____twoism

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It sounds like you're trying to be a follower. You say you want to compose "like these guys" and "like those guys". Do you really want to just be another clone?

Listen to your heart. The greatest artists out there are the ones that don't sound like anyone else.

One thing I can highly recommend is to write down what you want to do, literally write it down on paper. Right now you have all these ideas floating around in your head and there are so many of them, how are you going to know what you want to do? How are you going to be able to efficiently channel your creative forces into a style that's all your own?

You could start by writing out your top 5 favorite "genres". And next to each one, write a couple words that describe what it is about that genre you like so much. For example, if you like the BOC sound, maybe your words would be "nostalgia" and "analog". And if you also like dubstep sound, your words might be "positive energy" or "headbanger". Now, when you have all your keywords written down, take the top 5 of them that are most important to you. Maybe you'll come up with something like "nostalgic, yet positively energized, funky, hipsterish music with a tinge of French house". There you go. Then go and make some of it.

A lot of times people just expect to be able to sit down at their keyboard/computer and the music will just flow out of them, but that's not always how it works. Sometimes you have to take a deliberate, logical approach.

keep making tracks! dont dwell on old songs that you dont care for, and follow your heart like said. you've got plenty of time to figure things out. find inspiration outside of music and have that drive your sounds.

personally reading, listening to music and immersing myself in likeminded conversation helps my music more than anything. sometimes i get down thinking that i'm not making what i want to make, but in all honesty I am my biggest fan and I only put out what i want to hear

keep writing/recording ideas. even shit ones. then cannibalize them for parts when you have a "THIS!" moment.

Take constant breaks, never create with a model in mind and after final completion, do not listen to your music. Wait as long as it takes to get it completely out of your mind (which might take months), then clear it completely (meditation helps for that) and listen to your music. If it sounds good, release it.

That's the method I currently take. Maybe it'll help for you too.

As for finding what you want to be doing in the long run, you'll just have to see what you're good at. Only way to know that is to start making as much as you can and releasing it, taking down every little detail your feedback gives you. An artist never quite has the ability to judge their own creations reasonably, for some reason.

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yeah I think thinking you have to do any particular thing can get you off of what is important which is primarily how do you like to work. workflow is a tricky thing imo. I'm still working it out. Thus far a combination of outboard and ITB seems to be best for me. You are lucky for you that it is the other way honestly its more portable and less expensive which is great.

Genres just don't matter that much really, some of the most interesting stuff done is when someone merges divergent styles in a unique way. I like saturdayindex's suggestion.

BoC were there once....

a lot of valid points in here. i'd have to totally agree with finding the right workflow. i used to use hardware synths and put them into a sequencer, and switching to a daw really helped. also i like to conceptualize a lot of my music to go with visuals, as it helps to have an idea or feeling for me that allows it to feel more like a story than a collection of songs.

like rodheh said also though, taking a break and coming back to something fresh can work wonders. i can't tell you how many times i slaved over a song for days and wanted to throw it out, only to take a week or two break and come back with exactly the right direction it needed.

cheers

I have found myself in a similar dilemma in the sense that I am influenced by many genres (drone,classical,downtempo,minimal techno/house, hip hop/beats) and all have definitely felt inclined to make music from all of those styles. What I find myself doing is just making what comes through me, and typically it is some weird blend of all of those things. For example I just made a deep house track that features layered drones and a chopped up debussy sample that fades into pure ambience. Eventually you just kind of come upon your own sound. I think it is definitely a process that everyone has to go to. I would agree though to try not to make music in a specific genre or try and copy a certain sound though.. That's how you get musical clones/boring music.

don't doubt yourself, just make stuff man.

I dunno, don't mean to come off as cold but it's not really rocket science, just do what you want to do and keep producing everything you can and put it out there.

Are you always composing or making music in your head? Even involuntarily?

If you are you need to get that translated via an instrument or your computer. Never let yourself be separated from a device that can record your ideas. Record everything you do, always. I solve this by always being near a guitar and using my smartphone to record. And if worse comes to worse I'll hum or beatbox my idea into the smartphone and fix it at a later time with an instrument.

It's easier to work off of a foundation than it is to come up with something from scratch on the spot. So if you have an archive of melodies, riffs, rhythms, etc to reference, the foundation is already there. Other pieces fall into place after that. You can't force inspiration it has to come naturally and it can come at any time. Which is why you want to have a way to get that idea saved.

like Vexille said building on a foundation is a good start. i used to rip off someone elses melody and build around it then remove said melody or drums or whatever. Or just alter it enuf so its not that noticeable. i bet a lot of musicians with writers block do it.