# Lost will to create. Anyone else?



## Ivan M. (Aug 7, 2021)

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## GNP (Aug 7, 2021)

For me, got footage, will create. No footage, it's ciggs and booze time!


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## darcvision (Aug 7, 2021)

me too, i have some spare time to compose music after work, but i feel like uninspired, like idk what am i doing, and kind of lost direction. in the end, i didn't compose music but i tried to stay productive like reading music book, re-creating someone else music, learning how to mixing etc...


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## Henu (Aug 7, 2021)

It happens, you'll get over it. Then it happens again at some point and you still get over it.

Unless on a deadline, don't force boring and bad stuff out. Do something fun (preferably non music-related stuff) instead to fill up the creative battery again and you're good to go later!


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## Stephen Limbaugh (Aug 7, 2021)

This is the path out of despondency, loathing, and other artistic gnashing of teeth. Highly, highly recommended:











The Artist's Way: 25th Anniversary Edition|eBook


"Without The Artist's Way, there would have been no Eat, Pray, Love.” —Elizabeth GilbertThe Artist’s Way is the seminal book on the subject of creativity. An international bestseller, millions of readers have found it to be an...




www.barnesandnoble.com





EDIT: did those links work now? Maybe because it was the American Amazon store? Anyway, the name of the book is _The Artist Way_ by Julia Cameron.


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## Ivan M. (Aug 7, 2021)

Stephen Limbaugh said:


> This is the path out of despondency, loathing, and other artistic gnashing of teeth. Highly, highly recommended:



there's no link


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## Dear Villain (Aug 7, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> Hi, lately I completely lost any will to create. I still have my creativity, I can compose when I sit at the keyboard, come up with melodies and stuff, but every note and every chord is boring, and it just lost it's meaning, like I've already said everything I had to say through music, and that's it.
> Anyone else?


The nice thing about music, when it isn't your profession, is that you need not force constant creativity. Take a break. A period of time away can do wonders for re-invigorating your creative spirit. Or, you may well be right that there's nothing left for you to say through music, in which case it's better to figure that out than to blindly continue going through the motions.

Wishing you well,
Dave


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## artomatic (Aug 7, 2021)

I hear ya. 'Tis but a season (I hope).


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## Wedge (Aug 7, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> Hi, lately I completely lost any will to create. I still have my creativity, I can compose when I sit at the keyboard, come up with melodies and stuff, but every note and every chord is boring, and it just lost it's meaning, like I've already said everything I had to say through music, and that's it.
> Anyone else?


Of course. I've gone back and forth between playing, writing and doing something else for thirty years. I quit all together for about ten years until my girlfriend at the time, now wife, bought me a used Schecter as a suprise gift because she felt like I should get back into it. 

If I'm not feeling it or having fun, I do something else or learn a new instrument. I've done tons of other projects that didn't involve audio. I've picked up sculpting, painting, programming, writing, wood working and gardening (I excel at none of these but I've learned a lot and had a blast doing so.) Music is a hobby and it's something I usually enjoy. But if I'm not having fun I don't see the point. I only have so much time and I enjoy a great many things. I've found your instruments will be eagerly awaiting your return when you take a break. So broaden your horizons and fuck around with something else for a bit. Maybe it will stick maybe it won't, it doesn't matter. But it's awesome when you find something new that sticks. I'm not sure what I'm going to try next time that happens, if I still lived in a cold climate and had space it would probably be quilt making because 'Fuck it! Why not?" I recommend you do something similar because well... 'Fuck it! Why not?'


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## MartinH. (Aug 7, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> there's no link


There probably was an amazon link, but if the forum detects it as embeddable and converts it like it does with youtube videos, the adblocker usually detects it as an ad to block. You can deactivate your adblocker for the forum, that should solve it. 
Or maybe the embedding feature for amazon should just be turned off. It seems to cause more harm than good. 




Ivan M. said:


> Hi, lately I completely lost any will to create. I still have my creativity, I can compose when I sit at the keyboard, come up with melodies and stuff, but every note and every chord is boring, and it just lost it's meaning, like I've already said everything I had to say through music, and that's it.
> Anyone else?


Know the feeling all too well unfortunately...


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## YaniDee (Aug 7, 2021)

We all get that way..or we can get caught up in researching, and buying new tools for the shed , and not get around to using them.
What I find helpful is to listen to some music off your beaten path, or watch tutorials of new techniques, harmony, etc..sometimes a simple new concept can rekindle creativity..


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## Arbee (Aug 7, 2021)

It's a cycle, especially if you're not depending on the income and don't have hard deadlines. When I get this way I tackle some new music theory learning or just some score analysis. The realisation that I know so little gives me hope that my best music may still be ahead of me if I keep learning and push through it.


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## CT (Aug 7, 2021)

Yes. Composing has more or less ground to a halt for me. If I had some paid projects it would be a different story, but those haven't exactly been rolling in either.

I've been spending most musical time studying scores and learning more about recording/engineering. At least it's not totally wasted time.


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## JonS (Aug 7, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> Hi, lately I completely lost any will to create. I still have my creativity, I can compose when I sit at the keyboard, come up with melodies and stuff, but every note and every chord is boring, and it just lost it's meaning, like I've already said everything I had to say through music, and that's it.
> Anyone else?


There are many ways out of this. I am not necessarily suggesting this one but: find someone you can fall madly in love with and when the relationship explodes I am sure you will have plenty to be inspired by to get your creative juices flowing.


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## CT (Aug 7, 2021)

JonS said:


> There are many ways out of this. I am not necessarily suggesting this one but: find someone you can fall madly in love with and when the relationship explodes I am sure you will have plenty to be inspired by to get your creative juices flowing.


Problem with that is, if things slow down again, they take it a little personally....


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## YaniDee (Aug 7, 2021)

JonS said:


> when the relationship explodes I am sure you will have plenty to be inspired by to get your creative juices flowing.


If other juices don't take up all your time..Just joking, I guess most of us here aren't teenagers anymore..


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## JonS (Aug 7, 2021)

YaniDee said:


> If other juices don't take up all your time..Just joking, I guess most of us here aren't teenagers anymore..


I am a dinosaur relic I am so old...I am surprised I am still alive.


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## YaniDee (Aug 7, 2021)

JonS said:


> I am a dinosaur relic I am so old...I am surprised I am still alive.


Hang in there...In 10 years you'll call people your current age "kids".


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## JonS (Aug 8, 2021)

so true lol


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## Henu (Aug 8, 2021)

JonS said:


> find someone you can fall madly in love with


....and then get kids and spend most of your free time outside the studio. You'll be screaming and begging for the possibility to work on your creative ideas in no time!


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## YaniDee (Aug 8, 2021)

I don't know if you have it, but I strongly suggest you try Scaler..It can provide instant inspiration and starting points for further development.


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## mybadmemory (Aug 8, 2021)

Generally I don’t really believe in inspiration but in persistence. If creativity is your profession I believe in showing up every day and do the hours regardless of what comes out.

If it’s a hobby it sure gets difficult with age. When you’re younger you simply have more time. When you’re a working adult you have so many other things that has to get done before that having any energy left for hobbies after that is hard.

Still not sure if I would call that lack of inspiration though. More lack of time and energy to put the nessecary hours of absolutely no output in, until you actually get some output.


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## Ivan M. (Aug 8, 2021)

mybadmemory said:


> Generally I don’t really believe in inspiration but in persistence. If creativity is your profession I believe in showing up every day and do the hours regardless of what comes out.
> 
> If it’s a hobby it sure gets difficult with age. When you’re younger you simply have more time. When you’re a working adult you have so many other things that has to get done before that having any energy left for hobbies after that is hard.
> 
> Still not sure if I would call that lack of inspiration though. More lack of time and energy to put the nessecary hours of absolutely no output in, until you actually get some output.


I think I do have some inspiration, persistence and time. However, feels like I lost the meaning and the joy of it. Like, I could only create if someone payed me to, otherwise I just don't feel like it, and stopped nurturing my talent

edit: I don't live off music


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## MauroPantin (Aug 8, 2021)

Go out and do something else. I know this could prove difficult during a pandemic but that's the ticket IMO. There's a difference between creative joy and craft. You can create melodies and work out compositions because you have done it before, it's craft. WANTING to do it and feeling excited for it, well... that's a whole different thing. 

However you can do it, go and get inspired with something new. Go skydiving. Take a tour of a museum. Or a rock climbing class or scuba diving. Listen to punk rock at max volume. Learn salsa dancing. Step away from music for a sec and have some experiences and then come back. 

Also worth point out that you're not alone. Many people are where you are. The reason so many are feeling this way is because the pandemic has severely limited the ability of people to have new experiences out in the world. Everybody has retreated to their quarters and comfort zones. Even something as simple as going out for dinner with friends is impossible at this time in some parts of the world. So don't beat yourself up over it. This crap's almost over.


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## quickbrownf0x (Aug 8, 2021)

Tom Holkenborg tells me good coffee and pasta are the key. Add that extra egg if you're feeling adventurous 

Maybe switching to a different mode might work too - maybe use a storytelling approach as your framework and apply some (made-up) restrictions, rules to your work to help give it structure and spark new ideas? And even if they're not that new or original; who cares?

This always works for me. If not- pasta is your friend.


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## MartinH. (Aug 8, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> Like, I could only create if someone payed me to, otherwise I just don't feel like it, and stopped nurturing my talent


Sounds like you lost your "intrinsic motivation". What drove you to compose in the past? What changed?

I'm in a similar situation, though not with music, and it more or less lasts for about a decade now. I recently started wondering if there is an inherent lack of "fiero" moments in creative processes - the small clearly defined victories that you can get from many other things that have more clearly defined "successes". With creative work all the lines are blurred. When you build a chair there is a more clearly defined point when that chair is "done", than there is with a piece of music or a painting. Or with programming it either works as intended or it doesn't, it's working faster or it doesn't. Much easier for me to feel accomplished with those things than when I'm doing something creative.


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## SupremeFist (Aug 8, 2021)

In my day-career of doing something else reasonably creative, I have certainly found it true that writer's block is an affliction suffered only by people who don't have looming deadlines. Perhaps this is true in music as well.

Speaking about music in particular, one thing I have found useful is simply deciding to write something — anything — in a different key each day, until I have 24 pieces. Worked for Bach.


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## Toecutter (Aug 8, 2021)

I wise man once told me to never rely on inspiration but on technique. Proper technique and control (might be formal education or your own bag of tricks) will give you endless material and won't care if you are uninspired, demotivated, depressed, sick, high af, or any combination of the above XD Will the music be good? Who cares... listen to some less inspired scores by Goldsmith, there are plenty of them where you can tell he wasn't "in the mood" (I remember an old interview where he talks about it, I can't find a copy online) he still managed to put out something with sparks of genius and get the job done. Ask Verta, he's a big advocate of this.


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## Smikes77 (Aug 8, 2021)

Jump into a different style. I mean, a completely different style to what you're used to.

You do orchestral music? Write some hard rock.
You do Trance music? Write a fugue.
You do a bit of all mainstream styles? Write Greek dance music with a funk guitar in 7/8.

Diversify, for 2 weeks. Bury your head in it. Post the music back here. I would certainly be very interested in what you come up with. You can only go into the woods half way before you start coming out the other side.


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## SupremeFist (Aug 8, 2021)

Toecutter said:


> I wise man once told me to never rely on inspiration but on technique. Proper technique and control (might be formal education or your own bag of tricks) will give you endless material and won't care if you are uninspired, demotivated, depressed, sick, high af, or any combination of the above XD Will the music be good? Who cares... listen to some less inspired scores by Goldsmith, there are plenty of them where you can tell he wasn't "in the mood" (I remember an old interview where he talks about it, I can't find a copy online) he still managed to put out something with sparks of genius and get the job done. Ask Verta, he's a big advocate of this.


One of my favourite novelists, Haruki Murakami, talks somewhere about how he doesn't "wait for inspiration": he simply turns up each day and places his fingers over the keyboard, ready to type. Some days he writes nothing. That's ok.


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## CT (Aug 8, 2021)

You know what? A not-insignificant problem for me has been this forum, this thread has funnily enough made me realize. 

I don't nearly buy with the hair trigger that many here seem to, but even so, I am constantly second-guessing anything and everything I use based on discussions and examples on here (and elsewhere to be fair), and often come away feeling like the entire VI thing is completely futile, which in turn shuts down most of my urge to write anything, if it's just going to live on paper or in a crummy, insufficient virtual rendition. I got more of my own music done before going down this obsessive path, and I felt more confidence in what I did "professionally" too. I'd like to return to that. Not empty handed, of course, since I've learned a lot and pushed myself to get better thanks to this place... but, all things in moderation.

That, coupled with the occasional toxic personality that drifts through here and my inability to avoid getting into pointless spats with them, leads me to think I'd be better served just giving it up. So... good luck to most of you, with music and otherwise. It's been a blast, and maybe I'll see you around. <3


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## SupremeFist (Aug 8, 2021)

Mike T said:


> You know what? A not-insignificant problem for me has been this forum, this thread has funnily enough made me realize.
> 
> I don't nearly buy with the hair trigger that many here seem to, but even so, I am constantly second-guessing anything and everything I use based on discussions and examples on here (and elsewhere to be fair), and often come away feeling like the entire VI thing is completely futile, which in turn shuts down most of my urge to write anything, if it's just going to live on paper or in a crummy, insufficient virtual rendition. I got more of my own music done before going down this obsessive path, and I felt more confidence in what I did "professionally" too. I'd like to return to that. Not empty handed, of course, since I've learned a lot and pushed myself to get better thanks to this place... but, all things in moderation.
> 
> That, coupled with the occasional toxic personality that drifts through here and my inability to avoid getting into pointless spats with them, leads me to think I'd be better served just giving it up. So... good luck to most of you, with music and otherwise. It's been a blast, and maybe I'll see you around. <3


Don't go! You're one of the good guys, for me at least.


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## Vik (Aug 8, 2021)

SupremeFist said:


> Some days he writes nothing. That's ok.


Most people don't write music at all. That's totally OK too.


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## MartinH. (Aug 8, 2021)

Toecutter said:


> I wise man once told me to never rely on inspiration but on technique. Proper technique and control (might be formal education or your own bag of tricks) will give you endless material and won't care if you are uninspired, demotivated, depressed, sick, high af, or any combination of the above XD Will the music be good? Who cares... listen to some less inspired scores by Goldsmith, there are plenty of them where you can tell he wasn't "in the mood" (I remember an old interview where he talks about it, I can't find a copy online) he still managed to put out something with sparks of genius and get the job done. Ask Verta, he's a big advocate of this.


Forcing work to happen is an entirely different thing than being intrinsically motivated to create. OP was pretty clear about being able to crank out work _if needed_. The point was about not _wanting_ to do it. I think this is the harder problem to solve.




Mike T said:


> That, coupled with the occasional toxic personality that drifts through here and my inability to avoid getting into pointless spats with them, leads me to think I'd be better served just giving it up. So... good luck to most of you, with music and otherwise. It's been a blast, and maybe I'll see you around. <3


Having been away from here for a while recently I can confirm: life without vi:c is possible! I encourage you to give it a try and see if helps with your writing. It was great to have you hear, best of luck to you and take care! <3


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## MauroPantin (Aug 8, 2021)

Regarding @Toecutter and @SupremeFist 's advice, there are couple of great books by Steven Pressfield that cover that exact subject matter. One is "The War of Art" and the other one is "Do The Work". Highly useful stuff for those down moments when you feel dissatisfied with the results of your writing or are hoping the muse will inspire you out of nowhere.

In that same vein, Neil Gaiman says in his masterclass that version 1 of whatever you write doesn't matter, cuz that's only the first sketch and you are going to rewrite the entire thing. It's the best way to beat writers block, IMO. 

Having said all that, I'm not sure that was the problem Ivan described. What I am understanding here is that he CAN write at will, if there is some incentive (money or whatever). There just isn't any personal interest in doing so right now because he's been getting no joy from the task. That's a more difficult problem to tackle. 

The first thing, IMO, is to disregard the idea that one should feel one way or another about something, that creates immense guilt. I am of the belief that if you go against the grain of your heart and ignore your feelings long enough you end up in a worse place. One should never think that one should "feel" a certain way about anything, but rather question why those feelings are there and try to work with that instead of just following the classic "Just ignore it and grind it out" advice. 

If you don't want to write music and do not HAVE to do it because of some pecuniary commitment, then that's actually fantastic because you get to step back and renew your love with music. Or not. People change and not being into music anymore is valid and worth exploring, too.


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## bvaughn0402 (Aug 8, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> Hi, lately I completely lost any will to create. I still have my creativity, I can compose when I sit at the keyboard, come up with melodies and stuff, but every note and every chord is boring, and it just lost it's meaning, like I've already said everything I had to say through music, and that's it.
> Anyone else?


When you lose your why, you lose your way ...

As others said, maybe you should take a break. I think music can be a "toothache of the heart" ... if you put it away, it will come back. If it doesn't, just move on!

I have found that when I start focusing on certain things that doesn't resonate with me, it can drain all enthusiasm. 

I got into trying to push into sync for the last year. I found myself like you. It dawned on me that I was spending all my time trying to please ONE person instead of writing music that pleased myself.

Somewhere in your past, there was a reason you loved doing this. You've got to reconnect with that.

Or ... maybe if you felt you have said everything, it is time to change it up. Maybe get into vocal writing instead. Try country music. Or hip hop. Join a band. Learn to play a new instrument. Etc ...


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## Toecutter (Aug 8, 2021)

MartinH. said:


> Forcing work to happen is an entirely different thing than being intrinsically motivated to create. OP was pretty clear about being able to crank out work _if needed_. The point was about not _wanting_ to do it. I think this is the harder problem to solve.


I understood OP's struggles but for me it's the same principle and how I deal with it, just pointing out that technique and work ethics (even outside work) is a great way to fight any lack of motivation. Not saying it's the same for everyone else, just sharing my 2c. Don't you think I have off-days and the thought of doing any music makes me want to throw up? Like literally sick to my stomach, physical pain. I much rather be with my kid. The same way I have to eat, exercise and sleep, I just drag myself to the chair and let stuff flow. One note at a time, one bar, two bars... then the next day and the next and the next, until I start "feeling it" again. You might ask why don't you do something else with your life if music makes you feel so miserable? 1- it doesn't, those are bad days-seasons that pass and I'm sure OP will overcome it too. 2- I made a choice early in life and can't go back, I have a little guy who counts on me, so I just brute force myself through hell and rely on any tools I have at my disposal to keep writing music and always stay sharp, no matter what. Thankfully I like writing music most of the time so it's not all a living hell XD Connecting with people helps a lot! People can be remarkably inspiring, I'm very lucky to be surrounded by amazing humans, this sure is something that can boost your creative energy.

Again, my personal experience, how I deal with it but it's alright to say fuck it too (if you can) without feeling any guilts. Mauro nailed it!


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## Ivan M. (Aug 9, 2021)

The thing is, it lost its meaning for me. Whatever I make it just goes into the void, it might have compositional, technical or emotional value to me, but it has no value outside of me, no social value. 

Let me try to illustrate. I also have some interest in drawing and painting. So I drew my mother, and she was very happy, and the drawing is now on the wall, and she shows it to everyone. It has value. Or a colleague asked me to paint his son, which I did, and he took the painting, so it has some value to someone. 

Or some of my relatives like some of folk music of mine, even sent me videos of dancing to it, which makes me happy and the effort worthwhile. This seems like an answer to myself, but I just can't create that type of music anymore. Should probably try to get back to it at some point.

Or (something I didn't do) imagine creating a small composition for someone to practice while learning an instrument. I've made a small choral composition for the church, and gave it to someone relevant to pass it on, but don't know what happened to it.

So, you know, what are we doing really? I create something, I'm really happy about it, have a need to share it, not just for validation, but also because I'm really, really happy about it. And then what? Maybe, maybe get some reaction and that's it. Even if you get a big reaction, doesn't matter. It just goes into the void. 

So I'm just wondering: why should I even do this?


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## youngpokie (Aug 9, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> And then what?


This is a question that can be asked of most things in life. And _if _the biggest reason for doing them is external validation then they will probably be answered the same way you answered it.

I think the real issue here is insecurity and low self-esteem. Music was potentially the ticket to fix that, but while it may have emotional, compositional or technical value to you, other people do not seem to consider that and do not think any better of you. Hence the question: why even bother...

You probably got into music because creating it felt really good. But now you're just using it in the way most insecure people twist and torture everything they enjoy - as yet another proof of their low worth. This is an automatic habit, a reflex, and anything you genuinely like doing will get caught in it and you _will_ use it against yourself.

My suggestion would be to work on that instead; meanwhile - keep doing things you like doing, just for the pleasure of it.


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## Ivan M. (Aug 9, 2021)

youngpokie said:


> This is a question that can be asked of most things in life. And _if _the biggest reason for doing them is external validation then they will probably be answered the same way you answered it.
> 
> I think the real issue here is insecurity and low self-esteem. Music was potentially the ticket to fix that, but while it may have emotional, compositional or technical value to you, other people do not seem to consider that and do not think any better of you. Hence the question: why even bother...
> 
> ...


It's not simply a matter of validation, not a one way street, me and me, but a question of whether you provide something of value to people around you. Regardless of whether you're insecure or not, if you do things for yourself only, it loses meaning.


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## youngpokie (Aug 9, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> It's not simply a matter of validation, not a one way street, me and me, but a question of whether you provide something of value to people around you.


A child responds to music physiologically and emotionally just because it feels good. It's a one way street, and an emotional state that's completely pure and not yet contaminated by anything. 

But if that child grows up into an insecure adult, he will use literally everything to prove to himself, over and over, that he's not worthy enough - and constantly torturing himself for not "providing value to other people" is a near perfect example. 



Ivan M. said:


> Regardless of whether you're insecure or not, if you do things for yourself only, it loses meaning.


I think the opposite is the case. All great music started out as something very personal, full of meaning for the composer first, a way to pour his heart and soul into sound - even work for hire. Music explicitly written "for others" is by definition commercial, calculated and impersonal.


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## EgM (Aug 9, 2021)

I used to feel like this all the time and thought something was wrong with me, until I realized that I simply got bored of composing hundreds of originals just for fun.

Applies to anything really, if you have a goal it's easy to be productive


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## Martin S (Aug 9, 2021)

Making music/art is as much about the process, as the end result; and what that process is doing to you and how you feel when doing it. Great joy can be had during that process, and to me it’s equally (or more) important than the final result in most cases. But then again, I have the privilege of only making music for myself and entirely for my own pleasure, with no deadlines or commissioned music whatsoever.


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## SupremeFist (Aug 9, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> It's not simply a matter of validation, not a one way street, me and me, but a question of whether you provide something of value to people around you. Regardless of whether you're insecure or not, if you do things for yourself only, it loses meaning.


Have you considered simply releasing your music to the world via a digital distributor?


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## MartinH. (Aug 10, 2021)

youngpokie said:


> But if that child grows up into an insecure adult, he will use literally everything to prove to himself, over and over, that he's not worthy enough - and constantly torturing himself for not "providing value to other people" is a near perfect example.


What's the solution to getting out of that?






Ivan M. said:


> Regardless of whether you're insecure or not, if you do things for yourself only, it loses meaning.


I can understand the feeling, but I don't think it neccessarily has to be that way. You may be at a point of skill development though, where you no longer get out of composing what you used to get out of it. 
If the psychological needs that originally motivated you are still there, and composing no longer meets those needs, maybe it is time to try something else. Learning something entirely new can be very rewarding.




Ivan M. said:


> So, you know, what are we doing really? I create something, I'm really happy about it, have a need to share it, not just for validation, but also because I'm really, really happy about it. And then what? Maybe, maybe get some reaction and that's it. Even if you get a big reaction, doesn't matter. It just goes into the void.
> 
> So I'm just wondering: why should I even do this?


Once again, super relatable for me. I normally don't publicly share things that I privately make anymore. But on the other hand I still have this desire to create something personal in my lifetime that will not dissolve into obscurity immediately, because it is meaningful enough for a big enough number of people to be carried on for a while. As if that would justify my existence or something...
Somehow freelance work just doesn't scratch that itch at all for me.





Toecutter said:


> You might ask why don't you do something else with your life if music makes you feel so miserable? 1- it doesn't, those are bad days-seasons that pass and I'm sure OP will overcome it too. 2- I made a choice early in life and can't go back, I have a little guy who counts on me, so I just brute force myself through hell and rely on any tools I have at my disposal to keep writing music and always stay sharp, no matter what. Thankfully I like writing music most of the time so it's not all a living hell XD Connecting with people helps a lot! People can be remarkably inspiring, I'm very lucky to be surrounded by amazing humans, this sure is something that can boost your creative energy.


Thank you for sharing this! I'm sorry to hear you're struggling with this sometimes, but it is at the same time reassuring that these struggles are maybe not as rare as the glamorous facade of curated social media feeds may make it seem. I can relate all to well to dreading creative work that way. Only for me this has become the majority of work, not just an occasional event. I can't say for sure anything could have prevented this, but at least anecdotally and in hindsight, powering through was not an ideal solution for that problem for me personally. I'm just feeling more burnt out year after year.


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## dcoscina (Aug 10, 2021)

I’m going through a bit of a dry spell these days as well. So I’m just listening to music I respect and enjoy- and analyze it to learn some more.


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## dhmusic (Aug 10, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> So I'm just wondering: why should I even do this?


When all else fails I oft resort 
to an existential question of a different sort:

"Hey asshole! u think ur better than me or what?"


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## mscp (Aug 10, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> Hi, lately I completely lost any will to create. I still have my creativity, I can compose when I sit at the keyboard, come up with melodies and stuff, but every note and every chord is boring, and it just lost it's meaning, like I've already said everything I had to say through music, and that's it.
> Anyone else?


Take a break, buy a nintendo switch, etc...
Go back to music once you're a bit fed up of your mini vacation...

What you may be experiencing could be a simple case of fatigue/exhaustion.


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## PuerAzaelis (Aug 10, 2021)

There will always be those who are greater and lesser.

I am in a pause right now myself I am wondering what I am going to do next. What genre?


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## PeterN (Aug 11, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> Hi, lately I completely lost any will to create. I still have my creativity, I can compose when I sit at the keyboard, come up with melodies and stuff, but every note and every chord is boring, and it just lost it's meaning, like I've already said everything I had to say through music, and that's it.
> Anyone else?



Its a good sign.

This should happen...and, to people who compose music, as a language, of creativity, sort of, and it wont probably happen - at least not as much - to people who flip up cues and chord progressions and so on. Like flipping a sandwich.

Let it rest, the language will come out one day. Its a good sign.

You could enhance it by accumulating some experience. Then talk it out on piano. If its even necessary.


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## TomislavEP (Aug 11, 2021)

I'm making ends meet through music for many years now, mostly as a gigging and studio musician. I'm yet to start capitalizing my work as a composer and producer more seriously. For a long time, I had a similar problem as the topic starter, then I've suddenly entered the "opposite mode". In the past four and so years, I've accumulated enough material for more than ten albums of original instrumental music. However, I'm still suffering from writer's block (like now) as well as from inertia from time to time.

Each person is different and so are their circumstances, but I've discovered this about myself in the process:

1) Forcing it most often does not work for me

Fortunately, I'm still not dependant on strict deadlines for the time being.

2) Distraction is the key

Typically, I get new ideas while I'm occupied by some other activities that please me, like reading, watching movies, practicing instruments, photography, gardening, fitness, etc.)

3) Avoid comparing myself to others

Whenever I read about somebody else's path and experiences, especially those who have so much more advantages that I wasn't fortunate to have, I tend to get depressed, rather than vice versa. So I avoid doing so.

4) Back to the roots (the big picture)

Although I'm always hoping for a possibility of turning my hard work and dedication into something concrete, the sheer joys of creativity are what matters the most at the end of the day.

5) Learning new skills always help

Whenever I'm having a bad period, I should take the advantage of this by expanding my knowledge in the process. Need to print this one and hang it in my studio...

6) Don't feel too bad about being stuck in a rut

If there are some styles of music that you enjoy creating more than some others, don't be afraid to stick with it as long as you can afford to. Particularly if you are not forced otherwise by circumstances.

7) Make peace with what you have

"Take what you have, however little, and do your best with it" (I've heard this one in a movie) 

8) Never stop enjoying doing what you do despite all uncertainties and difficulties that come along.

Anyway, these are strictly from my point of view. I hope this might be of some help to someone.


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## youngpokie (Aug 11, 2021)

MartinH. said:


> What's the solution to getting out of that?


The solution is to make a conscious decision to remove music-making from the long list of things we use to punish ourselves. It's a thoughtful, deliberate and fully considered act of reserving music-making for "me and me alone" and liberating it from pressure and judgement. It feels a bit like allowing, permitting something for oneself that was long forbidden - both freeing and significant. 

I think the most important change that happens as a result of this is a mindset shift. The default attitude was "OK, what's wrong here", always starting from the negative, but it is now replaced with something like awe and curiosity, for lack of a more precise term. Speaking from experience, this "awe and curiosity" makes learning easy, composing enjoyable and the overall experience a lot more happy.


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## Ivan M. (Aug 11, 2021)

I don't agree with such popular psychology that tells an individual to be self sufficient and sort himself out detached from the society and the world. That's impossible. We develop ourselves in our immediate society. We are biologically wired to depend, develop and heal within the society.

In the context of music, and especially what we do here, it means nothing without other people. If you want to know where you're at with your craft, you have to share it, and ask for feedback and validation. It is not infantile or insecure, it is necessary. Otherwise you know nothing about your music.

What we do here is not an occasional guitar play for oneself to feel better. Composing, producing, mixing are a craft, that we invest large amount of time and energy into.


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## Martin S (Aug 11, 2021)

Not impossible..It depends on each individual; some feel a strong relation with the herd, others not so much. I can only speak for myself, but the amount of freedom and joy I’ve encountered after getting rid of most of the shackles of ‘belonging to society’ (in lack of better words) is incredible. The weight of ‘other people’s expectations’ and the ensuing paralysis was so crippling, I simply decided to just let it go, as I learned that I don’t really need to be ‘confirmed’ by the people around me. I know this sounds rather misanthropic, but I assure you it’s nothing like that; on the contrary. But most of all, I rediscovered my love of music, which had been absent for many years.


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## Ivan M. (Aug 11, 2021)

Martin S said:


> Not impossible..It depends on each individual; some feel a strong relation with the herd, others not so much. I can only speak for myself, but the amount of freedom and joy I’ve encountered after getting rid of most of the shackles of ‘belonging to society’ (in lack of better words) is incredible. The weight of ‘other people’s expectations’ and the ensuing paralysis was so crippling, I simply decided to just let it go, as I learned that I don’t really need to be ‘confirmed’ by the people around me. I know this sounds rather misanthropic, but I assure you it’s nothing like that; on the contrary. But most of all, I rediscovered my love of music, which had been absent for many years.


Everything in moderation, of course.


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## youngpokie (Aug 11, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> I don't agree with such popular psychology that tells an individual to be self sufficient and sort himself out detached from the society and the world.


I don't believe that either and that's certainly not the point I'm trying to get across. 



Ivan M. said:


> If you want to know where you're at with your craft, you have to share it, and ask for feedback and validation. It is not infantile or insecure, it is necessary. Otherwise you know nothing about your music.


Craft is technique, learned over time. It's not the meaning of music, nor is it the reason to make music - and certainly not a validation of anyone as a person. 

When we ask for and receive feedback, we always choose to either see it for what it is, a commentary on where we are in the mastery of some type of technique, - or a judgement of our worthiness via some ephemeral "value" that it does or doesn't deliver. This justification of using it for self-punishment is what I'm pointing out as the underlying problem behind "loss of will".

The irony, of course, is that very often (perhaps most of the time) the listeners even on this forum are not able to provide the feedback we're looking for, because it's too technical, takes time few have - or it has to do with technique they haven't mastered yet. This is especially hard for feedback on compositional technique. 

But when you accept that you make music for yourself first, for the joy and fun of it, then it becomes a lot easier to see and navigate the difference between the meaning of your music and your technical proficiency; and it's a lot easier to learn things when learning is fun rather than a burden that you know you will eventually hang like a ton of bricks over your own neck.


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## Ivan M. (Aug 11, 2021)

youngpokie said:


> But when you accept that you make music for yourself first, for the joy and fun of it, then it becomes a lot easier to see and navigate the difference between the meaning of your music and your technical proficiency


It's not simply joy and fun. It is in the beginning, but you grow out of the beginner stage. I doubt you can find meaning in joy and fun alone. We are responsible for our talents.


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## LamaRose (Aug 11, 2021)

Take the focus off of music... let it be an adjunct to something larger. Find something you're passionate about... family, nature, sports, etc... shoot a short video with your phone and embellish with your music. It's the same process of someone asking you to write something for them... context is more important than chords.


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## Flintpope (Aug 11, 2021)

Ivan M. said:


> Hi, lately I completely lost any will to create. I still have my creativity, I can compose when I sit at the keyboard, come up with melodies and stuff, but every note and every chord is boring, and it just lost it's meaning, like I've already said everything I had to say through music, and that's it.
> Anyone else?


Is this a covid/lockdown issue? I have felt similarly recently, though find if I just improv outside of a DAW, or flip between DAWS (ok I just got a free licence for Bitwig, pay for Ableton, and Garageband is standard on these Mac things) I can get some freedom back into my music. 

I find that that count-in, that click, that quantise gets me down.

Now I never play to a click, never use a drum track, never quantise. Just improv the first track, then time everything else to it by tapping my foot. I admit to moving or deleting bum notes later. A trick to prevent the urge to quantise is to set the tempo to 999 then you are almost recording onto digital tape.

I try not to watch the music recording and try to listen to it instead, though I admit to often editing note patterns in relation to visual cues. I think the maths of notes can work as a visual as much as an aural structure. Ok, this seems to be at odds with what I just said.

Reaktor of course has an inbuilt recorder which is brilliant for letting loose into. No multitrack but that's the fun. It is as instant as the old tape machine I used years ago. Of course the saved wav drops into a DAW like chocolate!


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## Jimmy Hellfire (Aug 11, 2021)

It's not natural to constantly be creative. Just relax. I'd kill myself if I had to write music all the time. I got other stuff in my life that's just as important. It all feeds off of each other.

Unless you're a "working musician". In that case ... well, should've learned a proper profession


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## Thomas Kallweit (Aug 11, 2021)

Creating is fine, when you are on a run and everything's flowing.
This is absolutely something to enjoy.
But this cannot work all the time, I guess.
And there's no necessity to create when inspiration is not available.

For myself I created lots of music - good and bad - and actually being in the state of curating all the good stuff (seeming to be worth to do it) which was made in some past and did not go out.
So why not curate instead of creating, when there is probably stuff you did, which was great? Just my way right now.
All that sample stuff is amazing and overwhelming, it caused me to slow down though at times.
Therefore curating / remastering / compiling is a way here to go forward.
Creating will/can return.


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## MartinH. (Aug 11, 2021)

ka00 said:


> I'm not a religious person, but strolling through the galleries of Europe, you really get the sense that "glorifying God" or something along those lines was a major driving force in art for centuries. I wonder if there is a secular equivalent to that, that is outside one's self and one's social standing that could hold that same power to push people to devote their lives to music.


Maybe it's my cynicism speaking, but I believe that higher power is called "money". The church has always had relatively large amounts of wealth, and they were hiring artists back then too to "glorify god". The abundance of resources to even have the free time and money to seriously compose as a hobby is a relatively new development in history. So I would not be surprised if there is more faith-inspired art without monetary incentives made today than there has ever been in the past.





Ivan M. said:


> I don't agree with such popular psychology that tells an individual to be self sufficient and sort himself out detached from the society and the world. That's impossible. We develop ourselves in our immediate society. We are biologically wired to depend, develop and heal within the society.


I don't remember where I heard it, but there apparently are pretty big cultural differences between western and eastern cultures for how important individualism and freedom of choice is, compared to the greater good and relations to other people.




youngpokie said:


> The solution is to make a conscious decision to remove music-making from the long list of things we use to punish ourselves. It's a thoughtful, deliberate and fully considered act of reserving music-making for "me and me alone" and liberating it from pressure and judgement. It feels a bit like allowing, permitting something for oneself that was long forbidden - both freeing and significant.


Thank you for the explanation! I think you are right, but it is hard to put into action. It reminds me of things that one of my favorite art youtubers keeps talking about: 






youngpokie said:


> The default attitude was "OK, what's wrong here", always starting from the negative, but it is now replaced with something like awe and curiosity, for lack of a more precise term.


This "Ok, what's wrong here" is literally how I learned my craft and it's deeply ingrained into my thinking. I'm not sure how fast something like that can be unlearned when it's such a well trodden path.


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