The magic of simplicity

[Heavenly Sounds]

I hope some of you will understand that the only people who like constant variation in songs are you guys who make music yourself.
You want that variation because you think: otherwise its too simple!

Normal people who do not make music, like less variation. They like something they can dance on. They like repetition.

The reason why there is a difference, is because they do not care about how simple it was or how much (what some call creativity I call just pushing notes to make it "complicated") is in it. They want it to sound good.

Now you guys do not care if a song sounds good, many of you just want complexity. That the song becomes like a child who hits many different notes to achieve that does not matter, you just want a lot of variation, does not matter if it sounds lame, as long as it is not repetition is good.

Well I got a news flash for those people. Your song probably sucks a lot because you do not keep it simple. And thats the problem of many of you and the reason why you aint going commercial. You are trying to please the wrong folks.

You are NOT trying to please the masses, you are trying to please your co music makers.

And they do not like repetition cause like one say: its just copy past.
Their answer, make it as variated as possible, not understanding that when people dance on a song they only want power.

I get this kick problem a lot, its always the same blablabla. Its a four on the floor kick.
Well I got a news flash again: maybe listen to some commercial stuff, it 85% of the time is a four to the floor kick.

And there lays your problem. You want to be so original that your music is not for the masses anymore. You want to stand out so much, that what you make is not good anymore. I can make that stuff too, to be honest, in the beginning I did that.

Now I make something that sounds good and yes I repeat it. Its not, like some make it sound to be, the same the whole time because I add instruments. Instead of having one instrument that does the variation I add another instrument which also creates variation. But the difference is that my track sounds powerfull. People will want to dance on it.

I yesterday showed my track for the first time to people I know, on my cellphone even with very bad speakers.

He gave me an usb stick and asked me to put the song on it. First he said he wanted it on a cd, but because none of us both had one I suggested a usb stick.

They were astounded, and guess what, it was not even the most recent mix.

Newsflash again: they do not care about all the stuff you care about. They do not care because they just listen to the song. They do not care you put one hundred effects on it to make it sound better then it is (probably some people need it because yeah, their track is pretty lame melody wise: no power at all)

I prefer power in a song over any effect. Yes effects can make a song sound better, but not good.

Its like adding herbs to a sauce you make. The sauce needs to be good. If you only add good herbs you get a weird sauce. But you will get recognizion from all other cooks because hey: I like how creative you are with the herbs!
But the sauce itself, tastes bad, and you need all those herbs to mask it.

The masses on the other hand do not care about how creative you were with the herbs, they taste the sauce in its whole. And if one of both is not good, the sauce does not taste that good at all for them.

And thats why some of you are still on here, after many many years of music making. Not having reached a higher level. Because they focus to much on the herbs, that they forget that music is not the effects you put on it, but the base music you make, without the effects. And the effects, are just an addition to it. The effects are not the music. The music itself is the music.

I will get hated again, because I share this. I am sure some people will agree. But many of the ones that will speak up will just say what a douchebag I am. Does not matter, what I say is the truth.

I am doing this for 1.5 year now, and I am much further then some of you who have 5 or even 10+ years. Not effect and mix wise, but idea wise.

If some of you refuse to give me respect. Then that is your decision. But I aint having 10 years to make a disco song after that end periode. I have a goal and I have a dream. And I will create what is inside me.

And thats power. So go ahead, downvote it yet again because I speak truth. I hope some of you will understand what I am trying to say. I know some will not, I really do not care. I have spoken soley about music, and not about a person, like many of you do with me. If that makes me the douchebag, because I dare to say a song is lame and because, it seems at least, I have a very different mindset about music then some of you, then that will be as it must be.

But if you want me to create a disco song from the 80's then you are dead wrong. I created that the first month of music making. No thank you.

I like power. And power is in simplicity. Not in constant variation.

[Michael L]

You wrote a very long and complicated post to make a very simple point.

[Heavenly Sounds]

Yep and thats because otherwise some of you will not understand.
Because in the end I want you to understand, so that maybe some of you will learn something.

But God forbid that I have knowledge so some of you will learn something from me instead of my constantly needing to learn from all of you.

Well I said my point and if you are gonna attack me as a person for it, go ahead, you are the first but will not be the last.

Laugh with me all that you want I know where I am going. I know who is leading me. And I know where I will end of I just continue with music.

We all have different tastes, I actually said that on someones post and got hell for it. I kept very civilized by saying: its not my taste. When people choose to attack me then, then I go full throthle and I speak my brutal, but honest mind.
Then that results in a ban for a week because I seem to be trolling. Yeah.

[imrae]

You wrote a very long and complicated post to make a very simple point.

It wasn't really complicated, though. You could say it was quite... repetitive.

[revvy]

You wrote a very long and complicated post to make a very simple point.

Ironic, considering its stated goal of praising simplicity.

[Heavenly Sounds]

Yes no problem, go ahead do what you all constantly do. Make fun of me.

Another thing that comes to my mind: have you ever watched the first episode of the simpsons and right after that the last recent one.

What an improvement! Does this mean Matt Groening should have not made the first 10 seasons because he should have waited untill he got better? NO, he probably made the most money with the first seasons!

If you need to wait with releasing stuff in the open untill you are at your best, you will NEVER release something because you can ALWAYS become better!And you always WILL become better.

So all this saying of: you need to improve is a delusion, because in the end you will always improve over the years. So that means you will never release something. And you will never actually make money.

I am watching the first episode of the simpsons right now on disney+ and it looks like shit. Still people loved it so much that Matt Groening now has more then 20 seasons of it!

Stop looking at your co music makers, and look at what you believe the general public will like and you will come far further then listing to these so called "experts" who in reality have not reached a higher level at all in music business.

In my country they have a saying: who lasts laughs, laughs the best. We will see in ten years who laughs

[Michael L]

maybe some of you will learn something

Read this book about repetition in music. I did.
http://www.elizabethmargulis.com/on-repeat

[Heavenly Sounds]

Yes and how far have you gotten?

[Michael L]

I read the entire book. Happy to discuss any sentence in any chapter. It was not repetitive.

[Heavenly Sounds]

No thank you I do not have to impress you at all. You are just a music maker. You do not understand. It seems that I am on a whole other level then some of you. Because if you do not even understand this topic it means that my view of music is COMPLETELY different then your view. So that means I am on a whole other level.

I do not need to adjust that level because you read a book and still are not famous. Why cant you all understand? You are not famous. You are not a expert in music making at all. In reality, you are the same as me.

Still most of you like to act all high and mighty, but in the end its clear what the truth is: I do not know you. I have never heared of you. I do not know any of your songs. I have not heared them on the radio.

So maybe stop giving people advice and work on your own tracks? Because it seems, that even while reading THE BOOK, you cant achieve to please the big public.

I aint reading your book at all. My tracks have enough variation on this moment. Yes, with the years I will improve, which is natural if you keep doing something. They say you need 10.000 hours of practice to become good at something. I say you never get good at something. Only better.

So yes I will improve over the years, and that improvement will never stop. But I aint gonna make lame music just because you all do not like repetition lol. When I hear a house or dance track it 75% of the time is repetition.

But hey, thats not complex enough for you guys, you even show me the book that proves it.

Well turn on your radio for once and listen to a house/dance track and then try to tell me about your book again. I am done with this for today before I get banned, again, just for explaining my point.

Seems my topic was not even complicated enough to make you all understand this indeed, simple, point. So laugh with me, but I should have made the topic even longer and repeated myself a thousand more times, because some of you still do not understand.

[Michael L]

In that book, the author E. H. Margulis quotes another author, B. Johnstone, which nicely summarised her argument, even though Johnstone is not talking specifically about music.

Does repetition serve universal cognitive or interactional functions? The function of repetition in general is to point, to direct a hearer back to something and say, “Pay attention to this again. This is still salient; this still has potential meaning; let’s make use of it in some way.” This accounts, for example, for the cognitive utility of repetition to learners, getting the learner’s attention on a token of input for a second round in order to have something to work with. We can also call attention to the fact that we’re getting one’s attention, and we can take that one step further, when awareness of the ability to manipulate allows us to play with attention. Immediacy may be poetic. . . . Repetition is a mode of focusing attention. . . . Repetition focuses attention on the makeup of both the repeated discourse and the earlier discourse. Repetition puts the utterance in brackets, making it impossible to treat the language as if it were transparent, by forcing hearers to focus on the language itself. In that sense repetition is metalinguistic, even though it’s not conscious talk about talk.
(Johnstone B. 1994 p. 13).
In the book, she points out that repeating a motif has musical utility. You understand it better after hearing it more often. Repetition is also allied with dance. In Africa, for example, drummers follow-the-dancers.

[dark water]

Simple magic at its best:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrvnIF9yLbc

[excuse me please]

Herein LIES your problem; you do not practice what you preach

[excuse me please]

"It seems that I am on a whole other level then some of you. Because if you do not even understand this topic it means that my view of music is COMPLETELY different then your view. So that means I am on a whole other level."

@mozex

At least your repetitions are consequently wrong. Hats off here.

[Heavenly Sounds]