Roland Clan Forums

i gotta share this unique experience with u that i never had for 16 years in my life.

i had composed only some 20 songs in FS61. today, i got a used heafones for 50 cents. Its superb and looks big and beautiful with nice bass handling.

i plugged in my headfones, switched on the FS and started staring at the big blue screen for about 30 minutes. nothing happened. i couldnt get ANY ideas to compose another song - no, nothing! not even a single piece.

my mind felt like a complete blank and i felt like it was the end of the world for me. Nothing simply seems to occur to me. No good tune - infact - NO TUNE AT ALL!!
((

i think i have exhausted everything in me. usually, i sit in the chair, switch to PERF mode and start composing something within 3 minutes. this simply doesnt exist today!

I tried my best, thinking of something to compose, but nothing comes to my head! what happened to me???

Did any body else ever have such a strange experience before?? please tell me! i need a cure to this, this is not a joke. i am simply frustrated with myself in an attempt to think of something.

there MUST be a way outta this!! please tell me.. guyz.. please...
((
didnt compose a bit for the past THREE hours! shame on me!

help.

Sambasevam.S

have Nothing to say,

Just don't worry. You are not able to exhaust anything in your self! Believe me! You have an endless soul with endless songs in it.

Human has an endless soul with endless songs in it.

and whenever you are ready to compose them, they will come in your mind. Don't force yourself to play something new. New songs will come themselves.

Human, is also moody. If your are in the right mood, you may be able to work as a music box! but you can't stay always in that mood. As you are not always happy, and, as Ronaldo can't score a goal in every match! there is some days that you can't creat something new...

Just forget about every thing and turn off your FS61 for a couple of hours (or days) and do something other than music. and after that, you will be able to creat new songs again...

By the way, I compose a new song every month! the one who should be worried is me, not you!

(R U 16?)

sorry for my english,
Sam

March 14th 1984
Music student at Dalhousie
Fantom-X 7
M-Audio Firewire AudioPhile
Steinberg's full pack
Native Instruments' full pack
+20 gigabytes of other VSTi and samples

hi sam,

i am 16. and thanks for the advice. BTW, i composed a song today, a silly chinese song, just for the sake of composing SOMETHING~i had to do it.

i want to put my songs on the compiliation CD, but can it be done?

me- born in September 28 of 1987

i'd also like to hear your songs. they will let me decide whether mine are Ok or not.

thnkz.

my e-mail id is sambasevam@yahoo.co.in

whaz urs?

Sambasevam.S

(I think you should post this thread in the Free Zone, not here)

u'r welcome.

I am working on my first song with FX right now. I think it will be finished this week.

these are my e-mail addresses:

sam_vafaei@yahoo.com

sam.vafaei@gmail.com

(why you should compose a song each day?!)



March 14th 1984
Music student at Dalhousie
Fantom-X 7
M-Audio Firewire AudioPhile
Steinberg's full pack
Native Instruments' full pack
+20 gigabytes of other VSTi and samples

well, thnkz.

i just like to compose a song everyday but i am not very successful. sometimes i end up deleting my songs on my own, cos i am way too irritated to hear a stupid melody that i have composed. so there are those remaining ones..

if i had composed a song and finished it everyday, i woulda finished about a 60 song by now!! i did only 20 till now and deleted some 10 on my own!

i guess i'll be improving my ratio soon.. why, today i composed 2 including the chinese one..

BTW, when i say songs, they are not like 6 or 7 minutes, i just compose jingles say 30 seconds or 1 minute or 45!

i just dont wanna waste my keyboard time so i try to compose and am looking for a desperate way to earn some money.. thats the main reason....

cos i somehow wanna earn the money that i spent on this FS61. till then i'll be working as usual... after that maybe i'll improve.

sorry for posting this thread, lotsa people posted such things in other threads so i thought i am not wrong. ... sorry..

)


Sambasevam.S

Sambasevam - I celebrated my 17th birthday on the day you were born (I'm a 9/28 baby, too!); that means I'll be exactly twice as old as you on 9/28/04. Enjoy your youth - there's a lot I wish I'd done in the last 17 years!

Here's some ideas based on what I do when I'm in a musically uncreative rut, FWIW:

1. Load a song you've made into the sequencer and try some reprogramming of the sounds (especially synth, pad, and percussion sounds) in realtime, while the sequence plays. With Roland synths, tweaking reaps huge rewards; just messing with the filter cutoff and resonance on a sound playing in realtime can change a sound from one you like to the exact, perfect sound you were looking for!

2. Try "remaking" parts of your favorite songs (by professional musicians) on the Fantom. Listen to how instruments are panned in the mix, how changes in the song are effected, etc. and try to duplicate it. Make some drum loops based on songs with "real" (human) drummers doing the drumming.

3. Compose songs in a style (or no real style) that you don't usually attempt. Usually have drums in your songs? Then try a few without drums or with only "ethnic" percussion, for example.

If these ideas don't work, then I usually just figure I'd rather just be doing something else for a while. A break from music does wonders to make you miss it and feel inspired to make it again, I've found.

Good luck!

A few things:

1) I have a theory that songwriting cannot be forced. It has to just come to you with time. It seems that when I'm consciously trying to write a "good" track, the flow of ideas stops and I end up getting depressed and down on myself for being incompetent as a musician. As a case in point, the best song I ever wrote came to me at my so-called most uncreative period. I just sat at the keyboard and played around with the patches, effects, and everything just started to come together over time. It felt natural, it felt like riding a bike.

2) Don't set a quota for the number of songs you must write in a certain period of time. Music comes from the soul, and the soul is not mechnical. You can use quotas in business or schoolwork, but music output should be free to vary. Even if you write no "good" songs in a whole month, just keep the spirit of experimentation alive. Throw some drums through the effects and see what comes out. Press different combinations of keys and see what melodies or rhythms you can come up with. Maybe you'll end up making some beautiful unstructured noise, which is an art in itself.

3) Listen to new music. If you're only into, say, rock, buy some hip-hop music, or classical, or ambient, etc. Then dig deeper into the genre and see what other sub genres exist. Don't ever settle just for what's on top, the most popular artists. Go to allmusic.com or something similar and see what you find. Seeking out new musicians will almost always inspire you. I recently bought an album (his debut) by an electronic artist named Dntel, and it is one of the best albums I ever heard. No one ever told me about him, but through research, I found it and it was like finding a precious gem buried in your backyard.

4) Don't be afraid to take time off. If you are physically getting frustrated over whether your music is good or how much your output is, turn off the keyboard/mpc/computer and take a walk. There's no rule that says you must beat yourself up over music. Take a week off and read a book, listen to some old records, and enjoy life. You'll feel refreshed.

5) Try to not primarily judge your music based on other people's work, especially if they have decades of experience. I don't care if you're John Lennon, Dr. Dre, or Trent Reznor, there will always be other musicians out there that you admire and kind of want to be. It's good to critique your work and try to improve your skills, but there will always be someone out there who finds your work interesting, and there will also be people who won't enjoy your music at all. The key is to make music for yourself. If other people like it as well, consider that a bonus.

thnkz for the advice borg and flowing,

exactly. i also do the same way.. i play something or the other just to form a tune. but as u said i was trying to force this 'something or the other' into a tune and that probably didnt work out.

u know what, last time i just selected ALPHA RAVE and switched the effects to 20:slicer and i got a new melody. i immediately turned it into a techno song, and that remains as my best-till-now song.


Sir Flowing, its cool for the same guyz in the forum to celebrate their birthday in the same day. COOL!

but i really dont think i am that young. i used to be **young** when i was 11 or 12. but now, i feel pretty much an old chap. It's really heart melting to hear you say'I wish i had done a lot in the last 17 years.' i'll feel the same way too when i turn 34.(if i live till then. luckily by god's grace)

infact, i think no one wants to be old at all. ) its nice to jump around, watch cartoon network, play cricket and eat potato chips all the time, but then that cant be done when we are old! yet, the simple fact that we survive in this world makes us bow before god and praise him all the while!!

thank you guyz for providing this much support. Thats why. - trouble or happiness, - i post it in this forum first.!

sorry for getting off-topic. just a bit emotional.

I am waiting for a desperate oppurtunity to get into the music industry. i gave it all i got. yet, no use. makes me feel sic.

Waiting for the right one.
thnkz again. bye.


Sambasevam.S

thnkz for the advice borg and flowing,

exactly. i also do the same way.. i play something or the other just to form a tune. but as u said i was trying to force this 'something or the other' into a tune and that probably didnt work out.

u know what, last time i just selected ALPHA RAVE and switched the effects to 20:slicer and i got a new melody. i immediately turned it into a techno song, and that remains as my best-till-now song.


Sir Flowing, its cool for the same guyz in the forum to celebrate their birthday in the same day. COOL!

but i really dont think i am that young. i used to be **young** when i was 11 or 12. but now, i feel pretty much an old chap. It's really heart melting to hear you say'I wish i had done a lot in the last 17 years.' i'll feel the same way too when i turn 34.(if i live till then. luckily by god's grace)

infact, i think no one wants to be old at all. ) its nice to jump around, watch cartoon network, play cricket and eat potato chips all the time, but then that cant be done when we are old! yet, the simple fact that we survive in this world makes us bow before god and praise him all the while!!

thank you guyz for providing this much support. Thats why. - trouble or happiness, - i post it in this forum first.!

sorry for getting off-topic. just a bit emotional.

I am waiting for a desperate oppurtunity to get into the music industry. i gave it all i got. yet, no use. makes me feel sic.

Waiting for the right one.
thnkz again. bye.


Sambasevam.S

So, Sam, we find out that you are just 16............so please be patient..............time and life and experience and pain and joy will all add to your music. Every day is part of the journey. Every life is a succession of right now's.........do not worry that no song comes at this moment.

Print and save some of your posts, sort of like a journal, and then pull them out in 10,20,30 years..........you will be amazed.

Hi Sambasevam,

Hey man,don't stress yourself about the creativity blocks. Like other have said before me,sometimes you just need to step away from the music to 'clear' your head.

bass6strng

i am just relaxing right now. but i am a little bit afraid of my creative potential. i dunno. i feel, soon i may be exhausted of all the tunes and result in a complete blank mind.

but till then, i'll try to squeze the juice out of my head. i am not too worried. but just worried.

thkz for the advice.

Sambasevam.S

But that's kind of like being 15 and worrying about not being married yet. You have a long life ahead of you to do things, especially if you take your vitamins.

You're just beginning. Getting a dip in creativity is in line with everything else you'll be experiencing in the next few years. You have the youth and ability to take music to the next level. You are the future of music.

Right now, if you are feeling worn out or lacking you need to just leave the equipment alone. Don't even turn the board on. Don't stare at the screen. Let it collect dust if need be. Just go get some cds of your favorite artist favorite producers and listen to them. Any favorite past-times? Do you read comic books? Watch movies? Draw? Write? Do that. Do anything else. The more you try to get over your dip the more likely you'll stay there.

Now, I've said all that to say this...

You're too young to be this down so soon. When I was your age I wish I could've afforded an FS. I'm 30 years old. I had no idea what an MPC was until i was 25 years old! The internet? Won't no internet like this when we were 16 years old. Look at all the resources you have now. You still have time to be a master of your board by the age of 20. Still have time to go to school for music engineering.

Believe me, if the love of music has become a part of you you'll never be able to fully stop or put it down. Forget about trying to keep up with everyone else. Forget about trying to make stuff for the sake of being "productive". Take your time. Do what you do. Learn your gear. Everything else will come.

By the time you finish occupying your time with other stuff you'll be dying to get back in the studio. Use everything else in life to drive your creativity for the things you love.

Well...it's the Mic Pacino approach, anyway.

One.



Mic Pacino

thnkz mic,

i'll do that.

Sambasevam.S