How long has it taken you to musically get where you are today?

[LuketheXjesse]

I think that 99% of what we recognize as talent is, as has been said, just plain hard work. The "talent" is really just the dedication to continue working at something when others would get bored or overly frustrated. People tell me I'm good at math. Well, I think everyone can be just as "good" as me if they worked as hard as me at it. Sure hard work will only get you so far, but I honestly don't think that most people go far enough in most things to run into talent barriers.

This is one of my biggest philosophies and what I tell anybody who tells themselves that they can't do something.

You kick ass :D :D

[Kamekaze]

Well I've been playing the trumpet for about 8-9 years and for 7 years I've been making my own music on my computer. I've come a long way from what I began with. And my recent music is a definite sign of that. I to have always been around music, since my brothers do music as well. I feel they are much better than me still. They are very creative and to me, I still feel lacking when compared to them lol.

[Tensei]

Started in 2006 making music in 2006, quit for a year, started around summer 2007 again, got my first remix accepted in early 2008, and still waiting for it to be posted. Yeah, making music comes pretty naturally to me, I guess you could call it talent. My production skills definitely took some time to catch up with arrangement though. If I weren't so goddamn lazy I would probably be way further.

[Sinewav]

I think that 99% of what we recognize as talent is, as has been said, just plain hard work. The "talent" is really just the dedication to continue working at something when others would get bored or overly frustrated. People tell me I'm good at math. Well, I think everyone can be just as "good" as me if they worked as hard as me at it. Sure hard work will only get you so far, but I honestly don't think that most people go far enough in most things to run into talent barriers.

Now that I think about it, most of the people who run circles around me musically are people who are talented and put the work into it. I can't really think of anyone I know (at least in person) who hasn't worked for their success.

One just has to turn on the radio to hear that you don't have to have talent to get very far... though I wonder how many of them actually worked for it.

[Lemonectric]

If I weren't so goddamn lazy I would probably be way further.

That about sums up the way I feel.

I started remixing in 2003 with Anvil Studio. Moved to Fruity Loops in 2005. I've undoubtedly improved since then, but I could have done more with all that time.

[Alexis]

I think that 99% of what we recognize as talent is, as has been said, just plain hard work. The "talent" is really just the dedication to continue working at something when others would get bored or overly frustrated. People tell me I'm good at math. Well, I think everyone can be just as "good" as me if they worked as hard as me at it. Sure hard work will only get you so far, but I honestly don't think that most people go far enough in most things to run into talent barriers.

This is almost exactly what I was going to say, and now I'm glad I went back and read the thread. I completely agree with this. I started viola 14 years ago, but didn't really start practicing on a regular basis until late high school. I'm less than two months away from graduating with my bachelor's degree in music education, and will most likely be going for another two years for performance.

By no means do I think that I'm talented; I've just been playing for so long that it's second nature to me and I love doing it. Many performance majors that I've met I find think the same way.

Buy yeah, it's been awhile since I started playing and I recently just got a remix accepted onto the site, which I didn't even edit, I just played the viola on...but hey, gotta start somewhere right?

[noTuX]

I took me five years of making crappy music until I got to this point, where I'm making not-quite-as-crappy music.

I started remixing on the exact same day I joined here with absolutely no musical background (well I still don't have any).

I wish I still had a copy of my old WIPs from way back when...

I was told I did mixes that I don't even remember doing.

[Platonist]

i started tracking in 1998. Woho! but i didn't try out remixing until ~2000 i think.. it was really bad ^^ Final Fantasy 7 - You can hear the cry.... rmx. hah good thing i didn't know about ocr back then ^^ i was still 15 years old and well, it blew.

I've played the guitar since 1997, mostly acoustic rhythm guitar. but also some picking (fingers, no pick). Piano has been around for ages, but I never got into it for real, even if I've "plink-plonked" on it during my entire life.

uhm. did a Terra rmx & a Forested Temple rmx in 2002, but that was also before i heard about the site. lost my internet connection in 2003. came back online 2006, started reunion and submitted my first ReMix in fall 2007. even if i did it as a joke, it passed

but whatever, there you have it

[CC Ricers]

The only formal training I had was with piano between 4th and 5th grade, and sadly my live playing skills have probably decayed, but I can still read most sheet music. I just won't be able to play it as readily unless it is simple.

My first stab at computer music was with Impulse Tracker. Then I discovered Fruity Loops in high school, back then used a demo of FL 2.5 (an FL without Piano Roll? NO WAI!), and got hooked on that line of software up to today.

My other music-related endeavor goes into DJing, and music production has helped me in that area. Musical harmony and following keys is also important there, and makes the difference between a good and a great DJ set.

[Nabeel Ansari]

About 2-3 years or so of getting tips from more talented people. (and a year before that when I started)

Started out when I was around 10, borrowed my bro's laptop and messed around with an old version of FL Studio in my warm, sweaty room. (the kind where it's not pleasant to have a burning hot laptop around)

I think some of you guys who've been WIP forum regulars can remember some of my first remixes...

(Jeez louise that's real hell on anyone's speakers.)

My first learning experience was when my brother taught me how to do drum beats in FL Studio because I wanted him to teach me music. This ended up becoming a jazz-ish kind of song using some of my drumbeats and a flute chord solo I wrote (he taught me how to do chords, but I never remembered them and relearned them last year in 8th grade) I never really did anything until I got my own computer around 2-3 years ago, and I sucked because I barely remembered anything he taught me, all I knew was the piano roll, channels, and step sequencing. It just evolved from a horrible techno-y Megaman 7 intro stage cover into a Megaman Zero 3 remix where I got a bit rude on my WIP forum (and was heavily flamed for it). I got depressed and deleted all of my stuff, and then a week or so later I came back. I posted up a Serenade of Water/Requiem of Spirit tribal/techno remix on the WIP forum. My bro then gave me a very interesting lesson on rhythm, and I made a Metroid Prime Remix. I learned more about how to make good arrangement structure, and then I just made more remixes, each one a new lesson on how to make OCR material music. Not quite there yet, but I talk to some talented OCR guys now who give me more in depth production tips and such.

But it doesn't take THAT many years, it's more of a dedication and ability to apply what you learn and how quickly you learn it.

[Sir_NutS]

I started back in 2000 when I found OCR. from then on I really worked on getting better at this until around 2006-2007, after that I think my interests shifted to other things and I stopped advancing.

[prophetik music]

i was rejected eight or nine times until i got one through the panel.

even in the last two years, i've seen immense growth between the stuff i was making at that point and now. it's all technical, too - my compositional style hasn't changed, but from a technical side i can realize my music better now that i'm understanding much of what i've gotta do.

[Sixto]

Started with violin when I was in first grade. My teacher played piano and I would learn that just by watching her. Dad bought my older sister some cheap Yamaha keyboard thing and I pretty much stole it from her and started learning on my own, playing along to music on the radio. Hated reading music in violin class so I just started figuring out the notes by ear. Came pretty naturally to me. 6th grade, I got into the school mariachi band and picked up the big, fat bass instrument (guitarrón). Liked it enough, it was easy to learn, but around the end of 6th grade the guitar really started to grab my attention. 7th grade, dad bought me an electric guitar and I just started learning stuff on my own from listening to bands like Stryper and Whitecross (lived in a Christian home and non-Christian rock music scared the hell out of me). 9th grade, 1996, my buddy introduces me to Metallica.

Everything changes.

I'd spend hours after school practicing fast picking and trying to play along to songs like Battery, Master of Puppets, and Disposable Heroes. Anyway, that goes on for years. I find OCR in...2005? Decide to try and remix something myself and my first remix actually got posted. After this is when I started to work on my production skills while neglecting my guitar playing. I try to keep things even nowadays but it's tough. Sometimes all I want to do is mix. Sometimes all I want to do is practice guitar. Most of the time I just want to play video games. I've come a long way since my first remix but I've still got so much to learn.

[Ech]

I am probably the most musically ignorant musician that exists. I couldn't play you a single chord, don't ask me what key my music is in because I have no idea and the only scale I ever knew, I forgot. But this never stopped me composing 20 so songs so far.

I wish I had been born into a musical family but the closest thing i've ever had to a musical instrument for the first 15 years of my life was a washing machine. It wasn't until my musically obsessed friend ( you know the sort of guy) made me realise how wonderful and exciting actually playing music is.

To cut a long story short, I find myself in a room surrounded by instruments that have either been presents, inheritance or simply 'found' (interesting story behind how I found my guitar hah). I'm told by many that i'm 'talented' or have a knack for music but that certainly dosen't make me an instant rockstar. After I finish up with Uni for about 7 months(ish), I plan to invest my time on honing pretty much every aspect of music I can, including general music knowledge, technical skills and composition writing.

It's taken me 3 years, full of many distractions and conflicting priorities, to get me musically where I am today.

And I've only just begun.

[LuketheXjesse]

I've been in High school and Middle school band playing trumpet (so I know a bit about music theory and whatnot), and I picked up guitar at 15 and bass at 17.

I'm pretty nice at both, at least good enough for making some stuff. Ironically I suck at Trumpet D:

This, and I've been producing music for a year. I first started around when this post was made. I've come quite far.

[Cyril the Wolf]

Awhile. I've kinda had a knack from the beginning.

I started sax probably shiz, 10 years ago now. Still love that instrument. And despite the fact I almost abandoned it for 6 months in favor of bass and guitar I'm still decently good at it!

In reality I'm probably better than I should be because I would stop doing homework and just play. Not really formal practice, but I have made leaps and bounds recently and I'm having some fun remixing.

Interestingly enough playing is way different from composing (or maybe its not that interesting) I'm decently skilled at thinking of melodies and harmonies and musicallyness like that but I'm certainly not a shredder or a wanktastic bass player. So it depends on the skills you want to put forth.

Also, I've been trying to sing for about 3 years, and I think its noticeable the time difference as I'm not the greatest singer.

PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP!!! Everyone sucked at some point (even those prodigies, they just sucked earlier in life and sucked for a little less time... cuz they're prodigies)

[EC2151]

I've been doing music since I was 6 years old. I'm in college now, still trying to improve my piano technique.

I still don't feel like I'm up to snuff with the 'big leagues' so to speak, though I feel I have plenty of ideas.

What holds me back is not musical ability (well, debatable. I'm pretty self-effacing) or lack of ideas, because I DO have them, what really holds me back is lack of technical ability in software, where my expertise is not quite formed. I can belt out a piano rendition of a tune I made up, but trying to put that into the Piano Roll in FL or in notation on Sibelius yields less than satisfactory results. Only a few songs have been to the contrary, or in fact, better than I imagined.

So I keep on making songs, getting slowly better at the software with each passing attempt. Considering I've only been using the software for about a year-ish now, hopefully I can get myself somewhere respectable one day.

[Rozovian]

I can belt out a piano rendition of a tune I made up, but trying to put that into the Piano Roll in FL or in notation on Sibelius yields less than satisfactory results. .

Sounds like you could use a midi keyboard.

As for the thread, don't remember if I posted in it before, but short answer is it's taken me a lifetime to get here. Got somewhat serious about music maybe 8 years ago or something, and didn't learn much about production until maybe 3 years ago.

[Arcana]

I see someone bumped this thread.

I have a working theory: it takes an average of five years of steady music experience (give or take a year) before your work is of good enough quality to get posted on OCR. That get shortened if you go to school for some kind of music. I've asked almost all of the remixers that I talk to this question and none of them have ever said, "Well I got posted to OCR after two years of making music, with zero music background".

Zircon in this thread is an exception if he in fact had no musical knowledge in 2002 and got a mix posted in 2004.

I personally started music in late 2004, made about 6 or 7 songs, and then quit for three years. I started again approximately one year ago and still struggle a lot, especially with song structure and sound design.

And to follow the year-old discussion, I do believe that there's such thing as talent, and that it's not only hard work. There are people who do something and it "feels natural" to them. They advance very quickly. You teach them something new and they get it right away. It may be a culmination of other things but I don't think that someone understanding complicated ideas right away is a reflection of hard work in related disciplines - it's talent. If you think that there's no such thing as talent then I think you should learn to teach in a classroom - you'll see talent (and non-talent).

What I do agree with is that hard work is essential. Talent alone will not get you anywhere nor is it mandatory. Talent will however save you time.

[Strike911]

I signed up for these forums in early 2002 after I just had downloaded the FruityLoops demo. I played around a little bit with it, but

By September of 2002, an AWFUL Perfect Dark remix of mine made it through the judges panel (it honestly shouldn't be online... it's really bad! Just reading the comments/reviews section for the track makes me facepalm). Since then, that's been the only remix I've had on Overclocked, and I think I've only tried to get maybe another 3 or 4 through 5/6 years ago. In the last 3-4 years I've probably only worked on one or two game remixes, partially because I felt limited by using source tunes, but I've made zillions of new, original tracks that are sitting on my hard drive. Making original tracks for fun really pushed me to explore new things and has added a lot of tools to my music making abilities.

Producing music just became something that I just did when I had spare time. Then it became something I needed to do as a therapeutic thing. I don't think I have "talent" per se, but I can make a funky track here or there.

Here I am in 2010, and my style has certainly changed a lot. I'm amazed that it's been 8 years. I can't believe it at all. The newest tracks on my website are at least 3 years old... I guess I should really keep adding new things so people don't think I've completely stagnated. lol.

OCRemix really got me fired up to try new musical things, I entered a few gaming competitions as a musician (last year specifically) and fared pretty well, and now that I'm out of the university, I'm making game music as a part-time job in real life.

So... I owe quite a bit to OCRemix and the community here for moving me in that avenue. Much of my newly adult life has been influenced by digital music creation and this website/forum.

I really need to get back into remixing.

[EvilHorde]

13 years. Thats half of my life.

Awesome.

[Geeky Stoner]

PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP!!! Everyone sucked at some point (even those prodigies, they just sucked earlier in life and sucked for a little less time... cuz they're prodigies)

If this is directed at me which I'm assuming is, I haven't given up on writing music.

I've been a little inactive lately , some personal stuff has come up in my life.

It's been a year since this thread,

I've been getting better in small increments here and there writing original songs,

small little practice tunes really.

Haven't tried a remix in a while though ,original music just flows so much more easily.

I signed up for these forums in early 2002 after I just had downloaded the FruityLoops demo. I played around a little bit with it, but

By September of 2002, an AWFUL Perfect Dark remix of mine made it through the judges panel (it honestly shouldn't be online... it's really bad! Just reading the comments/reviews section for the track makes me facepalm). Since then, that's been the only remix I've had on Overclocked, and I think I've only tried to get maybe another 3 or 4 through 5/6 years ago. In the last 3-4 years I've probably only worked on one or two game remixes, partially because I felt limited by using source tunes, but I've made zillions of new, original tracks that are sitting on my hard drive. Making original tracks for fun really pushed me to explore new things and has added a lot of tools to my music making abilities.

That's almost the same way i got into OCR i discovered this site around late 2008,

a few months prior i had also downloaded the FL Studio Demo,made some shitty songs I thought were cool at the time.

Also your Perfect Dark remix isn't all that bad,I'm not the biggest fan of the robot voice sample but the instrumental elements of that song can be quite stellar at times

I signed up for the forums in February 2009, posted a remix in The Wip forum (that's what it was called at the time) which was god awful and got a wonderful dose of reality.

Got a little discouraged (hence this thread) redeemed some of my self esteem and kept at it, and here it is a year later. Unfortunately I'm using i cracked version right now,

I plan to get a legit version of Fl Studio though.

for a little contrast on how I've gotten better Here is some of my old stuff and

Here is some of my Newer stuff

It's not the greatest stuff i know (don't ask about the titles I'm horrible with titles )

but it's certainly improvement.

I update my Tindeck every now and then for my friends(it beats sharing files over aim)

I've been doing music since I was 6 years old. I'm in college now, still trying to improve my piano technique.

I still don't feel like I'm up to snuff with the 'big leagues' so to speak, though I feel I have plenty of ideas.

What holds me back is not musical ability (well, debatable. I'm pretty self-effacing) or lack of ideas, because I DO have them, what really holds me back is lack of technical ability in software, where my expertise is not quite formed. I can belt out a piano rendition of a tune I made up, but trying to put that into the Piano Roll in FL or in notation on Sibelius yields less than satisfactory results.

Sounds like you could use a midi keyboard.

I got a midi keyboard a little while ago I've been to lazy too hook it up to my computer though and see if it works with FL, also its kind of kiddish and there isn't much room for it either.

I really need to get back into remixing.

Yes you do,

and so do I

[axelitsu]

excellent. I've had almost no formal training (minus the 3 years of french horn I cannot for the life of me recall probably due to the amnesia during the last year) and starting into this whole music world is very intimidating. Especially since I've been trying to learn music theory and Reason on my own with books. Thanks for this thread and some added perspective.

[Cyril the Wolf]

If this is directed at me which I'm assuming is, I haven't given up on writing music.

I've been a little inactive lately , some personal stuff has come up in my life.

It's been a year since this thread,

I've been getting better in small increments here and there writing original songs,

small little practice tunes really.

Haven't tried a remix in a while though ,original music just flows so much more easily.

Good to hear, but also it wasn't really specifically directed at you. It was whoever reads the thread and may have been having thoughts. But yea, you too.

I am also that way, writing music was a lot easier actually still is than remixing.

[LuketheXjesse]

Huh, you both might be on to something there.

I haven't attempted writing original music yet, come to think of it.