Is electronic music burning you out? 

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This has been the entirety of my 25 years of trying to make music. Its made for very slow progress. At some point I realized I try to make music not out of enjoyment, but out of compulsion. I feel like not knowing other musicians has made it even worse. These are great tips, I need to hear more of this.

This is the type of content I’d like to see more of instead of gear talk. I actually had never heard of the cortisol pit even though I experience it time and time again. We are all creatives going through the same struggles, and having someone voice them in such an articulate manner and from experience helps us grow. This is one instance where I am impressed with the algorythms, because I didn’t know I needed this. Thank you.

The rock bottom of the cortisol pit for me is going into another producer's IG page and looking for when they started making music that sounds "professional" (whatever that means). And then of course, self sabotaging myself by saying things like "By now you should have at least one good EP released, why cant you do that". Definitely the most toxic behavior I constantly engage in but trying to change. Thank you so much for this content Oscar!

Some of it comes from the whole Amydala response too. The brain at the fundamental level can't distinguish between genuine danger or if you just happening to making experimental art, so the flight or flight response kicks in. It IS possible to harness that reaction positively though For anyone interested I recommend look up Seth Godin's talk on the Lizard Brain.

I experienced both of these effects yesterday. It certainly wasn't the first, or even 20th time. There are two tactics I use to counteract these feelings. The first is to merely take a break - at least 30 mins. Bonus points if I do some physical activity during that break. The other option is to stop the current project and work on a song in an entirely different genre.

Dude, you have no idea how good your timing is on this topic! I've been stuck between The Cortisol Pit and Analysis Paralysis for weeks... I blame my anxiety.

I live almost constantly in the Receptivity Discomfort. One of my biggest struggle is knowing where to stop creating new stems, when my song has enough, finding the right balance between minimalism and overloading the track. Thank you for putting a name on it, I thought I was crazy !

Love how this became a self help channel 😆 I can also see someone coming home from a rave, really inspired, without eating, sleeping or hydrating, sitting and trying to make music for a full day, wondering why they feel bad😅

this was my favourite production education channel. now its my favourite Psychology/therapy channel!

Amen. Making music is a personal creative fulfillment, as long as you enjoy it just go for it. BTW great look

Learning to manage the thoughts and feelings of frustration that come with musical growth is a secret part of learning a musical instrument. In fact, I would argue that playing a musical instrument (daw included) is something that uniquely teaches a powerful life skill: to be able to be where you are in the moment and not have everything be perfect… but to still find satisfaction in the process and trust that taking next steps forward will put you in a better place.

I try to conquer these feelings by either hopping from track to track - opening and closing projects just making minor changes or just re-arrange something. Or I just make constant breaks in between doing something completely different. After I finished my second EP I had to start from scratch and it felt terrible. So now I am down to 5-6 new projects and after 2-3 weeks I will ask myself "which one of these will I likely continue?" and start to tidy up a little. Then I just repeat: work, breaks, work, breaks. And for my mental game I always remind myself: I am just on my way. Everything I do is another step into the right direction as long as I am continue making music. Everything will be fine it's always one step after another. Also: sometimes you need to produce bad songs and make bad decisions to learn what actually feels right for you. Having self-doubt is and will be part of the process all the time. But for me its a very good way to learn to be kind to myself and dont pressure myself too much. If I cant figure out the song today I might tomorrow.

Excellent, applicable to other creative and likely also not-regarded-as-creative work processes, especially when the person who's in it tends to obsess and push themselves

Gooood Oscar, very nice! Two things that work for me: work quickly and work on multiple projects simultaneously - as soon as I get bored or irritated by one song/picture/painting, I switch to the next one. That way I can avoid 'staleness'.

Both of these are everpresent. You explained them really well. I think the most powerfull thing about this, is knowing that this is normal. I feel mostly alone and isoluated during these moments. So this really helps!

This video came at the right timing ❤. The "who do I think I am and all this sounds terrible" happened BIG TIME one week ago. Two days later I listened to the same tracks and thought "look at you, you did a good job, you are valid, this has worth". We humans are too intelligent for our own good. I guess this comes together with the creative impulse. It's such a coincidence that you spoke about Rick Rubin's book. Just bought it 2 days ago! Thanks for the video, Oscar. Gold, as always! That being said, the cortisol pit is a great title for an industrial techno track. No?

Between your ears you must listen not talk and when silence arrives creativity appears, Keep Guiding Oscar 👽

One of top quality mentors which helped me over years. Thanks Oscar.

Rick Rubin is the GOAT! I'm also reading his book and the wisdom this guy delivers is just something else. Great video Oscar!

I've found permaculture particularly useful. It teaches us to see the living, breathing patterns of life and to treat ourselves and our environments as ecosystems. This kind of naturality soothes and can suit everybody because we we born in it 🌍

I really needed to hear this thank you. It’s a great way to experience your own doubts and almost work from a third person view. Thank you 👍

I haven’t really finished any projects for the last three months and I think a lot of it is the fact that I listen to the same loop over and over until it becomes boring to me and I end up deleting it and starting over again. Thank you so much for this video, and it would definitely be a big help to have more like this.

The most important topic for me. I appreciate you for this

So true...this should be way more discussed in music-producing videos. Really important thing to deal with! 👏👏👏

It depends of your goal you have with making music. If you have to feed your family with your music then its a totally different perspective. I for my part have no commercial goal. For me making music is like a therapy for me. I don't need others to like my music...yes... it's a nice plus to it. I rather upload 100 Songs where maybe 5 or 10 are great than only uploading a few "good" ones and have another 100 unfinished ones never get finished. But again...its totally different when you want to live from your music. ❤☮☯❤☮☯❤

Absolutely amazing that I stumbled across this today. I find myself heading to the Cortisol Pit often, and as someone just getting into music production I can see why it might put people off making music permanently. There's also so much expenditure pressure in this hobby. "If i get that sample pack or plugin then I'll be a better musician!" Its counter productive, what you really meed to be doing is making more music. I think I might try a process where i limit my time into Sound Design and Arrangement to try and avoid the pit going forward. Fantastic content @OscarUnderdog

Forty years ago, I learned I had a very low threshold for repetitive beats. Bang bang bang. I just couldn't do it. It was the dawn of "house" and I'm sat in a studio watching the clock burn all my money while an engineer with an 808 sound checked a snare with gated reverb on it ( very trendy then) for what seemed like hours. I was just beginning to recognise the potential of midi and I knew I wanted to go that way but loops and sampling were nowhere yet unless you had a LOT of money. Furthermore, I got a brief look at the music business as it was then and I closed the door before they could shut me out. As soon as the dominance of house asserted itself I gave up in despair and it was a very long time before I felt like there was a way back in. I am beginning to see a way forward with Ableton, with BBC 6 music and with RU-vid channels like yours, where the subtleties of techno and other genres are explained and propagated, where I can learn how to vary and transform loops to keep them fresh, where to look for inspiration and others who have found a way on the outside. This video feels like a kind of confessional as I have always felt that studio work is inherently unhealthy both physically and mentally. Enthusiasm for an idea can keep you zooming in for long periods, can suddenly catch you sitting awkwardly or dying for a pee or you didn't eat yet, your eyes are on stalks (particularly when you get stuck). As a solo musician or producer, it's isolation, it can get pretty weird being shut away with the work. I'm never going to be a musician and I am neither methodical nor tidy minded enough to make anything other than sketchy music but it satisfies me and I have no pressure to force me forward. No deadlines. No burning ambitions. I could never have thrived in that adrenaline fuelled environment nor with those pushy people. Maybe that's what the meditation is for in Rick Rubin's philosophy.

This is precious from psychology stand point. Thank you!

Couldn’t have related more to this, you put everything into perspective and have helped massively. Appreciate this video

From my experience i gained the conviction that to create music i need a good amount of saved energy.. (nofap, good sleep, no caffeine, and so on)

When receptivity discomfort kicks in, remember, you can always start a new project/track/loop. 😄

i swear the modular synth approach helped me so much with just letting creativity in. just setting up the boundary of what i roughly want to achieve by setting a few parameters and then just go wild within those parameters. record everything - even the sounds that are maybe not used to use in a synth sequence or whatever are kinda related in the "jam" so they fit maybe somewhere else. modular approach is the best way to let happy accidents happen.. this can also be done in the box.. try unorthodox mappings of modulators etc, go into the material.

got burnt out three times... im getting back into it but I am taking my time... and trying my best. thanks for the vid homie.

This us basically Zen and the Art of Electronic Music Production

Regarding the mathematics, I'm gonna be the "akchually" guy here and say that when you're 80% sure that element A is good and 80% sure that element B is good, the probability that both are good is obtained via a multiplication since the two events are supposedly unrelated. Thus, the probability that your overall composition is good will be 0.8*0.8=64% and not 60. This doesn't invalidate your point at all since 0.8*0.8*0.8*0.8.... tends relatively quickly to zero (as will any number strictly below one when you multiply it by itself enough times) and the percentage in itself is only an estimation anyway, but since you asked for the maths involved, here they are Anyway thank you Oscar for this great video, this is an important topic to tackle and it's good to be reminded that we're all allowed to take a break sometimes in this era where constant and optimal productivity is expected of everybody ! Plus you're giving concrete advice on top of the more psychological stuff, which is very helpful

30 years in, steady as she goes. The blips won’t matter. Pay attention to underdog and enjoy the ride 🤙🏽😎🖤🐓

Great video Oscar! Important subject rarely discussed. You can also add decison fatigue. Studies verify that per day we only have a certain amount of mental energy for decisons. In my manager job I notice this most days. When producing definitely. For example when I'm going through dense sample packs or presets, my brain will gradually become anxious being forced to make so many fast choices.

This crushed me years ago and basically turned into me hating even making music. It won for a while lol

Great great video!! Usually the most helpful content in this type of channels is when they get out of the DAW and give us some valuable insight or advice on a personal level. Many thanks for this one, I felt so related and started to see the effects last night.

this video couldnt have came along at a better time for me! thank you

as a little producer, your words meant a lot ! very precise and describing so many feelings that are with me everyday now. Thanks for your work ! That one did really hit me right into the heart

Oooh so that's what that is. This was really great to hear actually!

What a creative way to present creativity issues. You are the man! Maths are correct on the sum of uncertainty.

💚 should've mentioned ear fatigue on top of that, i keep searching for most immediate idea-to-audio file workflow for past 20 years, gave up on self-mastering as well

THIS! I battled with the cortisol pit for many years, to the point where I associated making music with anxiety. During the pandemic I worked with a coach to get through this and have been more productive than I ever have. I still get in my head and have moments of cortisol but much better than it was. Thanks for making this video, I wish I saw this years ago.

The point 3 about resetting to the elements that works is one of the best thing I started to do with my music. If I don't like a part now I will certainly not like it later with fatigue. I then just thrash it and try to find something that works. I always end up with something better!

When this happens to me i like to remember to myself that the main reason of making music is to have fun.

All that is well said, and very transposable to any area of life, of work... Productivity, like creativity, comes in bursts. Periods of rest, down time, contemplation and even active "doing nothing" are essential between bursts. It's okay not to be productive or creative all the time. Like a good and exciting snare or clap: to savor it, you can't have it on every beat. The scarcer you make it, the better it feels when it hits.

Fantastic video. This definitely resonates with me. I often spend far too long on my tracks, constantly tweaking and adding new elements then messing the whole thing up and never wanting to listen to it again. I am finding it quite good to set myself deadlines to finish tracks. If I can finish a track in 20 hours, I will be happy.

"I don't know what this is yet" applies to almost every loop I have

Damn dude you hit nails there! Thanks for this lesson

I find I have to be careful to not beat myself up for not 'achieving' something each session. Somehow by allowing productivity to fail, means that I'm far more willing and excited to come back to each project after having a new idea (usually in the shower). Also had a book recommended 'The war of art', basically saying that approaching art as a professional is different to amateur - you must keep your emotions in check in order to work as a professional, not allow your emotional self to become wrapped up in each project, 'its just a job'. Now I'm in no way being paid to make music but I've definitely found approaching things in this way has allowed me to nearly complete 2 whole tracks in the space of three weeks, something I've literally never been able to do before.

Well put, this can be applied to many other creative media. In film, I'm faced with many of these same questions and problems. This is a great way to get out of that "rut."

As always, some really wise words and tips. Thank you for your great content!

As well as this definitely being a thing, I also go through something similar seasonally, where I spent roughly 6 months being more interested in producing, then the other 6 months being more interested in DJing

justtttttttt in time, my friend

SO I watched this last night before making some music I was kinda happy with, and thought to myself “I’m better than this video says I never end up in the cortisol pit” Then, this morning, I worked on a song for about an hour and a half or two hours and hated everything about it I WAS IN THE PIT Now I’m taking a quick step back and am gonna try again when I’m not exhausted Thank you for the advice!

This is true, those intrusive toughs, were my nightmare in the past for 15 years!. And on 6 years ago or so, I finally... woke up.

Very well explained Oscar. Not enough people talk about it.

Another great video. Quite helpful and it’s the perfect time in my life to receive this advice.

This Comment is kind of a shoutout to my fellow producers with chronic pain/conditions. I go through burnout a lot. Like...A LOT. A lot of the problem stems from feeling like I can't spend enough time on something to really grasp it, or get it sounding the way I want it to. I frequently get out of the routine of working on something (If what I have is even called a routine lol) because of a pain flare where I'm experiencing more pain than usual. When I get out of a habit, and I pick it back up again, I always feel like I'm starting over from scratch. I find myself having to re-learn a lot of things. I learn best by doing, which makes it hard when breaks are needed, because reading and videos don't stick with me as well if I'm not following along. When I'm not down and out in a pain flare, I still have pain, which still presents its limitations. I can only work on things for short periods. My body says no, when my brain wants to *do the thing* all day. I have a lot of ambition my body can't keep up with. I often feel like I don't get to finish an idea. Rather than giving myself credit for the attempt at all, I'm always focusing on what I think are "shortcomings." I have a lot of thoughts like "I should know how to do this comfortably by now, I've been working on it for years." And then of course there's the "this sounds like crap" devil on my shoulder. There are a few things that kind of get me grounded again though. Listening to my old WIPs on soundcloud. I haven't heard some of these tracks in so long, I can judge them with a fresh ear. I don't remember what I was agonizing over at the time I was making them. Instead, what tends to happen is I actually find that I like what I did with the track. And I feel proud that I made something that I myself am able to enjoy, all while battling the pain monster. I'm trying a new approach lately, when I can. Some of the frustration for me can come from trying to adhere to a genre instead of just making noises that sound cool. So one of my goals is to really let go of that rigidity and just see what I come up with. One of my other goals, is well....micro goals. If I can concentrate on one small thing, instead of the entire track, every time I sit to work might not feel so overwhelming. One sound at a time. One melody at a time. One chord progression at a time. I feel like I'm more likely to have positive results if I just make a new sound I'm giddy about and call it a day, instead of trying to eat the whole elephant (even though I hate that expression lol) Everything has merit and will all add up to that completed project. So for me, 2024 is the year of micro-goals. Cheers.

It's crazy how alike we all are really isn't it.

Thanks for pointing this out. I usually get stuck in this for a while before I realize it. Once I do, I immediately turn off all my gear and leave the studio. I might come back later, but most likely the next day. This being the time of JAMuary, I have tried to publish something every day, which is definitely very tiring. I will try your tips!

Great video, Oscar...... Comforting to know I'm not alone in succumbing to these things..... Also nice to put a name to them too; means you can more easily mentally file them away as a 'thing' as opposed to me just being a bit of a psycho! lol

What a fantastic topic!

this is easily your best video yet! very interesting things, like the the more philosophical topics of being an artist!:)

Perfect timing Oscar, thanks :)

Thanks Oscar for covering this much needed topic. I often have these thoughts despite having completed music I am happy with and am proud of. But some of the actionable tools and thought process you described to overcome this phase in the creation process are very helpful. And yes. Love me some Rick Rubin! Keep up the great impactful work. Your content keeps getting better and better ❤

This looks like the perfect video to start your day ❤ Also, thanks for removing those thoughts of mine..

Wow this video is so in time! I’m now preparing for my first live and experience that feeling.. subconsciously I understand that it’s better to take a pause and to come back to rehearsal a little later. But thoughts that I shouldn’t stop because of limited time left made me nervous. But after watching this video I really think that it’s better to take a little break and not to judge myself while I’m in a cortisol pit. Thank you for the video! It’s great and useful (as always)! ❤️

Ur English and accent is so damn good my man

So true Oscar!!! I'm also struggling with this loop problem and even I had read about it before: you need to vary and concentrate on essentials before going for candies on the pie, I very often stuck with UFOs (unfinished Objects ...🤪)

Thanks so much, Oscar. 🙃🙂

Tx, excellent advice every creative person can relate to!

Muchas gracias por tus videos y tus consejos saludos desde México 🇲🇽 ❤

Very relatable, thanks. I was going to mention Rick also, his beard is majestic 🙏🏻 I'm halfway through writing a new album and it's all systems go whenever I'm in the studio. Definitely an emotional rollercoaster. A new track often kicks my arse for 2 days straight while I stumble around trying new things and having no idea what's going on. Many ideas are technically decent, but get thrown away due to not fitting anywhere. Then from one moment to the next the full structure and layout will click into place and I get super high from experiencing that brand new music. Then of course comes the fine tuning of all the details which is painstaking but very rewarding when you nail a drum fill or a breakdown or drop etc. Taking breaks is important and also keeping notes. Any time you have an idea for something, try it immediately or make a note if you're about to take a break. Never put it off without writing it down. The track only exists when it's finished, and it's a cascade of little ideas that create the entire picture. Do not block that flow and do not ever abandon the process to simply listen and enjoy it. Enjoyment does happen during the process, but as soon as you stop the creative flow, the track can assert itself as 'just the way it is' and become stuck, forever unfinished. Keeping the changes flowing keeps refreshing the listening experience and allows enough energy to complete tracks without exhausting yourself from what is essentially looping fatigue. Writing music is such a great teacher of patience, delayed gratification, humility, dedication, endurance, receptivity, discipline, vulnerability, wisdom... So many qualities you wouldn't expect or even be fully aware on the surface of things. Patience and strength to all, we got this 🙂🤍☯️

4:30 Hey, the mathematician you’ve called is here. Before explaining the mathematics behind this, I have to tell the outcome: What Oscar tries to tell is, even though we only have 4 issues on our production that we’re 20% uncertain, at the end we’re almost 60 percent uncertain about the whole thing and this is overwhelming, daunting, frustrating and demotivating. On the other hand, even though identifying those uncertainties might be tough, it is pretty rewarding. So when you feel jammed, just identify the things you’re uncertain about and fix them. So, back to maths: Adding constant uncertainties together creates a sequence what we call a Geometric Sequence, that is, the next element of the sequence can be calculated by multiplying the previous one with a constant number. Our certainty is the multiplier. First of all, when you add two 20% uncertainties together, you end up with a 36% uncertainty, not 40. The idea behind this is, each uncertainty decreases the certainty level by %20 geometrically, not by 20 points. Talking in terms of certainty instead of uncertainty is much simpler, certainly turns the problem into a series instead of sequences, and that’s the subject of the next semester :) Let’s start with no uncertainty: E0 =100% And add 20% uncertainties to it. E1=100*0.8 = 80 E2=80*0.8=64 E3=64*0.8=51.2 E4=40.96 Can you see the pattern? En = 100 * 0.8^n

Some love ❤

Thanks Oscar 💚

These philosophical videos are a highlight for me, keep ‘em coming. Enjoy these tunes everyone: “AERT - Mind over Matter” and “Arrab - Amal”.

I lose motility at the point to give up music almost once at year… in my case is lack of skills/experience the cause, only after that creativity (which I think I’ve a lot). About saving a project I’ve tried several time but it seems that my project are like a real time painting…no turning back, just adding or removing things but no a step back of that dimension…that’s why some time I give on the entire project when ideas not collide to one other

that's why making art in the morning is the best in my opinion. also that's why we drink coffee

Awesome dude.

Mathematical explanation as you requested: combining two tracks with a 80% chance that each is "good" leads to a finished project that is 80% * 80% = 64% good (36% chance it's crap).

I really related to some of this! My usual solution if I'm in the pit is to walk away for a while, that's definitely an option that works for me. I have other creative interests, which helps: I might go and work on my writing, or perhaps the code for some software tool. Diverting the creative impulse to another field can help, if that's an option for you. By the way, if there's an 80% chance of each of two _independent_ things being a good choice, then the chance that they're both good choices is 64% (essentially 0.8 x 0.8)... and that logic continues for more of them, the probability decreasing but slowing down its descent all the time. However, because this whole thing is subjective that's unlikely to be very important really. The main point remains true: the more uncertainty you add, the worse things get!

thanks Oscar. I have been working on a Above & Beyond remix.my problem was the bass sounds, they sounded 20% crap so i added layers which then made it 40% crap lol. i understand this theory after your video : )

I have tracks I am working on since 2016. No joke. I love their grooves and the overall sound, but doesn't matter what I do I am not able to fix them and make them sound like I wanted. Tried many many things, performed many refactoring missions. They improved a bit but still... idk. Then I turn to tiktok or ig to relax a bit and find out really young kids that are insanely talented that just pull out good music and I am like at 31 still sounding like a total amateur since 2013... Highly discouraging, but I keep trying as I really like my sound

The 'mathematical' concept of added up (rather multiplied) uncertainty is the very same effect that you get when you copy audio from one tape to another tape multiple times, where with each copy the original audio gets more and more degraded. Its the very same principle.

Thankyou ! That is all

People should be able to read their moods and know the basic function of hormones. I feel like lots of people have no idea. Constantly burning their dopamine levels with consuming reels, youtube shorts, junk food, porn etc...and then wondering why they are not motivated enough to do anything or be productive in any way. Same logic applies here, I advise to find secondary creative hobby. As a proffesional graphic designer I feel pressured sometimes and overall not enjoying the process. Producing music as my hobby in free time brought balance to my creativy. The point is... just understand how your body works and allow yourself to have a break from producing, come later with fresh mind and at the same time, stimulate your brain with another productive creative activity.

Thank you for this, happens way too over especially when using a DAW; a side note on negativity: last year i had a weekend marathon when i recorded 14 acid tracks (one-takes, completely loop based on grooveboxes), and on the second day i was mostly just goofing while tried to survive ear fatigue and headache, yet the recordings of the second day were released.

great video! I also enjoyed a lot the loop you played. Is the full song avaiable somewhere??

I have the opposite problem. I think everything I make is brilliant, it's everybody else that says it's shyte! 😂🤣😂🤣😂

Just always save new versions when you've made changes to the sound and feel, and before and after bouncing to audio the different tracks, etc. You will have a better vibe 20 versions ago, but really cool specific arrangement ideas you did 5 versions ago that you don't want to lose, so import the better more raw elements into the more finished arrangement, skip the last 5 versions where you started taking youtube mixing advice and forgot what your song really is, and go off a different new branch. But also try to finish it as quickly as you can justify.

This always used to happen to me when I would try to chase a sound or bite on someone else's groove. Until I just did me, I suffered now its a frame of mind that I embrace on my own original point of view.

Hey Oscar, today I heard about Charlotte de Witte starting a label dedicated to old school Belgian rave music, by releasing the remix of Universal Nation - Push track. Me and many others in the rave community love the old sound, and I’m sure many around the world do too, since it’s resurfacing again. Have you thought about making a video dedicated to this style, for example how the artist back in the day made music, some of the techniques, and how to apply it to the digital production we do now? Since you are Belgian and deep into music, I believe this is much closer to you than I could ever research 😁 Bonzai 🙏

This is so very real....

A huge part of this is also just lack of knowledge. You work on something, try for a specific sound or technique, then get really upset when it doesn't work out and start having the beginnings of a negativity spiral. And with electronic music, it's not always as easy as directly coming to the conclusion of "oh, I just need to learn more about how x feature of my DAW can be utilized", sometimes you really won't have the words for the question right away and will have to really put effort into realizing the problem you are having and then trying to explain the concept you don't understand to others for an answer or figure out some key words that might maybe get you what you want from a search engine. Can get frustrating and make you not even want to make music anymore not being able to even understand what you are trying to ask about what you don't understand.

Here's another great maths concept I like to apply: "Mathemnatically speaking, 50% of your ideas have to be below average!!!!" - Seth Godin (so chill out it's normal haha).