a level each time,”