A No Good Very Bad Horrible Afternoon in the Home Studio

[WarpCanada]

So one of my maxims is that making music at home (for fun) should be... well... fun.

But the thing is that nothing you do is ever ALWAYS going to work just as well every time you try.

So today I had a frustrating experience of:

1.  Especially hating my vocals.
2.  Feeling especially unable to play guitar and sing, in time, in tune.
3.  Feeling unable to record.
4.  Feeling unable to mix.

So really when all that happens, maybe it's just time to go watch Netflix or Read a Book, but after a Whiskey and a moment of reflection, at least I spent some time:

A. Learning more about EQ'ing. Failing, but still learning.
B.  I did some vocal practice. I critiqued my results.
C. I practiced guitar.
D.  I practiced mic'ing up an instrument and my voice simultaneously, trying to get a live sound by being live.

One of these days all this will CLICK and it probably never will until I put some TIME and effort into it.

Anyone else had that kinda afternoon?

[Jean Pierre]

EXCELLENT:...I recognize myself well in this description...I also have Netflix (at the moment Homeland...enough to last 2 or 3 more seasons of Covid confinement), whisky (and quite a few books) in my little recording attic

[AndyR]

Yeah, I recognise myself there too.

Nowadays I very much stick to the "if it's not fun then do something that is fun".

I've got about 4 or 5 songs lined up for the treatment - I was expecting to get them all done before the end of the year.

BUT...

Trying to do anything with the recording machine has not been fun since the last song, end of October. Singing not too much fun, neither...

So, I've switched off from all attempts to record and most interacting online for the moment, I'm doing other stuff and having a great time

Something will get it going again, always does, but meantime...

I played some, wrote another song, watched films, ate and drank, watched TV, listened to new CDs, generally had a very cool and relaxing time without any "I'm a songwriting musician" pressure. I also bought guitars inspired by new CDs (Power Up caused a Gretsch Duo Jet, the deluxe UFO Strangers In The Night box set caused what I always thought was a very impractical guitar... but, I have discovered, EVERYONE needs a Flying V! )

Over my 2 week Christmas break I really did intend to get a couple of songs done. But I just couldn't face spending an afternoon like you describe... and if, instead, it was successful, it would have caused days of slaving away in the studio, meals would have been delayed, etc, etc... and then the relaxing chrimbo break would have evaporated... so I reasoned the music was less fun than what I was doing already - having a nice time with Mrs R.

I've just restarted work after Christmas, a few hours ago, hence I'm lurking on here looking for more fun than I was getting from reading the work emails!!! Already the bracing walk followed by the sofa downstairs is calling me...

[Greeny]

It's depressing when it just doesn't 'work'. For me it's mostly my guitar limitations (self-taught with no theory or chops whatsoever), but lately I can feel my voice slipping away with age. It just isn't how it was in my 40's. It's hard to deal with that because it's irreversible. It'll end up with me 'singing' like Leonard Cohen - i.e. speaking and mumbling out of tune, lol. But there are ways to disguise it, and I don't mean technical tricks and software. I mean doing songs and styles that don't need such a big vocal range.

I'm nearly always inspired to do something, but I do find setting myself random challenges like learning a weird new chord or trying a new pedal etc helps unlock new adventures when things are a bit threadbare.

Collaborations are also a great way to step outside of yourself - either by relinquishing control, doing something unusual, or just enjoying the co-writing and performing process. Some will work better than others, but it's exciting when you just click with other Songcrafters. If you're an OCD control freak like me, it's like a holiday from yourself.

Main thing is not to get down about any of it. It's all part of the journey :-)

[bruno]

We all have these days. All muso's from beginners to professionals.
Show me some one who doesn't think like this, I'll mostly show you someone who is at best mediocre. It comes with the territory.
Even the greats have doubt, so you are not in bad company.

Some musings:
1. I don't know how to objectively define good or bad anything - if it moves you or inspires you, then its good, if it grates or is boring, then not so good
2. Everyone hates their voice, even the great and professional singers
3. 'Like' depends on how you feel and can change, and frequently does
4. Don't force it, if you ain't feeling it, find something else to do. Come back to it the next day, it will most probably be better.
5. You can never have too many guitars or pedals or amps or synths or mikes or leads et al
6. If you really hate your singing, try singing so that it doesn't sound like you - that normally works. Oh, and ALWAYS mean it, never go in half baked
7. Remember, there are no rules in music - use you ears, and if it sounds okay to you, then you are right for you
8. People hide behind notation and theory. Its a tool, it can be useful - but its not the be-all end-all
9. Life changes, you get older, go with the flow - you will lose some things, and gain others.
10. Music is part of you, you will always go back to it, in one form or t'other.
11. Most pro's sit in rooms, like you and I. I'd like to think that if they were not famous, they would still being doing that. And if you lived next door to them, you would be mates because you think the same thoughts!
12. With mixing, your ears can fatigue - go away and come back to it the next day.


B

[Pine]

i can totally relate to Tim's post, except for the part about "nearly always feeling inspired". Motivation and inspiration are increasingly rare. Taking large blocks of time off like i have does not help. Counter-productive. Better off to just strum a few chords a day and see what, if anything, might pop up.

Bruno...your 12 tips are dead on. Great insight. Thanks for putting them in writing.

[WarpCanada]

Thanks guys, it helps to have a sounding board...

>Some musings:
>1. I don't know how to objectively define good or bad anything - if it moves you or inspires you, then its good, if it grates or is boring, then not so good
..


This is true. And when something I do is bad nobody got hurt, and even if I feel silly, I can laugh at myself and enjoy the "mild unpleasantness" as in fact, kind of hilarious.  I do NOT take myself too seriously most of the time, and when I do take myself too seriously, the universe delivers a corrective blow.

[StephenM]

Warren, this was me a few week s ago with some stuff I was recording... and I wrote this and some more in the comments.... what you and I experienced happens not only in music but in other things as well....

"this piece of music or noise (noise is defined as unwanted sound), whichever you prefer came from near a trash can to a resurrection from the dead.... I had some neat sounds that I was recording on my guitar, some effects I found on the ME-25.  I started listening to the whole thing after adding bass and drums, nearly trashed the whole thing... and to be very honest i was so disgusted at it that I essentially didn't even want to look at any of my instruments or recording stuff....ever felt like that? " 

It turns out that some of this frustration came about because when I transferred my files from the BR over to the DAW my computer running the bandlab DAW is so old and screwed up that is was putting my guitar parts out of synch... and you can hear it in the first 2 minutes of the song.....and I couldn't figure out what happened.... and this same thing happened in a collab I did a few months ago and thought it was for a different reason (and now I need a new computer (its a 2012)....

.... "this is a bit like my old golf game...make stunning shots and be 3under after 6 holes then shoot a 10 on a par 3!
the last time i ever played golf (2006) I walked off the course after the first hole and nearly threw my clubs in the river....lol...stuff gets in my head...."

There is a lot of great info in the experience of the writers in this thread... I also am 61 and just can't sing as high anymore....and I wasn't high to start with...lol...  and I would agree that sometimes just play the instrument with no intention other than to enjoy it...because I spend hours enjoying the sounds emanating from the guitar and sometimes recording gets in the way of that.... I kid you not...i once played a song that I looped for 45 minutes and played over it... and then recorded 11 minutes of it.... how crazy do you have to be??/ but hey, that is me

[Hilary]

I think the subconscious plays a part too - if I'm struggling with a song, I'll leave it and let my subconscious work on it. If I'm really struggling I'll abandon it and pinch bits out of it. I'm a firm believer that nothing is wasted - it all gets used in the end.

Yesterday started out as Bacon and Eggs or something like that!

Remember - be gentle with yourself - it's supposed to be fun