Do you ever feel inferior when you hear outstanding tracks?

[Dusk]

Probably not the best place for this, since many of you are prolific artists in your own right!

Ive been producing for years, and in that time made lots of tracks including a few I am pretty happy with, across lots of styles... I've always tried to avoid other dance music as much as possible, to prevent me being too influenced (and i don't DJ.) However, I just got a job working for a company like Beatport (I won't name it) and my job is to listen to and categorise most dance music releases!

On the one hand this has been inspiring, but on the other, it has left me worrying that I've hit my personal limit: when I listen to the best of those tracks, the sounds are so unique, atonal yet still somehow musical, and the little "tricks" are so neat, so well executed, that you just smile; not just a bassline, but a bass thing that screams identity. It all works and pulls together, a virtuosity of rhythm and timbre that's so earthy and physical, you can almost reach out and touch it.

Anyway, I believe my technical chops are pretty much on point, i think, in terms of engineering and arrangement and synthesis, but I'm just not creating anything interesting. I get a nice groove going then realise it's too musical, too generic, there's just no edge to it. I want to create really twisted sounds that grow and morph into each other, but I sit there for hours and nothing works; I will create crazy sounds, but they never fit into my groove... so I just retreat to things i KNOW work, making a stab sound and playing some chords, just to fill the spectrum. That's what comes naturally. But ive been at this for long enough - perhaps I'm simply not creative enough to do anything else.

Just sounding that out really - have you ever lost faith when you heard others' outstanding tracks, along your own journeys to where you are now? What did you do (other than just keep going??)

Cheers
Andy

[Dragonsand]

You may not have found yourself really yet.

I love to say that the key for production is a hard work about you before all, not about your music. Why do you produce? Why do you like this or that type of sound? What do you like in music? Do you feel more like an harmonic little creature or a rythmic based monster?

Add a story to everything you try to create, it will add soul to your working times.

If I were you I won't compare myself to others. You can often feel inferior to others when it's about technics, but creating incredibly sophisticated sound design is not the main key of a good track. So many artists have an incredible production technique, but their tracks are so empty because it's soulless, artless.

Never feel inferior, always feel ready to explore each hidden parts of your imagination. If you feel inferior right now, it must be because you haven't found yet the music you want to create and share. Each of us can make good things, just ask you the right questions.

Do you sometimes make rhythms with your hands, your fingers, your teeth? Do you often create some gentle melodies in your head in your everyday life? Try to memorise them and to work with it then in the studio, it can teach you a lot about your unconscious way of creating.

This kind of generalist and abstract way to explain can seem useless, but I'm profoundly convinced that it is more important than production technique tips that will just help you to make a track or two without resolving the deep problem of uninspiration.

[oblioblioblio]

I felt exactly the same way, and still do. (with regard to listening to other peoples music)

But I have realised that it is normal for me. Maybe for other people too.

When you hear your own music you most likely overanalyse it. Check for flaws. How would this sound in someone else's ears? Is this good music? You have removed yourself from the sensation of directly experiencing the music.

But when you hear someone elses music, it is working on an immediate level.

And for me, it was easy to see the same kinds of listening as similar, and to then make the logical conlusion 'oh, so my music is not as good as my experience of listening to it was not as good as with this other music'.

But probably the producer on the other side of this coin could come to this concusion about his own music from listening to your music.

I am beginning to accept that I am limited in my skills, and whilst I still try to take influence from whever I can, I do not try so much to compare the relative merits of my music versus other peoples. There is so much muddiness in your perception from being involved in the creation that it is simply not a useful resource.

And with inspiration it comes and goes. Sometimes I can sit for ages and be totally uninspired. Bored by myself. Whereas other times its fine. I am captivated and do not think so much about it.

So now I go with the flow a little bit more. of I'm bored I try to find something that doesn't bore me. Maybe play with synthesis but outside of using it in tracks. Just strange noises for fun. Maybe read books, or try and learn something new.

[humeka]

If I were you I won't compare myself to others.

it's all here I think. if you compare yourself to others, you will always be disapointed cause there's some really talented musicians outhere!

I think you should compare yourself to other just to improve your music, not to feel inferior! it can have a benefit effect and motive yourself as you'll want to sound better or try to find new ideas.

but if it depress you, just try to please yourself and do what you like: I'm pretty that if you have pleasure creating your music, listeners will also feel it and will then consider it's a good track. I always though music was more about sincerity than skills...

[::BLM::]

it's all here I think. if you compare yourself to others, you will always be disapointed cause there's some really talented musicians outhere!

Yeah exactly. Some people are just gifted and others have to work hard at it. I myself have to work my socks off. I make like 10 tracks per month and maybe 1 will get a release. I know people that can just fire off release after release.

[upekah]

I actually feel like this a lot.. I think it's good to have some friends to decide if it sounds good!

Some neutral feedback is always good as you tend to overjudge everything too hard on yourself.

[steevio]

Just sounding that out really - have you ever lost faith when you heard others' outstanding tracks, along your own journeys to where you are now? What did you do (other than just keep going??)

Cheers
Andy

thats easy to answer when it comes to electronic music - no

i dont consider myself superior or inferior to anyone else making EDM, i think its a great leveller. we all have pretty much the same tools nowadays.

but it wasnt always the case when i was a physical musician. when i was a drummer, bassist and guitarist, i always had heros who i aspired too, and i often became frustrated that my playing lacked the expression of a buddy rich, or jimi hendrix.
all that did was drive me on, i believed that experience and incremental improvement would get me there in the end, but deep down i knew i wasnt a natural.

EDM is very different imo.
i rarely hear anything that blows me away.
that doesnt mean there aren't any tunes out there which are masterful, soulful, deeply moving or whatever, but they are so few and far between that the majority of what i hear sounds increadibly ordinary and based on tried and tested techniques and a philosphy of 'if it aint broke dont fix it'.

i truly believe that the outstanding tunes are almost mistakes, or fallen upon randomly, or single shining moments of inspiration or where everything just came together in a synergy beyond the control of the author.
early UK techno pioneers Slam famously admitted that their massive hit and inspirational tune 'Positive Education' came about because when they switched on their gear one day, all the sounds had changed from the night before, because theyd forgot to save or something, and there it was.
they just pressed record.

if you look at all the truly inspirational tunes that have been written over the last 20 years, you quite often find that they are one-offs, or part of a short creative burst from someone who is otherwise dormant.
i suppose you could say that about most music and art.

i know that the few tunes that i've written which i'm still happy with, that have stood the test of time, that maybe made it onto known DJ mix Cds or whatever, were very isolated moments amongst thousands of lesser moments of uninspired experiments.
but i think its the same for all of us who have music in our blood.

so Dusk mate, keep going and believe in yourself !!!!

[JonasEdenbrandt]

The whole finding you'r self is of course an important part of making music but i usually don't feel that my tracks lack personality when i feel that my tracks don't cut it. In my world techno isn't that an expressionistic form of music it's got other qualities.

My trick when i feel this way is to listen really actively and analyze tracks that I like and if i find nice production tricks i try to get them into my productions and then suddenly i have all these new tools I can use. And no i don't feel im steeling stuff or lacking innovation in doing this chances are pretty likely that the producer I just got an idea from got it from some one else.