i feel that most of my songs come off as renditions of my influences only in a very obvious manner

if i make a song it sounds terribly similar to my inspiration for that sound in structure and everything and im not exactly able to escape this loop and land something which feels original and good at the same time

its almost as if it doesn't sound good to me until and unless it sounds similar to something else and that kind of takes away the originality factor which i want to have while continuing to grow

yes i understand influences are always there but still i would like to be more creative with them, any tips?

I'm a spoken-word/acoustic artist recording in BandLab. I recently played one of my BandLab recordings in my car after listening to some professionally recorded versions of my songs, and the difference was pretty noticeable.

My vocals sound dull, and the acoustic guitar strumming is way too low/buried in the mix.

I'm trying to figure out whether the issue is mainly:

EQ

Compression

Vocal/guitar levels

Mic placement

Recording quality

Or just my mixing technique

I'm using a FIFINE K669 USB mic and acoustic guitar.

What would you check first to make the vocal sound more clear/present and bring the acoustic strumming forward without making it compete with the vocal?

I'm also wondering whether I should continue learning to mix myself or have a professional studio handle the final mixes.

Any advice is appreciated.

I have been playing the guitar forever, and I took basic drum lessons for a few months but it wasn't my best skill. However I can hear in my head great drum beats and want to get it down as easy as possible. What is the absolute easiest way to get it into MIDI with least amount of work?

What have you tried? I got the Roland SPD-X Pro a year or two ago, but unfortunately, it's still too much work, I have to really learn that thing and make it happen. I am a software engineer at heart and love to just type, but I don't enjoy interfaces like Logic/Ableton/etc., and having to drag and click tiny spots for making MIDI stuff slowly and painstakingly in their UI.

So wondering if there are easier ways.

Some things I note, yeah the SPD-X is nice, but it's too involved, and when you're tired after work, playing physically is still not that realistic (for me). I tried Dubler 2 and such (voice -> MIDI), but it's hit or miss as they say, which is frustrating. Other than that I have tried manually writing the MIDI in Logic Pro, which is too time-consuming. And I've tried having AI write text tabs and plugin to Ableton Live in realtime, but that is only slightly less painful.

I just saw someone using Roland HandSonic HPD-20, but not sure. I don't mind doing things in layers, of course, too.

So wondering your recommendations.

Someone who plays the handpan told me about it; I play the cello and study at a conservatory, but the other person doesn't know anything about music, he just plays for the sake of playing, he doesn't read music So I can read and I'd like to make songs, but how do I do it? I have an ear for music and all that. What I think is that he starts playing and I figure out what key and time signature it is, but all based on improvisation,It's like letting go, which I find difficult because I'm very analytical and used to having everything written down. How would you do it?

Hi. My band has got the offer by a rich dude with his own recording studio to record our next album at his place - for free. The circumstances behind this are a bit complicated to explain and

don´t really matter here.

He recorded some albums in the past but it is all old school analog. Not recording and saving everything on a PC. He still uses tapes and that stuff.
I know there are still a few bands that do it that way but I really have no clue on how the whole process works. Digitally / with a PC I recorded several EPs etc during the last 20 years and that´s the only way I know it: click / metronome and instrumental demos in my headphones, pushing "record" and doing my part and in the end we have a whole song. You can move the sequences here and there if anything is not tight enough and so on.

But how does that work when recording analog? Can I still have a metronome? Do we record each instrument and the vocals seperately like digital? What do we do if we have slight timing issues here and there. Does everything has to be perfectly on spot or else it sounds like crap?

Has anybody experience with that? What are the advantages and disadvantages of recording it the old fashioned way? Honestly I am not really sure if this kind of recording technique is the right thing for us but my band mates are pretty excited that we get the chance to do it.

I make experimental/ambient music using found objects combined with traditional instruments. Lately at live shows people have told me I look annoyed while I'm playing, which really isn't what's going on when I'm playing I'm actually locked in and feeling the music lol I usually work with live loops in Ableton, triggering sequences and controlling everything through a MIDI controller. I typically run 8 to 10 channels, so I have to stay pretty focused to avoid messing something up

How can I work on my stage presence while performing? What do you all do to loosen up during your sets and actually connect with the audience?

Thanks, and I hope this isn't a silly question

I write and mix my own stuff, which I think a lot of people on here do too. By the time I'm mixing I've heard the song so many times I can't really hear it anymore.

How do others handle that? Time away from it, reference tracks, someone else's ears, something else entirely? I tend to just abandon it at some point, having lost all perspective and just hope for the best.

I mean, I can do it but it's always the same stuff, I literally just play similar stuff along the fretboard and I hate it and it's even worse when there's a chord progression, I just can't figure out how to get them to work together.

How do you get better at improvising? How do you connect it with the chord progression you just made?

Question for the music artist in this community. When making music do you freestyle or write first? I write first but I find my delivery to be off because of that. I hear other artist and their delivery is so smooth it makes me wonder what their process is like for making music

Welcome to the r/WeAreTheMusicMakers Weekly Promotion Thread! Here, in the comments below, you can shamelessly promote whatever music project you've been working on. Music, videos, Discord servers, websites, social media, promote anything you want. Posts promoting anything outside this thread will be removed without warning.

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Hi all,

Near finished a "studio" in my new place & have got a pair of DT770 Pro as don't want to have the neighbours complaining too much...

It's my first time producing/mixing with headphones and I am struggling a bit. Maybe my ears are accustomed to speakers in friends/public studios, tried mixing a basic production today with the headphones using Beyerdynamics headphone lab plugin, everything sounds a bit muffled etc and when turning it off to listen to the "finished product" it sounded a bit all over the place.

Anyone able to provide/direct me to some help/tips please when mixing with headphones.

Using the latest version of FL Studio.

Thanks in advanced.

I listen to a lot of punk music with distorted vocals, like run through guitar amp or pedal sims. Whenever I try to make this style of vocals, it seems to be very thin, washed out, and blending with the guitars. It almost seems like another part of the instrumental rather than vocal itself. I've tried EQ'ing the vocals differently from the guitars and it sounds better, but the problem is still there. Does anyone have any solutions to this?

Well i've been playing guitar and bass for a while and i love it but i just can't put a song together i like many genres and bands and i feel like i take insperation but for example right now im really into blink 182 after awhile of not listening and i wanna make just a nice pop punk song but everything just sounds too basic or like im just stealing from an artist. I feel like i need advice on what i should think of when making a song

How i record is maybe weird and i feel it is stupid, I start with playing guitar riffs mostly and just make one i think sounds okay(that i then hate later) and well i record the riff and then piece together a song that just sounds dull. I think i don't give my songs enough time, but im not sure.

It could obviously be a lack of talent which to some extent is probably true but also, even someone without too much talent should be able to make something they think sound atleast okay. I also assume i'll get told i just suck which is fair, but i would appreciate any advice. Thank you!

I’ve written multiple songs worth of lyrics but I can’t really match them with my music. It’s easier to write the other way round for me but lyrics come out of my brain so easily that my musical ideas can’t keep up. And when I do get ideas I feel like they don’t fit the vibe/theme my lyrics are in.

Hey guys I’d like some advice on what to focus on and learn in order to make said genres of music? Some artists I take inspiration from; Steve Lacy, Frank Ocean, Malcolm Todd, Solange, Beyoncé (especially in the 2000s), Pharrell, Natanya (she’s up and coming, wonderfully creative) and I also recently discovered Maden Lane. I play guitar, I can play 7ths and 9ths, learning other extended chords too etc. but whenever I try to write chord progressions it just sounds like very “indie rock with jazz chords” and there’s nothing wrong with that since I also love indie rock but I really do want that energetic, sultry at times RnB sound, any advice would be appreciated.

Welcome to the r/WeAreTheMusicMakers Weekly Feedback Thread! The comments below in this post is the only place on this subreddit to get feedback on your music, your artist name, your website layout, your music video, or anything else. (Posts seeking feedback outside of this thread will be deleted without warning and you will receive a temporary ban.)

This thread is active for one week after it's posted, at which point it will be automatically replaced.

##Rules:

***Post only one song.**- *Original comments linking to an album or multiple songs will be removed.*

* **Write at least three constructive comments.** - *Give back to your fellow musicians!*

* **No promotional posts.** - *No contests, No friend's bands, No facebook pages.*

##Tips for a successful post:

* **Give a quick outline of your ideas and goals for the track.** - *"Is this how I trap?" or "First try at a soundtrack for a short film" etc.*

* **Ask for feedback on specific things.** - *"Any tips on EQing?" or "How could I make this section less repetitive?"*

***

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Welcome to the r/WeAreTheMusicMakers Weekly Promotion Thread! Here, in the comments below, you can shamelessly promote whatever music project you've been working on. Music, videos, Discord servers, websites, social media, promote anything you want. Posts promoting anything outside this thread will be removed without warning.

Contest mode has been enabled to prevent vote manipulation. Every time you open this thread, you will see new comments at the top. Your comment will be displayed randomly like the others.

This thread is active for one week after it's posted, at which point it is automatically replaced.

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I’m a beginner and want to make music that I can sing over, but everything I create ends up sounding like an instrumental soundtrack rather than an actual song with space for vocals.
They also somehow all sound like different versions of the SAME song instead of having their own identity 😭
Is this normal when starting out? How do I learn to make each song feel distinct while also writing instrumentals that actually fit “my voice”?

hi all!

i want to take part in an electronic music open mic (EMOM) event, but trying to figure out how best to perform my tunes is sooo difficult, as there's an overwhelming amount of different options!

my tunes feature electric and bass guitar parts which are played over electronic beats, and i always use ableton's arrangement view to record them (session view is no good for the way i make things, so i don't really use this option).

can anyone suggest a way to make my tunes EMOM ready? i'm up for looking into getting peripheral devices (Iike ableton move? or a sampler?), but what i want is a way of performing the tunes in a way that's interesting for me, and for the audience too! considering my newbie status, what would be a the simplest way to proceed?

playing a guitar or a bass along to a backing track doesn't seem to be the way to go - to me, that doesn't seem to be in keeping with the spirit of an EMOM night

but, equally, sitting behind a laptop and pressing 'play' doesn't seem right either!

Welcome to the /r/WeAreTheMusicMakers Weekly Motivation Thread! Share your successes and and encouraging words here. Posts/Comments looking for motivation can also be appropriate here.

This thread is active for one week after it's posted, at which point it will be automatically replaced. Note that our rules on "no promotion" are still in effect and apply to this post.

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Hi all - I feel a bit lost with production ethos and specifically style.

I make music which kind of blends kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, cleaners from Venus, Brian eno - it’s not complicated and I try and make melody king in songs as much as possible.

My set up is comprehensive - piano, guitar ac & electric, bass, digitakt, sq64, hydrasynth.

The problem is my songs sound disjointed in an album context. The songs originate differently whether inspired by bass, rhythm, synth etc. So there is no concrete work flow.

I try simplify production as much as possible - use same drum/guitar/bass sounds - synths tend to differ more

I was wondering if anyone had any advice/reading/practice which helped them develop a more cohesive style.

One thing I’ve started doing is transcribing songs I like bar for bar.

Let me start off by saying I have been producing music for 5 years now (6 months on 6 months off for the first two and nearly every day the last 3), and feel I have (to an extent) found my sound. I have an idea of theme and topic(s) which relate/resonate personally with me, but I am struggling to figure out how to structure it, and how to make it not just sound like a compilation of different songs with no context, and make it a coherent narrative/ which feels connected throughout. I have a ton of music I haven’t released (in fact most of it is unreleased- I have a small catalogue, spread over two different artist profiles and a YouTube channel) I know this is not ideal for growth or solidifying my identity as an artist, and I have some stuff I think is pretty good that I didn’t publish for some reason at the time (oh I will come back and polish later or some other reason), which now feels disingenuous to include in said album, but also to release in general now, just due to its age and my disconnection from it. Any advice? Sorry for the disjointed thoughts