Why You Can't Stop Tweaking Your Music
How often have you caught yourself tweaking the same piece over and over again ā
even though, deep down, you know it was done five versions ago?
Weāve all been there.
We tell ourselves the orchestration isn't āfullā enough.
Or that it's not āprofessionalā sounding yet.
That maybe, with just a little more work, itāll finally be "good enough".
But the truth?
š° Most of the time, weāre 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 ā endlessly tweaking EQs, trying every reverb plugin on the market, and overconsuming videos and courses on orchestration.
But hereās what Iāve seen ā both in myself, and in the hundreds of composers Iāve coached:
The antidote isn't more tweaking. Itās more trust.
You've got to trust that your piece is good enough for now.
Trust that your tastes will naturally guide you ā that your skill will grow in time.
Trust that those imperfections youāre obsessing over won't be noticed by others ā 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 hereās your reminder for the week:
Itās okay to release art thatās 80% there.
Let go of a piece before you start to hate it.
Not because itās perfect ā but because it's good enough for now.
You donāt need to suffer before you share.
Keep it fast.
Keep it fun.
Keep it light.
ā Then hit publish before you can talk yourself out of it.
Thatās what we practice every week inside Composing in Realtime ā 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, weād love to have you.
[Click here to join the 7-day trial.]
Now...
Go make some art. š
ā Zach
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