Usually how it goes for me is I'll be inspired to make something and I'll be like "yeah that riff is tasty awesome holy shit this is gonna rock" then I throw it together and it sounds like shit so I delete it and cry for 3 hours then write music about being sad which eventually turns happy then into a song. I like it for a week then grow to hate it, rinse and repeat.
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UK, Leicester
chunter wrote:
John Cage has a quote about doing something repeatedly until you don't find it boring anymore. A teacher of mine warned that looping on the sequencer is like this, so it is better to record to tape or write on paper than to hear things repeating until you think your riff is good just because you don't remember what anything else sounds like.
Therefore, when you work on a piece until it grows better, it is not a nostalgia effect, unless you haven't done anything to improve the song. For me, especially in chipmusic when working in a strict format, it is more like sculpting.
If I end up just listening to a track on loop for ages, and I don't make any changes because I think it's good, I realize that I'm probably just used to the way it sounds, and that the way it sounds, may not be good. I'll often just go and listen to some other music, be it chiptune or anything else that I like, then come back to my song, and re-listen to see if I can improve it, or if I'm genuinely happy with it.
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Chicago, IL
chunter wrote:
John Cage has a quote about doing something repeatedly until you don't find it boring anymore. A teacher of mine warned that looping on the sequencer is like this, so it is better to record to tape or write on paper than to hear things repeating until you think your riff is good just because you don't remember what anything else sounds like.
I agree on that. I try to write songs devoid of any instrument or tool, just recording myself humming / beatboxing the idea. It frees you from getting stuck with a sample or melody or chord progression that might just be 'what you know'. Then you can go back and say, how do I make that mouth-wobble sound I made in my scratch recording..instead of settling on the sounds first. Also, if you think your song needs a change or chord shift, a great thing to do is listen up to the place where the change would go and then hum what you think would come next. I find this sometimes takes my songs in unexpected directions that still sound like part of the same song.
On the subject of John Cage, I'm making a chiptune remix of 4'33!!!
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Gosford, Australia
godinpants wrote:
I only listen to my own music because it's the only thing worth listening to.
pretty much this
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Neo Jersey
i find that i can't fully appreciate something i've written until long after its done. i guess cuz i've listened to the song hundreds of times while making it i'm almost kind of sick of hearing it. i don't think it has to do with nostalgia.
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Chicago IL
When I get into a track, I'll export whatever I have done and just sort of listen to it on loop whereever I go. It gives me a chance to figure out what I like / don't like without actually sitting in front of it and watching it happen. Keep a notebook with me so I can write down what I need to change. Making lists is super helpful because you can finally stop juggling ideas in your brain and move on to other stuff.
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Youngstown, OH
Saskrotch wrote:
figure out what I like / don't like without actually sitting in front of it and watching it happen.
This. I think watching the music happen as you make it links what you hear to what you see and affects how you experience your own music. Seeing how the bread is made. Takes some magic out of the listening experience.
edit
plus one for the John Cage quote
Last edited by sleepytimejesse (May 19, 2013 8:04 am)
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NC in the US of America
sleepytimejesse wrote:
Saskrotch wrote:figure out what I like / don't like without actually sitting in front of it and watching it happen.
This. I think watching the music happen as you make it links what you hear to what you see and affects how you experience your own music. Seeing how the bread is made. Takes some magic out of the listening experience.
edit
plus one for the John Cage quote
This is so true. Sometimes I'll throw on my wireless headphones and go on about the house doing whatever and ideas will pop into my head that I wouldn't have gotten while staring at the computer screen.
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babylon
word! i do this in my car with my gb/ipad plugged into the aux port.
edit: which actually has got me in the bad habit of messing with tables and wav synths while driving on the freeway. dont be like me 
Last edited by walter b. gentle (May 19, 2013 10:12 pm)
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NC in the US of America
I think Victoria Vox used to have a video of herself playing ukulele while driving (which is something she admits to doing often) but I can't find it anymore.