I'm not sure I can't answer much here because I feel like I'm always just remaking the same two or three songs over and over again, but with slightly different flavors each time. It's chiptune marching songs all the way down, hahahaha...

One thing that has helped me at times was going in different and weird directions. For example, after months of composing exclusively on the M8, I went back to the keyboard to do some noodling and got some really cool sounds. Or when I decided to work on my vocal chop skills, which I had NEVER done before, it rendered some admittedly really cool results. And I started noticing it was something I really liked doing, so I've tried it more and more since then.

Anyways, let me comment on your actual song here: this sounds DOPE. Dark and mysterious, I'm digging it! The melody took me to some weird corners and I was all here for it! Really good job on the layering of all the sounds here, this sounds overall really, really cool. Super full, but not cluttered at all. And the sound design in general is really on point. Congrats, this kicks ass.

[quote=SQF]What strategies do you all use to keep things fresh and continuing to break new creative ground?[/quote] I'm not sure I can't answer much here because I feel like I'm always just remaking the same two or three songs over and over again, but with slightly different flavors each time. It's chiptune marching songs all the way down, hahahaha... One thing that has helped me at times was going in different and weird directions. For example, after months of composing exclusively on the M8, I went back to the keyboard to do some noodling and got some really cool sounds. Or when I decided to work on my vocal chop skills, which I had NEVER done before, it rendered some admittedly really cool results. And I started noticing it was something I really liked doing, so I've tried it more and more since then. Anyways, let me comment on your actual song here: this sounds DOPE. Dark and mysterious, I'm digging it! The melody took me to some weird corners and I was all here for it! Really good job on the layering of all the sounds here, this sounds overall really, really cool. Super full, but not cluttered at all. And the sound design in general is really on point. Congrats, this kicks ass.

Oh man! This is such a dark ominous song. I love the synth sounds you've chosen ... they all work really well together. And that ever present closed hat is great ... I really feel something is about to drop when it cuts out. So great!

Oh man! This is such a dark ominous song. I love the synth sounds you've chosen ... they all work really well together. And that ever present closed hat is great ... I really feel something is about to drop when it cuts out. So great!

haha "It's chiptune march songs all the way down" love it! We all gotta have our niches right?
Going from the M8 to a keyboard def unlocks new things for me. It's been too hot in my garage to want to fiddle with my sub 37/keyboard. Soon...
Glad you dig the tune! I always worry about making things tooooo cluttered so I'm glad I haven't crossed the line.
Thanks!

Thanks! I recently got some new m8 synth packs so it's been fun experimenting with them and these cool evolving pad sounds did the trick. Ominous for sure.

[quote=jegasus][quote=SQF]What strategies do you all use to keep things fresh and continuing to break new creative ground?[/quote] I'm not sure I can't answer much here because I feel like I'm always just remaking the same two or three songs over and over again, but with slightly different flavors each time. It's chiptune marching songs all the way down, hahahaha... One thing that has helped me at times was going in different and weird directions. For example, after months of composing exclusively on the M8, I went back to the keyboard to do some noodling and got some really cool sounds. Or when I decided to work on my vocal chop skills, which I had NEVER done before, it rendered some admittedly really cool results. And I started noticing it was something I really liked doing, so I've tried it more and more since then. Anyways, let me comment on your actual song here: this sounds DOPE. Dark and mysterious, I'm digging it! The melody took me to some weird corners and I was all here for it! Really good job on the layering of all the sounds here, this sounds overall really, really cool. Super full, but not cluttered at all. And the sound design in general is really on point. Congrats, this kicks ass. [/quote] haha "It's chiptune march songs all the way down" love it! We all gotta have our niches right? Going from the M8 to a keyboard def unlocks new things for me. It's been too hot in my garage to want to fiddle with my sub 37/keyboard. Soon... Glad you dig the tune! I always worry about making things tooooo cluttered so I'm glad I haven't crossed the line. Thanks! [quote=PeterM]Oh man! This is such a dark ominous song. I love the synth sounds you've chosen ... they all work really well together. And that ever present closed hat is great ... I really feel something is about to drop when it cuts out. So great![/quote] Thanks! I recently got some new m8 synth packs so it's been fun experimenting with them and these cool evolving pad sounds did the trick. Ominous for sure.

loving all the layers built into this very serious sounding track. menacing, but not hopeless. feels a lot like this modern life. but yeah, it rules!
*the track, i mean. jury is still out re: this modern life 

a big thing i've been working on is staying out of my own way once i get a spark of inspiration. like if i start overthinking or questioning things early on in the creative process, it just kills the flow.

it's been nice being on WB cuz i've felt less fussy about having to make some Capital A ART, and have been able to just have fun. having that weekly deadline forces me to complete something, and in some ways i think it's led to me making things that i'm still happy with weeks later (not everything of course ). but yeah, i've definitely overthought and overworked things in the past and with that weekly deadline there just ain't time for that! having a supportive community here too has also been great, cuz i know we're all in the same boat.

sorry, writing a book over here.
just a couple other quick things that have helped kickstart my brain:
>picking up a pc of gear (or even using a plugin) that i haven't used in a while. it's almost like meeting up with an old friend and picking up the conversation where it was left off.

>trying 1 new thing each week is a great way to expand skills and keep things interesting.

>collabs when possible. this can be tough, especially with the quick turn arounds. but it has really pushed me in good ways.

>revisiting old ideas that i never completed. some people might view this as "cheating," but i personally don't. i feel like if something is completed during the week, that it counts.

ok! have a great week, look forward to hearing where the rest of the year takes you/ us!

loving all the layers built into this very serious sounding track. menacing, but not hopeless. feels a lot like this modern life. but yeah, it rules! *the track, i mean. jury is still out re: this modern life :D [quote=SQF]What strategies do you all use to keep things fresh and continuing to break new creative ground? [/quote] a big thing i've been working on is staying out of my own way once i get a spark of inspiration. like if i start overthinking or questioning things early on in the creative process, it just kills the flow. it's been nice being on WB cuz i've felt less fussy about having to make some Capital A ART, and have been able to just have fun. having that weekly deadline forces me to complete something, and in some ways i think it's led to me making things that i'm still happy with weeks later (not everything of course :D ). but yeah, i've definitely overthought and overworked things in the past and with that weekly deadline there just ain't time for that! having a supportive community here too has also been great, cuz i know we're all in the same boat. sorry, writing a book over here. just a couple other quick things that have helped kickstart my brain: >picking up a pc of gear (or even using a plugin) that i haven't used in a while. it's almost like meeting up with an old friend and picking up the conversation where it was left off. >trying 1 new thing each week is a great way to expand skills and keep things interesting. >collabs when possible. this can be tough, especially with the quick turn arounds. but it has really pushed me in good ways. >revisiting old ideas that i never completed. some people might view this as "cheating," but i personally don't. i feel like if something is completed during the week, that it counts. ok! have a great week, look forward to hearing where the rest of the year takes you/ us!

This is dark and epic sounding.  I'm picturing it as a soundtrack for one of those brooding superhero types.  I could see Batman or somebody like that skulking through the night to this.

As for strategies, I like to look at what I've done recently and try to do something that sounds different.  If you're noticing any trends in particular, purposely avoid them.  For instance if I've done a lot of soft and slow, it might be time for loud and fast.  If I've been leaning heavily on synths, it might be time to bust out some guitars (or just radically different synth sounds), if there's been a lot of major keys, it might be time for some minor keys, etc.  I also totally agree with jwh about revisiting old ideas.  I've had a lot of sketches and unfinished ideas that I've fleshed out via WB over the years, and it's for sure not "cheating."  And sometimes getting in touch with your past, but bringing it in line with what you've learned now can create some fresh sounds or take you places you've been, but forgot about.

This is dark and epic sounding. I'm picturing it as a soundtrack for one of those brooding superhero types. I could see Batman or somebody like that skulking through the night to this. As for strategies, I like to look at what I've done recently and try to do something that sounds different. If you're noticing any trends in particular, purposely avoid them. For instance if I've done a lot of soft and slow, it might be time for loud and fast. If I've been leaning heavily on synths, it might be time to bust out some guitars (or just radically different synth sounds), if there's been a lot of major keys, it might be time for some minor keys, etc. I also totally agree with jwh about revisiting old ideas. I've had a lot of sketches and unfinished ideas that I've fleshed out via WB over the years, and it's for sure not "cheating." And sometimes getting in touch with your past, but bringing it in line with what you've learned now can create some fresh sounds or take you places you've been, but forgot about.

This track sounds AMAZING. Absolutely massive, dark and foreboding. Love the sound design, perfect sound choices throughout. Great track!

For me (at least currently), it's using WB as a stylistic playground, jumping from genre to genre. Those jumping off points are frequently from comments, where people have talked about things they've heard in my tracks - which are sometimes things I've never noticed! They give me a direction to dig deeper and try stuff out. Sometimes the most difficult part of creativity is knowing which direction to head in!

Digging into other bands and styles helps me understand what makes tracks tick - which in turn gives me more musical tools for my toolbox. WB is a great place to experiment, because like jwh said, we're all in the same boat.

New sounds always seem to yield at least one new song for me - whether it be a new instrument, plugin, or even a new guitar tuning. I also think that revisiting old ideas is ABSOLUTELY fine. The WB rules state that cover songs are legal so long as you have permission from the artist. To my reading, that means material that may have had its genesis outside of the week is A-OK.

This track sounds AMAZING. Absolutely massive, dark and foreboding. Love the sound design, perfect sound choices throughout. Great track! [quote=SQF]What strategies do you all use to keep things fresh and continuing to break new creative ground?[/quote] For me (at least currently), it's using WB as a stylistic playground, jumping from genre to genre. Those jumping off points are frequently from comments, where people have talked about things they've heard in my tracks - which are sometimes things I've never noticed! They give me a direction to dig deeper and try stuff out. Sometimes the most difficult part of creativity is knowing which direction to head in! Digging into other bands and styles helps me understand what makes tracks tick - which in turn gives me more musical tools for my toolbox. WB is a great place to experiment, because like jwh said, we're all in the same boat. New sounds always seem to yield at least one new song for me - whether it be a new instrument, plugin, or even a new guitar tuning. I also think that revisiting old ideas is ABSOLUTELY fine. The WB rules state that cover songs are legal so long as you have permission from the artist. To my reading, that means material that may have had its genesis outside of the week is A-OK.

Super groovy in that mysterious/foreboding way, love the plucky sounds around 1:50 and the other variations that pop up throughout.

I usually feel like my tracks don't have particularly in Plenty of my WB tracks this year I've thought sounded pretty similar to previous ones, but I'm often happy to try and slightly improve/iterate on my use of a style/progression/etc. Sometimes I'll experiment with small things while writing like holding a chord that has some tension for an extra measure just to see how that feels. As others have said, trying different sounds/instrumentation can be a good way to force variety.

Super groovy in that mysterious/foreboding way, love the plucky sounds around 1:50 and the other variations that pop up throughout. I usually feel like my tracks don't have particularly in Plenty of my WB tracks this year I've thought sounded pretty similar to previous ones, but I'm often happy to try and slightly improve/iterate on my use of a style/progression/etc. Sometimes I'll experiment with small things while writing like holding a chord that has some tension for an extra measure just to see how that feels. As others have said, trying different sounds/instrumentation can be a good way to force variety.

I like how you leaned into the major chord right from the start. It gives the otherwise dark atmosphere a layer of confidence.

The way I deal with submitting week after week is sticking to just one rule. "One wild card per session." That means that every week I'll start with an idea I haven't done last week, be it a weird technique, a preset I made for a synth, a new piece of equipment (or equipment I haven't used in a while), a non-typical time signature, etc. etc.

While this doesn't create masterpieces week over week, it keeps things interesting enough that after 37 weeks I don't feel like I'm in a creative rut. But I do have weeks where I just revert to my "usual suspects" and make a track with my favorite gear. Rest is needed.

I like how you leaned into the major chord right from the start. It gives the otherwise dark atmosphere a layer of confidence. The way I deal with submitting week after week is sticking to just one rule. "One wild card per session." That means that every week I'll start with an idea I haven't done last week, be it a weird technique, a preset I made for a synth, a new piece of equipment (or equipment I haven't used in a while), a non-typical time signature, etc. etc. While this doesn't create masterpieces week over week, it keeps things interesting enough that after 37 weeks I don't feel like I'm in a creative rut. But I do have weeks where I just revert to my "usual suspects" and make a track with my favorite gear. Rest is needed.