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Ottawa, Ontario

Swed

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Geneseo, IL

Sorting through this thread, I didn't mean to start such a ruckus. Though, there were some posts that I will definitely keep in mind, don't get the idea that I'm going to do anything rash. And I do understand that ADHD's existence is debatable, but that does not mean that medication can't help me focus, even if it were numbing out a piece of my personality. I'm just happy to hear that some other people have gone through something like what I'm going through.

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seattle
Sapr wrote:

Music enables me to express things I can't put into words. It lets me retreat to a land of infinite possibilities. It helps me cope with life.

this is why i write music.

also this thread has escalated really quickly, haha

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Sapr wrote:

Sorting through this thread, I didn't mean to start such a ruckus. Though, there were some posts that I will definitely keep in mind, don't get the idea that I'm going to do anything rash. And I do understand that ADHD's existence is debatable, but that does not mean that medication can't help me focus, even if it were numbing out a piece of my personality. I'm just happy to hear that some other people have gone through something like what I'm going through.

I'm sorry OP. It wasn't your fault that this happened, it was mine. I made a mistake. sad

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Geneseo, IL

It's all cool guys.

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Cm.o has vanquished the DARK DERAIL! CM.o has 32xp! CM.o has LEVELED UP! Cm.o Has learned a new ability: SORTING OUT MISUNDERSTANDINGS WITHOUT THREAD CLOSURE!

OP: Glad you where able to get some positive feedback from all this, best of luck to you in your adjustment and hopefully you can be happy not matter what you end up doing.

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Yokohama, Japan

I will try to give some advice that is related to music.
If you are finding it hard to finish a piece why don't you take part in some kind of compilation project/album which has a deadline, this may give you the drive to get to the end.

There is one on right now and it looks like a lot of fun:
http://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/12384 … mpilation/

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Tacoma WA

i looked on webMD for you.

its cancer.

seriously though, you're in college, and you're really busy.  add to that the fact that you are young and it might seem like the end of the world.  you can't write music right now, that's fine.  focus on girls or guys, what ever's clever on that one.  focus on school, or GTA 5, or beating minesweeper ( i had a friend in college who decided on day that she had to beat minesweeper.  she disappeared for damn near two weeks just playing minesweeper in her room)

breaks are wonderful things, they let you come back fresh and with new ideas.  don't be scared of them.

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montreal, qc

ignore every single post in this thread.
i have tried to quit writing music 4 times to date.
best time: 14 months

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make a habit and just keep going. between breakfast and first class, 30 mins, just make a little loop. it'll come together.

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Playboy Man-Baby
thebitman wrote:

I'll weigh in: make sure you have good iron levels. I'm not the best eater, and I am borderline anemic apparently, which causes me to often feel faint, lose focus, and be a bit emotionally dead. Iron plays a huge role in how you feel. I don't have ADD or ADHD so I cannot really relate to that part of focusing, but my girlfriend has struggled for years with chronic depression. For a while she and I were both on medications that were medically "fixing us up" but not letting us be mentally clear. Now we're both pretty balanced out, and the side effects of our medicines aren't nearly as strong as they used to be.

Talk to your doc, make sure there are other options you can try. There's more than one way to skin a cat.

tl;dr:

but seriously, I have Autism, ADD, ADHD, and Major Depressive, and I know the deal with feeling like it's fucking impossible to be medicated/balanced out without compromising your creative capacity. Shit sucks. It's pretty much just a guess-and-check thing with medications, so that's something to consult your doctor about; it's not efficient, but it's kind of the only way to figure this stuff out at the moment from person to person. I'll say this: Don't do what I do, which is cut yourself off of your current medication when you need to be creative. It ends up doing harm long-term.

Last edited by Invisible Robot Hands (Oct 9, 2013 1:11 pm)

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Brunswick, GA USA
Sapr wrote:

Music enables me to express things I can't put into words. It lets me retreat to a land of infinite possibilities. It helps me cope with life.

Has the OP written anything since this?

Composing isn't the only way to enjoy or even make music, so you may find other outlets with time. The fact that you are looking for help is more important. Sorry about the blown up thread.

Edit: Read post about medicine and "it's all cool," sounds good to me.

Last edited by chunter (Oct 9, 2013 2:21 pm)

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ilkae wrote:

ignore every single post in this thread.
i have tried to quit writing music 4 times to date.
best time: 14 months

definitely agree with this. sometimes creativity with music wanes and it's fine to take a break. not to say every time i've "taken a break" from music i've been afraid i'll never return to it. I always do, though. pretty sure the longest i've gone without making a song is somewhere around 8-9 months. But in that time I was just practicing guitar stuff and finding other creative outlets.

I definitely understand where OP is coming from in terms of college eating up a lot of time. Work eats up a lot, too. It's fine to have tons of little sketches and 4 bar loops lying around, though. They're good to come back to now and then with a fresh mind to see if you can expand them. I think that's how 90% of my songs are made anyways. Make a short loop, let it sit for a few months, come back to it later and try adding and tweaking shit around.

OP, you might want to try out other aspects of music, too. I've found that to help a lot. Switch genres, instruments, programs, trackers, whatever. A little variety never hurt.

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/dev/sda2

I find myself agreeing with a lot of the posts here. I have trouble finishing songs as well; I've only ever finished one, and it's god-awful. But... I always come back to writing my pathetic loops, because I love the sound of synths and old soundchips I guess. I can't help but think that songwriting isn't for me, though. What do you do if you simultaneously love and hate what you do?

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TSSBAY01

i think its a natural thing to both love and hate what you do in anything in life, maybe not 'hate'. but perhaps something close to it. when you put a substantial portion of time toward anything without any expectations and you fall short of any goal you set for yourself, it can be easy to hate that feeling of having to pick yourself up and dust off your wits and continue on. but you dont have to see it as anything other than an achievement, and you cant allow what your peers are doing in their personal success or failures influence your expectations or to let it lessen your potential. do what you do because you enjoy it, and because you feel you have something to offer and go from there, your success even if it is something as simple as finishing a song shouldnt come into the equation. do it because you have a desire to try new things.

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tempsoundsolutions wrote:

i think its a natural thing to both love and hate what you do in anything in life, maybe not 'hate'. but perhaps something close to it.

I think instead of 'hate' you're thinking of 'critical.' We love to make music, we're just very critical of our work. As the saying goes, your biggest critic is yourself.