# Advice please! - Strategy for actually getting tracks finished?



## guitarman1960 (Jun 22, 2014)

Hi guys, apologies if this is a really dumb question, but it's probably a common problem many of you come across.

I am working on creating a set of trailer type tracks which I would eventually like to submit to libraries, but a stumbling block I always seem to have is that I never seem able to actually get a track totally finished and then put it aside and finish another one. 

What keeps happening is that the track starts mutating into something else and then before I realise it I'm actually developing yet another track idea. So I've ended up with literally over a hundred unfinished ideas and intros, themes etc.

What's the best strategy and work process needed to actually get these into finished tracks and stop them keep mutating into yet more unfinished ideas?

Any advice at all much appreciated, thanks!


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## Lex (Jun 22, 2014)

Try to set some sort of boundaries for what you are trying to achieve. 

- Decide on number of tracks you want to finish. If you want to finish 5 and you already have 5 tracks worth working on started, don't start new ones.

- Start learning to be more critical about what you output. If you are very talented most of what you output will sound good but that doesn't mean that it is the "right" type of good. Focus on what are you trying to write for. Different things need different music.

- If you are aiming to approach trailer music libraries don't do too much material. Two good tracks will open the door and make you some money, 15 tracks "that show your potential" will lead you nowhere.

- Don't let it mutate out of control. If I'm writing a trailer track and at 1:00 I start turning it in to a complex Part-esque string piece I have only 2 choices: 1. I delete the part and focus on a fact that it needs to work in trailers, 2. Forget that I wanted it to be a trailer track and simply continue writing music letting it go where it wants to go.

best,

alex


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## guitarman1960 (Jun 22, 2014)

Thanks Alex, much appreciated.
I've been listening to your Subversion tracks and they sound amazing!
I think I also need to figure out how to structure my tracks so that I wring out every bit of excitement from one riff or theme idea, rather than introducing too many things into one track.

Thanks again,
Dave


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## Lex (Jun 22, 2014)

guitarman1960 @ Sun Jun 22 said:


> Thanks Alex, much appreciated.
> I've been listening to your Subversion tracks and they sound amazing!
> I think I also need to figure out how to structure my tracks so that I wring out every bit of excitement from one riff or theme idea, rather than introducing too many things into one track.
> 
> ...



Thanks Dave, glad you like it. Structure is really the only tricky part in music for trailers, considering how every other aspect is simple and minimal. Good starting point is to be aware of precise build up times.

- Intro ends at 0:30
- Full part kicks in at around 1:00
- The final "back end" goes in last 30 sec.

Most trailers follow this cutting dynamics roughly. Even when it's something as gorgeous and fluid as Marianelli in latest Interstellar trailer it still follows this pattern.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSWdZVtXT7E

0-30 - lower mixed intro build, at 30 it starts the theme, at 1:00 you have a first low kick and obvious change in intensity and lastly the "back end" build or finale goes from 1:37 to 2:07...30sec on the dot..

This is of course only for theatricals, TV spots are a whole different story.


alex


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## Peter M. (Jun 22, 2014)

Well, don't let your ADD get the best of you. Set a goal you want to reach, say make the piece 2 minutes long and work towards that. And yeah, don't get stuck in the endless play/listening loop of the already done part of it. 
Lastly, think of the money! :D


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## EastWest Lurker (Jun 22, 2014)

Pretend you are on a deadline and when you reach that deadline you have to submit it, in whatever state it is in.

Revisit it later as if you have been asked by the client for specific revisions.


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## mscottweber (Jun 22, 2014)

While in college a friend of mine (who is also a composer/songwriter) and I challenged each other to each write and record an entire full length album of music in one week. It was so much fun that we started doing it bi-annually and we invited all of our musician friends to join in. We called the events Record Time. 

Needless to say, the music wasn't very good, ESPECIALLY the first couple of times we did it. But we definitely got a lot of practice in finishing things. 

I agree with Jay, try to self-impose a deadline on yourself. You can always go back and revise the tracks later.


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## guitarman1960 (Jun 23, 2014)

Thanks guys!

I think the deadline idea is a good one, so will try that, and yes I need to set some parameters and stick to them! I'm sure that will help.

Thanks Alex for the structure info, that's great!


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## gsilbers (Jun 23, 2014)

this might sound obvious, but just finish a track. 
no matter if you do not like it or half way doesnt sound too good. just finish it. 
i have the same issue. 
i do a lot of save as. which keep me from getting stuck in one track. so i get several unfnished, so i try to finish whatever i have. no matter if i dont like it. if it has a good structure and all the appiotpiate elements and its mixed good, its another track you have and another track you are learning from. which elements you can use on other tracks.


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## guitarman1960 (Jun 23, 2014)

I'm always reaching for the 'save as' and that probably just compounds the problem and gives me endless 'versions' with different ideas, so maybe I need to ban myself from using 'save as' for a while! :D


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## gsilbers (Jun 23, 2014)

ha! so true/ 
nah.do save as... but come back to the main project and finish it. no matter how bad it is. finishing projects help you learn for the next one. mixing wise, masteringwise, compositionwise, etc. 
forces you to work at it, like if someone was paying you =) 
and also all the learning that goes with that.


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## Kralc (Jun 23, 2014)

Could you try writing the entire piece in one sitting? Just use a piano patch, and get one cohesive idea out in full, then continue to develop and arrange it.


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## rgames (Jun 23, 2014)

How do you get non-musical tasks completed?'

Do that.


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## RiffWraith (Jun 23, 2014)

rgames @ Tue Jun 24 said:


> How do you get non-musical tasks completed?'



Ghost writer :lol:


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## dinerdog (Jun 23, 2014)

You spend $7.39 and get this book tonight:

http://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026/ref=la_B000AQ8R8Q_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403573773&sr=1-1 (http://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-C ... 773&amp;sr=1-1)

One of the most important books of it's kind, by a legend.

And if that inspires you, the companion piece:

http://www.amazon.com/Do-Work-Steven-Pressfield/dp/1936719010/ref=la_B000AQ8R8Q_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403573946&sr=1-6 (http://www.amazon.com/Do-Work-Steven-Pr ... 946&amp;sr=1-6)

$15 that may change your life. : >


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## simonmac (Jul 4, 2014)

Wow! Thanks for that tip dinerdog. Just finished reading both of those after your recommendation. Those two works will have a huge effect on how I'll approach all projects from here on in!


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## cadalac (Jul 12, 2014)

I unfortunately have the same problem so I can suggest something.

Practice making tracks that are unoriginal and uninteresting, so you have 0% (and only 0%) interest in the track. then work specifically on completing them. i.e. make sure the whole piece is coherent with good chord and melody resolutions, then take the time to mix it until it's professionally acceptable.

That way you can work at making completed music proficiently without getting carried away with too many new ideas.

Cadalac


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## Izolus (Jul 12, 2014)

I think one bit of advice that will stick with me is to basically think of an ending for it. Obviously you want to wait a little until it takes shape, but it's a lot easier to finish something when you have ideas on how it's going to finish.

Oh and also, if you end up thinking of a melody or riff that you quite like, but it just doesn't seem to fit the song, then I'd reccomend figuring out the melody and either writing it down or recording it elsewhere as a piano doodle.

Just my two cents .


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## shapeshifter00 (Jul 12, 2014)

That is a big issue for me. Never satisfied either


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## Dan Drebing (Jul 14, 2014)

mscottweber @ Sun Jun 22 said:


> While in college a friend of mine (who is also a composer/songwriter) and I challenged each other to each write and record an entire full length album of music in one week. It was so much fun that we started doing it bi-annually and we invited all of our musician friends to join in. We called the events Record Time.
> 
> Needless to say, the music wasn't very good, ESPECIALLY the first couple of times we did it. But we definitely got a lot of practice in finishing things.
> 
> I agree with Jay, try to self-impose a deadline on yourself. You can always go back and revise the tracks later.



Does VI Control ever do this in some fashion? I imagine it'd be hard (impossible) for professional composers to take time away from work for a week to write a track, but I think I would like to have the accountability to help me finish a track. Would people be interested in something like this in some capacity?


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## Saxer (Jul 14, 2014)

deadline


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## MichalCielecki (Jul 15, 2014)

I think setting a deadline for oneself does not necessarily help - it can make the whole experience even more frustrating (excluding the practice cues of course).

Over the years I learned that sometimes (in my case - often) it's better to work on the main part(s) of the trailer structure, then move to the beginning and to the end. If you have an idea for a main part - sketch it out with basic brass/strings patch and a drum pattern and build an arrangement around those - you will know what you need to do and what your musical goals are. After that, when you start working on intro/ending you'll notice you have plenty of base materials to build those parts on.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Michal


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