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Marshall Benson
Currently I'm producing a synthwave track, and I've noticed thoughts which enter my head that are productive, and some which aren't productive.
Productive thoughts:
"Stay organized"
"When inspired, do not stop, do not take a break"
"Go with your gut"
"This is fun."
"Print down and move on."
Unproductive thoughts:
"I really need to impress so-and-so with this track"
"Does it sound as good as so-and-so producer's track?"
"Will this be the track that gives me my big break?"
Basically, thoughts which took me out of the present, especially ones which had me comparing myself and my work to others, resulted in some crappy results. Because my head was not in the right place, creatively. I would get stuck at mixing decisions and quickly start to hate my work. Why is that? Because I wasn't engaged in the process - producing requires a present state of mind, a playful curiosity, but also a relentless level of drive and organization. It's a big challenge, because it requires self-trust, and blocking out the outside world's distractions. By letting the music "write itself", unimpeded by thoughts of envy or grandeur, my workflow would move forward.
Another thing that helps is to make decisions aggresively and with abandon - print that drum track, print the synth waveforms down, because let's be honest: you are probably not going to change the samples or sound design very much at this point, if you've been playing it over and over again. So print it down and start EQ'ing, adding FX and reverb - that's where the size of the track comes from, anyway.
At one point last night, I hit a state of flow - after nearly an hour and a half of struggling, floundering on the track, looping it over and over without making any changes or decisions. How did I hit flow? I shifted my mentality from "creator and designer" to "listener". I let the track play back, and allowed my ingrained expectations of music to amplify; I brought them to the forefront of my consciousness and gave them executive control! If, for example, the energy should rise during the pre-chorus, I would stop the track and insert a spacer or marker for a riser. Once I allowed The Listener to take over control, the work started doing itself - and I put a good hour or two into the arrangement, mixing, sound design, and FX.
I am seeing now that there are at least two modes of creation that work well for me: sandboxing, and listening. Sandboxing is important for coming up with ideas unimpeded, to explore tones and sounds until something really grabs me; then, record it. Start looping and editing. Move top-down, adding rhythmic textures, basslines and FX until something is constructed. Then, enter phase 2 for the arrangement; stop, switch gears to The Listener, and begin to let the history and experience of popular music take the wheel. We all know subconsciously (or consciously if you studied Composition formally) how a song should be arranged at composed. If this information was not taught systematically, it needs to be coaxed from what we already know in our subconscious; actively listening will dredge up these expectations. Grab onto them consciously and fix your track to that underlying structure.
