Producer Mindset Mistake #1: Giving Up on a Song Because You Got Bored

At the start of the year, I asked my newsletter subscribers what they wanted me to discuss more of and the highest ranking answer was "musical artistry (how to stay inspired, mindset, and creative practices)." So let's talk mindset.

As a private Ableton Live coach and faculty member at Point Blank Music School, I have worked with hundreds of producers. These are the four most common producer mindset mistakes I see over and over again:

• Mistake #1: Giving up on a song because you got bored

• Mistake #2: Overstuffing a song because you're insecure about the core idea

• Mistake #3: Believing the mix (and somebody else) will save your song

• Mistake #4: Thinking you’re advanced because you abandoned the basics

Over the next four weeks, I'm going to address each of these mistakes and offer a practical way for you to address them in your own creative practice.

Let's dive in!

Giving Up on a Song Because You Got Bored?

Music producers,

Have you ever started a song, invested countless hours of creative time and energy into it, only to have the same dreaded question rear it's ugly head every time: Is this song actually that good? At that point, you leave it sitting in your projects folder, half-finished. Maybe you start something new, hoping the next idea will be better.

I’ve seen this happen with so many producers that I've taught over the years. 99.99% of the time the problem isn’t the song. The problem is that you took too long to finish it.

If you sit with a track for too long, boredom will creep in. You’ll start second-guessing everything. The spark that got you excited in the first place fades—not because the song was bad, but because you spent too much time tinkering instead of finishing.

Humans are creatures that crave novelty and newness. As somebody with ADHD, I experience this on a deep level and have faced this problem myself more times than I care to count.

A good idea will always lose its magic if you overexpose yourself to it. The solution? Finish faster. Challenge yourself to complete songs before boredom sets in. Push past the point where you normally abandon ideas. The more you practice this, the less likely you are to fall into the cycle of unfinished tracks.

Does this sound like you? Then try this:

Set a deadline to finish your song. Tailor it to your workflow:

• Can you challenge yourself to write, produce, and export a track in two hours?

• Would limiting yourself to five sessions on a single track help?

• Should you stream your process so you don’t get bogged down in details, knowing someone is watching?

I have experience in timed music production competitions, and I know for a fact that these techniques work. Try one and see how it changes your approach.

Come back next week and we'll discuss a different (but often related) mindset mistake: overstuffing songs.

Til next time,
ZW