> At some point I became a software engineer, had more disposable income, and had discovered the concept of modular synthesisers. Obviously this is a terrible combination.<p>Good grief but this made me laugh.<p>I partially fell down that damn rabbit hole myself, although managed to avoid modular thus far. I decided to get back into making music during the 2020 lockdowns, spent a lot of time kitting out my office to double as a studio. Spent too much time watching gear reviews on YouTube, and Studio Time by Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL). Bought a Polybrute, and a bunch of second hand kit: couple of acid boxes, an old Akai sampler (actually two of them from which I built a single "monster" rig), a DX7 (which I can confirm <i>is</i> very hard to program, although Dexed helps), a couple of drum machines, and some other stuff. This is on top of kit I already owned.<p>I also repainted and refloored the room, added 72 sockets, routed power cables around the walls, and fitted industrial cable conduit to route signal cables over the ceiling. I fitted floor to ceiling shelving around 3 sides of the room, and added guitar hangers to the fourth wall. I then fitted a 1200W equivalent LED ceiling light cluster for working, a few other LED lamps, and added a 57 metres (really) of coloured LED strip lighting. Bear in mind we're talking about a room that's 2.5m x 2.5m so it's possibly in the top 10 of the most excessively lit rooms in all of human history.<p>And how many tracks have I finished since I started all this?<p>None.<p>Point 3 is, at least for me the single take home message I absolutely needed to read from this:<p>> 3: You need to find ways to force yourself to finish things. Arbitrary deadlines are actually sometimes good.<p>Number 6 is also an absolute gem:<p>> 6: Making your own work is a good thing to do, even if no one else is interested in what you are making. To create is to be human<p>Great article.
> Christmas Music<p>One important skill I've found necessary in both music and my software career is <i>dissociation</i>. By that, I mean the ability to separate yourself from the work that you've created. It's natural to feel that what you have made is a reflection of yourself and your value, but it also leads to a lot of fear. In the music world, this manifests as a fear of releasing music and instead endlessly tweaking knobs and refining 4 bar loops; in the software world, I see it manifest in the form of not making difficult decisions out of fear of taking responsibility, due to the fear of failure of those decisions reflecting on you personally.<p>In leadership training sessions I've taken at Amazon and elsewhere, this attempts to get addressed by some bs "vulnerability" segment where the facilitator asks you to share something about your childhood that was difficult, or a time when you made a mistake in your life, something like that. Personally I just make something up or say something really generic here, which I assume many others do as well. I feel like a much more effective way to train this "dissociation" skill would be something like the Christmas Music approach. Music and art are deeply personal works; sharing something you've created to the world and getting sometimes harsh feedback (or, more likely, no feedback at all!) is a far better way to learn how to be vulnerable than a carefully chosen story from your childhood that makes you look like you had it rough (but not <i>too</i> rough). It's also more relevant since it's about making your <i>output</i> vulnerable, rather than your <i>personality</i>.<p>Musically, I have a bit of a fanbase now, which I still find shocking. But still, every time I release a new song and see the initial Soundcloud plays roll in my stomach goes into knots. <i>Why aren't they liking it? Is this song way worse than my other songs? Did I release garbage and people hate me now?</i> It's a very tough feeling to overcome.
One part of my personal creative process I didn't find discussed or mentioned in the post is about having a goal for one's creative endeavor. I've found the idea of sitting down to simply 'write a song' or 'create something' doesn't work for me. What does work for me is having a specific goal and working towards that goal. The goals don't have to be overly complex, but I need at least some nugget of an idea that I can consciously refer to during the process to keep me on track (I'm easily distracted by 'possibilities' and 'choices'). An example of such a goal would be that I wish to write a song that has a verse with a more minor feel, use the I–vi–IV–V progression for the bridge, make the chorus upbeat, have a Joy Division meets the 50s vibe, and write some lyrics that tells a story that starts with driving somewhere.<p>This method isn't foolproof and sometimes I have ideas that don't work or result in bad songs, but occasionally the final product is good enough that I can introduce it to the band and incorporate the new song into our practice/performance setlist. Having a goal that I write down gives me an idea of what I want the final product to look/feel/sound like while still leaving room for spontaneity, as I'll edit the goal if I think of a better idea. A side benefit of this approach is that it makes it easier to communicate the gist of the song to other musicians when they ask what it sounds like and/or what it is about.
I've had a similar approach to music except, instead of field recordings, I started with MIDI keyboards in the mid-90s instead. For me, it's been a fun hobby to keep my toes in music while I play software engineer most of the week. I can confirm all six of the tips in the article are correct.<p>> Anyway, I eventually discovered a life changing life-hack which I have now used for years to force myself to finish and release music. It’s called ‘Christmas Music’.<p>Funnily enough, my life-hack was 'Birthday Songs'. I would write 30-60 second songs, most not very good and some parodies, for my friends' birthdays just to keep busy musically. Eventually I wrote a full-length birthday song for my friend's dad's 70th birthday. I also wrote a Christmas song and a Thanksgiving song.<p>> 6: Making your own work is a good thing to do, even if no one else is interested in what you are making. To create is to be human<p>Now I have a fancy audio interface, Universal Audio Apollo x4, and a small collection of high quality microphones and instruments. And I'm still happy recording pointless, joke songs.<p>Example songs<p>First birthday song: <a href="https://soundcloud.com/mitchell-anicas-project/easy-29" rel="nofollow">https://soundcloud.com/mitchell-anicas-project/easy-29</a><p>Korn parody birthday song: <a href="https://soundcloud.com/mitchell-anicas-project/happy-birthday-from-a-klown" rel="nofollow">https://soundcloud.com/mitchell-anicas-project/happy-birthda...</a><p>Full-length birthday song: <a href="https://soundcloud.com/mitchell-anicas-project/ferrell-dise" rel="nofollow">https://soundcloud.com/mitchell-anicas-project/ferrell-dise</a><p>Thanksgiving song: <a href="https://soundcloud.com/mitchell-anicas-project/ooh-its-thanksgiving-400th-anniversary-heritage-edition" rel="nofollow">https://soundcloud.com/mitchell-anicas-project/ooh-its-thank...</a>
"Making your own work is a good thing to do, even if no one else is interested in what you are making. To create is to be human."<p>Tattoo that on my forehead backwards.
<i>> I would listen back to my recordings, trying to overdub new parts, feeling like I was playing pretty tight and in time. But when I listened back my playing would sound totally off. I was always miles behind the beat, sounding incredibly sloppy and rhythmless. For months I thought this was a deficiency in my playing, until eventually I discovered some latency setting, read about what latency was and realised what was going on. I tried my best to fix my latency problems, failed, put up with it for ages, and then eventually used my student loan to buy an audio interface and a shure SM57 microphone. These are two of the best buys I’ve ever made. I could suddenly record things that were pretty much in time, and also everything I recorded sounded way way better.</i><p>When overdubbing you don't actually need to minimize latency: as long as your latency is constant, you can adjust for it. For example, if your end-to-end latency is 200ms you can tell your music program to adjust, shifting everything you record 200ms earlier.
On the topic of getting things done, I’ve applied a bit of software development skills to making music. Instead of creating an increasingly growing body of works I focus on a smaller number of “products” that I improve on over time. I get some ideas that are my backlog and I implement them and release a new version. I think of it as an analog to Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass; one work that he made and just kept improving over the course of his lifetime.
> I’d start pieces, make reasonable progress, and then spend hours making irrelevant changes no one would notice getting more and more confused about what I was doing, and whether the piece I was working on was any good<p>Even the greats can succumb to this. The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson got caught in this trap when working on the band’s Smile album in 1966. He intended it to be a entire album in the modular cut/paste vein that Good Vibrations used (which was still pretty novel at the time). He spent nearly a year experimenting, tinkering, and retooling to the point of creative paralysis. Having to release something, the entire project was scrapped and the original project became something of legend among aficionados. It wasn’t actually “completed” until 2004 when Wilson was finally able to revisit the project. Funnily enough the big motivator to finish the project was a deadline — just like the article recommended. In Wilson’s case, it was a commitment to perform the material at a series of sold out live shows.<p>While I’m not a musician, I certainly understand the desire for some measure of perfection in my software or hardware projects — many times to the point of creative paralysis and eventual abandonment. It’s said that “shipping is a feature” and sometimes you just have to settle for “good enough” if you ever want to share your creations with others.
As a hobby composer, my takeaways have been very similar. Inspiration can be sudden and fleeting. If I don't finish something in a short period of time, I loose the feeling and impetus for what I was writing. I've started an order of magnitude more tracks than I've finished.<p>My friends and I have a tradition where we each write a song and then play them on News Years Eve. We usually procrastinate and do it at the last minute. There are usually some good bits and we have fun doing it. It's low pressure and the deadline forces us to finish.<p>For me, technology can be more distracting than beneficial. Modern DAWs have so many settings. There's always something new to try or a setting to tweak. My goal for now is to try staying focused on the composition of the piece and capturing the mood and feeling I am trying to convey. If your composition isn't solid, your track isn't going to be good no matter how much time you spend on the mixdown or getting your drum kit just so.<p>Easier said and done, but that's my goal!
>>>> 3: You need to find ways to force yourself to finish things. Arbitrary deadlines are actually sometimes good.<p>That's one of the joys of live performance. You show up, play, then it's gone forever. The other is not having to keep up with technology.
Great post! Nowadays I struggle a lot with creating music. I mostly WFH and most of my job equipment (laptop + monitor) and my music equipment (guitars, synths, pedals etc.) with my music recording equipment (laptop + monitor) is in the same room. I don't have the luxury of another hobby only room so I mostly finish my day job and never return into my office until the next work day starts.<p>Also there's the recording medium problem, which is the same as my work medium - a laptop. I would love to hear some suggestions how to turn this around.
Here's where I'm at in my musical endeavors:<p>- I have world-class equipment (a Nord Stage 3 among other things) that has radically changed my perception of sound, which is both a good and a bad thing. The positive is I'm becoming much more precise and subtle, and the negative is I'm often distracted by the new depth of sound and technology<p>- I'm aware of when I feel inclined to practice, when I feel inclined to compose, and when I feel inclined to improv and have fun<p>- I crave novelty and variety more than consistency<p>As a result, my current strategy is to build a library of simple patterns, like a chord progression, a melody, a beat, a specific sound.<p>When I feel inclined to practice, I'll choose a key and find a pattern to repeat and explore. Maybe I'll change the sound or the tempo, and explore that pattern. Maybe I add a layer, which branches into its own pattern. I also do this with lyrics.<p>Over time, I expect that many of these patterns will converge into actual tracks. It's happening already - I'll combine some lyrics with a melody and a beat and suddenly I'm inspired to create more layers.<p>I'm in no rush to produce or publish anything; I have only a handful of hours a week set aside for music. But I know those hours are well spent, and in the future, I know I will continue to grow and develop as a musician and a writer. At that point I'll certainly experience the inevitable loop of "is this good enough to publish?"<p>And once I reach that point I suppose I'll release a Christmas song and probably call it "my antithesis."
Totally agree with the importance of FINISHING work and just put it out there! I'm always writing and recording but I have never put out a full release (independently) until this year. I got to learn all about getting physical copies made and trying to market them this time.<p>It's also good to build a body of work. It creates more opportunities for discovery and it is a fun way to look back on your own journey and have a sense of accomplishment.
> For months I thought this was a deficiency in my playing, until eventually I discovered some latency setting, read about what latency was and realised what was going on.<p>It's a good idea for anyone doing things related recording audio: ask someone how to measure the "round trip latency" in the software you're using. Ask on forums, HN, Facebook groups how to do it. If someone responds with simple arithmetic to calculate latency, or responds with the term "latency" that isn't preceded by the words "round trip," or does anything <i>other</i> than tell you a surefire way to measure the round trip latency for that software: go somewhere else and ask again.<p>This will get you a baseline <i>measurement</i> of your system: one that that you can use to ask future questions and get practical answers.<p>If you don't do this you'll get spammed with "help" from people who write before they measure.
The point about equipment is a really important one. A lot of people have a very stupid attitude that art is some kind of special domain where the tools don't matter--a true artist works beauty with whatever he has!<p>Leave that nonsense at the door. If you were learning how to do landscaping, you'd buy a chainsaw, a shovel, and a blower. Anything less would leave you unequipped to do the job.<p>I guess some guys have a gear fetish and can't stop from buying their 20th shiny guitar. Well, ignore EVERYTHING they have to say and get yourself the equipment you need. It can make the difference between waffling with no purpose and iterating productively.
Incredibly relatable on the Christmas music. I did this in 2020 with my roommate and it really was a lot of fun - I wrote that up here: <a href="https://bobbiechen.com/blog/2020/12/22/the-making-of-christmas-in-this-economy" rel="nofollow">https://bobbiechen.com/blog/2020/12/22/the-making-of-christm...</a>
I like the Christmas Music thing. People's expectations are massively lowered.<p>With respect to putting things out there, a <i>very</i> common question on Quora is "how do I protect myself from getting ripped off?"<p>I always think of what a fairly well-known web personality at Google said to me:<p><i>The risk on the Internet is not that you'll be ripped off. It's that you'll be ignored.</i>
I had experienced the modular trap with sample libraries. I've got a bunch, and they're really good, but setting things up and adding modulation tracks and getting the reverb right and all that, and then getting the mix to sound really good is so frustrating...
> If you change your processes too much it is hard to built up an identity other than as someone who is inconsistent.<p>nah<p>and why should consistency matter across songs anyway, unless you are writing a concept album?