How to get back at music again?

[Levente]

This may make me sound like terminal case of gearhead, but whether it is existing equipment or newly bought... just play with it a bit, without any solid aim or concrete ideas.
Of course it depends on creative process, which is terribly individual/personal, but having gone through an 8-year-long dry patch (ouch...) of not only not having ideas, but not being interested in having them ... just fiddling around with the gizmos produced a lot of ideas and then rapidly "got back into it" wtih sudden series of whole track worth of ideas.
I think the key was that just approached the gizmos without a solid objective or plan, but as we know as soon as these gizmos are played with even aimlessly, they can trigger a lot of new thoughts and impressions, which lead to other ideas.

[tonecarver]

Like most people I've had (and will have) dry spells where the inspiration is just not there. Several things mentioned in the thread have worked for me: accept it and do something else for a while, accept it and push through anyway to make something/anything/whatever-happens with no real expectations of quality, get out of the house and do something fun/distracting, see some live music, etc.

Another thing that has helped me is to give up trying to produce something and change my focus to learning and exploring a few plugins more deeply. Could be any plugin that I would like to get a better understanding of. I might take an older project, a keeper or a throwaway, does not make any difference, and put, say, a compressor that I am not too familiar with on a track, and start exploring to learn more about how the plugin behaves. I might end up trying plugin combinations (compressor after reverb, distortion before reverb, etc.), trying that plugin that I have not used in a while, or looking up tips and tricks that I want to get better at and try those.

Also, dry periods have been a good time for me to reduce the plugin herd down to the minumum set that I actually use or will probably use at some point. I still have too many , but the reductions I have done have allowed me to pick a familiar tool and get on with the project rather than dithering among options.

[spidergod]

I am going through that same problem :(
Everything I have tried to create I end up hating the sound of it and scrap it.
Every synth I use, any combination of synth I use and any sample I use , I just cannot get things sounding right :(

[AlienXXX]

@cameronight

As others have said, we all go through times of less or no inspiration. I would only be worried if it is lasting more than 1 or 2 weeks.
Otherwise, sometimes music is just not on our mood. Forcing it only makes it worse. Read a book, watch a movie. Rest! (Tiredness can be a cause of lack of inspiration or executional skill).

I spend a lot of time at Freesound.org. - If you don't know the site, it is a resource for free sounds under CC license.
Anyway, one of the reasons I like it is that I find it so inspiring. Listening to a few sounds there never fails to inspire me. Simply going down the list of recent sounds and playing them one next to the other (or one over the other) is often enough to inspire me into starting a new music piece.
The sounds themselves sometimes don't even feature on the piece. They just serve as the catalist "What if I did this?"...

I am sure you will be making music again in no time

[cameronight]

Hey thanks man i really appreciate you taking the time to say all that, im going to take your words of advice and actually try them out, thanks again.

[cameronight]

wanted to listen to your music ... found nothing on soundcloud or bandcamp ... maybe take a time and put something online ... musical ideas will come back

oh sorry i should have, here this is my best one and best one i've mastered so far, https://soundcloud.com/cameronnight/choices

[remst8]

It sounds like you're struggling with two problems:
1) Coming up with new musical ideas.
2) Realizing those musical ideas.

For the problem of coming up with new musical ideas
I recommend taking some time to listen to music you like--music that exemplifies the kind of music you want to make. And by listen, I mean really pay attention to it. Focus on the elements that you really enjoy. Focus on the elements you feel that artist has perfected. Then ask yourself "How did they do that? How would I try to do that?" I find that when I try to reverse-engineer a really cool song idea, I often stumble across something that sparks new ideas. And even if I don't get new ideas, at least I have learned a new technique or approach - a new tool for my toolbox - and that can be inspiring, too.

Another option that usually works for me is to just noodle around without a particular goal in mind. Just explore without expectation. This alleviates the stress of achieving a specific goal and leaves your mind open to discovering something new. If you hit upon something you like, dig deeper into it. If not, move on. Change the sound you're using, or the key, or the method, or even the genre. Just go in a completely different direction and continue your exploration. This is basically the opposite of the previous suggestion, but often provides similar results for me.

For the problem of realizing a musical idea
This one is incredibly frustrating when it happens. And it happens to nearly all of us. I would be far more prolific if I could just dump music directly out of my brain, as that would bypass all the hurdles of skill, talent, equipment, and other things I don't have enough of. ;) But that's beside the point.

My advice is to set that idea aside if it just "isn't happening". Refocus on the elements that are working, and build on them. Sometimes, your subconscious will continue working the problem and the answer will seem to present itself when you come back around to it. Sometimes, the idea you've been trying to realize won't fit in that piece anymore because of the way it has progressed. That's okay. Even if the song you wind up making is entirely unlike the idea you originally had, that's okay because the idea served it's purpose: it got you to make a song.

Making a song you like is success--even if it isn't the one you intended to make. In fact, quite of few of my tracks went in a completely different direction than I intended. Once I learned to embrace that (rather than fight it), things got much easier for me.

You can always take another stab at that idea later. Each attempt builds up your experience, and experience will help you get closer...and that includes failed attempts. There's nothing wrong with trashing a project if it isn't working. I have quite a collection of "unfinished works" for that same reason. Some may be resurrected or recycled and re-worked into something worthwhile in the future. Most will languish. But each one is a lesson learned. And sometimes I revisit them when I need a new idea...

[seismic1]

Set yourself a goal. Produce a rough mix of a complete track in 8 hours. Aim to have the music completed by the end of that time period. Worry about the mixing later. Just get the music down. Then leave it alone for a while. Do the same thing again, but with a new track. Leave it alone. When you have a set of new tracks "semi-complete" you can go back to the original piece and start polishing and reworking. Allow yourself some variety in your workflow, try to write pieces in different styles. Don't get locked into processes and methods. Suddenly, it will all click again, and you will be able. Even if you are not entirely happy with the results, don't trash them. Leaving these things alone for a while gives you a new, and usually, a clearer perspective on what you hear and what you want to do. I have written some tracks which I absolutely hated at the time. I left them for a couple of years and was then able to revise them to the point where I was quite happy with them. Be patient.

[Ahornberg]

wanted to listen to your music ... found nothing on soundcloud or bandcamp ... maybe take a time and put something online ... musical ideas will come back

[cameronight]

I really don't know what happened and i don't understand why i really have no ideas for music anymore, i use too, i use to be coming up with ideas in SECONDS, I'm talking left and right, and now its just nothing and when i do have something and i think it sounds good,i try making it but then, i don't know, I just end up probably thinking to hard about the beat or something and think it sucks and trash yet another project. Does anyone have any suggestions, help, ideas on how to get out of that?:frown: