A few weeks back, I posted a series of blogs I wrote about sampling and music composition. In the last of the articles, I posed a question in which answers came back regarding tools used to compose music, in the midst of current music composition technology (DAWs, software and hardware synths, etc). I specifically posted questions I knew would solicit such answers after (again) thinking about how my own studio is set up and in turn, how I like to compose music.
Recently I came across a really good article about music production studios and their outputs regarding the use of them by their own engineers/producers. The next to last paragraph hit home for me and I agree with it a great deal. It definitely describes my mindset when it comes to the desire to get the latest and greatest anything with respect to what I have already. Here’s an excerpt:
Well I believe the most important thing to remember, and a notion that all producers will agree with is that having limitations enhances your creativity. Equally it is very easy to get bogged down and loose your creative flow if you have too many options available.
Before you cripple your hard drive with that new Waves bundle or clutter up your studio with another vintage synth off ebay, think to yourself, have you really mastered all the instruments that you already have at your disposal? Why not try making a tune using just one synth? Is there a plugin you always use that has parameters that you still don’t understand? These parameters might just create the effect that you have been searching for so seek the answers. By mastering one synth at a time you will 1) learn the science of synthesis far more thoroughly 2) open up new avenues of sound which might have otherwise fallen by the wayside if you had not fully explored that instrument and 3) be able to get musical ideas from your head onto your arrange page as quick as possible, before they frustratingly evaporate.
You can read the article in it’s entirety here
Thoughts?
::: oceans of rhythm :::
Fresh!
Sometimes limitations will allow greater creativity. The same can be said for film making as well. A big budget does not automatically guarantee an automatic hit.
What is needed more than anything, is a big imagination and a flair for creativity.
Hi I wrote the original blog post. Thanks very much for referencing it. I agree that in any creative dicipline, limitations can be advantageous for these same reasons.
Nice blog you’ve got going here.
All the best
Nick
::: C, So true man, I know that u experience that in film creativity. Thanks for the comment, keep doing big things. Thanks for always visiting here.
::: Nick – It’s an honor to hear from the author himself. It’s a great post and being in music production from beginning with hardware alone to present, I can relate to the points in the post. Thanks for the comment on the blog overall. You can catch some music production vids I’ve done at youtube.com/7thgroove
Thanks.
Fresh!