# How do you motivate yourself?



## roknardin (Jul 15, 2016)

Hey guys

Just wanted to know how do you motivate yourself to compose music at times when you don't feel like doing it? Do you have any specific rituals that get you in the "zone"?


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## micrologus (Jul 15, 2016)

I eat chocolate.


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## vicontrolu (Jul 15, 2016)

Money


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## Dean (Jul 15, 2016)

roknardin said:


> Hey guys
> 
> Just wanted to know how do you motivate yourself to compose music at times when you don't feel like doing it? Do you have any specific rituals that get you in the "zone"?



Its also a job like any other so you suck it up,dig deep and work it.
Im imagining an architect,store owner or taxi driver looking for the 'zone' because they dont feel like working that day.  D


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## Prockamanisc (Jul 15, 2016)

Regular schedules with strict starting times but loose end times. Do the work and the inspiration will follow.


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## SymphonicSamples (Jul 15, 2016)

Motivation is something I rarely think about, but procrastination can be  I think like most things, commit to starting the task and allow the process to take place. I also find if I stop doing music for whatever reason, mostly my day job sucking ever moment away from my passion, it slows the motion forward. I try not to stop doing something, be it writing music, creating new sounds on a synth, reading a wonderful online forum like VI Control , listening to new music, watching a film that inspire me, reading/watching things related to composers I admire... The list goes on. And as I write this reply I am simple procrastinating for a few extra moments before I try and find a resolution to a phrase that's bugging me and just not there yet !!


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## benatural (Jul 15, 2016)

Deadlines usually motivate me. The closer one gets, the more I'm motivated!

In all honesty it IS hard. I usually find that getting started is the hardest thing because, mentally, I feel exhausted and can't bring myself to start. But the moment I start, I usually can't stop. I attribute that more to personality quirks of mine than to any sort of methodology...


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## Ethos (Jul 15, 2016)

Unplug my ethernet cable.


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## doctornine (Jul 15, 2016)

Deadlines.


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## reddognoyz (Jul 15, 2016)

money, deadlines, amphetamines. kidding I never write just for the money....


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## Jimmy Hellfire (Jul 15, 2016)

I can't motivate myself at all if it doesn't _have_ to be done (meaning: money, project, deadline, etc.). Making music on the computer, with sample libraries, is just so tedious.


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## mverta (Jul 15, 2016)

I think to myself:

"This is it. This is the place; this is the line. This is the place where most people fail; give up; tap out; pack it up. Are we one of those people?
[NO!]
Are we going down like this?
[NO!]
_Are we going to dig down, pull it together, regroup and get this?_
[YES!]
_Are you with me?!_
[YES!]
_Victory or Death!_
[Victory or Death!]
*Victory or Death!*
[Victory or Death!
...
[.]
Maybe something in the key of F. I like F. I'm good in F."


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## dannymc (Jul 15, 2016)

as a hobbyist i find this quite difficult at times. in fact if i've been working on a piece for a week or two i kinda feel a bit drained at the end of it and kinda need a break from music for a bit before i start on a new project. i'm sure the motivation rises to new levels when music is your day job and if you don"t get off your ass and start working you'll be living in a cardboard box in no time. 

Danny


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## Ethos (Jul 15, 2016)

I like Copeland's philosophy, "Inspiration is for amateurs".

On days when my inspiration fails me, I must rely upon my technique. So I constantly strive to improve my technique, which may be technical skills in my DAW or MIDI programming, modal writing, part writing, orchestrating, harmonization, etc...

If I'm working on a score, have writer's block, and a deadline is looming, I can't just sit and wait for inspiration. I have to use my technique to just write what I *know* will work. Forward progress. Always think about forward progress. Just get something [on your page | in your DAW]


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## tokatila (Jul 15, 2016)

mverta said:


> I think to myself:
> 
> "This is it. This is the place; this is the line. This is the place where most people fail; give up; tap out; pack it up. Are we one of those people?
> [NO!]
> ...



That's great. Howabout those days, when you say "Naah..death it is."


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## mverta (Jul 15, 2016)

tokatila said:


> That's great. Howabout those days, when you say "Naah..death it is."



Then write your death march, to be played for weeping family over your casket. Fanfare for the Hereafter. Might get some actual life-juices flowing. Speaking of which, Dali used to masturbate for inspiration. Really, whatever works. Oh, and falling back on your training, blahblahblah Ihavemasterclassesforthat


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## dgburns (Jul 15, 2016)

mverta said:


> Then write your death march, to be played for weeping family over your casket. Fanfare for the Hereafter. Might get some actual life-juices flowing. Speaking of which, Dali used to masturbate for inspiration. Really, whatever works. Oh, and falling back on your training, blahblahblah Ihavemasterclassesforthat



Hmmm.... gonna have to try Dali's approach.Just don't wanna go blind or anything. 

MV,do you have a master class for THAT ??!! oh my heavens.


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## The Darris (Jul 15, 2016)

Whenever I really need that boost, I wake up early in the morning before the sun is up and do this, just replace the cross with my DAW:


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## jacobthestupendous (Jul 15, 2016)

Dean said:


> Im imagining an architect,store owner or taxi driver looking for the 'zone' because they dont feel like working that day.


When I'm not in the zone for tax work (basically always), I mostly waste the day on VI-Control.


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## Chris D (Jul 15, 2016)

Check to see if my girlfriend still lives with me then get back to it


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## Chris D (Jul 15, 2016)

jieff said:


> Last time I checked was in..  .. '98 !


Haha, I think I meant check she still "loves" me... Then get back to it.

But seriously - motivation can come by learning more about the libraries you own. Ive found there is always something I don't know yet, not it a bad way in an exciting way. Gets me curious.

If that fails maybe do some reading on compression or delay techniques.

If that fails maybe do some cooking.

If you are really having a bad day go for a walk with a girl!!


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## roknardin (Jul 16, 2016)

Chris D said:


> Haha, I think I meant check she still "loves" me... Then get back to it.
> 
> But seriously - motivation can come by learning more about the libraries you own. Ive found there is always something I don't know yet, not it a bad way in an exciting way. Gets me curious.
> 
> ...



Will try :D


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## gsilbers (Jul 16, 2016)

in no particular order..
get crunk. 
go to other peoples studios, concerts, arts, movie theatre.


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## AlexRuger (Jul 16, 2016)

gsilbers said:


> in no particular order..
> get crunk.
> go to other peoples studios, concerts, arts, movie theatre.


This is it for me. Hanging out with my composer buddies or other musician/artist friends, going to see some music I wouldn't necessarily check out, going to an art museum, reading, surfing. Not quite "motivation" but more just keep yourself fresh, having experiences, being a human being.

Composers (on this site especially) seem to just want to beat the drum and work the hardest and let everyone know it. Sure, great, cool, you worked hard, you hardly slept.

Are you happy?

I think the concept of "motivation" is pretty inherently flawed. You can by definition only be motivated by external factors: I'm motivated to eat because I'm hungry and don't want to starve. I'm motivated to make money because I want to sustain and/or increase my standard of living. I'm motivated to hang out with friends because I'm a human and need that. Etc. Motivation comes from a place of fear of loss, and is much better-placed in the mentality of an employee rather than someone who is self-employed (to be clear, nothing is wrong with either).

Applying motivation to your self-employed career will only get you as far as your fear of failing. If that fear is great, you'll go relatively far, but you'll be unhappy along the way, and will be setting yourself up to have a pretty huge mid-life crisis. If the fear is small, you won't get very far, but I'd say it's better than the former because you're probably a relatively secure person.

We all have that fear of failing, though--none of us can completely escape insecurity. But thinking along those lines will, ironically, only keep you from wanting to work. A great book by Steven Pressfield, "The War of Art," explores why this is, and I mostly agree with his thoughts.

To cut through the bullshit, you have to shift the motivator to one that's more basic: for food and/or money ("it's my job and needs to be done to a certain degree of quality or else I won't get food/money") or fulfillment ("I want to do it and I would do it without the money, so let's just not think about the money..." Motivation should matter here as much as it matters during sex).

Forget the "zone," let it happen when it does--you can't control it anymore than you can control the weather. When in doubt, default to the former mentality, the "it's my job" mentality. But if you find yourself not touching upon the latter mentality, "I want to do it and enjoy doing it" mentality very often, then there might be a bigger issue than so-called motivation.


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## 100khz (Aug 29, 2016)

Its important to remove all demoralizing factors. Do not sit for work when you are tired or not fresh (if possible). If you play a music instrument, if possible practice for about 2 hours before you sit for composing. Playing a real music instrument helps to get in tune with your own self and music itself, also its an exercise for both body and mind. Your computer systems should be maintained properly. You cannot afford to keep maintaining your system every now and then. Fix times for computer hardware or software cleanups, updates etc and when composing only focus on music and not anything else. Thats why keep your system absolutely ready as much as you can. Learn your software. Have separate sessions for learning any software you own.

Have something to eat, like a fruit, helps keep energy levels up. Also, if possible sit at the same time everyday and get up from work at same time if you can afford that. Your mind and body gets into a synergy and it knows this is music composing time.

Fixing the same time has profound effects in long term. Do this for 2 months and see the results.

Try to work in proper light. I know dim lighting can help set mood, but eyes get strained out. Some sun coming in is always great for long hours of work.

I take casual walks in between sometimes to think what I am doing. But while composing keep a strong focus on not making the ideas stale. Very important. Your proficiency with your DAW and hardware should allow for least time to reach what you are imagining and putting that on DAW.

I find most of us are not able to complete a great composition just because the composition has drained your own ears and mind. Take a break, listen to it after 3 days and then start working on it. Helps sometimes. Or else, before the drained state arrives, move on and put your idea on DAW whatsoever it is i.e. kill your composition many times, do not hesitate.

The trick is it compose as if you are playing a guitar, flute. Which does not drain you rather refreshes you. Find out a way to get the same effect out of computer based music production.

Rest do not worry about motivation, since most of us have been demoralized thousands of times but this obsession brings us back to desk and keyboard every day.


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## steinmann (Aug 29, 2016)

100khz said:


> (...)
> The trick is it compose as if you are playing a guitar, flute. Which does not drain you rather refreshes you. Find out a way to get the same effect out of computer based music production.
> 
> (...)



This tip is so interesting and on point. Never thought of it that way. Thanks!


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## novaburst (Aug 29, 2016)

Dont let your piece die, what i mean is get any given part you are creating for your piece get that part finished or at least get it to where it makes sense, when i do this i am all ways thrilled or motivated to build on it or move to the next part to see how all the parts fit together. this is how i keep my pieces alive


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## Lassi Tani (Aug 29, 2016)

Listening to Holst, Sibelius, Mahler, Williams, etc, gets my brains tickle so that I just have to compose.


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## ghostnote (Aug 29, 2016)

Need some motivation???


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## Udo (Aug 29, 2016)

Do the Haka (Maori war dance).


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## Prockamanisc (Aug 29, 2016)

Goals, goals, goals, goals, goals.

I don't need motivation when there's a deadline I need _everybody to leave me alone so I can think!_


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## reddognoyz (Aug 29, 2016)

deadline+$$$$=motivation


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## Rodney Money (Aug 29, 2016)

Fear of not achieving my goals before death.


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## Desire Inspires (Aug 29, 2016)

I don't motivate myself. I pay people to do that for me.


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## scottbuckley (Aug 29, 2016)

If I don't feel motivated, I just walk away. But I don't write for a living, so I have that luxury. :D


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## Desire Inspires (Aug 29, 2016)

scottbuckley said:


> If I don't feel motivated, I just walk away. But I don't write for a living, so I have that luxury. :D



That is the key! 

Having the luxury to write when you feel like writing.


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## mwarsell (Sep 3, 2016)

Motivation = not writing music for my harddisk. Often that is the only audience.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Sep 3, 2016)

It's tough, but I manage to summon the discipline to spend a few hours a day contemplating motivation.


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## Saxer (Sep 3, 2016)

Collaborations. Working with or for other people who want (and like) results is motivating for me.


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## sleepy hollow (Sep 3, 2016)

Saxer said:


> Collaborations.


We need a new thread: How do you motivate your collaborators? 

On a more serious note, collaborations and diversification in general help me quite a bit. So many things to do and see in music land, I'd rather not specialise in something, audio mastering for example, and work in that field for the rest of my life.


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## Mike Fox (Sep 11, 2016)

scottbuckley said:


> If I don't feel motivated, I just walk away. But I don't write for a living, so I have that luxury. :D


This rings true for me. I'm a probyist, so I still have some deadlines. When I force myself to write, I get the absolute worst results. It's better for me to just step back and do something completely different for a couple of days.


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## dcoscina (Sep 11, 2016)

Deadlines are one helluva motivator. For me I think the structure of having a timeline actually helps focus my creativity. Otherwise I can get too focussed on every little thing and not move ahead fast enough.


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## Kuusniemi (Sep 12, 2016)

Deadlines a great motivation.

Another one that keeps me going is the memory of working a chef in lunch restaurant and remembering how much I do not want to do that ever again. That keeps me quite motivated my push forward and keep working.


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