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The feeling I get when I make something that I like is incredible. Knowing that I have created something is what keeps me motivated in most of my hobbies. Music, however, i have been at a cliff wall for a while. With fairly limited resources, my training has been pretty limited, and this has left me feeling pretty inadequate. I can sit down and learn chords and read tableture all I want, but the moment I sit down to try to put anything from my head into my guitar, i can't seem to make anything that doesn't resemble a rat king in a hollow metal can.

How did and do you guys really make your music? What are some tips for n00bs like myself that want to start at square one?

schrodingersgoldfish wrote:The feeling I get when I make something that I like is incredible. Knowing that I have created something is what keeps me motivated in most of my hobbies. Music, however, i have been at a cliff wall for a while. With fairly limited resources, my training has been pretty limited, and this has left me feeling pretty inadequate. I can sit down and learn chords and read tableture all I want, but the moment I sit down to try to put anything from my head into my guitar, i can't seem to make anything that doesn't resemble a rat king in a hollow metal can.

How did and do you guys really make your music? What are some tips for n00bs like myself that want to start at square one?

Whistle/ sing/ hum Your idea of riffs a bit before getting even near the guitar and then start playing around it with new ideas. Chord names and all that can be worked afterwards.

i don't know any theory whatsoever. I hate limiting myself to a bunch of numbers and rules. The best thing I can possibly recommend is playing with others, it doesn't matter how good or bad you are. find some like minded musicians, and the ideas will start flowing

schrodingersgoldfish wrote:a rat king in a hollow metal can.

I dunno dude, that does sound pretty awesome.

I think one of the most important parts of learning to make music is to listen to music. Listen to the same music repeatedly, closely, out of different soundsystems/eq settings/volumes. Get to understand what all is going on and try to draw inspiration from that.

And it always helps to just put yourself out there and avoid being too hard on yourself.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Something I really hate is the dearth of such "Like-minded" folks. I'm in the middle of nowhere, and about the only other musician near me is a really awkward metal dude. The kind of guy that casually insults you and honestly doesn't realize he did it.

It's funny. I spend my whole school life with guys like Psyre, and now that I'm actually getting into making music, I'm stranded in the Great Plains.

Bassus Sanguinis wrote:Whistle/ sing/ hum Your idea of riffs a bit before getting even near the guitar and then start playing around it with new ideas. Chord names and all that can be worked afterwards.

I do this, but I either lose the song in my head, or I get home and think it sounds like shit.

Every fucking time.

Honestly, I write lyrics and then build a song around it (or the reverse).

I also don't really write music anymore because I'm constantly unhappy with how things turn out.

Just write down any ideas you come up with. Write lyrics for the songs, and if possible record them. Don't get hung up on quality, just keep writing SOMETHING whenever you possibly can. Gradually, you should develop better ideas, put parts from different songs into better songs, and improve your writing. Practice is key, like with most things.

Man, I'm gonna have to carry a audio recorder around with me, cause I think of riffs and melodies which then disappear completely. I would look like such a tool. Middle of Walmart. "Mommy, why is that man standing there humming weird noises into a box?"

schrodingersgoldfish wrote:Man, I'm gonna have to carry a audio recorder around with me, cause I think of riffs and melodies which then disappear completely. I would look like such a tool. Middle of Walmart. "Mommy, why is that man standing there humming weird noises into a box?"

Im very audio/visual also have a horrible memory and whenever i come up with anything... ANYTHING, i use my phones camera to record either me saying a line or playing a riff and as the ideas evolve the short videos turn into tutorials to myself. Ill take a day every month to go through the videos and clips and se how the songs are coming, if riffs or chord structures would fit together or lines i thought of go with a the feel of a song and then try to stick the pieces together. Basically my phone is constantly filled with tutorials of past me trying to teach future me a idea that popped in my head. Works for me at least.

I've taken to enjoying things that only exist in the moment. Not like jammy shit or whatever, but I like when I have an idea that I like and I know I'll forget it. I don't worry about trying to save it, I just like it at that moment, and that's it. I don't ready write music outside of a band setting anymore, so i'm sure that has something to do with it. I like to think it keeps my brain working.

Sometimes you just need a break and stop trying. That's where I'm at now; I put my stuff away for a few days so I can get out of that frustrated, everything-sounds-the-same mind set and start anew when I feel better.

kbithecrowing wrote:Sometimes you just need a break and stop trying. That's where I'm at now; I put my stuff away for a few days so I can get out of that frustrated, everything-sounds-the-same mind set and start anew when I feel better.

truth. I get so pissed when I feel like I'm not getting better that it's actually worse for me to keep pushing myself. when you're frustrated, you start to notice mistakes more and wonder why you can't do something. definitely bad.

I think it is key to realize that no one is super great at anything in the beginning. Really! If you listened to the early recordings of any band you love and they would likely sound terrible. Everyone evolves. The key (which I am NOT very good at) is to stop being so hard on yourself and keep working at it.

And I have recording stuff into my phone as a way of preserving the ideas. I also take notes, etc. That way, when I feel like I am ready to tackle a particular idea, I still have it.

The worst thing about not knowing how to write music is hearing melodies and such in your head as you're falling asleep but having no fucking idea how to record them for use later. So you just get mad and instead record aggressively ambient soundscapes that are tuneless at best.

Or is that just me?

IEatCats wrote:

Bassus Sanguinis wrote:Whistle/ sing/ hum Your idea of riffs a bit before getting even near the guitar and then start playing around it with new ideas. Chord names and all that can be worked afterwards.

I do this, but I either lose the song in my head, or I get home and think it sounds like shit.

Every fucking time.

Yeah, every so often the really cool idea doesn't translate to bass. But then it can sound REALLY cool and launch off on keyboards or perhaps vox melody.

I use forgetting as a riff value test meter: once I've practiced the new cool thing enough it's time to let it be and forget about it for a week or two. If it STILL sounds good, after the break, then it's probably worth doing. If I can't remember it ...well, fuck it.