Frustrated With Composing

[RadioElectric]

I'm finding it really difficult to generate my own original material at the moment. I'd expect to be most comfortable writing for guitar as I've played it for over 10 years but with electric guitar the stuff I come up with sounds a bit empty. I guess this is probably because drums, bass etc. are missing. It's a lot more fun to write something if you can establish a groove and have that maintained by somebody else.

Acoustic guitar-wise I can bring some ideas together but I find it hard to judge whether they're good. I find I either feel they're not "complicated" enough or that I've come up with something too technically difficult for me to play. I really need to get a handle on having my thumb independent for basslines. I also wonder how much repetition I can "get away with". How long should the piece be? How many different "ideas" should it contain. Because of this I rarely record anything, even though I really should seeing as recording is one of the things I'm studying.

Oddly enough, I feel a lot more comfortable if I start the idea in Reason. Unfortunately I've left the sound bank CD up at university, though I might get version 4. Problem is that once I've started something in Reason a lot of the old "guitar" paradigm goes out of the window. And the drums, of course, will never sound like a real drummer.

[Grunfeld]

Originally Posted by RadioElectric

It's a lot more fun to write something if you can establish a groove and have that maintained by somebody else.

Because of this [committee in my head] I rarely record anything, even though I really should seeing as recording is one of the things I'm studying.

I feel a lot more comfortable if I start the idea in Reason. ...the drums, of course, will never sound like a real drummer.

I've never used Reason, (can it record audio now?). But your computer was invented to answer your problems.

If you want a groove to play around with then you just record one and off you go. And the drums can sound very much like a real drummer if you work with good samples and spend a bit of time on the programming. Just takes a (fair) bit of practice and some good quality drum samples.

But I do remember the mindset you describe and it's paralysing. What worked for me was:

1) realising that the computer was my friend and ally and that I could record as many takes as I liked to get something sounding alright. [Or just jot a sketch of an idea down too. The computer is a great notepad so long as you've got it set up to be able to record very quickly].

2) giving myself permission to record stuff that was sub-prime. I am never going to be brilliant. Once I accepted that, and realised that it was OK not to be brilliant, I started having fun and actually started being productive.

2a) actually finishing the effin' piece!! This can't be over-stated -- because I would "start" something and never finish it. That's not even starting something; it's just a noodle.

3) doing task-based pieces -- i.e. writing stuff that was based on ideas which restricted what I might choose to record if left to my own devices.


Anyhoos, that's what helped me get out of that mindset which you describe -- no motivation is how it felt for me.


Oli

[Novata]

I'm not a guitarist, but using the computer is obviously the answer.
I wouldn't use Reason though, as you can't record audio.
If you can, try and get Ableton Live. I think it would be perfect for this solution as you can program drums or use samples of real drums with ease, timestretch, break apart audio clips, program bass lines etc. I use Ableton for all of my audio.

It is, the muts nutz.

[downfader]

Originally Posted by Novata

I'm not a guitarist, but using the computer is obviously the answer.
I wouldn't use Reason though, as you can't record audio.
If you can, try and get Ableton Live. I think it would be perfect for this solution as you can program drums or use samples of real drums with ease, timestretch, break apart audio clips, program bass lines etc. I use Ableton for all of my audio.

It is, the muts nutz.

I switched from logic to Live 6 last year and its been pretty good. Its quite a limited program but that could be to an advantage in some cases. For guitar tracks I've found it really good, loads of synth sounds and orchestral stuff in there straight out the box too.

[sfocata]

Originally Posted by Novata

I wouldn't use Reason though, as you can't record audio.

You can run it within a DAW, using Rewire, though. I used to do this with Logic.

[Novata]

Originally Posted by sfocata

You can run it within a DAW, using Rewire, though. I used to do this with Logic.

Yes, you can do this, however I was trying to provide a solution with one piece of software.
Reason rewired with Ableton Live is a good combo. I personally have given up using Reason as I find getting the sounds I want a chore. Reason can become very confusing the more you add to a project and I end up losing track of where things are. Also, adding and changing things in a big project can be a headache.
I now use Cubase SX 3 as rewire host to Ableton Live 6. It is a very powerful combination and very easy to craft a professional production.

[RadioElectric]

I've ordered a student copy of Reason 4, it should be arriving today. I'm very excited

I've had a look at an Ableton Live demo before, I don't find it as "immediate" to work with as Reason. I think I'll experiment with rewiring reason to different things. I've got my dad's old copy of Cubase 5, though I find it a little bloated and out of date. I might try out Reaper.

[Gojirosan]

Reason stills scares me.

[RadioElectric]

Originally Posted by Gojirosan

Reason stills scares me.

What scares you about it?

I would have thought it'd be the kind of thing you'd like, what do you use in the studio?

[manicguitarist2]

Originally Posted by Gojirosan

Reasoning stills scares me.