Category: Music

Forced break from music & blogging

It has been a while, due to some unforeseen issues with my brain damage resulting in a intolerance for sound I had to step away from music, and blogging fell to the side as well. They’re just wasn’t enough I wanted to talk about or get out there.

Brain damage is a fickle partner to live with. No matter how hard you work at maintaining your balance, sometimes out of nowhere problems arise. And you never know when they end and how long the good streak lasts.

In order to maintain some rhythm of work going I read more and got my exercise up. Mostly this leads to improvements on the long run. I am currently on the way back and try and listen to music and went out to the cinema for some non action movies on downtimes.

I have also written down lots of ideas which I can incorporate into my music. Which will be soon I hope.

Music gear favorites – Elektron Machinedrum

I really like musical gear, and I must admit I buy stuff too frequently and don’t take enough time to get into the newly acquired tools. Sometimes I postpone buying things for a long time due to the fact I am well aware of this behavior.

I have always wanted a Elektron Machinedrum since it’s release back in , it was an expensive machine and looked pretty complicated to me. So it was easier leaving it alone a.k.a. not buying it.

Around 2016 or thereabouts there was a moment you could buy it at a discounted price from Elektron as it was going out of production. That was the moment I snapped one up.

Then it pretty much disappeared in a cupboard after my initial attempts at getting aquatinted with it. I simply didn’t get it. The thing I was afraid of in the first place. Every once in a while I got it out and forced myself learning the machine. And at some point it started to make sense, very slow and with intervals.

Now I regularly get it out and learn more about working with it. I think its an underrated drummachine and the range of sounds you can get out of it is vast. Also the Elektron sequencer adds to the versatility of the machine and range of options.

It should be on everyones wish list just like the classic drummachines like the 808 & 909. Why ? Because the whole machine was a totally different take on drum synthesis and sequencing drummachines which was not done before. If this would’ve appeared at the time of the 808 & 909 it would result in bringing it’s own landmark stamp on music, just like those classis machines.

We all too often compare alle drummachines after those 2 classis which gave birth to electro , house & techno and shaped dance music for decades. But this machine deserves being viewed as an dare I say independent machine with its own purpose in making futuristic music.

I think it’s time for the Machinedrum to take a more central role as the drummachine to shape future sounds. It’s very capable of doing this.

Embracing imperfection

Perfection is something we all strive for, yet a lot of beauty can be found in imperfection. Perfection is a never ending story, and in pursuing perfection you can get paralyzed and not finish anything.

Finishing and letting go is one of the most important things in life, whether it is in life, work and art. At some point things are finished, as close to perfect as it can be at that moment in time. It deserves to be out there.

What is perfection anyway? Isn’t there always something to strife for? Sharpening your skills and growing into a better artist, person , or professional ?

Imperfection is a beautiful thing, just like happy accidents, or random occurrences. It’s everyday life. Embracing imperfection is embracing life. Everything needs an end, a finish.

Letting go of perfection is letting go of parts of uncertainty, self-doubt and insecurities. It takes more than striving for perfection and never releasing things.
The finish line will be pushed further everyday anyway, and releasing your art into the world will contribute to your growth as an artist in pursuit of the ultimate piece of art. Your perception of perfection, and once it’s there, you will find new goals and pursue your newly minted definition of perfection.

Which does not mean I am there yet, this just hot me when reading and studying psychological reactions on uncertainty, self-doubt and setting high standards for oneself. So I got to work on how I can release my own music faster and with less discomfort about my own skills and my own fight with perfection. And as I am writing this I am still a bit on the fence about the whole thing, while I know I need to do it to get things out there.

Practically this means setting certain deadlines for myself. Limiting the amount of time spent on a piece of art, resources and ideas I incorporate.

For example, and I will take a framework for music as I know this area better than let’s say writing a novel. Take just a few instruments , or even just one. Give yourself a framework in which you will finish the track. Tempo, length, genre maybe and set a limit , let’s say 14 days. Divide this 14 days into a few blocks. A few days for Sound design, recording, arranging, mixing and administrative tasks. Then after you have done all those things, release it. And don’t look back.

See if this framework needs any updates in it’s parameters. Adjust and move onto the next project. In this way you will learn to embrace imperfections and letting go. And you will learn a lot about your creative process as well. Above all you will learn too see the beauty in imperfection. And thus see the beauty in life.

Cultivating ideas and creative resources in music making

As soon as inspiration hits, you want to make sure the idea doesn’t evaporate into thin air. I have talked about working on your skills routinely which will lead to periods of inspiration and productiveness. Everything feels like its effortless.

Make no mistakes, this is the direct result of all the hard work and sharpening your skills. Showing up regularly and putting in the time. As with anything you will get better with practice.

A lot of ideas get left behind. You simply don’t have time finalizing all these great ideas. It therefore makes sense making notes and sketches of all these ideas in a way they form the future working stock. For all the days things don’t flow effortlessly.

There are a lot of ways of locking in ideas for future use. You can write them down, record them on your phone, sketch the essence. The most important thing is that you can remember the initial idea and work on it later on.

I have had a lot of failures in getting a structure set up for getting ideas down for future reference. I settled for pen & paper, advantages over digital forms are the physical actions and ingraining it in the brain.

But when reading it weeks or months later a lot of the time I could not make out what I originally set out to do. Not a big problem as it always has a starting point in it somewhere. But it kind of took away the enthusiasm.

So I opted for a format, a standardized way of writing ideas down and making sure I knew what I had set out to do. I start with giving the idea a title. Then I write down the concept, and the technical side of things. Which tools to use and how to use them. Then I set the length , speed and other characteristics of the song. Last but not least I draw the song in a time line fashion, breaks drops and other things.

In that way I have way more detail and I can work on the idea while writing it down. I can then do preparations and recording later on with more focus.

It has greatly helped my creative proces, as with anything, this way of doing things suits my personality and workflow. It’s just to give you an idea what might work. It took a while for me to get there, bit experimentation will get you there and is half the fun.

The music journey – Making an album (week 29,30) the final report

Running behind is never fun, and whilst it has been fun keeping tabs om my ambitious plan on making an album this will be my last post in this form. I think I have written all there is about my ups & downs learning to use my musical equipment and subsequently produce an album. Which was a bit too ambitious in hindsight. The project will go on and one day the album will be finished.

But as I have said before, aiming high will get you places you don’t get too otherwise. And this is true. The end result is not here yet, but the work ethic & proces is. And moreover its a sustainable rhythm. I keep having problems some weeks with my cognitive energy and imbalance. That’s something I have to deal with on a daily basis no matter what I do.

It has been annoying at times, but this project gave me another thing keeping me busy for the long term, hopefully a lifetime. However fun hobby’s are, molding those hobby’s into projects makes them way more valuable. In experience, in learning and in focus. Hard things are enjoyable. And you can have fun doing it.

So I have 2 modes at the moment, working on my projects, and leisure time. The first category consist of hobby’s molded into projects, whether it be in music, sports or other ventures. The second consists of walking about, reading books , casual listening, visiting people & places.

That distinction makes it easier to plan, and get ideas out. It takes the work out of work and the procrastination out of the hobby’s. It might not work for everyone, but I am sure that if you find a few things in life you love doing, doing it with a bit more focus and working towards goals it’s will be indefinitely more rewarding.

In other words, you will never work a day in the rest of your life. This whole process has given me the insight in what I can do, aspire to, and dream about. It has set the stage for continuous work on my own terms and on my own pace.

In a nutshell this is what I learned to do, and these steps will help anyone wanting to get a hobby or any other pasion project further. So here is a list.

    • Plan your time consistently.
    • Plan 3 or more sessions a week , at a minimin 3.
    • Don’t overdo it in hours , you can only work with a high focus for so long.
    • Write down all ideas. Take 3 at a time for further development.
    • Divide sessions into playtime, learning, and finishing work.
    • Aim high , you might not make it to the perceived goals, but you get further with it then if you aim for easily achievable goals.
    • Always focus on the next step, don’t make the steps too big (that creates frustration in case of the lack of succes).
    • Trust the proces and more importantly yourself.
    • Be strikt not hard on yourself.
    • Yes, showing up (consistently) is half the work.
    • Take breaks and celebrate the little victories.
    • Have fun, and focus.
    • Keep a diary, it will help put things into perspective.
    • And last but not least, record everything.

Just some things I learned, lot’s of them are obvious, the most important thing is keep working at your craft, build knowledge, make it a habit. It will not seem like much progress at first. But it all adds up.

This was it for this series. I will continue writing music related blogs on a weekly basis and will go deeper into workflow, techniques, and time managent in future episodes. I am still figuring out the form factor but I will get started right away.

Thanks for reading so far and see you soon!

The music journey – Making an album (week 28)

I am running behind on my blogs, didn’t have time too scribble about week 28, due to other activities, mostly out of the house. Week 28 has been a week with lots of difficulty showing up. Starting any activities regarding my music ambitions was very hard.

I really value the rhythm I have developed and letting go of that rhythm is hard. It’s the same feeling I get when I can’t run. And that’s not even factoring in the positive effects both have on my wellbeing.

Yet this week has been all about having a hard time getting started with any of the activities I can normally swap between depending on my energy levels. And when I got started I had to give it up pretty fast.

I know its a case of falling down and getting up again, this week however was mostly falling down.

I will write about the previous week at the end of this week, making sure I get some of my Rhythm back.

The music journey – Making an album (week 27)

Still going, this was a hard week. Most of the time showing up is not that hard. This week however it was. My cognitive state didn’t allow for much activity at all. Most of the time I am good enough to be able to switch between activities.

If reading is a problem, I switch to editing samples, making a patch or just messing about with loops. This week was different. I could not perform any of the tasks I normally do. I did however give it a go a few times. So I managed to read a chapter in this phenomenal book on ~gen in MAX MSP. It’s called Generating Sound & Organizing Time by Graham Wakefield & Gregory Taylor

I probably mentioned it in another post, but it’s recommenced reading. Even if you are not into Max , it’s just good getting an understanding of what this does in terms of musical ideas and seeing things in a different perspective.

It’s about working with the ~gen functionality within MAX and what you can achieve with, and it’s a lot. For me a bit difficult to get my head around but it’s really intriguing. And I will probably have to read it a few times and work with it to fully get to grips with it.

So it was a bit of a frustrating week and not what I had in mind. Eventually that is life as well.

The music journey – Making an album (week 26)

This week it was a week mostly spend on reading about music instead of making any music. I did however work on my Max MSP patch. And it slowly starts to click in my mind. It’s a really great environment to start some sonic exploration and go beyond the beaten path. The way of thinking about music and how you approach ideas also slowly changes. It’s an ever evolving way of building your own musical tools, without having to buy new equipment.

Just the thing which is such fun with modular synths. Building your own instrument which you can change over and over. Max doesn’t replace my need for physical interaction with instruments but its a great way for me too stay active with music and not producing any sound.

The physical part of twisting and turning knobs and sliders and patching cables is what fascinated me about synthesizers from the beginning, so don’t sell all your hardware just jet. But Max MSP is something I can recommend for anyone in music too really take a good look at. Just chancing your perception on how too approach music, the concept of sound design and controlling (or not) the outcome is fascinating.

It has a steep learning curve, which is undeniable. But the help function is outstanding. Also lot’s of very good video’s can be found online.
If you dive in it will reward you especially in combination with a modular , in my case Eurorack, synthesizer. With all available interfaces out there the connection between a computer and the Eurorack world is such you solve a need for a certain function most likely with a Max patch without the need to go out and buy another module. And just that is reason enough to learn Max.

Het blijft geweldig om de interactie met de knoppen te hebben en dat is wat mij ooit fascineerde aan synthesizers, maar Max MSP is iets wat ik iedereen kan aanraden om eens echt goed naar te kijken. Al was het alleen maar om je perspectief te veranderen en de manier van denken over geluid, het ontwerpen ervan en het controleren (of juist niet) ervan onder de loep te nemen.

If you are looking for an interface between your computer and Eurorack be sure to check out Expert Sleepers, very good modules which you can expand as your needs grow.

The possibilities with MAX MSP and a small Eurorack setup are endless. So is the fun to be had.

The music journey – Making an album (week 25)

This week I made a good start in building the sequencer for my Eurorack in Max Msp, for now it’s aimed specifically at the Morphagene and what functionality I need for that. Already done a few tests and still have a lot of work to do.

That’s basically it as far as progress goes. while designing the Max patch I got to think about how music touches all of my interests. It satisfies my technological curiosity, I can think about design concepts and I can dive into musical history.

From reading manuals, via biographies and watching documentaries. Without even making any music. So when I have a good day cognitively speaking I can read and think about music, and if I have a really good day I can make music. It’s an integral part of my life, and weekly activities. There is always something to do which drives me forward in the direction of my goals.

As I touched upon last week, getting those goals in to fruition isn’t always easy and sometimes an activity doesn’t seem to contribute anything towards the goals. But if you look at it from another and wider perspective there is always something in the things you do which moves you forward, inching closer to your goals.

The music journey – Making an album (week 24)

Another week done. Time sure goes pretty fast. Especially when working on fun things. So this week has been all about MAX MSP. Partly due to having problems this week with listening too sound over a longer period of time, and partly because I had it planned.

Besides learning the workings of MAX I got into learning short cuts, basic workflow stuff that’s all over this software. I am more and more seeing the use of memorizing all this in order to gain some speed in my workflow. With my limited  cognitive energy it’s vital for me when I able too handle sound I can can get ideas out quickly. And finish them fast as well.

Muscle memory is key in that it skips thinking about were I can find a certain function, it becomes like riding a bike. It’s not the most exciting bit of this journey but a very essential one. Getting to know your equipment and making sure using it becomes second nature.

However learning these things is very straining, which I didn’t really expect. I know I have too get trough this phase of the learning curve in order too speed up the music making proces. To be continued. Onto next week.