Music - yin and yang and the balance of art and craft (and maybe a cure for GAS?)

[OzoneJunkie]

This is something that I wrote in another thread, but I decided to make a new thread, because I thought that it might be informative or even help others in the pursuit of music. It might even give some insight into GAS. Here goes:

For songs that I love, the aspects that contribute to that love are things like melody, emotion, and so on - all of the typical things that go into the 'music' side of music. And while I've known this for a while, part of me was still distracted by gear, and part of that distraction came from admiring certain producers, some of which were know for their sound design skills.

But the thing is, I've heard those same sounds in other people's music, and it doesn't have the same impact - and I don't love their music the same way. Because, those sounds, without having good melody, emotion, or even just good contextual arrangement, mean much less.

I sort of arrived at this point this week when I was just going thru the myriad of drum samples and sounds I have, and it hit me - more poignantly than usual - that all of these sounds alone, without context, mean nothing. And even context, without emotion and melody, mean nothing.

And it reminded me of when, as a kid, I was so enamored with guitar technique. As an adult, having obtained a good amount of technique on guitar, shred stuff doesn't do anything for me any more.

The craft side of music can be a trap. And it's one that I've fallen into many times.

I love music. Not sounds. Not synths. Not plugins. Not DAWs. Not technique.

So, the best thing about this realization is that it's made me realize that the starting point for writing music, for me, has to change. It can't be a sound, or drum beat, as the beginning germination of a song. Because that yields music, in my case, that isn't what I want to write, because it isn't what I want to hear.

Ultimately, Music is art and craft, a yin/yang thing. But I've spent way too much time on the craft side of things, and I think that contributes, at least in part, to GAS, at least for me. New gear represents potential in a way. But the potential that it tends to represent within me is more focused on the craft aspect.

I have to start with melody and emotion first. I have to have something to say.

[ariston]

And here's a big +1 for all of that.

I've come to think that the availability and capability of all of this fantastic tech is a trap. It's become very easy to get quick results - it's very tempting to go the easy route, because, on a superficial level, it will sound "good". The danger here (and I'm not saying everyone will succumb to this) is that the technology tends to dictate the outcome. Whereas, in my opinion, the outcome should be dictated by US, the creative human beings, each of us with her/his own background, experience, know-how, feelings, POVs and what have you.

If the tech dictates the outcome, things tend to sound very same-y. The trick is not to let the tech steer you in its direction, but to use it to communicate your personal vision. You're the rider, and not the horse.

A lot of this comes down to "musical intent". Say what you have to say, and say it as directly, openly, and as forthrightly as you can. If you can say it by banging on a tin can, that's great. If you need twenty synths and a few dozen effect chains, that's fine as well. If you need one chord, great. If it takes 20 intersecting melodic lines in exotic tunings, peachy keen. The core of it is, as you mentioned, emotion.

Sorry if this sounds a bit preachy, but it's something I've been wrestling with recently. I'm trying to get back to where I once belonged.

[OzoneJunkie]

The danger here (and I'm not saying everyone will succumb to this) is that the technology tends to dictate the outcome.

---

Sorry if this sounds a bit preachy, but it's something I've been wrestling with recently. I'm trying to get back to where I once belonged.

Right, exactly. I'm sure that the level of reliance on technology varies, and so the outcome varies. But again, for me, I've been very lopsided in my reliance.

I think about the oft-heard argument about presets, and if they're cheating, and how one cannot develop their own sound when relying on presets, and so on. We're familiar with this argument.

But to me, both sides of the argument are in a sense blinded to a bigger thing.... or maybe better to say, are falling into the same trap. It's not uniqueness in someone's sounds that makes them unique. It can be a factor, but to me, it's not the overarching, determining factor as to what makes something musical. Even uniqueness itself, at least to me, isn't what makes something musical, and ultimately touching.

Definitely not preachy, your words - in fact they're helping me more deeply understand something that's been mulling around inside me for years now...

[dark water]

Good points Ariston and OzoneJunkie, with which I mostly agree - although for me a song can easily develop happily from a drumbeat or sound etc that I wasn't really wishing to hear at the start. It challenges me to step away from sounds or beats etc that I might prefer to choose too much. On that note, I recently purchased the very cheap but excellent Radio by PluginBoutique that allows me to stream random radio stations from across the internet, and become inspired by these unexpected sounds.

So, the best thing about this realization is that it's made me realize that the starting point for writing music, for me, has to change. It can't be a sound, or drum beat, as the beginning germination of a song. Because that yields music, in my case, that isn't what I want to write, because it isn't what I want to hear.

Also, I disagree partly with the 'musical intent' idea.

say it as directly, openly, and as forthrightly as you can

IMHO, good music can sometimes be said playfully, indirectly, humorously, flippantly, full of lies and swagger, struggling with a hangover after a big session or slyly like a ninja.
I agree though that all these are emotions, which is the bedrock of many a great tune.

Lastly, although this webpage reads like its trying too hard to sell something, the actual pdf product (for around $13) by Zencha is a decent attempt to teach emotion, energy and tension in (electronic) music for those without a deep music theory background:
https://zenchamusic.com/electronic-musi ... nt-course/
It's got some good viewpoints about using emotions within arrangements, and I was reminded about it by this thread.


ps, I take the overall point of this thread: that what makes our music special and meaningful to us is not (usually) realized with the purchase of yet another instrument etc.

[OzoneJunkie]

Thanks for your input, dark water.

And I do agree that a song can develop that way - through a drumbeat or sound, or whatever. I've made a number of songs that way. And man, it's that feeling, that feedback loop that occurs, when something you do, or a sound your hear, sparks something inside, and creates the continuation.... that magic, that moving forward...

I think that happens many ways, and I don't mean to criticize anyone or any method. For me, I'm trying to step away from my gear-centric view. In fact, I've participated in the discussions on (gear related) minimalism and if that sparks creativity. And I think it does for some, and maybe it does because for the reasons we usually think of, like limitations cause a certain type of focus. But I think there's something else going on too - that those imposed limits take the focus off of the idea of gear, of gear itself.

I mean, take it as far as you'd like. I even see KVR, as much as I love it, as detrimental to my process at times. And it's not KVR's fault, nor gear, nor makers of great software. It's mine.

But this is all a very very good thing, for me. It is, I think, a path that I've been on for a long time, but also one that I needed to take. Well, who knows about if I needed to. I did. And, I'm cool with that

EDIT: PS - thanks for the link for Zencha. I've come across that site before, probably from here. It looks like it's a good course, although I think I'm arriving at a major milestone for myself, and I'm hoping I can take the next step on the next leg of my journey, and also hoping that externals sources won't be needed. But cheers for the thought.

[sqigls]

I love music. And sounds. And synths. And plugins. And DAWs. And technique.

i start with a beat and a baseline, cos unless you're making ambient music, or a symphony or some shit, the music will suck balls without some solid rhythm. Melody and all that, great, but depending how i feel, a lot of the time i'd prefer to just have a solid rhythm going, and not much else.

but i love the process, the sounds etc.
i'm happy to just mix them, and swim through them. writing linear songs is really a bane for me a lot of the time.
i wanna compress drums into a groove, resonate that bass, get some insane multi tap delays happening, and pour plate reverb all over it. Just to listen to it. sit there and listen to the oscillators, and filters, and bucket brigade chips all providing me a context that is probably weird or invalid for other people. but it's for me, and if other people happen to enjoy those filters and bucket brigade shenanigans then that's a bonus

[OzoneJunkie]

sqigls - that's great that you are in such a place, not only with music, but with your music. And I completely get not only what you're saying, but the vibe and feeling you're describing. I have those moments too, with the process you describe.

And, I don't think I'm actually leaving that process behind. But I am seeking a different angle of approach, because ultimately I want different results for myself. Or maybe I should say, I want new and additional results, and that they require me to think differently about how I approach music.

Thanks for the reply

[sqigls]

but yeah, if i don't have some real feeling, groove or mojo bouncing in my socks - i generally won't allow myself near a 'song'.
i've gotta feel inspired.
i also feel myself at a bit of a turning point though. after years playing live and focussing on tweaking etc - i'm kinda keen to finally write some decent songs.

generally i go on a bit of a 'ghost in the machine' theory. i just alow the song the space to tell me what it needs. hopefully i'm getting better at just allowing my soul to translate itself into notes and sounds. and hopefully those notes and sounds are becoming cohesive and clear enough to actually write something that is enjoyable to other people. but ultimately i endeavour to please myself first and foremost. i've had too many experiences trying to please other people with music only for my electricity to not really absorb properly. because i'm not being true to myself.

f**k i wish people would open their minds a bit and claw themselves out of this pop EDM garbage that seems to be the pre-requisite for acceptance... but hey, each to their own eh!? keeps em off the streets i guess

[Bodhisan]

But I am seeking a different angle of approach, because ultimately I want different results for myself. Or maybe I should say, I want new and additional results, and that they require me to think differently about how I approach music.

I felt like part of your point in the original effects thread was that (my quotes) "buying the next plugin wasn't the route to your creativity," which I full-heartedly agree with. I used to think that. I used to believe that the "next" plugin would be like a drug, a special route to making me reach a different level. And, man, this market of the Garden of Eden has big, juicy apples hanging off of every frickin' tree, and the prices make it such (and in another thread, one was asking what sets the price of plugins - I think developers have figured out the range so that they're just affordable enough to "buy more") that we can, if not barely, afford to keep adding colors of paint to our palette - even though we own every color under the rainbow, and as we know, there aren't that many colors, but thousands of variations.

I would guess that most musicians/songwriters, including myself, need "something" to get going. For me, it was always the acoustic guitar, feeling my way around a set of chords and creating a melody in my head over it. A few years ago, that turned into teaching myself how to "play" a keyboard, and that spawned a different type of creativity, feeling my way around different notes and chords. And most definitely I've used drum beats to feel for that creativity (emotion).

So, while we do need "plugins," unless one is not so creative or doesn't have the discipline to look mostly within, buying that "next one" will always be your path. Otherwise, for me, anyway, I could do everything I'm doing with a fifth (or less) of what I own. I'm just glad I've got a grip on it now. But this also (again, for me) extends into "shopping." I no longer go to Marshalls with my wife and feel like I need to leave the store with another pair of Levis, lol. I've got enough clothing, as well.

[OzoneJunkie]

but yeah, if i don't have some real feeling, groove or mojo bouncing in my socks - i generally won't allow myself near a 'song'.
i've gotta feel inspired.
i also feel myself at a bit of a turning point though. after years playing live and focussing on tweaking etc - i'm kinda keen to finally write some decent songs.

generally i go on a bit of a 'ghost in the machine' theory. i just alow the song the space to tell me what it needs. hopefully i'm getting better at just allowing my soul to translate itself into notes and sounds. and hopefully those notes and sounds are becoming cohesive and clear enough to actually write something that is enjoyable to other people. but ultimately i endeavour to please myself first and foremost. i've had too many experiences trying to please other people with music only for my electricity to not really absorb properly. because i'm not being true to myself.

f**k i wish people would open their minds a bit and claw themselves out of this pop EDM garbage that seems to be the pre-requisite for acceptance... but hey, each to their own eh!? keeps em off the streets i guess

Yup, I hear you on all of that. And right about the song telling us what it needs. It's great when that happens. I think that I sometimes end up confusing the process and the beauty of that process with the gear itself. Hence part of my problem.

With regard to pop EDM garbage - I think it's in part a reflection of the proliferation of home gear and software, and EDM is just one of the many genres that has seen an overabundance of music being created. Well, I think we all are entitled to being creative, so I can't fault any of it. I guess my point is that there's so much music now, just like information - we're in a sense burying ourselves in data and information, and part of the reason is technology is so prevalent. And so for me, it comes full circle - because in part I think our attachment to technology, knowledge, data, and so on, is that it represents potential and it represents things that we want to integrate into what we're trying to do and be, but it's a derivative, and not "the thing". We need these things, we need instruments to make music. But having "all of the stuff" doesn't make the music itself.

But I am seeking a different angle of approach, because ultimately I want different results for myself. Or maybe I should say, I want new and additional results, and that they require me to think differently about how I approach music.

I felt like part of your point in the original effects thread was that (my quotes) "buying the next plugin wasn't the route to your creativity," which I full-heartedly agree with. I used to think that. I used to believe that the "next" plugin would be like a drug, a special route to making me reach a different level. And, man, this market of the Garden of Eden has big, juicy apples hanging off of every frickin' tree, and the prices make it such (and in another thread, one was asking what sets the price of plugins - I think developers have figured out the range so that they're just affordable enough to "buy more") that we can, if not barely, afford to keep adding colors of paint to our palette - even though we own every color under the rainbow, and as we know, there aren't that many colors, but thousands of variations.

I would guess that most musicians/songwriters, including myself, need "something" to get going. For me, it was always the acoustic guitar, feeling my way around a set of chords and creating a melody in my head over it. A few years ago, that turned into teaching myself how to "play" a keyboard, and that spawned a different type of creativity, feeling my way around different notes and chords. And most definitely I've used drum beats to feel for that creativity (emotion).

So, while we do need "plugins," unless one is not so creative or doesn't have the discipline to look mostly within, buying that "next one" will always be your path. Otherwise, for me, anyway, I could do everything I'm doing with a fifth (or less) of what I own. I'm just glad I've got a grip on it now. But this also (again, for me) extends into "shopping." I no longer go to Marshalls with my wife and feel like I need to leave the store with another pair of Levis, lol. I've got enough clothing, as well.

Yup, totally agree, and again (sorry I'm likely getting repetitive, but I'll try to spice it up a little bit with something related).

The gear itself has become another form of gluttony for me. But it's not just about collecting.

Again, there's a part of what that gear represents, to me at least. And that's potential. But, it's like I decided to go on a musical journey, that this life of mine is meant for that, and instead of embarking with my love of music and a guitar or synth in hand, I decided to stay home and pack. And go shopping and buy more stuff for the trip. And now, boy, I have everything that I need, and I'm ready!

Yeah, that's a problem. It's not dissimilar to other addictive things in life.

For me, most recently, I've found an amazing balance in other areas of my life. For one, I've found something that works for me nutritionally that is yielding results that are great. I'm 49, and I'm the leanest and most muscular I've ever been. I'm not near as strong as I was when I was in my twenties, nor near as fast as I was when I was in my thirties, but my body is closer to my ideal (given my genetics).

And how I got there was trial and error, and testing the extremes (over/under eating, over/under working out and exercising). And now that my centerpoint is better known, I don't over shoot when adjusting. I even had given up refined sugar for a year and a half, as part of a test of one extreme. Where I'm at now, I can have a snack when I want, and it doesn't send me into a tailspin, nor does it wreck my physique. Because I've found the working thing for me, at least at this moment.

What's great about that is I feel so good - I feel like I'm not carrying around excess weight, both physically as I was, but in dropping the excess weight, I've in a sense let go of certain part of my past. It's invigorating.

And that's where I'm getting with music. I've completely overshot my centerpoint, with relation to musical gear. And the extreme side I'm on, I'm looking back towards center and remembering and also starting to feel again, the music. And as I do, the gear and its importance diminishes.

I'm trying to get to my right centerpoint, where the balance feels right. And the more I focus on music and less on the craft of music (and gear and all related), the more centered I feel.

Even talking about it, it's a process and that's one thing I've seen for myself is that all these things are mini-journeys in the bigger life journey. And often the lesson and centerpoint comes as a result of testing extremes, and course correcting.

I honestly feel good about all of this.

[sqigls]

...but it's a derivative, and not "the thing". We need these things, we need instruments to make music. But having "all of the stuff" doesn't make the music itself.

i hear you

[foosnark]

Gear is important, and finding the right combination of instruments, workflow etc. can make a huge difference in the quality and quantity of music you create and the satisfaction you find in doing so. Sometimes you have to try a bunch of different things to find the right combination.

I've tried many instruments both acoustic and electronic, and many styles of music and of creation. Some of them worked well, some of them not at all. I'm making the best (and most) music of my life right now with a MIDI/Eurorack/VST hybrid workflow. I may discover something better in the future or I may change, and that's fine.

To avoid GAS, consider:

- Do I really have a need/desire for this piece of gear, or was the need artificially created?
- Is this actually useful and helpful for the music I want to make, or is it just cool? There are a lot of cool things in the world, and I can't own and use them all.
- Does this solve a technical problem I'm having, or something I really lack? Or is my music already pretty damned good without it?
- If I'm stuck in a creative rut, is this really going to get me out of it? Or am I going to apply the same approach to this as I do with the gear I already have?
- Is this something that requires skills I don't have, and if so, am I really going to put in the time and effort to learn?
- Would I really use this in the long term, or would it just be fun for a couple of weeks?
- Can I do what this thing does with the stuff I have already, just by changing my approach a little?
- If I had this, what would it replace? You only have so much time, space, money etc. and you rarely gain something without losing something else.
- Is it really worth the price?
- If I buy this and don't like it, how screwed am I if it doesn't work out?

Sometimes, you have to buy the thing to answer those questions. Usually you don't.

I have learned many of those lessons the hard way.

[OzoneJunkie]

Yes. Some great things to consider, foosnark. Thanks. And it's comforting to hear that others go through the process too, of finding what works for them. It's something that I of course know and understand as a necessity, and while I don't want to use that as an excuse for my GAS, it's also relevant at the same time. Cheers

[donkey tugger]

Pile enough shite on and some of it will be bound to work. That's why you need lots of stuff.

[vurt]

Pile enough shite on and some of it will be bound to work. That's why you need lots of stuff.

/looks down at the floor of pedals, then agrees whole heartedly



in seriousness though, you have to find your own perfect rig, be it minimal or over the top.
and beginners especially go through gas, because theyre not sure what they need yet. that's the same with many hobbies, you buy all kinds till you find what works for you.