Audiobus: Use your music apps together.

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Does/did anyone else do this as they’ve gotten better as a musician/producer...

edited September 2020 in Other

Does anyone else have maybe 5 different songs that they made when they first got into music production that they still go back to and make edits to as you’ve gotten better?

Though now I have about 8 full tracks that I’ve done completely in Logic Pro, 6 of those I had created the original melodies, bass, and general arrangement of the song way back when I first got into music production in 2011. Over the years, every time I’ve learned something new. whether musically or technical, I would always go back and try it out on those tracks, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. I’ve created new mini tracks/loops but none as fleshed out as those original ones.

Does anyone else go back to really old songs and still tweak them or do you continuously create brand new tracks as you learn new stuff?

And how has that worked out for you?

Comments

  • Yep, I’ve gone back. Like you, sometimes with good results, sometimes not. It’s been interesting to see what a delicate mysterious thing the vibe of a song is. I’ve had more than one tune where I was less happy with version 2.

  • wimwim
    edited September 2020

    Never. When it's done it's done. I may as well delete the original project and only keep the mixdown ... though I rarely do.

    I do flip through unfinished ideas and quick jams sometimes. Sometimes I have no recollection whatsoever of doing them. Sometimes I'm actually really impressed that it was my work, more often not. If I'm in the right mood I toss out the garbage that I know I'm never going to develop further.

  • I don't go back to recent projects, but I sometimes remake very old ones as I get better. The melodies and ideas are still good, but the production values (rather the lack thereof) from 10-20 years ago sucked. Here's an example of a track I made in 2002 that I remade in 2019.

    I made it back when I knew dick about Grecian music and thus most of the melody comes off as Russian/Eastern European instead (except for the "Zorba" part in the middle). :lol: But instead of changing the melody, I simply used updated sounds, and instead of playing the melody straightforward, I used a bit of hocketing between the various instruments.

  • I go back unintentionally.. get stuck soundwize..take a break..and buys some new apps and try to reinvent...but my cht sound the same I gave up trying to flee, fluffy prison

  • wimwim
    edited September 2020

    @noob said:
    I go back unintentionally.. get stuck soundwize..take a break..and buys some new apps and try to reinvent...but my cht sound the same I gave up trying to flee, fluffy prison

    Well, yes, if you put it that way ... I've pretty much been working on the same couple of songs for years. 😂

  • In recent years, I've started to do this more and more and I think it pays off for me, both in terms of sound and compositional improvements. Korg Gadget still plays an important role here because I can quickly and easily re-arrange sections, change lengths, insert and delete wherever I want. I'm a pattern guy though, people preferring a linear timeline might not become friends with it.

  • No, I either rework something not long after I started it or I move on. I think going back to something from the past and trying to improve on it ultimately takes something away from it rather than add to it.

  • @wim said:

    @noob said:
    I go back unintentionally.. get stuck soundwize..take a break..and buys some new apps and try to reinvent...but my cht sound the same I gave up trying to flee, fluffy prison

    Well, yes, if you put it that way ... I've pretty much been working on the same couple of songs for years. 😂

    Ya, I’ve “quit” a few times by selling my monitors and MIDI keyboard only to come back a few months to a year later and buy new equipment again. Every time I come back I ended up making huge gains both musically and technically.

    The biggest thing has been getting into iOS music back in summer 2018. For me, producing via a touchscreen is so much more fun and easier rather than a keyboard and mouse. Since I got into iOS I’ve arranged around 10-12 complete tracks created entirely in Auria Pro, NanoStudio 2, and Zenbeats, with my latest 7 started right before COVID in February.

  • Yah i do load up oldies, mainly from the past ten years at most and tinker, particularly to see how I could make the mixes better now. For the most part though the best stuff seems to live in the future so I mostly forge on.

  • I've found that once I've "completed" a track it stays there. I have found that it's usually better just to leave the original as it is as that is where the vibe's at and just accept it warts and all. I've been trying to stay more with the "first idea principal" and not overthink what has been done or what I am currently trying to do. Approach it from a surfing concept. Catch the wave...sometimes it's a tube, sometimes it just runs out of steam...Let the knowledge and experience gained be the basis for the next one and keep building on things from there.

  • @arktek said:
    I've found that once I've "completed" a track it stays there. I have found that it's usually better just to leave the original as it is as that is where the vibe's at and just accept it warts and all. I've been trying to stay more with the "first idea principal" and not overthink what has been done or what I am currently trying to do. Approach it from a surfing concept. Catch the wave...sometimes it's a tube, sometimes it just runs out of steam...Let the knowledge and experience gained be the basis for the next one and keep building on things from there.

    Yea I do that as well, though I also have countless remixes of old tracks which usually differ in terms of either keeping or deleting entire sections and obviously in sound quality i.e. kick too loud, bass too loud, too much reverb, etc...However, my latest tracks are just one version, maybe two at max in which the second one takes on its own style and ends up being an entirely different track.

  • I never go back, done is done and for me it’s always about moving forward to the next project. I work with a lot of artists who can’t let go of a track and end up tweaking all the goodness out of it trying to make it ‘perfect’.

  • edited September 2020

    @wim said:
    Never. When it's done it's done. I may as well delete the original project and only keep the mixdown ... though I rarely do.

    I do flip through unfinished ideas and quick jams sometimes. Sometimes I have no recollection whatsoever of doing them. Sometimes I'm actually really impressed that it was my work, more often not. If I'm in the right mood I toss out the garbage that I know I'm never going to develop further.

    @Tarekith said:
    I never go back, done is done and for me it’s always about moving forward to the next project. I work with a lot of artists who can’t let go of a track and end up tweaking all the goodness out of it trying to make it ‘perfect’.

    Yep. I never go back. Even if it’s just working on an idea. I now know the difference between practice and a sketch.

    I do listen to unfinished stuff, but never open the project back up and mess with it. I just listen to the mixdowns and remind myself why I’m not going back to work on them :lol:

  • I bow to the wise and disciplined individuals in this thread that know when to let go. For me, nothing is ever finished. I recognize the flaw in that philosophy but on the other hand, 20 year old tracks that you've never heard are still new to you! :lol:

  • I wish I could say no, but I am remixing tracks for re-release right now and it’s a dangerous slope. Once you tweak one thing, other things get discovered, and down the rabbit hole you go.

    I definitely have gotten better, and I want to leave those as a reflection of where I was then, but on the other hand I can make a positive difference, so tough choice.

    I’m also in the middle of a switch from logic to studio one for mixing, and just started using an external summing mixer with hardware buss comp, so even things I just did more recently are getting revisited. I have to draw a line soon. I have some paid album sessions coming very soon so that will help me stop looking at my own songs as often I hope.

  • I had an art teacher in College who once told me "True artists are never done, they just get bored and move on". I think it's a paraphrase of some famous quote, but regardless it always stuck with me since that moment. My best music comes about when I'm not too attached to it. Knowing I can delete something or just call it a wrap if it's not rocking my world really opened me up to being more creative I think. Less pressure.

  • edited September 2020

    Sometimes I load up an old thing and I think ‘Dayum, I want to get back to that headspace one day’ and other times I shudder thinking, ‘so glad I am past that’. There are things I used to do with more reckless abandon that did yield a creative fruit I just don’t seem to hit on anymore because my production expectations hold me back. That being said, loading up one of these abandoned ancient rough as hell pseudo-gems the other day I was delighted at just how a bit of dynamic EQ and transient shaper smoothed it out (plus Stutteredit2 for flare) and rekindled my interest in an olde process I may just revisit. Even running old bits through Melodyne and recycling them is interesting time travel.

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