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Neurojazz

Just a quick poll/headcount.

Can people make a quick post with how close they think they are towards being able to finish a piece of music (in a percentage form) - not including mastering, but including the ability to take something and 'complete' including intro to outro.

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red dave

Neurojazz wrote: »

Just a quick poll/headcount.

Can people make a quick post with how close they think they are towards being able to finish a piece of music (in a percentage form) - not including mastering, but including the ability to take something and 'complete' including intro to outro.

I can give a percentage on the amount to do but it's not including the time to do it. I'd say with one track I've 60% done. The remaining 40% might not be done before mid-may.... bloody exams

Although I started a quick track before going to bed last night that I like which has maybe 10% done

red dave

I think maybe I have misread this question... oh well :pac::pac::pac:

krd

Neurojazz wrote: »

Just a quick poll/headcount.

Can people make a quick post with how close they think they are towards being able to finish a piece of music (in a percentage form) - not including mastering, but including the ability to take something and 'complete' including intro to outro.

I can do one 100%ish. Though there are lots of stylistic bits and pieces I can't do - or haven't perfected. Or don't fully understand.

As for making something that I would consider 100% as releasable - no.

I've heard lots of very sophisticated things in intros and outros, builds and drops, I have no idea how to do. Also I wouldn't really know how to perfectly tweak - or rearrange a track to make it perfect for fitting specific genre.

Neurojazz

red dave wrote: »

I think maybe I have misread this question... oh well :pac::pac::pac:

You've read it fine Dave - Just seeing where people are at before I start bringing some content to the forum

hans aus dtschl

25% or 30% at a stretch.

I'm making tracks that I like to listen back to months later with a fresh ear, so I think I'm going the right direction.

Particular problems for me:

Bringing a piece to correct arrangement (I tend to record arrangement "on the fly" as a jam or whatever)
Technical ability (spend so long working towards getting a particular sound right that the overall idea drifts)

Clanket

Reckon I'm about 50%. Still haven't finished a full track.

I tend to get bogged down messing around with sounds rather than moving on.

Android 666

Clanket wrote: »

Reckon I'm about 50%. Still haven't finished a full track.

I tend to get bogged down messing around with sounds rather than moving on.

Someone posted up production tips here from Blu Mar Ten (I think) gave on a different forum about putting a track together and one of the tips was to not get down in sounds, if it's not going to work after a couple of minutes of tweaking it's probably not going to work, or something to that effect, so just dump it and move on. Anyone have a link to that piece - I've lost all my bookmarks so maybe somebody else knows where it is.

I can put a track to together but like krd they are not releasable but who knows maybe in a year or two they might. I use each track as a way of trying to increase my understanding of the interaction of sounds and hopefully get better flow to the tunes.

Neurojazz

Android 666 wrote: »

Someone posted up production tips here from Blu Mar Ten (I think) gave on a different forum about putting a track together and one of the tips was to not get down in sounds, if it's not going to work after a couple of minutes of tweaking it's probably not going to work, or something to that effect, so just dump it and move on. Anyone have a link to that piece - I've lost all my bookmarks so maybe somebody else knows where it is.

I can put a track to together but like krd they are not releasable but who knows maybe in a year or two they might. I use each track as a way of trying to increase my understanding of the interaction of sounds and hopefully get better flow to the tunes.

I've literally just made a video about these common issues (along those lines) - will post it soon.

Baggio...

Hmm... When I was messing with Ableton. I had quite a few done at 75% I'd say. But I'd never be happy with any of them, so they would always remain around that %.

Now that I'm over using Logic all my stuff is gone back to 10-20% as I'm back learning the program.

red dave

Neurojazz wrote: »

I've literally just made a video about these common issues (along those lines) - will post it soon.

Cool, looking forward to it

splitrmx

90%, I think.

Quiggers

I'm constantly learning new things so what i'm 100% happy with today will be missing something in 6 months time, I'm by no means a pro yet people i know ask me for advice, and I've passed on tips that they didnt know about or never considered.

As for having an idea and seeing it thru, i find you have to get the idea down fast, worry about sounds later, just get the midi recorded using presets, then customize your sounds, the arrange, then add builds and drops and bells and whistles.
I'm not one for sample packs but friends of mine have created some great tracks from them, i dunno why but i'm a devout synthesist, religious about it even when i shouldn't,
when i should just grab a sample and loop it up in ableton.

I recently listened back to my tracks in progress folder, deleted 2/3 of them,
and am happier for it. If after 2 months a track isnt finished, it isnt gonna get finished,
some of my best stuff was belted out in a day.

seannash

Can complete a track 100% i guess,could always be better but i can get them finished.
are they releaseable?not sure,basically anyone can get anything released these days.Id say there releaseable on the majority of label but the big un would laugh at my productions:)

seeing an idea through is something people must really get to grips with.
If i have a song started and think its gonna be finished I really become singleminded about finishing it,wouldnt dream of starting another one if i was working on finishing a track.

All this strting projects and going back to them months later sounds like a big waste of time imo

krd

seannash wrote: »

All this strting projects and going back to them months later sounds like a big waste of time imo

Not really. If you've progressed you can rework them relatively quickly.

When you're initially working on something you can only take it as far as you have the will to take it. Anything can sound terrible after listening to it for a few hours. You might be better to bury it and come back to it.

Neurojazz

krd wrote: »

Not really. If you've progressed you can rework them relatively quickly.

When you're initially working on something you can only take it as far as you have the will to take it. Anything can sound terrible after listening to it for a few hours. You might be better to bury it and come back to it.

I'm reworking things all the time. Just finished an ep that pretty much is 80% reworked material... all made to fit. I do it for fun pretty much... love making old crap work better

Standman

I could finish a track 100%, but always feel it could be better. From experience though I reckon tracks come out better when you spend less time messing around with the particulars, could take you longer to make minute changes to the track than it actually took to compose the whole thing if you're not careful. The problem I find then is that it can get a bit tedious and you lose the flow of the track. Sometimes it's better to give it a break for a few days and then come back to it with fresh ears.

flyswatter

I understand the structure of music a lot better now. Know a bit about chord progressions and all that kind of stuff and effects and different sounds.

I can finish a track much quicker now than before

Busy with college work at the moment but at Easter will be a productive time.

Have several ideas and unfinished songs in my DAW.

One of them is 90% complete.

seannash

krd wrote: »

Not really. If you've progressed you can rework them relatively quickly.

When you're initially working on something you can only take it as far as you have the will to take it. Anything can sound terrible after listening to it for a few hours. You might be better to bury it and come back to it.

Guess thats where we differ
Dont get me wrong going back to rework a completed track to make it sound better is fine but having an 8 bar loop sitting on a harddrive for a year isnt something you should revisit

Anyone can finish a track,the quality of the production might be **** but it should be finished,the drive to finish it should be there.If its not the originally it wont suddenly appear a year later

1 completed song is better than 1000 8 bar loops and talks of what your going to do to it imo

And to be honest alot of people get lazy when it comes to pushing through and finishing,completing a track isnt fun really but its something people have to get on and do

All my opinion

electrogrimey

I've finished a few tracks I'm happy to leave as finished, and some have got support from big enough DJs I respect. I imagine I won't be happy with them looking back in hindsight, but right now I am. My next step is trying to get a release on a decent label, don't want to rush into releasing on a small/digital only label.

I obviously have lots of unfinished tracks, but I think pretty much all of my finished tracks I mostly finished in one sitting. Started with a good idea/sample, and bashed it all out in a few hours, and came back and touched it up. Anything I stuttered on, or had to keep coming back to, never got finished.

Android 666

seannash wrote: »

1 completed song is better than 1000 8 bar loops and talks of what your going to do to it imo

Yeah, definitely agree with this. I've read posts on different forums of people saying they have hard drives full of loops. Really couldn't see the point of that myself. I've done the thing of having a loop playing for an hour or so while I'm trying out different elements and it's great fun but eventually I have to try and put it into some sort of shape. Couldn't see the point otherwise...

SteveDon

Im guilty of making tons of loops that never get finished in the past.

These days im more or less trying to finish everything. But if i start sequencing something and it doesnt feel high enough quality ill leave it.

I used to do the whole loop thing throwing loads of different elements then sequencing it out. These days though i prefer to get a basic groove going then start sequencing as soon as possible. That way i find my tracks come out less loopy. I tend not to go back and do drum fills and the likes cause i think sometimes those minor details are lost in the rush to get a track finished, I rather do it piece by piece. I always keep listening back to the whole track as far as ive got just to make sure everything sounds in place and on time.

Stab*City

Ive finished a few tracks 99% but i think i could do a bit better.. at the moment i have 5 tracks im working on they range from about 50-85% finished as of now.. not sure if ill finish the 5 but defo at least 3 i cant wait to complete.. ive held back alot from putting stuff online as i want quality more than quantity.. but this could also be proving a bit of an obstacle.. i was also stuck in that 8 bar loop situation for a while but thankfully im pro-aware now when it comes to that..

ICN

4mins

I can get to between 65 - 75% before I run out of steam. Sounds fkn terrible - LOL

Think part of it is that I get bored.. or try & figure out a certain technique & end up moving on.

Recently archived everything on my HD to start afresh.. but still do the same.

Part of it is that I dont get as much time as I'd like to spend on it. Partly due to college / kid, being too tired to get value from listening to H'phones @ 2300.

I think my main problem is doing something with developing sounds over the course of a track to keep it interesting. I'm making tech type stuff & try to have a good groove going, with a collection of mad sounds over it. Keeping them evolving and trippy is hard. I end up adding too many bits sometimes too, & I'm like enough already.. NEXT!

Its probably a bit of an arrangement problem too.

I've got so much better than I was though.. used to be in 8/16 bars for a long time.

Good to hear your plans Matt :cool:

dasdog

Maybe 30% <

Idea gets turned in to something, rapidly changes to something else, then I start experimenting to make it sound not like a structured song, tidy up the sound a bit and it ends with the that'll do attitude (usually after too many beers). It's painful (work) making a song where people expect things to begin, lift and end and I've no inclination to release anything so it's about enjoyment for me (see beers above). Too much Sun Ra and spiraling 60's Jazz has me all over the place lately though.

Loops...ugh... I learned from my mistakes a long time ago when I tried to make "proper" songs.

Neurojazz

dasdog wrote: »

Maybe 30% <

Idea gets turned in to something, rapidly changes to something else, then I start experimenting to make it sound not like a structured song

This is normal to be honest - we all start off messing about, experimenting (even as kids) and then you find the things you enjoy the most and they become parts of the personality coming out in your music.

Some of the next videos will still be going over basics and things like sound generation/fx etc... but further on i'll be doing some twisted left field stuff pretty much like that - no aims except to entertain the mind - last time i did this i sampled all of it and it ended up being re-cycled for other projects - it's all good!

Neurojazz

ICN wrote: »

I think my main problem is doing something with developing sounds over the course of a track to keep it interesting. I'm making tech type stuff & try to have a good groove going, with a collection of mad sounds over it. Keeping them evolving and trippy is hard. I end up adding too many bits sometimes too, & I'm like enough already.. NEXT!

Its probably a bit of an arrangement problem too.

The next videos will about this sort of stuff - mostly standard things, but adaptable.

ICN

Cool Matt

btw.. be prepared for a lot of thanks over the coming while.. think everyone is appreciative of the effort that you are making :cool:

Neurojazz

ICN wrote: »

Cool Matt

btw.. be prepared for a lot of thanks over the coming while.. think everyone is appreciative of the effort that you are making :cool:

Believe me, the thanks is mutual - it's a challenge for me as a pretty much introverted person to film this sort of stuff and rise to make music to back up the methods shown - I'm a strong believer in walking the talk and if you really want to ingrain this stuff to pass it on to others... then you see the measure of yourself.

For the people stuck with really limited time we'll have to work something out - I might have even stumbled across a way of streaming desktop and the audio pipe over the net (meaning you could in theory work each other computers/DAWS) - this could open the door to decent online collaborations.

ICN

Neurojazz wrote: »

For the people stuck with really limited time we'll have to work something out..

Theres always time for good stuff!

hans aus dtschl

Great work Neurojazz.