What were your first songs like?

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CYSYS8993
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18 Apr 2019

Especially a question for those with at least a year of experience producing music, how do your first songs compare to what they sound like now?
Do you notice any significant improvement, for example, better mastering?

PhillipOrdonez
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18 Apr 2019

CYSYS8993 wrote:
18 Apr 2019
Especially a question for those with at least a year of experience producing music, how do your first songs compare to what they sound like now?
Do you notice any significant improvement, for example, better mastering?
My first songs sounded like shit.


Now they sound a little less shit.

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Zac
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18 Apr 2019

Tomorrow I'll post mine from 2001... the reason file... you'll need to take time to open it and listen... i bet it doesn't sound sooo bad really... just a bit quiet

Przemyslaw
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19 Apr 2019

My first project in the Reason is 2002. And there is no mastering at all. Now, I earn my living for music, so I suspect that it's a bit better.

An interesting idea would be to remix this first song ... and compare/show your skills. Although I like my first song in Reason very much and I have a fondness for it.

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NekujaK
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19 Apr 2019

Hopefully, it's a path of constant growth and evolution. Be super critical of your own work, but also acknowledge your accomplishments. And don't forget, we're making art, so self expression is paramount - the only person you truly need to please is yourself.

I'd been writing and recording pop/rock music for many years before coming to Reason, so synths and beat-based music was a whole new world for me. The biggest challenge was trying to achieve the sound I heard in my head. I would constantly be disappointed that my tracks weren't coming out like I had intended in terms of overall sound and energy. But the funny thing is, when I listen to those tracks now, without all the baggage of my initial expectations, they actually don't sound so bad.

The key is to keep at it as much as possible. Just keep writing, producing, recording, mixing. There's no substitute for putting in the 10,000 hours.
wreaking havoc with :reason: since 2.5
:arrow: https://soundcloud.com/nekujak-donnay/sets

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Marco Raaphorst
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19 Apr 2019

don't care too much about the sound but it lacked matured music and lyrics.

mastering never bothered me. but I guess I don't want perfect sound. lo-fi and saturation is what gets me interesting.

I am playing guitar so a certain liveliness is often very nice. not creating a flat sound, a too balances thing bores me. I love edges.

WarStar
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19 Apr 2019

Biggest difference for me from my first attempts at writing music in Reason to presently is now I think outside the box a little more which I think is basically an extension of just experience. Mostly improvements in signal routing and the idea of alternate parts and phrases when writing. Sometimes the "knowledge" can get in the way in terms of over thinking but over all I think the experience has greatly improved my understanding of production.

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motuscott
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19 Apr 2019

They were so good I vowed then and there to never finish another song as long as I live.
Who’s using the royal plural now baby? 🧂

Ostermilk
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19 Apr 2019

Songs?

I use Reason to trial plug-ins, check benchmarks, and see how low my latency can go. Songs are so last century.

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dvdrtldg
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19 Apr 2019

Better than my current stuff, to be honest. As my production skills get "better" I've developed a sort of sheen and polish that I really want to get rid of. Plus, I over-crowd everything, have lost the minimalist edge. It's an interesting dilemma that I've noticed in a lot of other people's music: technical chops at the expense of risk taking

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motuscott
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19 Apr 2019

dvdrtldg wrote:
19 Apr 2019
Better than my current stuff, to be honest. As my production skills get "better" I've developed a sort of sheen and polish that I really want to get rid of. Plus, I over-crowd everything, have lost the minimalist edge. It's an interesting dilemma that I've noticed in a lot of other people's music: technical chops at the expense of risk taking
Cheers
You can beat this thing
Who’s using the royal plural now baby? 🧂

reggie1979
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19 Apr 2019

Surprisingly good. Now they are crap.

reggie1979
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19 Apr 2019

Btw, I think it's because I feel I should somehow be a "better" musician. So instead of just making music I noodle. And noodling is as productive as a frozen O-ring or thinking the ship is unsinkable.

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Zac
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20 Apr 2019

Zac wrote:
18 Apr 2019
Tomorrow I'll post mine from 2001... the reason file... you'll need to take time to open it and listen... i bet it doesn't sound sooo bad really... just a bit quiet
It turns out i went back and reworked my first few songs so no point posting here. Like some others have said i feel i wrote my best songs or at least had my best ideas in the first 2 or 3 years of using Reason.

I'm currently in a creative vacuum that has gone on far too long now.

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mcatalao
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21 Apr 2019

PhillipOrdonez wrote:
18 Apr 2019


My first songs sounded like shit.


Now they sound a little less shit.
That's the Spirit!!! 🤣

Desmondblack
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27 Apr 2019

I believe they do. Learning to use Reason much better, learning what different effects / plugins do to sound, learning about EQ-ing, mixing, arranging... I recognize what some of the peeps here are saying about longing for "more innocent" (my interpretation) days, but with every song I finish I feel I have learned something new, and sometimes I am even happy with the track :-)
Can't produce in the bedroom - people are sleeping there!

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gullum
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28 Apr 2019

They sounded like masterpieces then, not so much now :D
Last edited by gullum on 28 Apr 2019, edited 1 time in total.

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chimp_spanner
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28 Apr 2019

General MIDI Korn. That should really tell you all you need to know.

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diminished
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28 Apr 2019

chimp_spanner wrote:
28 Apr 2019
General MIDI Korn. That should really tell you all you need to know.
Lol. I'd listen to that!
:reason: Most recent track: resentment (synthwave) || Others: on my YouTube channel •ᴗ•

tiger jackson
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28 Apr 2019

I remember how I first started, too lazy to bother with theory and "I'll just play the keys good", the first beat I showed off was this very simple thing, and it didn't even use any chords for notes because I didn't understand the concept

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dioxide
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28 Apr 2019

motuscott wrote:
19 Apr 2019
They were so good I vowed then and there to never finish another song as long as I live.
Ha ha. Best reply yet.

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