13 years making music, two years of game composing – but I still feel stuck. Anyone else?

The big one for music is that there are composers and there are composers.

The ones that I know and watch succeed often - but not always - have at least a bachelors degree in music, many have a masters degree, in a music program that included a focus on composition. Most are accomplished pianists (in addition to being able to play other instruments), playing gigs and weddings and jazz clubs and other events, teaching, or similarly professional musicians earning a living with a bunch of small revenue streams.

Custom composition for games is one of the many hats they wear. Sound design, orchestration, composition, all of it.

The good ones I know and have worked with were doing professional music in college, picking up gigs and sometimes students before graduation. By the time they graduated, one I know was a regular with a restaurant, another in a jazz club, performing twice a week or more, plus teaching music in their neighborhoods. That's the performance side, not just composition, but the improvisational skills and variety of music styles improve skills. One I knew was already taking jobs composing for commercials.

For me, I know enough to know I am not a good composer, despite my skills performing from lead sheets and study of theory and ability to play piano, organ, and dabble with violin and flute. I can play it and talk shop with the sound designer as well as giving constructive feedback, but I'm thoroughly in the novice composer category. My wife who teaches music both at home and subbing with the local high school band programs can arrange music well enough but also isn't much for sound design or composition.

Games don't need a ton of music compared to others. From my experience, studios don't hire a dedicated sound designer or music folks until hitting around a hundred people and often a second when around 200-300 people. In the AAA space there's a department with several music and sound design folks. Smaller and they'll just contract it out per project. Hobby projects are always just one-offs.

There are a tremendous number of people who had piano lessons as a kid or dabbled with composition software and try to put out game music. The difficulty for them is the competition against the professionals.

To grow, what is stopping you or holding you back? Do you have the music theory background for compelling composition? If not, why not, and what is stopping you from learning the essential materials? Are you, just for fun, writing quartets or orchestration for 10+ instruments? If not, why not? Do that part, create music at the professional level, then put it out as you advertise yourself.

Hey, thanks for the detailed reply. I appreciate it.

Yeah I had Piano Lessons for years and educated in music theory in different styles. I play 3 instruments (Bass, Drums and Piano) Drums being my first I started with the age of 16. I practice my instruments every day and would say that I have decent knowledge about music.

At the moment I have little fun music project with one of my former lecturer from the accademy I studied for two years. It was a private accademy, so no Bachelor or Master. But I'm working in this field. I did Orchestra Recordings by my own, and played in different bands.

And I already have the opportunity to make a complete Soundtrack for a 16-bit SNES styled game, which very different kinds of music and genres. I don't know if it is allowed to post a playlist link here, if it helps to get a bigger picture.

Years ago I made a 1,5h long concept album with audio skits between the songs. This was my first bigger project in my musicial live. I think my mixes are way better today than back then, but it's still a good album, where I put in all my knowledge I had at the time.

One of my biggest problems is, that I'm not exactly a person, that is very good in connecting with people. And I'm not seen in public. I don't see me as much as live musician and don't think I have to be. But I always learn and eager to learn. People paying me for my music prices that are in the hundreds. Last month I had a deal with a dev, that paid me 500$ for two tracks and a few SFX.

I wouldn't say that this is nothing. So people are willing to spend some money for my music. And as I said most of the time, I get very positive feedback. So assume I'm doing something right. And I know that I already had opprtunitys, that most people don't get, ever. So I'm very thankful for that.

It's going forward, step by step and I earn more and more money year by year.
But I alway fell driven and like someone who should do more. And I don't know if I should relax a little, take chances when they come and more calm about it. To be honest: posting on Reddit did never anything for me at all. But I still do it here and there, bc I want to have the feeling, that I did something at least. But often the right person in the right moment, that fits for both is the way I was going forward. For me it's more a question about the inner mindset. I'm pretty sure I will go further, bc I can't go back. I put to much time, effort and money into all this.

But often it cost's me my mental health, bc I define myself by music a lot. And I have the pressure to leave my job.