writing, playing ,engineering and producing -How do you actually get anything done?

sumtings

How do you actually get anything done? I have loads of half finished ideas of songs that I am writing. Between everything, I end up with multiple versions of ideas and no actual full songs not a mind fully finished songs, its kinda driving me mad.When I sit down with the intention of adding something extra I end up getting lost in the production again. Or I discover something new and play with that, the last 2 days have been lost messing around with Massive and the SWS extensions for reaper. I keep telling myself that learning is good but it would be great to have something I could show and say " there you go, I did that". Anyone have any advice on how to make that breakthrough?

DamagedTrax

do seperate sessions for each song

1 for getting ideas together
1 for writing and arrangement proper
1 for extra production
1 for mix

learn to treat them seperatly.

sumtings

OK, I can see how that can work -I'll try it.

What will be hard though is when production feeds back an idea into the song writing part-

But I will try not to anticipate problems and try what you suggest. thanks

madtheory

Sometimes it's hard to say "OK, it's finished". What works for me:

1. Get other musicians to play on it.
2. Play it to radio folk who are not your friends.
3. Set a deadline for release/ launch gig.

rcaz

madtheory wrote: »

1. Get other musicians to play on it.

This is the big one for me. I've given up trying to 'finish' songs on my own, I always get obsessed with stuff to the point that the 'finished' version doesn't satisfy me. Get your musician mates or a band or something to show it to, let them make it theirs as well as yours (this can be tough sometimes, for me anyway), then the 'finished' stage always seems more attainable. Rather than obsessing over your own ideas that'll never end, you get to the right middle ground between everyone's input. That point is always easier to recognise when we're there for me.

Also, I find playing with a band far more satisfying and exciting. When something sounds amazing there's mates around to tell you how great your part is and vice versa

studiorat

Start paying for studio time

PaulBrewer

What you're describing is the classic Home Studio Problem.

Despite StudioRats tongue in cheek comment, he's really onto something.
Recording at home can sometimes not be an 'event' - unlike going to the studio which nearly always is.

The classic musician thing is to get tied up in the details - which can quickly grind everything to a halt.
I've seen it a million times where the detail becomes the centre of focus with things that, if I wrote a list, you'd probably say that I was making it up ....

If you're not looking at the big picture ALL the time - then it's very hard to get anything done.

That's also the value of a Producer, to watch your back, to keep things focused.

I judge my own production work not on the finished product per se, but on how much things have improved since we started.

Often times that can be an awful lot.

sumtings

That different sessions advice from Damaged Trax was great advice, I probably made more progress in the last 24hrs than in any similar period in the last year. Wrote a song, arranged it and mixed it and I am really happy that I can see something from the discipline. I still have technical lessons to learn on playing and mixing but this has been a great lesson, I wasn't looking for a finished product just a song.

RE:the studio time and a producer, what if the PC is like an instrument you use for writing and playing, you'd have to be fair rich to be spending time in a studio doing the same thing, surely nobody does that?

krd

PaulBrewer wrote: »

The classic musician thing is to get tied up in the details - which can quickly grind everything to a halt.
I've seen it a million times where the detail becomes the centre of focus with things that, if I wrote a list, you'd probably say that I was making it up ....
.

Please, give us the list. If for entertainment purposes only.

dav nagle

sumtings wrote: »

How do you actually get anything done? I have loads of half finished ideas of songs that I am writing. Between everything, I end up with multiple versions of ideas and no actual full songs not a mind fully finished songs, its kinda driving me mad.When I sit down with the intention of adding something extra I end up getting lost in the production again. Or I discover something new and play with that, the last 2 days have been lost messing around with Massive and the SWS extensions for reaper. I keep telling myself that learning is good but it would be great to have something I could show and say " there you go, I did that". Anyone have any advice on how to make that breakthrough?

Your just at a stage where you are looking at the size and scope of the sound and tools at your finger tips. Finishing something is simple once the structure of the song is solid. Don't write and produce and mix the two up.