creativity

NerdPop // Utilizing The Tools Of Our Electronic Time

Submitted by chris.kuklis on Mon | 07.19.2010 | 06:16

Every day we're surrounded by tools & gadgets & pop culture refuse.  (Think of all the things you own or interact with that beep & click & blink & sing.)  I think an important avenue of music creation at the moment involves exploring these alternate instruments & sound creators.  This video is an excellent example.

With a little bit o' creative/videographical know-how & a couple bags of "novelty" instruments, these quirky Englishmen have made something that's funny, entertaining & musically legitimate.

Of note: Unlike many in their field, Mr. Domino & his cohort use totally stock instruments with no effects, hardware/software hacks, mods, circuit bends etc.

Regardless of your instrument or chosen path, remember that there will always be new ways to be creative.

...:::ck:::...

Imitation and Influence: Finding & Maintaining a Creative Voice

Submitted by justin.peake on Fri | 06.04.2010 | 05:26

Hey. What's up? I'm Justin Peake.

I teach drums, Ableton Live, and beat production with Brooklyn Music Lessons. I thought I would start a short series focusing on developing a creative voice. We know what we like musically (and what we don't) from having heard examples. We all have our favorite pieces of music; whether it's that drum solo on that record, that vocal line that the vocalist sings at that moment, that wobbly synth sound that brings in a new beat, or even that way of scoring for ensembles. It is these specific nuances of our experiences that shape our desires and conceptions of what we want our music to be in the future. While this may seem like a relatively trivial fact about aesthetics, it opens the doors for us to explore the double edged sword of our creativity, namely influence, on one hand, and imitation on the other.

Let's get a working definition of these two concepts. As I see it:

IMITATION

is exemplified by re-creation, regurgitation, mimicry, or straight up copying of the superficial qualities of something, in this case, a sound, song, or beat.

INFLUENCE

is exemplified by the production, creation, synthesis, inspiration, of something 'new' through the experience or study of the superficial quality of something - sound, song, beat, etc.

Imitation is often mistaken for influence. Unfortunately, imitation does not leave you with a sound for you to call your own, nor does it leave you with any legitimate claim to authenticity. Don't sell your own creativity short.  It is toward a claim of authenticity and creativity that we strive as artists, to be able to articulate a unique and original aesthetic, deeply ingrained with, yet distinct from, it's influences.

While imitation is not a very desirable end goal for music making, it can be a very desirable and useful step in the process.  One can think of a scientific metaphor. Think of imitation as the research toward a theory and not the theory itself. Einstein would not have been considered as intelligent as he was if he had merely said: "The Earth is Round!" or "There's this thing called gravity".  Why? Because we already knew those things and, while he may have revered those who came before him and said them, his restatement of them would have been redundant and not very helpful to society at large. Instead he used those assertions and incorporated them into his own body of principles and ideas that did garner major attention and influence. It made him a superstar.

Stay tuned for the next post which will touch on practical ways to harness our influences without merely imitating them and ways to think about your influences that may yield new and positive musical thoughts in your practice.

Until next time,

Justin

“With great power…” [a guitar effects primer]

Submitted by chris.kuklis on Wed | 06.24.2009 | 06:02


My name is Chris.
I am a guitarist.
I am a scientist.
I am a seeker of sounds.
I am an explorer of tone colors.
I am a dedicated enthusiast of guitar effects.

Much as it pains me to say, guitar effects are often grossly misused.

This is not the fault of the player, for how can you blame someone for something they don’t realize is wrong, but it is the sad truth. They pick up the latest guitar mag or check out their favorite player’s setup and think “Wow, what a great shortcut! All I have to do is buy the same pedals and I’ll sound just like Johnny Greenwood!”

This is not the case.

Effects are instruments.
Each pedal must be seriously studied and practiced and combined with every possible pickup and amp setting, every possible picking technique, throughout every string and octave of your instrument and beyond.
You must spend dedicated hours learning the ins and outs of every feature.
You must test and re-test every combination.
You must become intimately connected to the feel of each knob and know, without thinking, exactly how it will respond.

You must become a scientist of sound.

This is what Johnny Greenwood did.
This is what Animal Collective did.
This is what The Flaming Lips did.
This is what so many other greats have done.

and this, my friends, is precisely why their use of effects stands as a glorious monolith of inspiration to us all…

Now, take everything you’ve just read and throw it out the window!!! Quick!!

Effects are about FREEDOM and the pure joy of exploration!
Effects are about the search for something new in the great unknown!
Effects are about taking what you do with the guitar, an instrument with one of the most diverse tonal palettes available, and expanding the possibilities to infinity!
Effects are another way to find your distinct and original voice and show it to the world!

There are no answers!
There is no right or wrong!
There is only sound!

This is what Johnny Greenwood discovered.
This is what Animal Collective discovered.
This is what The Flaming Lips discovered.
This is what so many other greats have discovered.

and this, my friends, is precisely why their use of effects stands as a glorious monolith of inspiration to us all.

Now, take what you threw out the window earlier (it’s ok, I’ll wait while you find it), combine with what you just read, and you have the answer.

Using effects in a meaningful way is no simple task, for you must be BOTH the great scientist and the wild creative rebel. But with time and effort and wondering and exploring, you can create sounds that no one has ever heard and in doing so, you’ll be one step closer to your true voice as a musician.

This can be an arduous journey, as all truly rewarding paths tend to be, and many are lost along the way… But you are a BML student. You are different. The very fact that you’re reading this article means that you care enough about finding your voice and bettering yourself that you’re taking the necessary steps to make it a reality. With this mindset, and the words above, there is no pedal you cannot conquer.

As Peter’s Uncle Ben said: “With great power, comes great responsibility..."

ck

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