Why You Can't Stop Tweaking Your Music

How often have you caught yourself tweaking the same piece over and over again –
even though, deep down, you know it was done five versions ago?

We’ve all been there.

We tell ourselves the orchestration isn't “full” enough.
Or that it's not “professional” sounding yet.
That maybe, with just a little more work, it’ll finally be "good enough".

But the truth?

😰 Most of the time, we’re just afraid.

We're afraid other composers will judge us.
We're afraid that our music won't fully represent us at our best.
We're afraid of wasting all of the effort we've spent for a piece that's just okay.

So instead of releasing it, we keep ourselves stuck in a loop – endlessly tweaking EQs, trying every reverb plugin on the market, and overconsuming videos and courses on orchestration.

But here’s what I’ve seen – both in myself, and in the hundreds of composers I’ve coached:

The antidote isn't more tweaking. It’s more trust.

You've got to trust that your piece is good enough for now.
Trust that your tastes will naturally guide you – that your skill will grow in time.
Trust that those imperfections you’re obsessing over won't be noticed by others – or even by yourself in a few weeks.

And most importantly:

Trust that sharing your music will inspire someone else to do the same.

Because that motivation is far more potent than "perfection".

So here’s your reminder for the week:

It’s okay to release art that’s 80% there.

Let go of a piece before you start to hate it.
Not because it’s perfect – but because it's good enough for now.

You don’t need to suffer before you share.

Keep it fast.
Keep it fun.
Keep it light.

✅ Then hit publish before you can talk yourself out of it.

That’s what we practice every week inside Composing in Realtime — showing up, creating without pressure, and building real momentum by making art that actually feels good to make.

We just hosted a live music feedback session for works-in-progress by our members last week, and it was an absolute blast.

(We keep it collaborative, supportive, and passion-forward in here.)

If that sounds like the kind of space you need, we’d love to have you.

[Click here to join the 7-day trial.]

Now...

Go make some art. 🙂

– Zach

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