Originality doesn't exist. Be unique instead.
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- Have you ever experienced an artist whose work was unique to them as an individual and immediately recognizable as that artist - while simultaneously pushing boundaries and exploring new areas? In an age where every other video I see is about how AI is about to replace every artist in existence, how can we ensure that our own work isn't easily replaceable, and our own "original" artistic voice is always present?
Artists/Composers featured in intro:
David Bowie, Olivier Messiaen, Nine Inch Nails, Sergei Prokofiev, Yes, Hammock
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"Give yourself permission to be bad" is something I desperately needed to hear
It's called experimenting. :)
Cool sound bed here. 👍
Not even bad..we will need to be down right dirty!
honestly you don't have as much control as you think you do
so don't be hard on yourself
'It's all just practice'
I think the fears of AI replacing artists are missing why people love art to begin with. It’s made by humans and we admire the humans and the humanity in the art.
In the age of the Internet, where you need to be able to market yourself and be discovered digitally in order to have your career take off, AI is a major threat to artists since most initial discovery is just people clicking thinking “ooh, what’s that?” and people’s feeds are going to be clogged with easily generated AI content which could block out the real artists from being seen as easily.
AI can piss off. I dont want nothing to do with it. It will completely destroy art
Imo drum machines, sequencers, samplers, electronic keyboards and drums, plugins, daws, etc. have all been pointed to by groups of people as ‘ruining music’. Yet you can witness how these tools have inspired many creatively. I am hoping that AI will do the same. New sounds, ideas and creativity more easily shared. Will I personally enjoy the output more… don’t know… but hopefully:)
@@benbowland I think that’s true. It’s hard to be found. I’m just not convinced most of us are going to be as into AI as the people making it want us to be.
Ai pearlclutchers are the worst people ever, a rare case where both sides of a debate are annoying as possible
This is absolutely what people getting into music need to hear. The main difference between pros and amateurs is that pros never stopped when they sucked, so eventually they stopped sucking.
I think even more important: pros continue to suck. Bowie was already a veteran with a couple classics under his belt when he released some of his worst projects. Him being a legendary songwriter didn't stop him from sucking. But even then, he still kept making music, and eventually blessed us with another classic which he released on his deathbed. I think the thing is that pros understand that sucking is part of the process, because we're human, and because art is heavily subjective and personal. They allow themselves to suck, which in turn allows them to find their gold, eventually.
@@joaoassumpcao3347 Amen brother. Preach it! Most of us learn by trial and error.
Occasionally lightning strikes and we're blessed with a revelation (or a realization).
Ha! the rest is uphill all the way :)
@@joaoassumpcao3347 You have a point there since sometimes the best stuff emerges when you get out of your comfort zone and embrace the suck again. But something I would like to bring up is that being a pro is not necessarily about success, often times it is about making the vision you have become reality. In essence I'd say it is about being able to convey the ideas and emotions you want with your music.
I'm not familiar enough with Bowies discography so can't really give my opions on that. But I think the more important question is, was Bowie happy with what he created.
@@seanemmettfullerton That's being struck by bleach.
@@treetopjones737 LOL... as if I'm not white enough already. Thanks.
“Give yourself permission to be bad at things” That’s huge. A lot of us are perfectionists and sometimes we don’t even make a start if we feel like we’re not good enough. Great vid
Yup. I have been making music for a while, but I still take long breaks because I am my own worst critic. I need to work on allowing myself to be bad at things.
@@justanotherpxrson I feel you, I’m on one of those breaks right now. We got this and let’s keep pushing forward 💪🏼🔥
Summary:
- Developing a unique artistic style is important to avoid being replaced by AI
- Five tips for developing a personal style: develop taste, be intentional, push out of comfort zone, focus on consistency and pushing boundaries, and put in work
- Making intentional choices and experimenting are key to developing a personal style
ye, basically I like something, then I record something, then I realize that thing is just another trash
This is exactly my advice when trying to explain to people how to start creating. Just steal! And copy! The lofty dream of inventing your own style and identity from the word go is enough to squash anyone's motivation when they discover how impossible that is. But, as a beginner, there's a lot more joy to be found in making something that sounds a bit like artists you like. It's good practice, and it demystifies the whole craft a bit. Of course you won't be able to make something as great as your favourite artists straight away, but even making something say 10% as good helps reveal to you how you could reach that height, with more practice. For me at least, it gave me a lot of context as to what the road ahead looks like. And hey, if you can't even make something that someone has already done, how do you expect to be able to make something new and better?
This video is so lovely. As a seasoned pro (20+ albums) I cringe at the amount of bad advice on youtube. This video tells the beginner everything they need to know and also is a comfort to jaded old musicians like myself. Thank you
It took me 7 years to find my own sound, as if i followed my favorite artists but at some point i took a detour and found my sonic signature.
The divine gift that humans have to make dissonance cannot be replicated by an empty vessel like an AI.
You've been nailing these lately, really good insight on this stuff. "Taste requires choice, and choice requires options" is a banger line, also
Thanks man!
@@JamesonNathanJones 🙏🫡
@@JorbLovesGear I love your videos!
By day I am a professional visual artist by night I am a musician. In both endeavors I approach it professionally. As an artist regardless of medium, process is the foundation of creating eventual great art. It's not about a static creation, it's a liquid medium of growth and transformation that is for some called work, for others called joy. The moments of completed creations are the highlights but not the goal. Doing it continually and staying open to others needs and your internal voice manifests the 'work' of professionalism. The art bubbles up from that.
Awesome emotional soundtrack to the video, greatly reinforces the ideas put out and encourages to create while giving an uplifting feeling of a long journey ahead. Many thanks!
I definitely understand the ‘work’ part of it and I’m so glad to see someone else explain this I’ve talked to my friends about how writing music can be difficult and sometimes the stuff I have to do is laborious and boring, and they often respond with “why don’t you just make music you like” and I wish I knew how to explain to them that I do like and enjoy my music but to get it to a standard where I’m proud of it sometimes I have to work hard to get the sounds I want instead of just improvising everything
I was very unique in my approach to my main career. The number of hats I wore was added to as often as I could gain a new skill and volunteer to use that new talent on the job. It served me well until I retired 2 years ago. I worked in manufacturing aerospace batteries.
Now I am being asked to to play music at charity concerts, three so far this year. I only ever played for fun till now anyway. My approach is that I play and sing in a style that is to me the best of the 60s to 80s. And I'm writing in that voice too.
Just starting to expand into this new phase. So far I am surprized at how people react to my style. Unexpected to say the least.
That's great. How do people react on your style now?
I love this guy’s voice. I love his slight southern accent but completely meditative tone. I want him to read books to me.
This is the truth or at least it was for me. I started learning the keyboard when I was five. My teacher said I wasn't concentrating and she couldn't teach me. I played trumpet from fourth to eight grade. But I really want to play rock guitar.
When I was sixteen my parents bought me a cheap acoustic guitar and I put everything I had into it, which wasn't much other than time. I learned to tune the guitar and the open chords in the key of G. I bought an electric with the help of my parents.
I looked at pictures of guitarists playing electrics and slowly found the intervals I thought sounded strongest, which I now understand were the fourth and fifth. Then I learned the notes on my E and A strings. I learned tab. Tried to play Eruption. I learned the minor scale shape on the guitar.
I took music classes in college. I joined a few cover bands. Wasn't very good, but got better. Joined an original band. Learned the harmonic minor scale shapes. Then formed my own original band. Kept studying and practicing.
I learned the beginnings of actual music theory. I learned arpeggios. I learned simple inversions and harmony. I worked on my tone constantly. Now I'm in my 50s and I can play pretty well. I like the songs I create. I keep thinking and working on music theory and recording. It took most of my life to reach the point at which I liked my playing. But I simply did not quit. I put countless hours into practicing.
If someone wants a career in music they cannot take their entire life to get there. You have to be great by the age of about 17. So in addition to constant practice on the instrument I recommend immediately learning music theory. It unlocks all the doors.
The texture that comes in on the background music around 1:25 is so good. Love that sound.
Thank you!
Dont let comments get to you at all bro. You are a musician, you're intelligent, you understand music differently than most people. You're extremely good at explanation. Keep up the good work. Throwing yourself out there on RUclips, where ppl are watching, interested, is gonna inspire you to make great work. Because everyone wants to succeed and make others happy. And thats what you're doing, and gonna do.
I appreciate that, Lance! I actually enjoy even the salty comments, because some of them have sparked ideas for more videos :)
Very well said, Lance! ✊
Easy tiger, he's quite possibly in the process of getting caught up on the Content Creation merry go round just like all the others. They need to keep it spinning around in endless circles without going anywhere - gripped with the fear of it slowing or worse... stopping.
@@CFox.7 yeah true. Keep is about the music. Be like Deadmau5. Start a 5 hour stream and say a few words here and there and have the same thing looping for 2 hours straight. Boring but I still watch the process. Especially when he has his monitors linked up to the video. But yeah, I think this guy has all the knowledge about music he needs. Maybe smoke a little weed for creativity spike. Whatever it takes
Absolutely! Thank you, JNJ :) yes yes yes. Beautiful... for security reasons online,
we all now must prove that we're NOT robots. Ha! What better reason then to be unique,
distinct, and not just another common thief or plagiarizer. Indeed, give yourself permission
to be yourself, to trust your own instincts... rock on!
I drew a cartoon for my college paper, and at times, it was published five times a week. I was getting paid, and I had to do it, which meant having to come up with ideas, good or bad, regularly. This forced me through the process of what he's talking about--doing it, sucking, doing it more, sucking less, and discovering things along the way. Nothing replaces regular effort, truly.
Last year we made a challenge with couple of my friends where each week we were selecting random genre of music and we were trying to make a track in that genre. Last year was most productive year in my life, and I learned a lot during that process.
So now I know more tricks from various genres, and quality of my music was improved significantly.
But I agree - you need to keep grinding and copy as much as possible. Even if you are copying, you will do that your way anyway.
JNJ, please keep making your amazing videos. Composition related video are important to serious music creators. If all viewers want is a quick fix that appeals to their issues with GAS, they're not going to get much out of a composition video... it's not a matter of you overthinking, it's a matter of composition not being on the priorities list of those types of viewers. While creating an appealing sonic soundscape is important, I don't get much out of videos that have 10 minutes of a simple two chord vamp or worse a one chord drone that says everything it has to say in 10 second, but then goes on unchangingly for another 9 min and 50 secs . Your videos are far from that... they cover a range of topic that appeal to me. Thank you!
Came here for the music, stayed for the philosophy. Brilliant advice, JNJ!
Jameson, this video was excellent! Thanks for this.
Another helpful tip when it comes to making music:
Find a community of somewhat likeminded individuals who are all interested in creating. Art, Music, Cooking, Writing. Find other people who inspire you and encourage you to keep pressing on. Especially when you're feeling down or in a rut. Being around art makes more art, at least in my experience.
Absolutely agree 🙏
Good words! Especially if that community is kind but also willing to push you a bit here and there - either with constructive critique or creative challenges, something that makes you explore outside your comfort zone.
100% The number one thing that has helped me push through self-criticism and self-doubt with creativity is having at least one other person who can encourage me to keep going.
That's great advice! I write fiction as well as music, and I was regularly writing short stories and working on a book for years, encouraged by my local writers' group. Then a year and a half ago I moved 600 miles up the country and could no longer meet those people. I've basically written almost nothing since. They were extremely helpful, like a second family to me!
@@macronencer I hope you are able to find another community to encourage you!
This video, for me, gets at the question "why make music?"
A few years ago, faced with an existential crisis, I discovered that the thing I wanted to do most was to play music with other people. So I built a social group around jamming and then eventually co-founded a "dad band." We had fun and did write/arrange our own (rather derivative) songs, but after some bad interactions with the band and growing boredom with the music I quit.
But I think it's perfectly OK if people want to make music as a social thing, or for therapy, or just as a time pass in the evenings after work. And I don't think those people necessarily have originality as a goal, or at least not as a main goal. But now I'm interested in making music as "art" as more of the main goal, and your videos about composition really inspire. Thank you!
Oh absolutely. Music as a hobby is a wonderful thing.
This is an excellent episode. Thank you for giving me permission to study, and develop off of the ideas, the songs and artists that have inspired/moved me thoughout my life. I do not say that sarcastically. I have often thought that to be myself, and to express myself, I have to do something 100% unique. When I found myself subconsciously sounding like someone else, I backed away in shame. I believe that you’re right in that the composition of our experiences make us who we are and the influences of others are an integral part of that - and that it is more than acceptable to tap into that - it is natural part of existence.
Thank you.
I'm a digital artist and have recently discovered a lot of this myself lately. I think much of what is said in this video applies to all types of creatives, even if the focus here is music. Thanks for another great video, this one has such a pleasant feeling to it, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a bit inspired by it.
this video very closely matches what i learned while studying graphic design, though it took some years after leaving school before those lessons actually stuck. ive never seen any sort of creative endeavor called derivative if it was actually good
You wrote exactly what I was going to write. 👍
Strangely enough... or maybe not strangely at all... this message can carry over to visual art. Or to all forms of art, in fact.
No matter what, I approve of this video. Thanks for this 👍
The best video I’ve watched all month!!
aaaalriiiight, y'aaaall!! let's get irreplacable up in heeeere!! ;-D your insights are always deep & clear & greatly appreciated, sir. thanks much for keeping up the good work. & I love that you cited schoenberg & bowie here. you can always reel me in with either of those fellas. now, if I may, I've got some bots to slay.....
😂😂
I absolutely adore this channel and I agree with every word you are saying!
Personally, I find the more I explore different types of sounds and styles of music, the more my compositions become true to myself.
This series of videos just keeps getting better and better. Thank you!
This is so great on so many levels. And I definitely need to buy more shorts. Thanks!
Oh man. As a both Guitarist and heavy electronic music lover…I’m heavily getting into adapting my own style of Uplifting Trance mixed with Classical Guitar. I’ve been doing it a lot lately and I love it! I don’t believe I’ve seen anybody who put the 2 together. It’s a huge world out there though so I wouldn’t be surprised. Good video. I was feeling uninspired, hopeless due to AI…but I kept forgetting I’m also a traditional instrumentalist so I’ll always have that 🤣
Thanks!
🙏
Finally a video about the work and patience required to acheive uniqueness! Thank you! I also want to add that many celebrated geniuses, from Schoenberg and Strawinsky to the Beatles and Miles Davis continued to dramatically develop their personal style throughout their careers!
It's the journey of creating that is the reward. Or at least better be the reward! I haven't always enjoyed living, but I always enjoy having lived. Life should be lived passionately.
Your channel has been the most helpful thing I’ve stumbled across on RUclips. You gave me the motivation I needed to start studying composition seriously again.
Really appreciate that! Best wishes!
I resonated with so much of this! You put words to how my taste has developed the past 6mo as I’ve studied youtube video production styles. It’s really interesting how that composer mastered several styles and then could pick and choose which to incorporate! Feels relatable.
I think you should never stop trying to be original! Yeah everything has been done by some old dead composer or an old jazz cat but i come across something new and interesting very often when listening to music! Sure, people have been exploring the 12-notes of the western chromatic scale for ages, so you probably won't find a new chord progression, but electronic music is always evolving with every new synth or effect vst gets put out. I think sound design is the most interesting thing in music, and i think a lot of music geeks overlook electronic music and view it as lowbrow simple music for clubgoers. I also have some of the most fun and cool ideas by thinking "what if..?" But what's even more fun is just exploring and experimenting until you have an happy accident and make a cool sound or something!(:
‘Composition is overrated’ has gotta be one of the funniest things I have ever read
That last line might be the best piece of advice on the internet.
Thanks!
Thank you! 🙏
I'm so happy that after (on and off) a year of sifting through content to separate few grains of wisdom I got the invisible RUclips hand grabbing my neck and bumping my nose into your channel.
my goat. this pholosphy is so applicable beyond music. thanks a lot ♥️
"You don't have to apply your standards to everyone else. They're for you."
That's good. I'll be keeping and using that one. 👍
This is the most important video that I’ve seen in a while about art and perseverance . Well done.
You should watch Brian Eno talking about art, you'd like it.
You have absolutely no idea how apt and useful this video was right at this very moment in time. Thank you so much 😂😂😂
Listen around and try to understand what makes their music tick - great advice! And a fantastic way to discover what you actually are inspired to create, not just what you're able to do. Lovely advice!
Thanks Brice!
Choosing options...yes true but also - limiting your options also helps you be more creative...Good video.
One of the things I like best about your channel is the way you make a contrast between the kind of advice you will find on the internet, especially by people who are after clicks and interactions, and real advice based on experience and proven results. And you do this humorously, in such a way that the viewer clearly understands the difference, and why your approach is more meaningful and productive. Great video my friend, you have a new subscriber here!
Really appreciate that, Evan!
Thank you for making this video. I've been stuck and daydreaming about my own creative endeavors which are unrelated to music, but this video really spoke to me. I have been really afraid of making videos and games that no one will like. I don't think that this fear will really go away, but you helped me to realize that it's okay to feel this way.
First time seeing you, but that speech was so usefull. My goal and desire is to bring some beauty to this world, and I think I'm too focused on this, rather than focusing on the actual process. I'm jumping from drawing to painting, to composing music, to 3D, back to drawing, and so on, caring more about the result, than caring about what I'm resonating with. I started realizing it but still struggle to not let it overtake my actions. But your wording there deffinitely helped
I started Dawless House Music because in the home studio synth world, House takes a back seat to all other styles.
When I tell people that House is much harder to express something new, they give me all manner of grief and I get a lot of, "you just gotta feel it"
That negates the struggle that is unique to House among electronic styles. House is rooted in so many styles that have distinctive musical conventions and certain instruments/timbres are almost mandatory.
The second you say, "no rules!!", you're almost always going to leave the realm of House.
I want to break rules but 35 years of very traditional and now old and cranky Black folks will throw tomatoes if I do.
So, despite wanting to break free, I have to work and work and work to find how I can satisfy the genre while trying my best to move House forward.
It's like jazz or blues you have to master the rules before breaking new ground
I was blown away by your presentation…fantastic video! Got my mind racing about all the art, music and videos I want to make. Time to get out those paintbrushes, dust off the video camera and fire up the synths. Cheers!
Seems I am not the only one who needed to hear this right now. Thank you for the push to go suck.
Wonderful, inspiring video that applies to so many of our not so trivial pursuits.
Real perspective changer thanks for this genuine video🫂🌃
The idea of "just playing" and not having a knowledge base for composition overlooks the fact that 99.9% of the people who "just play" are using common patterns and combinations of sounds. If you don't MAKE SENSE of what you're hearing, you can't really ever change it. How can I write a new sentence by never growing my vocabulary? I dig you stuff a lot, man. Thanks.
I can see your channel getting big down the line. So much wisdom and so eloquently spoken. Thanks for this; time to get back to work!
I’m actually experiencing what you’re talking about. I’m loosening up and really exploring my voice these days, more so than I ever have. I don’t have the voice of Chris Cornell but I’ve discovered that I can still sing with that soul and that passion, but in my own voice. And I’ve come around to actually enjoying it and liking the sound. I still have to get my tones down better, but I’ve discovered that my timbre is unique compared to other artists. Great video!
This video literally applies to any form of art. I make videos and I think the exact same thing as you: "Give yourself permission to be bad at things" Great video
These new videos with insights on composition and music in general, are pure gold!
I enjoy the 'Do this new thing with the Matriarch' as much as everyone else (and actually those are the videos that made me subscribe!) but these new ones are as much as important, or even more. Thanks!!!!!!
Thank you Rodrigo!
Gem of a video. I think good composers take influences and then blend it with our own and master their own uniquness. U nailed it.
lol, when I first saw this video pop up - I rolled my eyes and thought you jumped the shark.. But then I watched it and wow - you said everything I would say. I'll just add some thoughts/quotes "It takes a long time to sound like yourself". And "Ostinato Rigore" which means stubborn & difficult to control rigor. That was Da Vinci's life quote. I Love your work man! I actually started modulating the lfo/arp clock because of what you said about the poly brute!
true words. I feel I began to not suck after 20 years of nonstop work. releasing the material was important for me because it made me move on to the next thing. my next big step now is not caring about organizing and releasing stuff anymore, because that has been mostly wasted work for me over the last 23 years. releasing music only produces material results if you're in the right context.
A lot of people are hyper focused on being original to the point where they stop being honest with what they create. They’re not expressing themselves truthfully. They become too self conscious and about how their work will be received; and the result is that they create subpar work.
Originality isn’t necessarily always good.
This is a great video, thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts Jameson. To add: This is true for any pursuit in life, not only art. If you want to learn how to be good at any skill and make it your own, you first have to suck at it and imitate others. It doesn't matter whether it's a professional skill, an athletic pursuit or art. And that journey, from sucking at something to being decent to eventually being good or even original, is a big part of what makes life worth living.
Made me cry. Touching. Thank you.
I’m simultaneously enjoying your music, your RUclips content (valuable and hilarious), and watching your channel grow. I’ve been watching you for about a year now; I always look forward to your videos. Thank you for staying on the grind and providing so much value to other musicians.
Much appreciated!
good points, I'm reminded of Hans Zimmer who stated find your won voice and stick to it, and work work work.
"Give yourself permission to be bad at things. Write songs you aren't happy with."
Easiest assignment, *ever* ..
"Write songs that you're not happy with" is very important.
I was talking to a new artist once who had made one song and they weren't willing to make another. They were just endlessly tweaking that one song trying to make it what they think would be perfect. I understand tweaking/editing and stuff but this person wasn't done with that song and had been tweaking it for over a year.
I am pretty sure you will slow down your ability progress in your art if you take the first thing you did and remake it over and over again until you reach a "perfect" version of it. You will progress a lot faster by just moving on an making the next song and the one after that and so on. Ten songs in you would probably have a better track than if you just had the tenth version of the first songm
I agree with this video so much! All good things need work and we need ro stop putting pressure on us to make a song that we even like. We have to experiment and suck to get good. Great advices!
I was gonna be truly creative and brilliant but then realized that, without a Waldorf Iridium keyboard, I was just whistling in the wind.
The secret of creativity is concealing your sources
Just loved this little talk! All art is part craft. It takes time and work. People who don’t practice the craft side and don’t do the hard work produce amateur art. It always shows.
Well stated, Mr. Jones.
"Stop watching this video and go start sucking at something."
Wise words.
Last year I started taking an art class. When I look at my recent work I see something I literally wouldn't have known how to begin doing a year ago. It's amazing what you can achieve by just trying something. Then trying again. And again.
My art teacher likes to quote Samuel Beckett: "So you tried, and you failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
I've been thinking a lot about artistic expression as communication of one's taste. Taste being a reflection of ourselves through a given medium, like music. We need to develop our knowledge of ourselves, and it changes over time. Your perspective was timely and very helpful for me to organize some of my thoughts. Thanks! Here's to continuing to copy Trent until I find myself 😜
Brilliant explanations of the quandary that we're all in at some point. First vid that popped up today when I got up. Just what I needed, thanks man!
I'm trying to form a band, a punk band, and I needed to see this video. If more things like this are said to the masses, and people are reminded of their own uniqueness, I don't think AI could ever replace artists. I do fear we'll have to push art beyond boundaries to keep up, whatever that may entail.
Maybe that one painter might have to use his own blood to get that special pigment, y'know.
The background music is really great! This is great advice. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Paul!
Your channel is a gem. Being both classical & electronic musician, I resonate so much with your words. Well actually to the degree it gives a kind of comfort, I guess? There's a lot of frustration along the creators way and it helps that you shine the light on those spots. Plus it looks awesome😎👍 Keep up the good work!
Thanks for an inspiring (and epic sounding!) video - lots of beautiful insights.
*THANK YOU FOR YOUR FREE SAMPLES*
❤ stop watching this video and start sucking at something... i love it. I am a visual artist and happened across your video. Excellent parallel to most creatives mental/emotional blocks. Thanks.
One of the best advices I knew I needed to hear as an amateur musician, who finds therapy in sound, wave in general. Pinpointed all my tendencies to do more (knowingly that it will frustrate me later, trying to cut extra tracks/ effects/ sounds). Tangerine Dream, Jarre, Vangelis, Floyd molded my musical taste in my younger age, though I never followed a musical path till recently, at a very experimental music. I just follow my muse. When muse is not around I have that tendency to throw extra sounds on my track, realizing later that my muse wants clean, simple-but deep sounds, in harmony with everything. I am curious, beside the great classical composers, which contemporary artists influenced your beginnings? Especially in electronic field. Thank you for all your great videos, they are very inspirational, intelligent and witty.
All these thoughts were ingrained in my daily thinking while attending Berklee. This was a quarter of a century ago and evolving since as an artist today I have never truly been able to recreate the music I hear in my head. But I keep trying and I am actually very satisfied, because somehow I have come to feel utter peace and tranquility. I have found an equilibrium between wanting something specific and not getting that specific something, but instead something unique. I would say that lays the grounded formation of my voice.
Appreciate this video
I have watched several of your videos and the points you raise and your general presentation resonate deeply with me. I think you deserve to be more well known as you provide an encouraging and practical message. Thanks for taking the time to do what you do.
Thanks so much! 🙏
Great video I really needed to hear the advice to make something that sucks and that nobody is going to listen to - definitely something that is holding back my creativity recently I realize.
Thank you for the insight Mr. Freeman. Never knew you were also skilled in music composition
At first I wasn’t sure where this was going, but now I appreciate that it’s actually a serious video with a real message, not just clickbait. So well done sir. Allowing myself to make mistakes, it became much easier for me to continue creating music.
I suck at 6am this morning. Dabbled with dubchords and complicated fx chain yesterday for 12 hrs, just to simplify and create a simple barely modulated tri wave "Rhodes-inspired sound". My intention got lost yesterday and I need to start at the core of my motivation, why I wanted to write this kind of a song. Intimate and hopefully sparse enough to leave space for the nice elements that are worth listening to. Back to the drawing board. Thank you very much for these new essays.
Even when I had tried to copy someone, it comes out sounding like me, not the artist I tried to copy. My obstacle is when I have a good start at a track, I feel stumped as to what to do next.
Well said. I find its only by ‘sucking less’ as time goes by, that every now and again a little solar flare of creativity jumps out that’s a hybrid, a chimera, a love child of everything I’ve learned mixed with a little bit of ‘me’ in there too…..now, the real trick, and something I’ve yet to master, is grabbing that flare of creativity when it happens and truly running with it….see where it takes you if you follow it for a while and have the balls to see it through….
I’ve went through around 10 years of not playing, a lull….where i downed instruments and focused on other things, life , family, health etc…..but have a new appetite finally forming in me to experiment once again, and i now have a room full of brand new gear (and some old) just waiting to go into my almost finished studio (yes, the kids moved out, i now have a studio room, lol)…..Can’t wait to re-embark on the journey and see where it takes me, or more importantly, where i can take it.
This is a beautiful video, and it brings back to mind a couple models of dichotomy I've learned (and note that "models" are NEVER end-all-be-all definitives). A dichotomy of creation and a dichotomy of enjoyment.
The first is a dichotomy of composition and performance. To construct music in a DAW to be listened to or played along to, and to play it as an active participant - jazz, practice, stage performance. They are different skills, involve different modes of practice, and demand different tools.
The second is a dichotomy of enjoyment through listening and enjoyment through play - music that you want to hear, and music that you want to play. Some things you want to explore as an observer - its flow carries you and as a participant it is up to you to look, listen, think, feel, process, digest. Others are a performance art that you participate in through play and motion. To sing, to dance, to strum. Some songs you will love to hear, but may never want to play. Some songs you will love to play, but would find dissatisfying to merely listen to.
Yay! You showed Yes!
Someone who is clearly knowledgeable talking about composition in a 'top down' way with a slant towards electronic music is something RUclips has been missing until I found your videos. Synth reviews are ten-a-penny, but videos on aspects of composition, not focusing on music theory,are a great niche and, personally, I get a lot out of them.
Like Wittgenstein said, (paraphrased): write down your very first thought or feeling, or alter it thereafter at your own (expressive) peril. There is much to be said for the improvisational stage of composition, so long as you are truly expressing what is fundamentally you and your voice, not just riffing off of convention. Not that there isn't a time for convention, but uniqueness has ultimately a 'surprisal' non conventional factor. But it's still subjective as you say, as many people are surprised by anything.
It's like Bach's, chromatic ascent at the end of the cello suite prelude, it's almost completely conventional to rise up q chromatic scale, everyone does that in practice, but to end the celo suite at that moment in that way, that is unique beyond anything