Why Do You Create Music ?
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- KVRian
- 572 posts since 14 Apr, 2019
For me it's like alchemy, like someone trying to make gold, keep on hoping I'll hit on a perfect combination and make something that really has this massive effect on people. I can vaguely imagine some very amazing music that hasn't yet been created. And at this point there is some stubborness, that I haven't really made anything particularly amazing and I don't like to quit...
Then just curiousity about the kinds of music that haven't been made yet. Lovecraft had a short story about a guy who made music up in his room that comes to mind. Curiousity about the effects of different combos of sounds. But I will run out of permutations eventually.
I want to affect myself with music, but also others. There's this idea of power, the power to influence peoples' mental states. Not necessarily a particularly positive thing. I mean I don't want to have a bad effect. But perhaps just having an effect in and of itself may occasionally motivate... I do think a lot of the motivation at least in men is tied into ideas of being high status so that women will want them. And even when it's a married man with a family who has no interest whatsoever in getting it on with other women there is still the somewhat mindless going through the motions of what they did when they were young. Not necessarily tied into women consciously. Just an evolutionary thing, men motivated to be high status (by working 60 hour weeks to get rich or whatever else) happen to end up spreading their seed around a bit more, so it's a common thing.
When I had trouble sleeping I wanted to make music that would sooth me in just the right way.
There is also just wanting to express oneself. People want to successfully communicate to others what they're feeling. Words sometimes aren't enough. And no song by someone else may exist that quite does it. That was a motivation long ago.
I think for those of us who really are productive, you probably have to have multiple reasons because everyday you're a bit different. If you only have one or two reasons, you're more likely to cycle out of them and not write anything for long periods of time. I have written 200 or so songs but I don't consider that very productive. I haven't written anything during at least 35 years of my life.
Lately though musical interest is lagging. Have been running 5 hours a week and my creativity always suffers when I'm very physically active. Probably overdoing it.
I do think having self awareness is a very good thing. If you don't know beyond it's fun, that doesn't indicate much self awareness. The better you understand yourself, the less likely you are to unknowingly act from jealousy or other ugly feelings.
Then just curiousity about the kinds of music that haven't been made yet. Lovecraft had a short story about a guy who made music up in his room that comes to mind. Curiousity about the effects of different combos of sounds. But I will run out of permutations eventually.
I want to affect myself with music, but also others. There's this idea of power, the power to influence peoples' mental states. Not necessarily a particularly positive thing. I mean I don't want to have a bad effect. But perhaps just having an effect in and of itself may occasionally motivate... I do think a lot of the motivation at least in men is tied into ideas of being high status so that women will want them. And even when it's a married man with a family who has no interest whatsoever in getting it on with other women there is still the somewhat mindless going through the motions of what they did when they were young. Not necessarily tied into women consciously. Just an evolutionary thing, men motivated to be high status (by working 60 hour weeks to get rich or whatever else) happen to end up spreading their seed around a bit more, so it's a common thing.
When I had trouble sleeping I wanted to make music that would sooth me in just the right way.
There is also just wanting to express oneself. People want to successfully communicate to others what they're feeling. Words sometimes aren't enough. And no song by someone else may exist that quite does it. That was a motivation long ago.
I think for those of us who really are productive, you probably have to have multiple reasons because everyday you're a bit different. If you only have one or two reasons, you're more likely to cycle out of them and not write anything for long periods of time. I have written 200 or so songs but I don't consider that very productive. I haven't written anything during at least 35 years of my life.
Lately though musical interest is lagging. Have been running 5 hours a week and my creativity always suffers when I'm very physically active. Probably overdoing it.
I do think having self awareness is a very good thing. If you don't know beyond it's fun, that doesn't indicate much self awareness. The better you understand yourself, the less likely you are to unknowingly act from jealousy or other ugly feelings.
- Banned
- 484 posts since 29 Jun, 2020
- Beware the Quoth
- 33074 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
OFFICIAL free competition : If you' see martiu post 'why you mad homie' or similar after this post, you are a prizewinner, and a free reverb plugin is yours. PM martiu immediately, and ask for your prize. He'll give it to you, baby!
- Beware the Quoth
- 33074 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
Anyway regarding the OP:
Because.
Because.
OFFICIAL free competition : If you' see martiu post 'why you mad homie' or similar after this post, you are a prizewinner, and a free reverb plugin is yours. PM martiu immediately, and ask for your prize. He'll give it to you, baby!
- KVRAF
- 2231 posts since 23 May, 2005 from West Country, UK
I don't really make music (certainly according to my partner ), I just enjoy experimenting with sound, learning stuff and searching out the weirdest tools to produce and manipulate it. Doing this keeps the black dog at bay.
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- addled muppet weed
- 105507 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
particularly good at getting out of boxes too.
locked ones
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- addled muppet weed
- 105507 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
https://youtu.be/ZG_k5CSYKhg
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- addled muppet weed
- 105507 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
nope, his werent as sneaky, so more easily observed
- KVRAF
- 2601 posts since 18 Mar, 2011 from Spain
To express my feelings, to channeling sadness, and find a way to project outside what i got inside.
I'm H.S.P, so i needed to do so since i was kid.
I never was good with spoken word to express my feelings, but i used music, writings, painting and photography as a way to pull out everything i got inside. Anger, sadness, hope, dreams, ideology, mind state, love.
And if any small income, also good. But this is secondary, even if i'm poor.
I'm H.S.P, so i needed to do so since i was kid.
I never was good with spoken word to express my feelings, but i used music, writings, painting and photography as a way to pull out everything i got inside. Anger, sadness, hope, dreams, ideology, mind state, love.
And if any small income, also good. But this is secondary, even if i'm poor.
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- addled muppet weed
- 105507 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
i am angry i am ill and im as ugly as sin
my irritability keeps me alive and kicking
i know the meaning of life it doesnt help me a bit
seems as good a reason as any.
thanks howard.
my irritability keeps me alive and kicking
i know the meaning of life it doesnt help me a bit
seems as good a reason as any.
thanks howard.
- KVRAF
- 25050 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
<If you don't know [or going further than that, "have to" have reasons] that doesn't indicate much self awareness.>
I don't even think 'why' is a good question. I could say that looking for reasons reveals there is a choice *not to* do music. It's about this, it's about that... what if it isn't about anything at all? I *don't* know. It hasn't occurred to me to worry about it.
I could go on about what got me from a person who didn't to a person who did 'create' music, ie., as opposed to replication or interpretation, and I can indicate the exact moment where I declared to myself the intent to *compose music* once I had prepared, but why? Pheh. Perhaps the phrase you want is "self-consciousness". Why do I get up in the morning?
"... musical interest is lagging." - you and I are fundamentally different in this way. I don't feel this need to be productive, particularly. It's an insecurity, of which I have many, but not here. My mind is always working it, which could be hampered or the capacity dulled by substances or self-destructive impulses, but it was never killed. It's not a philosophical matter, it's not a question, it just is. The moment I realized I had something going on up there that was quite possibly my own musical thought, the light switch is on, and the off switch, a death essentially, hasn't occurred. Musical interest is everpresent.
I don't even think 'why' is a good question. I could say that looking for reasons reveals there is a choice *not to* do music. It's about this, it's about that... what if it isn't about anything at all? I *don't* know. It hasn't occurred to me to worry about it.
I could go on about what got me from a person who didn't to a person who did 'create' music, ie., as opposed to replication or interpretation, and I can indicate the exact moment where I declared to myself the intent to *compose music* once I had prepared, but why? Pheh. Perhaps the phrase you want is "self-consciousness". Why do I get up in the morning?
"... musical interest is lagging." - you and I are fundamentally different in this way. I don't feel this need to be productive, particularly. It's an insecurity, of which I have many, but not here. My mind is always working it, which could be hampered or the capacity dulled by substances or self-destructive impulses, but it was never killed. It's not a philosophical matter, it's not a question, it just is. The moment I realized I had something going on up there that was quite possibly my own musical thought, the light switch is on, and the off switch, a death essentially, hasn't occurred. Musical interest is everpresent.
Last edited by jancivil on Sun Aug 09, 2020 12:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- addled muppet weed
- 105507 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
re interest lagging.
while my output is, my interest isn't, its the physical limitations rather than mental causing it.
ideas flow but pain says no.
while my output is, my interest isn't, its the physical limitations rather than mental causing it.
ideas flow but pain says no.
- KVRAF
- 25050 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
When I work, it's on the computer with the software, I don't really notice the pain, pain is in the mind and can be ignored to some extent.
When I stop, it tends to be brutal and it tends to be about needing to recuperate. I certainly do vastly less than I have say a decade ago, and this is less than if I had all this (being productive used to mean having/using a lot of real resources) when I was in good shape (and I used to be tip-top) but I work on music literally in my sleep.
To start to work despite how massively uncomfortable I am I suppose means the actual work is the same as an addiction.
I can stop, however. I used to do days where I worked the whole 24 with short breaks for instant coffee and toast. That isn't happening.
When I stop, it tends to be brutal and it tends to be about needing to recuperate. I certainly do vastly less than I have say a decade ago, and this is less than if I had all this (being productive used to mean having/using a lot of real resources) when I was in good shape (and I used to be tip-top) but I work on music literally in my sleep.
To start to work despite how massively uncomfortable I am I suppose means the actual work is the same as an addiction.
I can stop, however. I used to do days where I worked the whole 24 with short breaks for instant coffee and toast. That isn't happening.
- KVRAF
- 5714 posts since 29 Sep, 2010 from Maui
Sometimes I get bored, then I discover something fun and interesting, like sampling hardware with Reason, which works astonishingly well. Anyway, then I forget that I was bored or less interested.
*vurt you should check out Reason's sampling facilities if you haven't, I would recommend anyone
with hardware instruments to check out Reason for this. Many folks forget that you can even sample
with Reason, which is unfortunate as it's nearly effort free and promotes creativity as you can
sample into anything there with 1 click.
Sample directly into kong and make your own drum kits in like 5 mins, sample directly
into the granular engine then go to town using all their generative players and whatnot
to fire it all immediately back at you in interesting ways. Great fun
*vurt you should check out Reason's sampling facilities if you haven't, I would recommend anyone
with hardware instruments to check out Reason for this. Many folks forget that you can even sample
with Reason, which is unfortunate as it's nearly effort free and promotes creativity as you can
sample into anything there with 1 click.
Sample directly into kong and make your own drum kits in like 5 mins, sample directly
into the granular engine then go to town using all their generative players and whatnot
to fire it all immediately back at you in interesting ways. Great fun