A fledgling artist's journey into music production
A little over a week ago, my wife, our bunny Wembley, and myself packed ourselves into our Elantra and drove two days, from Toronto, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where our new home nestles in the form of a cute, cottage-like building.
Our reasons for leaving are too complicated and personal to put down here – suffice to say we both needed a change and a fresh start in a new place where we knew almost nobody.
Continue reading “New Province, New Hopes, Old Fears”A couple days ago, I made a big mistake. I let my fear keep me from starting work when I got up in the morning. Instead, I engaged in a campaign of immediate self-gratification – playing video games, watching YouTube videos, and so on.
My body did not put up with it for long.
Continue reading “Gotta Play Your Day”Lack of sleep is one of the greatest dangers I know. Yes, I realize that’s privilege talking, but let me explain.
Continue reading “Sleep is For Quitters (and Me)”I’ve been taking a pause on making full mixes since I posted “Motivation” – thought it was time to learn some new things before I got back in the saddle.
Part of that process involved making shorter loops I throw into a library for use later. Gotta still use what you learn, right?
Well, today I might have gotten a bit carried away. Here’s a quick overview of my thoughts around noon:
“This lead sound is pretty decent. I can totally imagine what the bassline would sound like. Might as well make that too.”
“Yeah, sounds even better with the bass! But it needs some momentum. Maybe I’ll add an arpeggiator?”
“Holy crap, YES! Now it just needs a beat, some hi hats, a snare-like sound…”
Yeah, you can see where this is going.
I’m calling the track “Big Cat” for now. Let’s see if I can get’er’done by the end of the month.
EDIT: I wrote this experience down in my journal, then decided to share it, as a way of reminding others who deal with anxiety and negative self-talk that they are not alone. If that sounds like something that might be triggering for you, best to leave this one alone.
Continue reading “Why Creating is Hard”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”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”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”It’s hard not to feel obligated to write about what I think others want to hear. I have the same issue when I teach dance, concerned with how I come across to others and if they doubt my abilities. I want to produce something more honest, and this blog – and the potential career path it represents – is my stab at that.
Sorry, there’s going to be a lot of insecurity here. But that’s part of my Truth.
I picked up a pair of KRK Rokit G4 Speaker Monitors on Monday. In case you are interested, here’s their stats:
Continue reading “New Studio Monitors! (And some other stuff)”