does Audio Engineering experience ruin music-writing ability?

[Jind]

Has it ruined my ability to write music?

No

Has it made it more difficult for me to appreciate the music I write?

You betcha!

I'll explain. When I was just writing music and recording it into an old cassette based 4 track, I would finish my composition within a few hours and be extremely pleased with the results. Now however it takes me forever to finish a track - I'm either unhappy with the way it sounds or I keep wanting to adjust this, change that, add just a little more something or another - I just keep futzing with it forever it seems.

I mean hell I used to write with just a simple drum machine that only played pre-programmed drum patterns, now I spend so much time just getting the drums right whereas I used to just lay down a track and play over it - maybe add a doubled part and then a lead. Now it's all about compressors, EQ, impulses, algorithmic reverb vs. convolution reverb, also now I use a lot of midi in my stuff so I'm doing a bunch of programming with VST instruments... It goes on and on.

There are some times when I long for days gone past when music was a simple pleasure. Now my "hobby" has become much more like a job and I already have one of those to occupy the majority of my day. Don't get me wrong - I still love making music, it's just more complicated and as was stated earlier - my appreciation of it is just not "simple" anymore.

 

[abt]

Young man I hear you loud and clear. At 16 I had three very clear objectives: cigarettes, booze, women. Not in any particular order, and to paraphrase the infamous Kate Moss "all three at once if possible". The fact that you're even thinking about this at your age makes me think that you'll be okay. Yes, it is a hard industry and yes you can find a balance. If I could go back in time and intercept my younger self then the following advice IMO is all that is needed.

Your answer lies here: "My real aspirations lie in music-writing, I wish to become a musician" - Make this your focus and everything else will fall into place.

Don't worry about engineering impacting negativity on your ability to write, play, enjoy, etc music in anyway. For me the recording process is an important part of the writing process, especially for metal. There are no rules when it comes to writing. Sometimes I write music completely in the DAW other times it might be a film score completely done on paper for other musician to play. I guess my point is get specific about what you want to achieve then do what ever it takes to achieve it.

Having said that...
I do think you can bite off more that you can chew. I have found in recent times that me being a engineer/producer is not entirely compatible with my goals. I have limited time so I have to choose how I use that time wisely. I'm learning (and getting closer everyday) how to write and track everything I need to, at a level that I can then take to a pro studio and finish the track. I've been meaning to make a post on this for a while, and still might when I find the time. IMO, for a lot of people, we would be far better off leaving our ego at the door (DAW haha) when it comes to recording our music. I think recording at home/project studio then finishing at a pro studio is great. Apart from the circulation of more work in the industry you get help from a pro who does this every day and lets face it, for most of us we'll never own that kind of gear or have a better suited environment for mixing. Learn what you need in order to reach your goal and get help where ever possible. An engineer can help you achieve great things but no one can write your songs or make you a better player, that's up to you. Getting specific about your goal requires you to get specific about how you spend your time.

Most importantly work hard.


EDIT:
As I posted this Jind has made a great point in the post above me. This is exactly where I've been and where I'm trying to avoid going. With the time I have available there's no way I can achieve a mix anywhere near what I find acceptable. Any attempt to do so is time wasted. I guess I'm just reiterating the point that there are lots of way to achieve a goal and there at even more way to get sidetracked trying to achieve them. Get specific about what you need to do and learn and you're miles in front of most people.

 

[guitarded88]

Haha this thread is epicly reminiscing!

 

[electrocore]

thanks dudes.

from what you have told me i am assuming that i well become more inate to specifics when listening to music, buuuut maybe this won't follow through into all the other genres i enjoy.
i only really plan to produce metal, and becoming sensitive to the technicalities doesn't seem to be a huge problem, as the genre itself is extremely formula-based anyway (and that fact makes it no less enjoyable).
i don't think it will at all ruin the many other genres i wish to delve into, such as electronica, as these things seem to be more open-ended.
i mean, working in the metal industry, you hear a lot of crunch, chug and uhtss. where as working in say, the pop industry, you can make whatever the fuck you like.

thanks for all the help guys, and don't worry, nothing any of you said was in any way harsh, i wanted the truth (even if inconveniant) and that is what i guess.

though further discussion is always good. i like this thread already.

 

[Josh Burgess]

I think most people who get into it were very interested in music beforehand... many people on this forum started out by just wanting to record themselves or their own band, and then their skills developed from there. It's very much possible to be talented at writing/playing music AND recording/mixing/producing music. It's just not easy. It's very time consuming, and you always have to be learning and improving yourself... It takes much more dedication to excel in both areas.

It's true that it can make you appreciate certain music less... usually because you are now finding faults with the sound quality of music you may have loved, because the quality of the mixes just aren't up to your new standards as your tastes develop. That's natural, and I'm sure the majority of people on this forum have experienced it. It's a side effect of being obsessed with constantly bettering yourself at recording/mixing/producing, but you really have to have some degree of obsession to really master ANYTHING. So, I wouldn't view obsession as a bad thing... However, part of being a great producer is being able to see the potential in the compositional ideas of others (or yourself)... It's your job to blend great musical ideas with production that you feel is of high quality and best presents those ideas. So, it's important to be able to recognize great composition even when sound quality is lacking...

Recording/mixing/producing forces you to look at the entire picture, because you come to realize that every single individual aspect of the process is important and it all adds up. Becoming so interested in audio engineering/production has allowed me to really appreciate and understand what all it takes to create music at the kind of level of my favorite sounding albums. In my case, I've always been very focused on guitar playing... you know, practicing technique and constantly trying to improve to get yourself to a level where you feel you can freely express yourself on the guitar in the genre(s) of music you want to create... but because of that, my songwriting suffered... My general understanding of other instruments (particularly drums for me) was lacking and holding me back in the songwriting department. Now, after tons of time spent analyzing production (both composition and sound quality), I know so much more than before. I now know much more about about what goes into great drumming and how drums should sound (according to my tastes) as well as timing & rhythm in general. So, I think it makes you become a better musician overall.

Now, I love complex, intricate music... I love shred guitar, technical drumming, etc. I like the challenge, and I appreciate the talent and dedication it takes to be able to create and perform at that kind of level. That's never going to change... but, with that said, since becoming so interested in audio engineering/production I've found myself appreciating more simple pop music with great production. It takes a different kind of talent to create catchy, well written pop music... and sound quality is very important, because it can greatly affect how people perceive the music. Great songs are great songs, whether simple or complex. So, I feel like this also has helped in becoming a more knowledgeable, well rounded musician.

I think the hardest part about trying to become great at both engineering/producing and songwriting/playing is just finding enough time and motivation to do both... but if you really want to do it, you'll find the time and the motivation, and you'll be way better off for it. There are plenty of musicians out there who are very talented players, but have very little knowledge about the technical aspects of putting out professional sounding music... and that's fine... that's why engineers and producers exist... but the satisfaction and pride you feel when you really know you're capable in both areas is just awesome. Like with anything else, it's all about how badly you want it and how hard you're willing to work for it...

 

[Harry Hughes]

Some things I don't think have been mentioned, or not so in depth, is to just make sure your life in general is well set up.
Get roadblocks out of the way.
If you have mental problems now or get struck down with it in the future, deal with it ASAP. Gotta have a clear and present mind.
Bad relationships now or in the future? Ditch the bitch ASAP because bad relationships are toxic and take a toll on you in some way.
Make sure your physical health is in top shape.
ALWAYS get a good night's sleep.
All of these things will effect your performance and efficiency at what you do.
And once you have things in top shape, make sure to maintain it.
Some of those might sound obvious, but the truth is A LOT of people totally overlook them, or don't make the effort.

Make the sacrifice. If it means that instead of going to a party on a Friday and/or Saturday night, getting trashed and having fun with your mates and studying up on audio engineer and writing music, so be it.

There's probably more I can add, but I'll do that later so you don't have to read this absolutely massive post.

 

[greyskull]

no but it made me not be able to listen to most metal any more (and not find it hilarious)
but thats fine as it's made me WAY more open minded and expanded my mind to new things in music.
if you told me 5 years ago that id be in an instrumental post rock band now; i would've told you to fuck off.

Never been happier musically

 

[amarshism]

also, amarshism, is abraxis hardcore or australian hardcore?

Holy terror and yes we're Australian.

 

[departed]

it has CHANGED my abilities as a song writer, i now cannot sit and write without recording what i've written which is arguably a very useful thing. but as a guitar player, i've become way better at timing and playing with a click but i've spent less time playing guitar and more time writing, which hasn't helped my guitar playing much. i'd like to see how much better at guitar i may have been if i hadn't started getting into audio 3 years back