PrototypeRaptor Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Alright, 'fess up. How many ideas - original or remixes - that you started but just can't seem to finish do you have? Just wondering - because my pile of completed music is very small, and my pile of half way, good-idea-at-the-the-time music is ALWAYS growing. It usually goes like this: I have an amazing idea, get 1:30 into the piece, and start writing filler. BAM creativity gone. Now, I know this is an issue every person who works with creative ideas has - but how do you guys work through it? Luck? Blind experimentation? Leave it for weeks on end and PRAY to whatever deity you worship that something comes to you when you hear it next time? Tricks, comments/any tips would be appreciated for breaking this awful cycle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Currently my count is at 3 I think, I haven't really tried to work on them very hard though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH Sounds Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I'd say I have about two album's worth of unfinished junk. I'm currently toying with the idea bunching it all together, doing a quick mastering job, and publishing it. As for tips, sometimes I merge half-ideas together. Makes for some interesting stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazygecko Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Over 9000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analoq Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I used to have a pool of unfinished music that I was planning on writing lyrics for and adding vocals. It took years, but eventually I accepted that I can't write lyrics or sing -- except for the rare olremix. These days all the ideas I have are just sitting in my head, nothing written down that isn't finished at the moment. Anyway, inspiration is a common problem. I've read two solutions in songwriting books or from interviews with songwriters: 1) Keep writing. Even if it sucks, just write something. When your inspiration comes back either you'll fix what you wrote so that it doesn't suck or you'll scrap it and write something else. Just remember: Once you put a note down, it's not permanent. 2) Don't stop to tweak once you start writing. If you stop to make minor adjustments to levels, effects and synths while you're still laying parts down you're going to fatigue your inspiration rather quickly. Do it before you start laying down parts, or better yet save it for later. cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozovian Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Probably over a thousand, tho I'm not sure they all qualify, some just being sound experiments and stuff like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillRock Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Not many. About Five or six. I tend to finish what I start in terms of music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDRKirby(ISQ) Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 It usually goes like this: I have an amazing idea, get 1:30 into the piece, and start writing filler. BAM creativity gone. 1:30??? damn... 90% of my incompleted projects are more like 4 measures long... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrototypeRaptor Posted October 16, 2008 Author Share Posted October 16, 2008 I used to have a pool of unfinished music that I was planning on writing lyrics for and adding vocals. It took years, but eventually I accepted that I can't write lyrics or sing -- except for the rare olremix. These days all the ideas I have are just sitting in my head, nothing written down that isn't finished at the moment.Anyway, inspiration is a common problem. I've read two solutions in songwriting books or from interviews with songwriters: 1) Keep writing. Even if it sucks, just write something. When your inspiration comes back either you'll fix what you wrote so that it doesn't suck or you'll scrap it and write something else. Just remember: Once you put a note down, it's not permanent. 2) Don't stop to tweak once you start writing. If you stop to make minor adjustments to levels, effects and synths while you're still laying parts down you're going to fatigue your inspiration rather quickly. Do it before you start laying down parts, or better yet save it for later. cheers. MAN no. 2 is so incredibly hard to avoid. I don't know how composers lived before DAWs...more often than not I find myself tweaking knobs than writing actual music! Although I've been trying to get stuff down first in 4 part harmony on the piano lately - but it's tough to get it to translate to instruments. I've a new found respect for composers of old...it really is difficult to visualize something that you can't hear at the press of a midi key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHands Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 I'm working on a dozen different songs/segments of songs right now. You're right though, it does factor into all artistic things. I've got dozens of unfinished written things (poems, short stories, fun blogs, etc), and another 50 or so that I could probably go back to refine, but when I go back to them I'm in a different mindset than I was when I'd started. Sometimes that's a good thing though, when you write something, leave it alone for a few months, and then come back to it later on. It lets you see mistakes you made without being biased from just writing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonectric Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 I have about 36 projects that I started and will probably never touch again. They range from a few seconds to over a minute. Some of these were just sudden "ooh I need to get this stuff down!" moments, others are failed competition entry attempts, some are just random personal ideas I lost interest in after a while. I'm taking a creative writing class this year, and we've talked about pretty much the exact points analoq made (but regarding words instead of notes, of course). They do help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasfen Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 I've been meaning to develop a couple ReMix ideas that I have for a long time now. Thankfully, I've gotten into this kick of just sitting down and working on the creative projects that have haunted me for ages. Maybe it's the weather or the influx of awesome ReMixes I just downloaded... I dunno. It could just be that I'm fed up with wasting these inspirations. Is that, no, it couldn't be- maturity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matney X Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 I've got loads of stuff that's been laid down, either digitally or on paper, that I got "half finished" and then moved on. I use it for times when I am totally beat down creatively, and everything I try to write sounds the same; I go back, play what I've got "half finished" and if inspiration strikes me, I'll work on it a bit more. Almost every time I've done this, my understanding of theory has improved enough that I can at least color a few chords better, or add a decorative flourish on the lead line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demonstray Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Alright, 'fess up. How many ideas - original or remixes - that you started but just can't seem to finish do you have? Just wondering - because my pile of completed music is very small, and my pile of half way, good-idea-at-the-the-time music is ALWAYS growing. It usually goes like this: I have an amazing idea, get 1:30 into the piece, and start writing filler. BAM creativity gone. Now, I know this is an issue every person who works with creative ideas has - but how do you guys work through it? Luck? Blind experimentation? Leave it for weeks on end and PRAY to whatever deity you worship that something comes to you when you hear it next time? Tricks, comments/any tips would be appreciated for breaking this awful cycle... Yeah, I hate it. I actually did wait...about four months...before getting back on my old project "Militiae Corneriae" (remix of Corneria from Star Fox). But yeah, I did pray a little to Odin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sole Signal Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Something I do a lot is go back through my old projects for those tracks that I got burned out on and hit them with a fresh perspective. "Day's End" was finished that way; it sat for months with just the opening piano finished. It is true that it's better to "force" yourself to put something down, because when you come back to it later it's much easier to find something in that that you like and get the inspiration to continue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusK Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 I'm currently at 1, for lack of drive to transcribe the remainder of the song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzumebachi Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 A quick count of my FL and Cubase projects folders yields 416. That's just since my last format in 2006. I should probably make some ridiculous epic medley out of all that crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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