TGF Do Something Challenge - Get In The Game

[Iron1]

I've read quite a few posts from folks who say they want to get involved in this, but either don't have the time or don't have the ability. Was thinking about that yesterday for a bit, then had to drive my amp to the repair shop and on the way listened to my latest Challenge entry in the car. The first thing that jumped out at me is how vastly improved it was, sound-wise, compared to what I was first doing 8 years ago when I started doing it all myself.

It made me go back and listen to a song I did about 6 or 7 years ago (the first song I ever wrote on a 7-string), uploaded to SC, then took down cause I didn't like how it sounded. Then I re-uploaded it about 4 years ago with the intent of re-recording it. That never happened, but here it is as an example of where I started:



This took me nearly a month to write, record and mix... and it sounds like

In comparison, this is my latest submission to the Challenge:



I wrote it, recorded it, mixed it and uploaded it in under one hour. Major sound quality difference I attribute to better recording/mixing techniques, better gear (first track was done with an HD500x, latest with a Helix Rack) and all the little tricks I've learned along the way.

All this to say, don't wait til you think you can put out pro quality work... I didn't... and still can't.

For me, I looked at it like band practice. I don't have people around me to jam with, but still enjoy playing as much as I always did. So, throwing down some drum tracks to riff over was practice, which led to recording, which led to full songs, enough for full albums and meeting a ton of really cool people.

But every excuse you make to not get in the game is one more time you're robbing the rest of us of digging your creativity.

 

[DrewJD82]

My uncle came to visit last night from out of state, he’s the one who gave me my first guitar and ends up schooling the sh*t out of me whenever he comes over. Last night was the first time I saw a noticeable change in his playing as arthritis is beating the hell out of him. When discussing the slump I’ve been in lately he told me he’s been there was well, sometimes for months at a time but really urged me to at least pick up a guitar once a day, even just for 5 minutes to hopefully get the spark going again because now that he’s losing his abilities he’s really regretting not doing such in the past.

It definitely had an impact on me and hopefully enough to kick me out of the funk I’ve been in.

 

[Iron1]

My uncle came to visit last night from out of state, he’s the one who gave me my first guitar and ends up schooling the sh*t out of me whenever he comes over. Last night was the first time I saw a noticeable change in his playing as arthritis is beating the hell out of him. When discussing the slump I’ve been in lately he told me he’s been there was well, sometimes for months at a time but really urged me to at least pick up a guitar once a day, even just for 5 minutes to hopefully get the spark going again because now that he’s losing his abilities he’s really regretting not doing such in the past.

It definitely had an impact on me and hopefully enough to kick me out of the funk I’ve been in.

One thing I've learned again and again and again over the last three painful years: life can and will change on a dime.

 

[mbenigni]

Lots of good advice here. I spent too many years thinking I had to keep practicing until I was "ready" to record or perform, when the only practice that would have gotten me there was recording and performing! And yeah, now I'm finally getting my head on straight (intermittently?) and I'm dancing between good days and bad days with arthritis, etc. :/

I'm so bummed that it's week 6 of season 2 and I've fallen off again. The last few weeks have just been insanely busy. Funerals and wakes and social calls oh my. I'm finally back in the studio - where I spent the last 4 days trying to find a (paid for) drum plugin with decent brush sounds - and yesterday... I actually played guitar! Will wonders never cease?

 

[mbenigni]

I wrote it, recorded it, mixed it and uploaded it in under one hour.

 

[duzie]

I feel everyone here is on a completely different level than I am .
It’s kinda embarrassing
Maybe my wife wasn’t joking when she called me a
Hahaha

 

[DrewJD82]

I feel everyone here is on a completely different level than I am .
It’s kinda embarrassing
Maybe my wife wasn’t joking when she called me a
Hahaha

We’re all at different places, man!

And in the grand scheme of things, there’s no real +/- in this; I’ve got an apartment full of gear I’m capable of doing the things I want with, have the equipment to record and can mostly make everything sound how I want it to and I don’t do sh*t with it. And we’ve got members with minimal gear/experience that are busting out song after song like no one’s business!

 

[Iron1]

I spent too many years thinking I had to keep practicing until I was "ready" to record or perform, when the only practice that would have gotten me there was recording and performing!

/Thread

I feel everyone here is on a completely different level than I am .
It’s kinda embarrassing
Maybe my wife wasn’t joking when she called me a
Hahaha

Everyone is on a completely different level than everyone else. To the best of my knowledge, I've listened to every single entry in both seasons so far. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and everyone is at a different place in the journey - and it's all been glorious.

I don't think you should find discouragement in where you are in the journey and how your strengths and weaknesses affect your trip, at all.

But, as the saying goes, we miss every pitch we don't swing at...

Or, my all-time favorite quote: Work beats talent when talent won't work.

Start swinging brutha!

 

[Gearzilla]

I told myself I was going to hold off until I got one of my guitars back that has been taking ridiculously long at the tech’s place. Still waiting….

Regardless I’ll be back in season 3 one way or the other.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I'm glad I stumbled into TGF, besides being full of cool people, I saw the challenge threads and it inspired me to put some stuff out there. My biggest challenge over the years has been letting things be ok and done. I over analyze often and it puts me in a spot where things don't get finished. Which is weird because my most favorite personal songs have been the ones that are done very quickly without too much thought. I'm working on getting to that place more frequently.
Life happens though, we get super busy in other things, and I'm not a full-time musician like in my 20's. I'm almost 49 but still love it as much now as I did then. So I'm gonna keep chugging away as much as I can stand it and hopefully share more music along the way.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I told myself I was going to hold off until I got one of my guitars back that has been taking ridiculously long at the tech’s place. Still waiting….

Regardless I’ll be back in season 3 one way or the other.

You need more guitars.

 

[Sleezy E]

For me, I looked at it like band practice. I don't have people around me to jam with, but still enjoy playing as much as I always did. So, throwing down some drum tracks to riff over was practice, which led to recording, which led to full songs, enough for full albums and meeting a ton of really cool people.

Right on.
I don't play live anymore, but recording has taken the place of "jam sessions" and it's awesome

I have a few friends that come to my lil home studio and we write/record stuff together. Sometimes 2 of us, sometimes 3+ , still got a very band vibe to it, now that I think about it.

I'm looking forward to joining the next challenge!

 

[TJontheRoad]

I'll be back in the game next challenge. The album I'm working on is 70% done with 7 of 10 tracks complete. I humbly feel it's my best work yet. All the tracks I've ever created before have been a training ground for the whole process of inspiration and recording. Life is too short to wait. Just put out there what you can and let it all happen.

 

[Iron1]

My biggest challenge over the years has been letting things be ok and done. I over analyze often and it puts me in a spot where things don't get finished.

That's a super common roadblock for creative people no matter what the creation is... which is why I learned to just play til I don't hate whatever the riff is, then move on. I tell myself that as long as I have a one or more really good riffs in a song, I'l go back and cannibalize them later, taking riffs from a pile of songs to make one killer new song. Never actually do that, but the thought gets me past the law of diminishing returns when I'm songwriting.

 

[FuzzyAce]

That's a super common roadblock for creative people no matter what the creation is... which is why I learned to just play til I don't hate whatever the riff is, then move on. I tell myself that as long as I have a one or more really good riffs in a song, I'l go back and cannibalize them later, taking riffs from a pile of songs to make one killer new song. Never actually do that, but the thought gets me past the law of diminishing returns when I'm songwriting.

I do work faster and less nit-picky when i'm writing with someone. A more enjoyable and spontaneous process usually. Solo material is more personal so that's when things stall for a number of reasons. Probably why doing instrumentals are much easier, I love to improv and I've always gravitated in that direction. But I have tons of songs that are acoustic, lyrical, folksy but haven't focused enough on recording them. Doubt and procrastination are wicked things.