I want to know the Secret!

[Kolstad]

I think the challenges you list are very common for creative people. We tend to focus on the creative process, and not so much on framework and product. I can certainly relate to everything already said by others.

The man that got so much down already, Mazz, had a great answer, I think. It's important to lay down a few ground rules for yourself, now that you know you are a creative person with these challenges. Actually I don't think it's a character trait at all, like the MBTI, Belbin ect tests wants us to believe. I think we are challenged with this, because our craft is not fully down (will it ever be..). Craft is supposed to help us in these situations. And what is craft? It's systematics, templates, forms ect., so I suggest you let go of the personal blame, and just focus on setting up some crafty rules that'll work for you (instead of against you):

First ground rule - clarify the song/track idea, so that you actually know when the track is 'finished'. Often we just fumble around with things, looking for ideas, and then when we've found an idea, we wonder why it's not done. So it might be counter intuitive, but working more on formalizing the idea, like Mazz points out, might be a great way to go. By doing that, you will not endlessly looking for new ideas, but actually have a vision for a finished track.

Second ground rule - clarify the arrangement, so that when you improvise, you do it within set parameters. Same goes for choice of instrumentation/libraries. There's just so many tools at hand, that it'll take you a full month just exploring the basic stuff of a new gadget/ library. Use reference tracks to guide you, and just make a decision on what will drive the rhythm, what you will use as a pad/textures, what you will use for melody & counter melody, and what you will use for enhancements/fx. Then you'll have a vision for yourself, that'll help you know when the music is finished.

If you then are not happy with the results, make it as a rule to spend more time envisioning the music, rather than continue the experimentation. In stead set off separate time for experiments (learning new software, instruments ect.), where you don't require a product from yourself. Same goes for research. Mixing those processes can be fatal.

That way you also know if the music didn't end up like you envisioned, it's not you, it's the vision you put up for it. You can start working with concepts and of course, the Taxi listings are great for this stuff.

Finally, you'll probably never end up with exactly what you envisioned. That's not a mistake or a flaw, THAT's what makes your music unique! I think accepting that is the biggest secret

justmy2c

[feaker66]

You think you have a problem, I put a comma in after pretty and gave your post a whole different spin. ha ha

Deny yourself something if you don't finish. You don't get desert if you don't eat your peas

Paul

[billg1]

This wiil read like a joke, but it's true . . .

I'm so bad that my sister once gave me a book for Christmas called "The Disoranized Personality". I lost it before I ever had a chance to read it!

I'm terribly disorganized which leads to extreme procrastination. The way I dealt with this (as it relates to music) was never to start a song until the previous one was finished. I started working like this a few years ago and it worked so well that I'm now able to "float" around on a few projects at once.

[guscave]

I had the same problem several years ago. I would start a song, then half way start another one. Before I knew it, 2 months had gone by and I had too many unfinished songs just sitting there.

One of the things that helped me was when I started writing specifically for listing. They all have due dates, so I told myself that if I didn't finish it in time to submit it, I was loosing out on a great opportunity. It didn't matter if it got forwarded or not. I psyched myself up to thinking it had to get done by that date.

I now take that same approach when writing any song. I set a due date for myself and try to finish it by then.

[mojobone]

I'm seriously considering Adderol. Seriously, (even more seriously, I mean) break the large goals down into smaller, doable chunks, because being disappointed in yourself all the time is a recipe for disaster. My DAW has tools that help me stay a little more organized, when I remember to use them. I have my templates organized by ensemble (instrument sets for different genres, MIDI projects are in a separate folder, each client is a Project, etc. Each Edit (within a Project) has a space for notes; I'm learning to use that for an outline of the project goals and an overview of the plan for the project. I'm learning to use a word processor instead of easily lost scraps of paper and napkins, I have an INBOX on my desktop and an OUTBOX, I've organized my browser's RSS feeds by category-dumped E News for being a gossipy distraction, same for ESPN....it's really a lot of small steps to getting organized; it'd be too much to try to overhaul everything at once, cuz I'm always in the middle of something, heh. I'll let you know when I get there.

[allends]

I'm the living embodiment of the exact opposite of everything you are struggling with:

1) I’m an accountant by trade. I’m the rule maker and enforcer for my employer and my work flow is highly regimented.
2) On my copious To-Do Lists, I often add things that I have recently completed just for the joy of checking them off.
3) I stick with my tracks until the bitterest of bitter ends.
4) I might start on two tracks a month, not two a day.
5) I don’t wear pink, and I have no sex appeal.

So you have two choices: either consider me the most important person to emulate, or do what most successful people do: run, don’t walk!

-Allen

[matto]

JVB, I think maybe the question is WHY you are not finishing the tracks...

Are you running out of time?
Are you running out of ideas?
Are you getting side tracked by other ideas?
Do you find you need some distance (e.g. sleep on it) to be able to tell if an idea is good or not?
Do you find the process of arranging, tweaking and finetuning to be tedious?
Are you too much of a perfectionist who always hears yet something else that needs to be "fixed"?

If one or several of the above apply to you then "getting organized" by itself may not be particularly helpful...

[coachdebra]

OK - well, I have lots of these secrets in my handy dandy toolbox as a coach.


And I think others have given you some really good tips - here are a few more:

Tip 1 - I believe that starting a project and managing a project through to completion are two completely different skill sets. And most people are innately better at one or the other, and rarely at both. However, since they are skills, you can learn and develop the area that is more challenging for you. But think about it as developing the skill of finishing (rather than punishing yourself for not finishing).

Tip 2 - One of the things that gets in the way of developing those skills is when you define yourself as "less than" around that issue - I am a disorganized person. I never finish tracks. These kinds of definitive statements can actually block you from developing the skills to become more organized or finish your projects (for example). Disorganization is not a genetic description of you - Organization is a skill that you have not yet mastered.

So be very careful how you're defining yourself, both in your internal voice as well as when you talk about yourself to others. For example, I'm in the process of learning to be better organized.

Tip 3 - One of the things I've suggested to clients with good results is to schedule time for creating and editing separately. So, let's say you write Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10-12AM - Perhaps you initiate new ideas on Mondays; Edit and polish to completion on Wednesdays; Lay down tracks on Fridays. But you want to think about the different phases of the process as different activities and schedule them separately. I wrote about this a bit in a newsletter article:

http://artists-edge.com/2009/03/creators-block/

And I have recorded several classes on the Artist's EDGE Membership that address these issues including: Time Management, Get Organized, Project Management and May's upcoming class is "An Act of Willpower - the Process of Perseverance". Plus I will be starting a new Time Management Intensive Program in June - I will announce that when it's open for enrollment in the SSP section.

[Pinkstar]

Let me know if you find out that secret! You can always send it to me in a sealed envelope if you don't want it to get out.

I always struggle with keeping up the initial enthusiasm that comes with creating a new tune, I get an initial idea, melody, riff or something and then go at it for awhile convinced it's the best thing I've ever written.

But the more I work on it, the less inspired I feel. For this reason, I'm trying to work very quickly, really go with my instincts and try not to over think anything. Get all my tracks down while I'm feeling that initial vibe and then go back and fix things that need fixing later.

I think it's helping...I think

That is so true; the longer I wait, the less excited I get. Also think sometime the song was better in a more organic way, before I tried to make it so perfect and added all kinds of effects and sounds. Maybe the goal should be "if you start it, no new songs until finished!" I'll try that.

[Pinkstar]

Great answers. Thank you all so much!

Mazz; very helful and Matto, perfect answer! I do get side tracked by other ideas. I find it way more fun to start something, the excitement, operating from that pure place than finishing a track, it's more like a chore to me. I seem to work extremely well on deadlines so I probably just have to set myself some deadlines and JFD!

xoxo
J