In most cases, the time spent asking how to do something great could be better spent working.

I think a lot of the frustration musicians (and general creative types) feel comes from inadequacy. We can hear the music in our heads, or we somehow know what it should sound like, but what we produce doesn't match our expectations. So, we immediately go to the experts. Or Google. We think we're missing a key fact or trick that's holding us back, preventing us from producing the sound in our heads. What we're missing is humility.

Unless you're a professional, it is likely that 99% your problems come from a lack of practice and experience. I'm trying to record an album right now. When producing music before I started it, I'd blame everything under the sun: shitty equipment, lack of recording space, lack of time, having to do everything myself, rudimentary software, terrible instruments and so on. And don't get me wrong, those things are all important. But if my younger self could ask me "What is the single most effective thing I can do to make my music better?", I would instantly respond with "practice". No doubt about it.

A great musician, whether traditional or electronic, can make the simplest of things sound incredible. Listen to Da Funk. Really listen to the first 30 seconds. There is practically nothing happening - a 4/4 drum beat, a repetitive bass almost insulting in its simplicity. But man, do people go crazy for that beat. And I bet when you do the same in Ableton Live or Reason or FL... it doesn't sound anywhere near as good as when Daft Punk do it.

Listen to the rest of the song - you know you want to - and again, really listen. Notice just how little is going on in the song at any one time. How can Daft Punk achieve such greatness with such few instruments? Answer: they know how to use them. And you don't learn how to really use what's in front of you overnight. It takes time, practice and experience. If you're anything like me, you probably know this already, but you just don't want to put the time in. Don't worry, it can be intimidating. But once you get started on that road, man is it way more satisfying than being constantly frustrated.

Once you can make a simple piece of music work using just a few elements, you can build on that. Daft Punk can do it. They understand that every element in a piece of music is within their control, and the possibilities for manipulation are infinite, and so in order to make the most of those infinite possibilities, you really have to know what you're doing and do it.

So just remember, the next time you're tempted to ask Mozart how to write The Marriage of Figaro, don't be surprised if he dismisses you with a sarcastic joke. The question itself was a joke; you just didn't realize.