Embrace The Suck

This week was somewhat unproductive. I got sick and had to deal with that for a third of the week. Dealing with it meant being isolated and trying to find ways to entertain myself. The first day the entertainment consisted of 5 hours of Instagram... Had not fallen that low in a while.

Then upon watching another set of happy bounce music, I was inspired to start learning music production. For reference, I have never learned music theory, the closest I have been to it is mixing. Mixing gives some insight into the world of electronic music, the structure and the rhythm of songs. It makes one understand the phrasing and the way sounds should sound. That being said, that is only from experience and there is no theoretical knowledge behind it.

Anyway, I loaded up the demo version of Fruity Loops, a rather popular digital audio workstation (DAW for short). Without any specific idea, I started trying out different sounds and experimenting. The interface of a DAW is intimidating, there are so many different digital buttons, knobs and waves. After two hours of getting nowhere, I got demotivated.

I started sending out cries of help to friends who had tiptoed around producing themselves. Suddenly, I remembered a producer in my friend group sharing his biggest regret when starting – copying the artists you are inspired by. Yes, you are producing a sound already made, but it is part of a learning process.

That's when I chose a full walkthrough production video and followed along. I decided to make some techno since I have been into music in that bpm range lately. The walkthrough was precisely what I needed to make my learning process enjoyable again.

During a single day, I spent six hours on Fruity Loops. Since I was using the demo version I could not save my projects. Of course, music production uses up a considerable amount of RAM. This means the software is prone to crash (so saving would be a nice feature). In those six hours, I started the whole song from scratch thrice.

Surprisingly, it did not bother me. I was into the flow. I managed to convince myself that if I can make it again I will be better at it anyway. I started to enjoy the process. That being said the time-consuming aspect of learning a new skill is an argument against it. Especially since finding six hours to spare during a normal week in the army is complicated.

The point of this little text was to remind You (and myself) that starting from scratch is not easy. It sucks even. But embrace it. Embrace the suck. That's the best way to get to your goals!

This Week's Suggestions:

🥤 Is Diet Coke ACTUALLY Bad For You? :

James Smith loves debunking popular myths, especially in the fitness realm. In this case, he talks about sugar substitutes and the understandable stigma attached to them. Highly suggest giving it a look.

🎶 "Doorman" by slowthai and Mura Masa :

This has been a recurring record in my rotation. It just has some kick to it. It is a rap song with a rock vibe. It just gets me going!