How do you motivate yourself to get into the studio?

I usually fire up my DAW about two or three times a week, how do you motivate yourself to enter the studio to get music made?

skylightron


I usually fire up my DAW about two or three times a week, how do you motivate yourself to enter the studio to get music made?

Just to add to the advice Matt gave (which I totally agree with) sometimes you just can't get blood from a stone and you may not feel creative. However, there is always some sort of lab work you can be doing.
 
For example, one of the best (and most fun) things I like to do, is record part of covers or sometimes full blown covers just to test out sounds and experiment. There's always something you can learn from this type of "lab work" and it makes you feel like you're doing something fun too because it's already created for you. Just do your own version and have fun playing with sounds.
 
Another thing I've been trying to do which is really cool is....I open up Sonar and click on the help file and try something within the program that I have never used before. I'll be honest with you, I probably use 40-60% of the program (60% may be generous of me lol) and I have really been trying to learn all that I can. This is really a great motivational tool because it may force you to try something you have never tried before to where you create a form of music you wouldn't have dreamed of without the tools in Sonar.
 
So give some of this stuff some thought...it can really make a difference. I can still remember my first time using The Matrix. I literally wrote a song from it which was totally cool. Once I got the hang of it, I could just drop pieces of songs into it and experiment with my arrangements. For example, I come up with new ideas every day. Not full songs...just pieces of things. A drum beat, a guitar riff, a bass line, a vocal line etc. I log all these little ideas and save them in a folder. With the Matrix, I can bring these ideas in and shift them around in the cells and literally create something from these little pieces while experimenting with the placements of each part.
 
Or, I'm not one that uses loops ever because I record all my own stuff. I tried the loop thing and it was pretty cool! I would have never come up with that stuff on my own. Or spend some time going through all the sounds in Dimension Pro and see if any of them inspire you...or z3ta...the sequences in that little synth are pretty cool. So there's always something you can do, skylight. If you're not inspired to write or create, just play around with some features you may have never tried before just to put yourself outside that safety box we all find ourselves in. Or...just record a cover. You can never have too many sounds that you log for when you DO feel inspired to write your own stuff. Good luck...hope this helps. :)
 
-Danny

No problem getting to my studio, as it's also my day-job office. My problem is remembering that it's my day-job office.

How do you motivate yourself to get OUT of the studio? 

Oh my brother, how true this is.  Sometimes I  have to ask myself if this is my last day, would I rather be in here or with the really important people in my life.

I get into the studio about once every 2 years Prolifically absent

All depends..... on a number of factors. 

During the school breaks...Christmas, spring and summer breaks...when my wife is home, I tend to not get in the studio much unless there is a project that needs finishing. I try to spend time with my wife during those weeks. 

It also gives a much needed break to me from the studio and music... to recharge and get some new ideas.


When I have the time to hit the studio, without the demands of the family intruding and breaking a thought or idea..... I can easily get the music flowing and actually look forward to firing up the studio and writing. 

Mod Bod: Dave.... I've heard that many of the hit writers actually analyze the newest hits for their chord progressions, use of new/different intercessor chords, groove, and several other factors to keep on top of the newest trends in the music biz.  Kinda like a surfer scouting the sea for the next big wave coming his way so he can ride it. In the music biz.... all you have to do is catch one or two of those waves to make a huge difference in your life as a writer. Needless to say, I'm still looking that wave myself..... but I don't give up. 

Yeah, the progressions are pretty much the same ones over and over.... it's the melody and the words that make all the difference in the world.  That's what they pay you for. 

I love the process of writing, and when I'm on it, I have no problem being motivated to get in the studio. 

Currently, I'm getting ready to get back in gear as everyone heads off to college or school. (empty nest in 4 weeks)

For me it isn't about motivation to get into the studio. It is much more about the level of creativity once I'm there. I'm in my studio every day, though whether or not I'm being creative is pretty arbitrary.

As others have pointed out there seems to always be something I can be doing...like learning new techniques, testing acoustic guitars and mic placement (that in itself seems to be a never ending quest - ;-) ). Occasionally it will all gel but more often than not it is perspiration and not inspiration. I'm ok with that because what I have found over the years is that five years from now I will do something completely in flow that was based on all those hours I spent leading up to that point.

So what I do is just schedule my time. If it is studio time then I am in the studio.

Regards,

+1 all: Another great thread, IMHO.  Yeah, the DAW is life for us all.  Many of your/my mixes are paintings of 'brush-stroke' performance samples; perhaps 90% is sculpt and polish.  For moi:

Fortunately, the studio travels everywhere (an HP Envy lappy, UA-4FX interface, AKG 701 cans, and a dynamic sm58 mic).  On the road the mouse presides over any MIDI controller (despite my fanatic passion for keyboard and guitar)

Unfortunately, one can't really run the UAD stuff on the road with today's USB ports.  Like Bitflipper, Studio Recordings are done mostly at the office ... between day-jobs.  (I have to bounce the UAD stuff)

But, like some of you 'honestly' allude: without inspiration, love, hope, etc. ... the whole DAW thing is dead. 

Then its time to perform publicly (for many of us) where, perchance, the muse gets fed a bit.

Man, I'm trying to work out how to get *out* of the studio.

So I take it that most of you have purpose built studio's?

Guitarhacker

musicroom


I love doing this kind of work - minus the drum portion. Usually once I record the basic idea. I need to get the drums right. Not a strong suit! I have various tools including ezdrummer (Nashville), Sonar's offerings, and also bought a large pro sound loops bundle a few years ago. But the one size fits all is limited for the type of songs I write, so I stall sometimes trying to get the sound right. Been tempted lately to try one of the online drummers offering to play real drums to my songs. Really not wanting to fork out $125 a song yet...

Summary, drums are my hold up sometimes for getting started on the finished product.

Try Jamstix.   www.rayzoon.com It does all the heavy lifting for you. I use it on some of the stuff I do these days and used to use it a bunch in the past. I also like Band in a Box drummers.  More money but pretty cool at times. 

Thanks - downloading the demo.

So I take it that most of you have purpose built studio's?

 
It was designated as a bedroom but it was designed with a studio in mind. About 18 months ago I broke down and did built in custom cabinets to handle the rackmounted gear, keyboard/midi controllers, etc. Have to admit that being 'purpose built' has been a real boon. That space is always ready to go, I no longer have to run down to the basement looking for preamps etc.
 
Regards