A fledgling artist's journey into music production
The time to nurse an idea is at the time of it’s birth. Every minute it lives gives it a better chance of surviving.
Napoleon Hill
About three days ago, I started work on the first music track that I will be able to call wholly mine – no unmodified presets, no proprietary loops or effects.
It’s been a somewhat terrifying experience at times, but it’s also given me some perspective on my creative process.
Continue reading “A Series of Yesses”Thought someone might be interested in my current set-up. Here it is.
Music theory intimidates me.
Ever since public school, where we sang Christmas carols in the hallways every December, I’ve regarded sheet music, chord progressions, and scales as the relics of some alien civilization: Something to be studied, but too strange to be adopted.
I’m finally trying to change that though, starting with a music theory class offered by alison.com. Pretty cool site if you don’t know, offering free university-level training on a variety of subjects.
Turns out it’s a LOT more confusing than I thought.
Continue reading “Music Theory Rant”NOTE: I did not accept any money for this review, from Brain Control or anyone. The thoughts and opinions below are entirely my own.
So I downloaded the free TuneFish 4 synth from Brain Control – it’s the first non-GB synth I’ve used – and I’ve tinkered around for a couple months now. I have to say, I’m finding it to be a pretty versatile, user-friendly experience.
Continue reading “TuneFish 4 Does Not Seem to Suck”Most of us have heard that mastery in any craft requires 10,000 hour of deliberate practice.
Today, I’m excited to announce that I have completed my 100th hour, or a whopping 1% towards that goal! Woot!!
In celebration, I’ve uploaded my chart of my hours so far to the site (you can find it under the “My Progress” tab) and will try to update it at least once a week. Check it out from time to time! Slightly more exciting than watching grass grow!
I am very impressionable. I like finishing an evening of television with something positive, so my mind is in a good place when it’s time to sleep. The pain and suffering of others has a way of rubbing off on me, which is why I don’t read the news.
Which means COVID-19 caught me by surprise. And it’s made me question whether my no-news policy is a good one.
Continue reading “Guilt in the Time of COVID-19”I haven’t even sat down at my desk when it hits me. A kind of vague, creeping dread of the unknown journey to come.
Over the next 2 hours, I will face frustrations and setbacks. Things I thought would come easily, won’t. Theories I had about how to make something sound a certain way will fall through. And once and a while, in a brief but weightless moment, I will get something to work.
Continue reading “The Grind (AKA The Daily Discomfort)”Every once and a while, I come across information so unexpected and brilliant, that it seriously adjusts my understanding of how the world works.
It started happening again, while reading the Tao of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee.
Continue reading “The First Pivot”Writing is hard. At least good writing is; dodging all the hackneyed phrases and tired cliches to produce something semi-original and authentic.
More and more, I find myself craving a better grasp of the english language. With each word learned, I come closer to saying something completely honest. But it’s still just an approximation.
Continue reading “Communication, and Why We’re Terrible At It”Declaring something to the world is a dangerous business; the world has a way of immediately testing you to see if you’ll hold to your convictions, or pointing out flaws in your theory.
For example, yesterday I talked how useful the piano was in helping me find melodies and harmonies I liked. And IMMEDIATELY after that, I began to see where this strategy falls short.
Continue reading “The flip side”