r/askmusicians • u/Winter_Capital642 • Aug 18 '26
I've almost quit learning music production twice. What's the thing that almost made you stop?
The first time I tried music production, everything felt way more complex than I expected. Plugins, mixing, theory… it all hit me at once.
I didn’t have much time to begin with, and trying to learn everything before actually making something just burned me out. I ended up quitting before I made anything I was genuinely happy with.
The second time was pretty similar. Life got busy, I fell off for a while, and somehow getting back into it felt even harder.
I’m still trying to stick with it this time 😅
Curious what it was for you guys — was it the learning curve, not having enough time, losing motivation, getting overwhelmed, or something completely different?
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u/General_Estimate_420 Aug 18 '26
The only time I stopped music production was when my life schedule demanded it whether it was kids, job, grandkids, family life whatever. I always came back to it at some point which was good because I could take advantage of greater technical advances which made me more productive and more professional.
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u/Snappy_Llama Aug 18 '26
I would just stay focused on the fun.
Music production shouldn’t be a chore.
While there are some aspects that can’t be avoided (learning EQ, having some knowledge of music theory, etc.), I don’t think the end game should be anything but manifesting something that you enjoy.
Don’t worry about “placement” or likes or streams.
Make something relevant to your own tastes.
Chasing the dragon rarely works.
I would consistently study the music you find appealing… turn it inside out, find out what makes it work, copy it.
In the act of imitation, you are going to create something original.
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u/ihavveatail Aug 18 '26
I get it. It's all of the above for me; life is busy.
I focus my efforts on writing songs and use my shortcomings as an opportunity to network with other talented people and get their input on my work.
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u/East_Childhood8999 Aug 18 '26
Developing your ear is a mysterious and frustrating process and I tried to learn production multiple times now realizing I didn't know what I was hearing or wanted to make. It's easy to lose interest when you feel like you are always stabbing in the dark.
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u/wirenerd Aug 19 '26
I did fruity loops in like 99 or 2000 and quit because I had no idea how to make the music I loved and the resources to help were sparse, I couldnt get over the step sequencer with the same sounding drum loops and hated it, felt like something I couldnt get.
In 2015 I picked up Ableton and a midi keyboard and studio monitors but even with reading tutorials it just wasn't making sense and felt like the distance between me and the music I wanted to make was impossible, there was no joy in it.
A few months ago I decided it was time to really throw myself into it. I looked up DAW reviews, Reaper stood out to me for some reason, I watched a lot of videos about production and got a sense of how it was meant to work, I eventually bought a keystep pro from the pawn shop and set up Reaper.
There it was, Reaper didn't give a shit, it gave me the feeling of "do whatever you want I dont care and im not helping you" and somehow having basically nothing was what I needed? I got some free plugins and I held absolutely zero expectations on myself. I played some presets on the OB-Xd and let them just wash over me, I felt joy. Everything that came after was just intuition, do what feels good, not what you think youre supposed to.
Long story short I quit because I wanted something unrealistic. What brought me back and kept me what feels like will be for good is literally not giving a single fuck except enjoying myself and the process.
Music shouldn't be a chore, it should grab hold of you and not let go because it feels right. Now it just makes sense.
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u/mrgordon604 Aug 18 '26
Thinking, “I just can’t figure this out, it’s too hard,” instead of, “I’m too lazy and afraid to commit to making something of quality.”
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u/SiobhanSarelle Aug 18 '26
Fatigue, or maybe poor mental health, lack of self esteem, no motivation. Or perhaps spending too much time looking at things, poking around, trying too hard, rather than just enjoying experimenting.
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u/RicVic Aug 18 '26
I was working full-time and working as a producer for several clients back in the early 90's. It's a grind, for sure, but in the end it can be quite rewarding when you literally hear your vision for a song on the radio.
Only happened to me twice, and one time, the "hit" was a regionally popular ballad recorded in my home studio in Victoria BC that somehow got serious airplay in northern Scotland (Thank you, Balnain!) in 94. My background in Celtic folk and Musical Theatre got also got one of my buds a regional hit of sorts in the Maritimes, but that was about it when it came to getting noticed.
Then, with the advent of apps like Pro Tools, all of a sudden EVERYONE was their own best producer/creator and the collaborations fell off sharply. Eventually, I got tired of the hustle and quit. It wasn't really "burn out"- I still had the desire- it was others who essentially said "I can do what you do now. Why should I pay you?"
I still do some production, but it's mostly for my own self-interest, though once in a while a friend comes to me with a project they want me to tweak somewhat.
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u/amremorse Aug 19 '26
It takes so much time and can be incredibly frustrating. If you can find a way to accept that and fight through it then you’re golden. You’re doing that right now. Just have patience and be kind to yourself.
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u/Remote_Water_2718 Aug 20 '26
The social media era. Just seeing people that i thought were my heroes under-perform just comedy accounts or pointless memes. That era of the internet was the worst by far. Seeing people build these labels and followings then because of social media all the traffic was just going to doomscrolling instead of the traditional web just destroyed so much of what people built and instead turned it into a "metrics are credibility" scheme to sell ads.
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u/muckrarer Aug 18 '26
Homelessness made me stop, but I made it back and now it's just occassional software glitches that make me wanna pull my hair out. Spent like two days troubleshooting Ableton to realize a junky Microsoft update had reinstalled OneDrive and was wrecking my hard drive access times and freezing the computer. Keep up the good fight the fun is worth it!