Well, you did say: "If you possess a musically creative mind then having one synth or even one wave to work with is quite sufficient."
And I guess now 'may be sufficient' rather than 'is quite sufficient' is your meaning.
One synth? Which one?
The thread title spurs discussion but there is no single answer, does minimalism (meaning a restricted set of instruments to write for) spur creativity per se, for me it doesn't through itself.
My music has everything to do with the actual sounds I'm getting. Some create entire orchestra scores only hearing the one piano concretely. That isn't most of us here I don't imagine.
Does minimalism spur creativity?
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- KVRAF
- 12615 posts since 7 Dec, 2004
I've actually already posted the answer to this question, which is really pointing out that it's simply the wrong question to be asking.
To spur creativity you have to simply let go and stop being too damn picky about things and instead of focusing on what you do not like, focus on what you do enjoy. Don't be flippant, just lay down a track and then say that is the take. This helps to prevent 100s of takes where each is give/take 5% better/worse and you're spending 99 times as long to find that extra half a percent improvement: it becomes impossible to quantify take 45 vs. take 97 because every time you listen again you'll come up with a totally different number.
Going back and doing a re-take of a track needs to be a spur of the moment sort of thing where you suddenly just decide "I will make this 100x better", not "can"; "will". There needs to be certainty and where there isn't any, that's a tell-tale sign that the re-take is a waste of your time. Most importantly it can't be something planned out and you can't get upset about when things don't work exactly as intended: those random outcomes are extremely important.
This sort of thing is well understood in psychology and related fields.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl ... ne.0001679
Things that spur creativity:
Creativity is more about being another cog, maybe with a few chips in it or one that wobbles a certain way and realizing that such imperfections are in fact the only element they can contribute to the result at all. So they need to accept what they are, make their contribution and not worry about making arbitrary and subjective comparisons or claiming sole ownership and credit for something they play a part in producing. After all, wasn't it the tip of the paintbrush that ultimately did all that creation? Your hand much like the handle, a piece of wood was merely there to hold it in place as it worked.
Imagine being one of the violinists in the string section and suddenly standing up during a performance and shouting "no, no, no, it's all wrong! Start all over again!"
To spur creativity you have to simply let go and stop being too damn picky about things and instead of focusing on what you do not like, focus on what you do enjoy. Don't be flippant, just lay down a track and then say that is the take. This helps to prevent 100s of takes where each is give/take 5% better/worse and you're spending 99 times as long to find that extra half a percent improvement: it becomes impossible to quantify take 45 vs. take 97 because every time you listen again you'll come up with a totally different number.
Going back and doing a re-take of a track needs to be a spur of the moment sort of thing where you suddenly just decide "I will make this 100x better", not "can"; "will". There needs to be certainty and where there isn't any, that's a tell-tale sign that the re-take is a waste of your time. Most importantly it can't be something planned out and you can't get upset about when things don't work exactly as intended: those random outcomes are extremely important.
This sort of thing is well understood in psychology and related fields.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl ... ne.0001679
Things that spur creativity:
- Lowered standards, greater acceptance and appreciation
- Positive aspect/mood, focus on positive traits rather than negative
- Reduced control/domination of the process, willingness to accept influence outside your control
- Reduced enforcement of direction, for example you're trying to write a rock track and end up country instead, either that or western
Creativity is more about being another cog, maybe with a few chips in it or one that wobbles a certain way and realizing that such imperfections are in fact the only element they can contribute to the result at all. So they need to accept what they are, make their contribution and not worry about making arbitrary and subjective comparisons or claiming sole ownership and credit for something they play a part in producing. After all, wasn't it the tip of the paintbrush that ultimately did all that creation? Your hand much like the handle, a piece of wood was merely there to hold it in place as it worked.
Imagine being one of the violinists in the string section and suddenly standing up during a performance and shouting "no, no, no, it's all wrong! Start all over again!"
Free plug-ins for Windows, MacOS and Linux. Xhip Synthesizer v8.0 and Xhip Effects Bundle v6.7.
The coder's credo: We believe our work is neither clever nor difficult; it is done because we thought it would be easy.
Work less; get more done.
The coder's credo: We believe our work is neither clever nor difficult; it is done because we thought it would be easy.
Work less; get more done.
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- KVRian
- 807 posts since 7 Aug, 2015 from H2O
Well, goddamnit, this thread needs to be locked, then - chop-chop!aciddose wrote:I've actually already posted the answer to this question, which is really pointing out that it's simply the wrong question to be asking.
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- KVRAF
- 12615 posts since 7 Dec, 2004
It really is the answer though. Creativity has become far more well understood in recent decades.
The last line I added: "Imagine being one of the violinists in the string section and suddenly standing up during a performance and shouting "no, no, no, it's all wrong! Start all over again!"
What if it was "right", "perfect" ? What if the performance was identical to the reference, measured with limits mathematically defined to match the data encoded on a CD track of a particular orchestra performance of a particular piece?
Is that creative?
The answer is defined by the word "creative" itself, in order to "create" the result must be unique; otherwise it is nothing but a copy or duplication. So "perfection" is impossible because it requires an objective measure of "imperfection".
This is all very rationally sound.
The last line I added: "Imagine being one of the violinists in the string section and suddenly standing up during a performance and shouting "no, no, no, it's all wrong! Start all over again!"
What if it was "right", "perfect" ? What if the performance was identical to the reference, measured with limits mathematically defined to match the data encoded on a CD track of a particular orchestra performance of a particular piece?
Is that creative?
The answer is defined by the word "creative" itself, in order to "create" the result must be unique; otherwise it is nothing but a copy or duplication. So "perfection" is impossible because it requires an objective measure of "imperfection".
This is all very rationally sound.
Free plug-ins for Windows, MacOS and Linux. Xhip Synthesizer v8.0 and Xhip Effects Bundle v6.7.
The coder's credo: We believe our work is neither clever nor difficult; it is done because we thought it would be easy.
Work less; get more done.
The coder's credo: We believe our work is neither clever nor difficult; it is done because we thought it would be easy.
Work less; get more done.
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- KVRAF
- 2285 posts since 20 Dec, 2002 from The Benighted States of Trumpistan
No disagreements, although I'd like to add how strange it is to be rational about what seems such an irrational process. Kinda makes me think of the ancient Greek thing about hos there's irrationality, rationality, and then divine madness -- the stuff which makes sense on a higher level than we can perceive. But then, I feel that getting us there is the ultimate goal. Cheers.aciddose wrote:It really is the answer though. Creativity has become far more well understood in recent decades...
This is all very rationally sound.
Wait... loot _then_ burn? D'oh!
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
How are my statements not perfectly clear?Bodhisan wrote:I’m not trying to be obtuse, but I can’t tell what your answer is to the OP question...
does minimalism (meaning a restricted set of instruments to write for) spur creativity per se, for me it doesn't {through itself}.
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- KVRian
- 807 posts since 7 Aug, 2015 from H2O
So sorry! I wasn’t being obtuse, but rather lazy in reading your full response. My apologies. We simply can be creative in different ways.jancivil wrote:How are my statements not perfectly clear?Bodhisan wrote:I’m not trying to be obtuse, but I can’t tell what your answer is to the OP question...
does minimalism (meaning a restricted set of instruments to write for) spur creativity per se, for me it doesn't {through itself}.
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- KVRian
- 1395 posts since 16 Jan, 2004
What if we look at ourselves as the creation?
Even when we're not "creating", we're still creating our lives.
Periods of "non-creation", musically speaking, are still part of the life we're creating, even if we don't consciously view it as such.
And those periods may be the space between the notes, so to speak.
In this way, to me, we can do away with the discussion all together, as there is no non-creation, if viewed from this perspective.
Even when we're not "creating", we're still creating our lives.
Periods of "non-creation", musically speaking, are still part of the life we're creating, even if we don't consciously view it as such.
And those periods may be the space between the notes, so to speak.
In this way, to me, we can do away with the discussion all together, as there is no non-creation, if viewed from this perspective.
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- KVRAF
- 7540 posts since 7 Aug, 2003 from San Francisco Bay Area
I had never considered this from the perspective that Aciddose presented, but it makes sense. Creativity implies inspiration, and inspiration implies the influence of chance. The more receptive one is to external chance influences, the more creative one can become. Accepting chance and imperfection is key to the creative process.
Incomplete list of my gear: 1/8" audio input jack.
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- KVRAF
- 6467 posts since 8 Jun, 2009
Fixed constraints are going to cause problems. But reducing choices at an early can point to solutions you wouldn't normally turn to - so that can be creative. The question is, having made a restriction, do you allow yourself to change your mind.
"I need to use this thing because it's the thing I need" is a result of reducing choice because it makes you confront the choice. But it quickly becomes an impediment if you don't allow yourself to make that choice.
"I need to use this thing because it's the thing I need" is a result of reducing choice because it makes you confront the choice. But it quickly becomes an impediment if you don't allow yourself to make that choice.
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- KVRian
- 807 posts since 7 Aug, 2015 from H2O
I don't disagree with the perfectionism point, but relating satisfaction of choice to end result is not a given. You may very well be satisfied with your choice of tools, but not be satisfied with your end result.Vortifex wrote:Studies show that we are more likely to be satisfied with our choices when presented with fewer options. This is why some people feel they are more creative with a limited toolset. It's not that they're more creative, they're just happier with the results.
Perfectionism, that's the real killer.
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- KVRist
- 168 posts since 18 Oct, 2017
Nope. It's the other way around 