Don’t think you can finish your RPM? Don’t give up yet!
So here we are! 10 days left in February! How are things going? Terribly, you say? Oh no! Thinking of quitting, you say? OH NO!
Before I try to convince you to keep going, let me say that there’s nothing wrong with throwing in that towel. Sometimes you have to let go and say you’ll try again later. Be kind to yourself!
But before you give up completely, here’s some advice, some strategies you can use, and some food for thought…
You can think of your RPM like a sketchbook
It doesn’t have to be good, it just has to be done! The RPM Challenge is a great place for cobbling together a few ideas and getting them quickly on their feet. Once this month is over there's nothing stopping you from re-recording, tweaking, or fleshing these sketches out. If you worry too much about making things brilliant, it can just paralyze you and you won't be able to make ANYTHING AT ALL. (Here’s a pretty inspiring quote from Ira Glass about that.)
You can submit your RPM under a pseudonym
Worried about what other people will think about your record because it seems crappy or half-baked? Just submit it under a pseudonym or put a ridiculous band name on it! No one needs to know you were the one behind this thing. Sometimes it’s liberating to remove yourself from the equation and just let yourself make something.
The flexible length goal is your friend
So what you couldn’t complete your epic boxed set you planned to do? No problem! Since 2021 RPMers have had the option of a flexible length goal, so even if you end up with just one track at the end of the month, you can go ahead and mark your RPM complete.
You can go back to basics
Is your DAW giving you pain? Is your gear falling apart? Are your plugins laughing at you? Maybe it’s time to say #$&% it, chuck your computer in the garbage, grab a ukulele, write a handful of songs about your favourite flavours of chips and record it using the voice memos app on your phone. Don’t let technology get in your way!
You can use computer magic to pad out your RPM
Once you fish your computer back out of the garbage, here are a few think-outside-the-box ways it can help you or give you perspective if you’re stuck:
- Take something you recorded and stretch it using Paul's Extreme Sound Stretch software. Instant experimental drone masterpiece!
- Need a beat? Type your name into Type Drummer. Want a whole song? Paste the most recent email from your boss in there.
- Generate a bunch of songs using WolframTones, a computer music generator. They will instantly make you feel better about your own recordings.
- Throw creativity to the wind and have a website generate a whole freakin' downloadable album, instantly at Fake Music Generator. Why not?
You don’t have to take my word for it
Here’s some great advice from a handful of participants from last year:
Aaron Rotenberg
Do not overthink it, use what you got to record and improvise, think outside the box and hit record. Do not compare yourself to others :)
Airwwave
Don't be worried about making a masterpiece. I've been trying for 14 years and still haven't come close. Just have fun with it. If you learn something new out of the process, it was a success.
Alternate Modes Of Underwater Consciousness (AMUC)
As Stephen Sondheim writes in the musical Company, "Don't be afraid that it won't be perfect, buddy. The only thing to be afraid of really is that it won't be."
Couth & Kempt
Break the rules. It's worth it just to punch the air when that piano stab kicks in.
Endless State Machine
Don't do it? Or always do it? I've done it for 14 years and it's almost never what I plan so maybe always plan for nothing-
Justice Eats Trees
Enjoy yourself and don't overthink it! Use it as an opportunity to learn some new skills!
kat mac
Don't drive yourself crazy aiming for perfection. Once your album is complete, you can always return to it and tweak what needs tweaking.
Long Term Rental
devotion > motivation
make dew
This is my fourth time and I cannot tell you how much I have grown from this process, each and every time. Just do it! Even if it's not good, you'll still be proud of yourself for doing it, and you will definitely learn something.
Maria Cherwick
more coffee now
Matt Ferrara
Hit a table, crunch a crisp, grate some cheese, music is everywhere, don't think too hard about it just have fun and go where the feeling takes you.
minus the hat
"Make your own kind of music, even if nobody else sings along"
Morgellon
Be bold. Do everything you have been terrified of doing and scare yourself to death while you do it. It's fun that way.
Nick Bryan
it's only a challenge. not something you win. why not?!
OldHat Stringband
Life is too short not to do this! Shut down the inner critic, explore, and take risks - go for it.
Planet Sapphire
Go for it. Drop a spoon and record it and call it good.
Zero Incentives and the Bluffs