I hear melodies, arrangements and song ideas in my head, but I struggle turning them into actual demos because I get stuck on production and sound design. A lot of the time I know the vibe or texture I want, but don’t know how to find or shape the sounds.
My goal right now isn’t to become a full-time producer necessarily, but to get working songs/demos strong enough to develop as an artist, take to collaborators, or eventually bring to a producer/label.
I have Ableton Live Lite but I keep bouncing off it. Maybe it’s the 8-track limitation, maybe Lite is too restrictive, maybe I’m overcomplicating it, but it often pulls me out of songwriting and into technical frustration. I’ve watched tutorials, studied some theory, come back to it multiple times, but feel stagnant.
I’m considering switching to GarageBand just to write faster and keep momentum, but I’m wondering if I should:
stick with Ableton Lite and simplify my approach
upgrade Ableton
use GarageBand for songwriting/demoing
stop trying to self-produce so much and focus on writing with a producer instead
For context, I’m 25 and I have the “too late” fear and the fear I’ve spent the last few years getting stuck “learning production” instead of actually making songs.
For anyone who started as a songwriter first:
What would you do in my position?
Would love practical advice, especially from anyone who got caught in the producer-vs-songwriter trap.