Getting sick of a song while mixing.

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BluesPower

New member
Does this ever happen to anyone here, especially if you're mixing your own music?

After listening to a song so many times to get all the tracking right, then you have to listen so many times more to get the mixing right. I think it can make one sick of any song. After a while, you can't properly judge if a song is good or not.

What do you guys do to help this problem? I think starting work on the next song before you finish the one you got sick of might help. Also, having shorter songs. Or, simply take a break for a few days or weeks.
 
the worst part is when you get sick of the song, but you've heard it so much that its stuck in your brain for months and won't go away.
 
I don't think I've had a single project in my career where the end came too soon. In other words I think I've gotten "sick" of every song, video, website, etc. that I've worked on :). It comes with the territory to a certain degree, I think.

You just have to detach from that and plow through the work; getting your enjoyment from each little detail that you nail down as you go along. you may be sick of the song, but when you finally get the acoustic guitar and the vocal syncopating just right on the bridge so that it sounds just right, there should be a little bit of an endorphin rush at that point, even if you are sick of the bridge itself. Just move from sub-goal to sub-goal and get the "enjoyment" out of each step.

Besides, the real enjoyment returns when you see the looks of pleasure on the faces of those you show the results to, and when you play it back for youself a couple of weeks after the work is done and you've moved on to something else.

G.
 
SouthSIDE Glen said:
Besides, the real enjoyment returns when you...play it back for youself a couple of weeks after the work is done and you've moved on to something else.

G.
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thats true also. i know after i get tired of a song during mixing, once i'm done and hear the song a couple weeks later, it feels good to hear the final product knowing that you arent actually working on it anymore. one thing i noticed also while mixing is that after a while, you pick up on every little quirk in every little part of the song. not like major mistakes, but just little quirks that wouldn't normally require a re-track, and ones you might not have noticed until way later in the mixing process. those get stuck in my head also, and i feel crazy because i'm usually the only one who can hear em or notice em. :o
 
Take frequent breaks. If the client is there, make it look like you arn't taking frequent breaks.

Go out for a smoke, do something else for 5-10 minutes, or watch some porn.

That helps tons in clearing you head and keeping your ears fresh.
 
TuoKaerf said:
Go out for a smoke, do something else for 5-10 minutes, or watch some porn.
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just don't use the porno music as a reference for your mix. :eek:
 
I think taking breaks is good. Short breaks while working are great, but if you can take a few days or even weeks between tracking and mixing you'll probably come back with fresh ears.

Also, it helps to work fast. Set yourself a deadline for completing the mix and stick to it. If you start mixing a song on Saturday morning, for example, you should have it finished by Saturday night or Sunday.

But yeah, I have gotten sick of projects by the time I've been done with them. Mostly it seems to happen when things drag on for one reason or another.
 
BluesPower said:
Does this ever happen to anyone here, especially if you're mixing your own music?

After listening to a song so many times to get all the tracking right, then you have to listen so many times more to get the mixing right. I think it can make one sick of any song. After a while, you can't properly judge if a song is good or not.

What do you guys do to help this problem? I think starting work on the next song before you finish the one you got sick of might help. Also, having shorter songs. Or, simply take a break for a few days or weeks.
Click to expand...

this issue was greatly alleviated per BMWerks advice on Tracking dry and in Mono on the DAW...get the best sound you can on the instrument or mic placement, or direct in...but don't dilly-dally- over and over -eqing and panning while tracking= added time= song burn out.
this was a HUGE help for me while tracking, kept the groove and freshness going. probably reduced the "front end" time = less burn out.

Then the Mixing stage, well i'm learning but good monitor placements and a acoustic treatments have helped the ear fatigue= less burn out.
this stage is burning me out the most now. i've often heard its better to have someone else do it (if its something serious), as the musician maybe too close to the song to be mixing it with a nuetral perspective...maybe same witha Mastering stage.

& I've never had much luck going back later and doing anything to the same old pc of sht.

being a "songwriter" type, usually i'm glad to end it asap and the next time i get the urge its usually for a new tune.......i don't know how pro's sing their famous hit over and over for 50years, except for the money i guess. it must be like a living hell?

yeah your not alone, burn out.....song burn out....playing,recording,mixing,burning....all by yourself...whooa.

i heard a DJ once in NewMexico...."I loved Stairway to Heaven....the first 10,000 times"

:cool:
 
i almost never get sick of a song.
actually enough repitition usually makes me like (or at least tollerate) a song that i didn't like at first.
i get sick of jobs, but not usually individual songs.
just lucky i guess.
 
Performing, tracking and mixing are three different activities and use different parts of the brain. It's good if you can get into and relish the differences.
 
Sometimes it is best to step away from a project for a few days or even a few weeks to get that fire back. It can be tough if you're constantly working on stuff. Right now I am so burned out it isn't funny. Lucky for me the studio shuts down for 2 weeks in late December for the holidays.
 
Another way to avoid burnout is to switch projects. It's not like you have to stop working on music, just switch to a different song or a different type of project. Then go back to the original song later and you'll have fresh ears.
 
Maybe I misunderstood the original question, but I think there is a big difference between "burnout" and "getting sick of a song".

Now, maybe BluesPower meant them as the same thing. But maybe not. When he says "After a while, you can't properly judge if a song is good or not", it take that as meaning something different than "After a while, you can't properly judge if a mix is good or not". The latter is burnout, the former is not. When I referred to getting "sick of a song" on every song I've done, I was not referring to "burnout" or "ear fatigue", though that does of course happen.

This distinction is, I think, very important, and not just semantics, and one needs to recognize the difference when either one happens. For burnout and fatigue, taking breaks or switching projects are very important remedies. For simply getting sick of a song, however, a little discipline can go a long way. Treat each project like a marathon instead of a sprint, work from milestone to milestone, concentrate on the details of the moment, and understand going in that not every song you work on is necessarily going to get under your skin (in a good way, I mean ;) ), and it's much easier to get through a song and do it well, regardless of whether by the end the song makes you want to dance or makes you want to lose your lobster.:)

Fatigue (both mental and aural) and burnout are completly different stories, however. And for that I'm in alignment with Albie all the way.

G.
 
giraffe said:
i almost never get sick of a song.
actually enough repitition usually makes me like (or at least tollerate) a song that i didn't like at first.
i get sick of jobs, but not usually individual songs.
just lucky i guess.
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Sounds like we're of the few.
Can't think of a time where I really got sick of a song, fatigued yes. I guess when they (school) said
"what's your favorite music?"
mmm...
"the music your working on"

I took it to heart.
 
It only takes you until mixing before you are sick of it?

Man.......................most of the time, I am sick of the song before the freakin' drummer get's a decent take!

;)

Seriously!!!

Sorry, I just don't have anything useful to add really. I just try to keep my eye on the prize so to speak. I try to remember what I originally thought to the be the sonic potential of the song, and to patiently achieve that (if enough time is givin)

Good luck!
 
Ford Van said:
Man.......................most of the time, I am sick of the song before the freakin' drummer get's a decent take!
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Hahaha, ain't that the truth more often that we'd like. :rolleyes:

G.
 
here's a tip from someone who, until recently, never actually ever managed to completely finish a song to a 'end-user' quality...i write band-type music, so it maybe different in other genres.
when i'm getting bored of a song, i always back it up and then experiment with it. for example, i always now record an acoustic guitar as my 'guide' track (often, it literally IS a guide, with no intention of being on the final recording). but when i'm getting bored of the song, i'll literally mute all the heavy guitars, drums, bass, etc so that i'm just left with an acoustic song with vocals. maybe with a few 'temporary' touches of reverb in it to make it sound weird but interesting. the thing that makes me bored of a song is hearing it so many times until it just doesnt sound like i wanted it to. but turning it into an acoustic song with just a few clicks of a few buttons is all i need to make me look at the song differently, before i go back to the full mix and have the enthusiasm for the song back.
failing that, the other problem i face is that i'm a musician, not a recording artist, so i easily get bogged down with things just not happening the way i planned. but as before, it seems that re-tracking one of the instrumental tracks, just so youre actually playing it rather than getting into the technical mixing side of things actually also helps you re-ignite what the song was about in the first place.
as a last resort, get the HELL away from your speakers and warn the neighbours, and CRANK it up loud. i find the sheer volume is enough to feel good about a song.

not quite the professional answer, but nonetheless it actually works for me now
Cheers
 
A big part of it for me is that most of my clients are not very good (yet). I'm new in the business, so I'm working my way up. Sometimes it is quite the hassle to get a good sound out of a bad player.

Nothing against band bands, at least they are doing what they love, but it can become quite a headace sometimes.

At least I'm getting ok at making a turd sound like a very polished turd.
 
I have come to despise everything I have ever recorded. Since I am handcuffed to a Roland VS880EX, I am limited to 8 tracks at once. Also, I can apply a maximum of two effects at a time, and to get a decent EQ (parametric) I need toi use an effect. Therefore, I am bouncing with effects, sometimes three or four times for a given track. Unless of course, that track doesn't work in the finished mix, in which case I have to go back to the naked track, and start over.

Every flub, every dubious bit of timing, becomes part of my body. I finally reach a point where I have compromised to the point where everything is equally mediocre.

Then I'll listen to it a week later, and start working on the more glaring flaws again.
 
Help!

Dear all,

Im new to mixing and just wondered if there were a few simple guidelines that could help off to a better start.

I undertsand the basics pretty well but have a little trouble blending parts.
 
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