5 Tips To Help You Create More Music
Todd Simpson
Aug 22 2020, 01:10 AM
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Recently, I’ve been very impressed with BEN’s progress on creating his new album. He’s been posting updates regularly and it’s sounding great. Before that I was watching GABE post news about how his new band RAMEN was putting out new music, doing press, etc. Both cases are great instances of people doing what it takes to make and release new music. So how might one go about creating and releasing new music if one is new to the process? It’s more straightforward than you might think. Here are five things to keep in mind as you move towards your next release!

1.) YOUR ONLY HUMAN: All too often we let the perfect be the enemy of the good. As musicians, we often want our music to be perfect. We can hear every single imperfection and it never seems quite good enough. It’s never ever “finished”. It’s important to remember, no Art is ever “Finished” it’s abandoned. At some point, you just have to declare a song DONE and then it’s done. If not, you will get locked in a perpetual loop of re recording, re mixing etc.

2.)SET A DEADLINE:
Set a hard deadline for completing a given song. Even if you miss the deadline, it gives you a date to shoot for. So try to plan your progress and break it down into smaller objectives. Smaller goals are easier and lead to bigger ones. Putting a hard deadline on your calender for goals is a great way to push yourself towards progress. Set small goals, like complete writing the chorus, complete solo, tracking/recording, mixing, etc. These build up to a completed song and then several. Your calendar is your friend.

3.)MAINTAIN PERSPECTIVE:
It’s easy to get a bit lost in one’s own work. Especially when we work mostly alone in our own home studios. We spend a lot of time alone with the music we are trying to create. This can have negative consequences. Sometimes, a fresh pair of ears is just what you need. It doesn’t have to be a fellow musician, in fact, it is often better if it’s not. Let other people hear your work, even if it’s not finished. Listen to their thoughts. You don’t have to take every piece of advice or suggestion, but at least hear them. Listen to everything and absorb what is useful, as Bruce Lee used to say.

4.)KEEP NEW MATERIAL FLOWING: If your old tracks are sort of stuck, mid process, write some new ones. Sometimes, creating something new can push out the creative cobwebs and get the creative juices flowing. Also, the more music you create, the more you will have to choose from. You may find that you like various bits from various songs and want to recombine them. You may want to just start from scratch on a song. Either way, keep writing.

5.)GO TO A PRO: Sometimes it can help to hire a pro to give you honest advice outside of the context of friends/family etc. that you may also be getting feedback from. Sometimes, you may hear things you don’t want to be told, but sometimes those are the things we most need to hear. Find a producer, even a instructor whose work you know and trust. Get a quote on what they would want to give you some advice on one or more of your tracks and give credence to what they have to say. A bit of pro advice can go a long way. You’d be surprised how many professional touring musicians/ and producers will give you a critique for just a bit of cash.


Big Props to Guitar World Magazine for their tips.

https://www.guitarworld.com/features/5-tips...usic-more-often

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Steve Gilfield
Aug 22 2020, 10:24 AM
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Very good points!
Devin Townsend said on an interview to "keep writing new songs even if they sound bad. That way you get all the bad music out of your system, like cleansing, and then you will start writing good ones" biggrin.gif

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klasaine
Aug 22 2020, 05:41 PM
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Like anything, if you want to get good at songwriting you have to do it a lot.
Why or how did the Beatles write SO MANY good songs? ... They wrote almost everyday and fortunately for them both John and Paul were super critical and had no problem saying, "that sucks" to each other. They also had no problem listening to that criticism and heeding it. Friends and family are great for encouragement but they suck for actually giving you constructive criticism that will help your process.

If you feel your writing is stale or stagnant maybe take a look at what you're listening too. Expand your horizons. I have never read an interview with a good songwriter where they proclaim that the only music that they listen to is the same style of music that they write. In fact, I'm usually pretty surprised that most of them are into something that I would have never expected.

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Todd Simpson
Aug 24 2020, 04:20 AM
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BINGO!! Just like guitar. It takes practice. You play through a lot of suck before you get beyond it. You gotta write a lot of crap songs before you can write some good ones. If you are a film maker, you gotta make a lot of bad films before you make a good one. Part of it is just learning what works and what doesn't and only experience can teach certain lessons. You gotta put in the time and repetition. No way around it.

QUOTE (klasaine @ Aug 22 2020, 12:41 PM) *
Like anything, if you want to get good at songwriting you have to do it a lot.
Why or how did the Beatles write SO MANY good songs? ... They wrote almost everyday and fortunately for them both John and Paul were super critical and had no problem saying, "that sucks" to each other. They also had no problem listening to that criticism and heeding it. Friends and family are great for encouragement but they suck for actually giving you constructive criticism that will help your process.

If you feel your writing is stale or stagnant maybe take a look at what you're listening too. Expand your horizons. I have never read an interview with a good songwriter where they proclaim that the only music that they listen to is the same style of music that they write. In fact, I'm usually pretty surprised that most of them are into something that I would have never expected.



Devin is spot on!!!! Just as ken mentioned, you just gotta keep pushing through. Eventually, the songs will get better. smile.gif

QUOTE (Steve Gilfield @ Aug 22 2020, 05:24 AM) *
Very good points!
Devin Townsend said on an interview to "keep writing new songs even if they sound bad. That way you get all the bad music out of your system, like cleansing, and then you will start writing good ones" biggrin.gif

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Storm Linnebjerg
Aug 24 2020, 04:27 AM
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One tip I always struggle following is keeping old material around. It may not have worked in the context you once were trying to use it, but suddenly it might come to life and work in a new song smile.gif That has definitely been the case with some riffs and songs I'm using in the album I'm working on.

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Todd Simpson
Aug 27 2020, 02:34 AM
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Same here smile.gif I think we all struggle with that to some degree. How many of us have dozens of unfinished songs that are really just sketches of tunes that we keep meaning to complete? It seems to be just part of the process smile.gif


QUOTE (Caelumamittendum @ Aug 23 2020, 11:27 PM) *
One tip I always struggle following is keeping old material around. It may not have worked in the context you once were trying to use it, but suddenly it might come to life and work in a new song smile.gif That has definitely been the case with some riffs and songs I'm using in the album I'm working on.

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Storm Linnebjerg
Aug 29 2020, 04:04 AM
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QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Aug 27 2020, 03:34 AM) *
Same here smile.gif I think we all struggle with that to some degree. How many of us have dozens of unfinished songs that are really just sketches of tunes that we keep meaning to complete? It seems to be just part of the process smile.gif


I bet most musicians do, yeah, but my problem is I often end up deleting my old ideas instead of keeping them, as I deem them "not good enough for anything". That was point. It's really rather silly of me.

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Todd Simpson
Aug 30 2020, 04:29 AM
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Ahh I see. Well, just personally I've never heard anything of your that I thought was not good enough. Your very creative and your music is always inspiring. I'd say just park it on a drive and even detach the drive and come back later to it. I have a very small bus powered 2 GB drive that cost about 40 dollars that I park stuff on that I want to come back to later. No power supply makes it easy to plug in to any computer and go through the stuff. Sometimes I find something that I like and pull it out and start working on it smile.gif

QUOTE (Caelumamittendum @ Aug 28 2020, 11:04 PM) *
I bet most musicians do, yeah, but my problem is I often end up deleting my old ideas instead of keeping them, as I deem them "not good enough for anything". That was point. It's really rather silly of me.

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Todd Simpson
Aug 31 2020, 04:30 AM
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Also, as Kris Dahl mentioned a valid point to me, using riffs/licks from GMC Lessons can be a good place to pull some creative inspiration from. There are thousands of bits from guitar riffs to lead licks that serve as a starting point or reference when writing new material. All of it is available to be used to help students not only learn to play new bits but also to be able to piece riffs together.

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