Everything sound & ear training related

SoundGym

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Francisco Alejandro QG
Jan 21, 2022
People, i'm having trouble at being consistent with Soundgym. I feel that it is too boring for me, feels like a chore most of the time, but i know how it helps immensely with my listening awareness. I need some advice in how to stay consistent, motivated and also to enjoy it
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Yohai Zilber
Jan 23, 2022
Try habit bunching. The concept is simple: add a new habit to your daily schedule by “stacking it” on top of an existing habit.
For example, Do your daily Ear Training with your cup of coffee in the morning ☕👂
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Daniel Bösch
Jan 23, 2022
Maybe it is too boring because you hang on Social Media or play games too much? I feel like when I limit my screen time with gaming, Social Media etc. and I don't get all these dopamine hits and that Soundgym makes way more fun. If you compare training your ears and watching funny videos on TikTok or half naked girls on IG, it's obvious which one triggers more Dopamine. I hope that this short advice helps you :)
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Daragh Thomas
Jan 23, 2022
Do you enjoy mixing? I quite enjoy the games (i just do the 5 exercise session a day)but what I most enjoy is the feeling of better being able to mix, I can hear frequencies much better now and actually understand what compressors do - which means I really enjoy mixing a lot more than I used to/and am better at. EDIT: I just looked at your profile, well maybe you are at the stage where it's very hard to improve?
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Rudy Williams
Jan 23, 2022
People say your purpose and your why is the most important thing when it comes to doing the things you aught to do and motivation is only temporary. For sure practice isnt fun. but as I work on music everyday and I see my decisions becoming faster. mixes and masters becoming better it ends up motivating me to do the boring practice because I see the utility of it everyday that fuels my WHY. It's almost like taking before and after pics when you're losing weight and weekly you can see the change in the pictures, but without those pictures its easy to lose context of how far you've come. Maybe take time to figure out your purpose and goals within music, work on more music consistantly and maybe also check your past mixes and take time to appreciate your growth. just some ideas to throw at the wall to help you out.I also could be all wrong as well lol. Good Luck!!
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Francisco Alejandro QG
Jan 24, 2022
Daniel Bösch i'm personally not a fan of wasting time in general. Maybe the only time wasters i have is sometimes watching youtube or playing lots of chess online lol. But, maybe i could add more dopamine detox to my life by watching less youtube videos
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Francisco Alejandro QG
Jan 24, 2022
In general terms, i'm pretty consistent, but now i have been less. I'm doing it 3 times a week. But i managed to do it daily for 6 months, the thing is i almost never find it fun. Sometimes i get in a flow state and get pretty entertained, but never as entertained and motivated as going to the gym, meditating and mixing. It's funny, because i love mixing, but find soundgym hard to get into.
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Francisco Alejandro QG
Jan 24, 2022
Yohai Zilber that's something i have heard before but never implemented, would be interesting to do. I don't drink coffee :( Do you have any other ideas, man? Would appreciate it so much
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Francisco Alejandro QG
Jan 24, 2022
Also, it has gotten pretty freakin hard. It's very challenging and being so challenged all the time is not that fun lol
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Brandon Johnson
Jan 24, 2022
If its overly challenging and you aren't winning your games, then your brain isn’t getting the dopamine hit like Daniel said. If you tie it into a real-world reward then you might get a better drive to do the exercises (ie. “My mixdowns aren’t sounding as smooth and solid as I’d like”, so just play eq and/or compression games for a 1 week 20 min everyday).

Also what helps me is to make mini goals so there is some kind of end in sight, rather than doing Soundgym exercises until the end of time.
Here are my current mini goals:
Get to Silver ears
Get all game stats above 70%
Get 1 game stat above 90%

This way I at least have something that I can complete within the week instead of just generically thinking I’m getting a better in various areas of production. Know yourself and how your reward system works and create a system in which you can get that achievement feeling on a weekly basis. Good Luck Francisco!
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Simon Eisen
Jan 24, 2022
I totally understand your frustration. For me it helps to do only soundgymn exercises for 15 minutes a day. I use the daily workout, which has only five exercises so it´ s unclutterd where the end is. And there are days, where I´ m not motivated. Thats ok. But I try to do it neverless and if I can´´ t, I try the next day again. And one very important tip in the end: I do only excercises from Monday to Friday and leave the weekend empty. Breaks are indispensables to regenerate. Good Luck :)
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Christian Larese
Jan 24, 2022
I totally agree with Yohai Zilber. Making it a habit works quite well. With less live gigs these days but much more studio work I had to implement a morning routine to get things just done. My daily routine consists of soundgym, musical listening exercises, practicing piano and some workout for my body. Then some weekly routine, like cycling, composing music, cleaning my apartment, etc.. An app for this is very helpful. I noticed that I get those things done more easily in the morning. And it's much easier with an app (or a journal). Ticking those check-boxes does feel good somehow.

Another thing: Don't worry, if you don't do your daily exercise on soundgym for a while. I haven't done that in a while; but now I'm back on it.

Soundgym is no fun for you? I guess the fun part about it is the games with points, trying to beat your last effort or trying to beat others in those Olympics. There are lots of exercises around here. Try to focus on one for some time. And try to get better at this one game.
And sometimes Soundgym may seem like a chore. But that's okay. If you do physical workout there may be days or periods of time as well, when you don't feel the fun as much or at all. Just hang in there or give yourself a break if you need a break.
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Dmitriy Mazur
Jan 24, 2022
Good luck dude!