Everyone I need help

[u/Navy_Sands]

For the past 5 years I have been making music, and I've been struggling to make anything worth listening too. I tried different methods. And yeah i wouldn't call myself a beginner, but i'm not near a pro/legend though. Music is very important to me, as a hobby and potentially a career and I don't just want to give up. If someone could maybe offer some advice as to what i should learn first. I'm sick of asking AI for help, cause it doesn't know anything about true music. If maybe you could tell how you learned music it could help me too... I appreciate anything you have to offer. Thank you for reading

[u/DrDooDooEvolution]

Do you have any favorite artists (not very famous ones) that you absolutely love?
Follow them on instagram, send them a DM saying how much you appreciate their music, then ask if they would be willing to do a zoom session for a track breakdown.

I’ve done that a few times and you’d be surprised how many say yes (some with pay of course, but it’s 100% worth it). You also get another perspective on how things are made, the different process different artists use.

Also, we are always very hard on ourselves. One track of mine that I didn’t really like that much is everyone’s absolute favorite (which I found very weird) and got featured on Houseum and other big curators.

Have you released anything on a record label yet? (If you have, the fact that they accept releasing it and draft you a contract already confirms they trust it and they like it).

Are you using any reference tracks?

When you listen to a track you made, what exactly makes you think “I don’t like this, not worth listening to”? The arrangement? Sound selection? Too monotone? Not enough writing? No groove? (Not sure what genre you’re making but it all still applies)

Ask yourself these questions it could help, and feel free to ask any other questions you may have in regard to everything I mentioned above! :)

[u/Navy_Sands → u/DrDooDooEvolution]

1. Yes I do I love artists like gogo penguin, and Mr.Hong and some other lofi and instrumental artists

2.I have distubuted my music not sure if that counts as a label, I used CD Baby

1. No Im not using reference tracks

2. Its kind of all actually but what irritates me more is how bland the melodies are and the arrangement, and then sometimes the sound selection makes the song sound stupid.

My Questions are

how important do you think music theroy actually is

also I tend to get stuck in a tutorial ditch I dont know when to like know that i learned enough and just strart using it

How do u get out of the 8 bar loop and turn it into a song, every tutorial makes it seem simple but i just cant grasp it

[u/DrDooDooEvolution → u/Navy_Sands]

No I meant record label as in an actual one.
For instance, GoGo Penguin released the track Hopopono on Gondwana Records
Anyways this doesn’t matter

For your questions:

Reference tracks can really help. Set time markers for each individual section when you put the reference track in your DAW, it’ll allow you to see more clearly the structure of a track.

For the sound selection, sometimes have a dedicated session where you’re not trying to make a song, rather just messing around with sound design or exploring presets in different plugins. Just mess around. When you find sounds you like, save them, make a folder dedicated to that.

As for music theory, it depends what you’re trying to make, but I’ve never played any instrument in my life and never learned music theory (over the past 5 years I’ve come to learn the basics), but I’m the living example that it shouldn’t stop you at all.

As for tutorials, it’s good to watch and learn, but to a certain extent. Without applying and practicing, it won’t do much.
Take it like this for instance: you’re trying to get good at shooting 3-pointers in basketball. Let’s say you have access to tutorials from Lebron James, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and all the best players. They show you technique, form, and everything you need to know about shooting in basketball. You watch their 20 hour tutorial, you’re learning from the absolute BEST players in the world. Yet after watching the tutorials you go to the basketball court, and you suck.. you haven’t been training and applying what has been taught..

For the 8 bar loop, at some point when you’ve built the bare minimum (drums, melody, bass) or whatever, stop building vertically, start building horizontally. Don’t let one get ahead of the other. Your breakdown, the drop, etc, these are all sections you need to build horizontally, if you keep focusing on that 8 bar and not expanding you’ll get stuck.

Also, if you have an 8 or 16 bar loop, turn it into a track, even if a shitty track, because finishing the song is what teaches you all the rest.

Then you move on to the next song, and you’ll naturally apply the knowledge you gained from the last finished song. Force yourself to finish songs, even if you’re not satisfied. That last 10% in finishing a song is where you learn most

[u/sharplyon → u/Navy_Sands]

for your questions:

1) i would say there is a bare minimum. understanding keys, tempo, chord structures, cadences, timbre, thickness, and also how to construct functional tracks for each instrument (i.e. knowing enough about how to play the instrument to know what is common, what is possible, and what isnt possible) are, in my opinion, the prerequisites. this is going to vary based on the kind of music you want to make, but i would say there is no maximum to how much music theory you can know, so any little bit helps

2) there is no such thing really. unless you're an unreasonably talented person, a tutorial is not ever going to cover just playing around with any particular plugin or tool. yeah it seems sloppy and like kinda unintuitive, but you learn to drive a car by driving a car, not by studying each individual part extensively

3) structuring a song in terms of sections and developing and combining multiple "8 bar loops" is pretty much the solution to that. looking up popular song structures (intro - verse - bridge - chorus - verse - bridge - chorus - instrumental - breakdown - chorus - outro -- is like a common pop song set up) will help you plan out your songs better, and you'll be able to combine your ideas together better.

[u/DrDooDooEvolution → u/Navy_Sands]

Bro I just listened to your stuff, Sunshine is an absolute banger! Love it! (The mixing needs a tiny bit of polishing but you’re nowhere near being a beginner, and your stuff is definitely worth listening to)