There is a trope that appears in many types of media; movies, books, comics, stories, even video-games... so let's take a closer look at it.
For example, science fiction, thriller, or "epic" movies often feature a protagonist that is a type of loser, outsider, nerdy; but not an "outsider" to that degree that they are the absolute, negative center of attention for their social surroundings; to the contrary, they are often people that are ignored, avoided, almost like their lives are invisible to everyone.
they might be a dorky teenager. a young adult stuck in dead end jobs, or living an annoying life, being "stuck" at their family's home. people with office jobs that get nowhere, or that have trouble asserting themselves, being "seen", getting the attention of the gender(s) they are attracted to. or maybe even older protagonists, that could be fringe scientists that have always been ignored by their peers.
maybe it's not even that dramatic - they are not perpetual losers. just people without a very exciting life, or exciting trajectory.
so, for the first few minutes of the movie, we are introduced to this protagonist and his "quiet live". these scenes might even be long-winding, and feel a bit boring.
then, suddenly, something happens. they see a meteor coming down. or they hear strange noises from the forest. their suitcases get exchanged. they accidentally receive an email with confidential information. and so on.
let's stick with the "meteor" example, and a young adult protagonist.
out of curiosity, they follow up to the supposed "crash site".
government officials are already there.
things do not add up.
they intend to get the whole thing out of their head and live on their lives. but of course they can't.
they do further inquiries.
extra-terrestrials seem to be involved.
their peers do not believe them - at first.
further evidence is gathered.
a peer finds out that it was not a "meteor" that crashed - it was a bona fide u.f.o.
the government tries to cover it up.
they are getting chased, have to leave their homes.
now some of the aliens chase them, too.
they have to fight.
they manage to get their hands on futuristic weaponry.
eventually, the government officials "give in" and realize they need to tell the truth, or the young adults would "blow the cover" of the whole story.
humanity is caught in an intergalactic war.
since ancient times.
the u.f.o. was shot down in this war.
humans are mere pawns in these happenings that span the the whole galaxy.
the young adult protagonists get equipment that allows them to travel between stars.
they meet other alien races.
they discover portals on far away planets that lead to other dimensions.
and from here on... everything gets even more exciting.
you see what i did there? or rather, what all the directors did, that created movies with similar plots?
it all begins very humble, subdued, quiet, silent. we see the live of an everyman in his everyday world, and it's not very exciting. but then, slowly but surely, elements out of the ordinary, of a different, cosmic nature, are introduced. but not all at once. we are getting there, at a low but steady tempo. and then everything becomes more and more cosmic and electrifying and thrilling...
I call this trope "The Fool's Journey", as it mirrors the one undertaken by Class "R" Detective John DiFool in the Jodoverse of stories.
But... how does this relate to music production?
Because music producers usually do not want to be "the fool". They want to rush things. they want to have the cosmic climax at the end of all things - right at the beginning.
or, to give a specific example.
a person with little experience in music production has a go at creating techno, or synthwave, or whatever.
and, of course, in their youthful impatience, they want to "churn out killer tunes" right from the start.
no no, it does not work like that. start slow, start bad. maybe your first tracks suck like heck. don't let that discourage you. rise up, slowly but steadily, from that.
similarly, "fresh" producers always ask experienced, well-known ones about the "secret" of making epic tracks. even if they would tell you this, it would be no use to you.
you can't be totally epic from the beginning.
you should choose to have patience. and choose to "accept" producing tracks that might be a bit boring or annoying or not what you want at all.
even your first releases might still be a bit dull and lacking.
the cosmic, awe-inspiring stuff will come later - and if you follows this path, it will come naturally and automatically.
but this does not go only for your music production trajectory - but also for your individual tracks or songs themselves.
because it is impossible to create tracks that are purely marvelous, stunning, exciting, celestial. everything has to include its opposite too. so a track needs to have dull, less exciting, and even "bad" parts, too, or it will simply fell apart.
it's just that the "fan" usually does not realize this about his beloved songs.
you don't believe me?
take any song that is unequivocally considered to be an epic and a classic.
then, if it's available, look up the history and details behind its production.
and you will always find "production dents" and flaws and mistakes in it:
maybe the drummer accidentally dropped the stick during recording and had to finish without it ("Ronettes - Be My Baby"). or the vocalist was in jail and had to record his voice using a telephone ("Bad Brains - Sacred Love")
okay that one was maybe not so well-known, but it was epic.
or the whole production session went haywire, important vocalists couldn't perform or did not even turn up ("Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas").
or the band simply decided to jump into the pool and this became an glorious sound effect of the 80s ("Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax").
this one was maybe not a "dent" because it was intentional, but it's still a good example of being cool during production.
or the band realized they recorded too few material for their album so they improvised something in a few minutes by throwing some chords and drumming together ("Black Sabbath - Paranoid").
it's just that this information is usually too sensitive for the general public, of if the "fans" know it, they ignore its implications (that mistakes and flaws inform artists' hits).
so that is something that is always there. don't be afraid of being foolish once in a while. and i hope the above can help you a bit with your own production - and music "career"!
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