Some of the signs that shows that your song is finished is when you can listen to it all the way through without having to stop and think about what you are going to do next. Another sign that your song is finished is when you can play it in a loop and it doesn’t get boring after a few times. Below 5 signs tell your song is finished.
Sign 1: The Idea’s Been Done
If you’re like me, you might find yourself in a situation where you’re working on an idea that’s been done before. Maybe it’s not the exact same idea, but the theme or feel is similar enough that it feels like a waste of time. Or maybe someone else has already come up with it and made it popular.
I’ve found the best way to deal with this is to find what I call “sign 1.” You might know it as “the point of diminishing returns.” When you get to sign 1, your work will start feeling less fulfilling and your brain will start looking for other ideas.
Sign 2: Listen the Song like a Listener, Not Like a Producer
Try listening to your song in a different way, not on your producer’s chair. Listen as if it is another person’s song and you are just an observer. You could detach yourself from the song and just enjoy it for what it is. When a track feels complete, you’re able to listen to it as a whole just like your audience would, rather than paying attention to individual parts.
Sign 3: You’re excited to show it to your friends
As you start to get more excited about your new song, you might find yourself looking forward to sharing it with a friend. Why not let them have the first listen? When you play it for someone, pay close attention to whether or not you are tense during any part of the song. If you can remain fully relaxed while playing, your song is in perfect shape.
Sign 4. You want to Start Working on Something New
Sometimes, after spending a lot of time on a song, it’s simply time to move on and create something new. If you keep going back and changing it just a little bit more, you’ll start to get bored of it.
Instead of continuing to work on an already done project for hours, take a break and work on something else or try to brainstorm different ideas for this or other projects you work on. You’ll be much more productive and able to think outside the box when working on something new.
Sign 5. Accept your song
One of the main reasons for not finishing a song is that you don’t find it good enough yet. In other words, it does not meet your standards.
You might not be at your strength level just yet. Have you considered that maybe this is the best song you can produce right now? Accepting this & celebrating it will allow you to move forwards without feeling pressured to release a more perfect track.
I find that people who are perfectionists often can’t stand their own work and always find things wrong with it. This is a never ending cycle and the stress is not sustainable in the long-term.
Plus, they may not even know what they’ve accomplished because they’re so focused on their flaws. Work is never perfect but it’s important to be realistic and acknowledge the job is good enough for now.
This is just my opinion, but I think that it doesn’t need to be the best, as long as it’s perfect for today.
As you keep up with your work, you’ll become better in producing songs. These songs will inevitably grow closer in quality to what you expected in the beginning. But if your standards are too high, it will be hard to make progress and soon give up.
Check also our article of Music Production Tips
