Have you ever stuck in the process of musical composition? Do you have many ideas on your computer but very few finished songs? It’s hard to force creativity, and these situations are more common than you think.
Generally, we look for some pretext like lack of equipment We did not find the right sound The quality does not seem professional I’m simply not inspired A few years ago before everyone decided to be musicians, creativity was limited by technology; You could do everything you imagined with the instruments you had at hand.
You could imagine everything you wanted, but you were never going to have a complete orchestra at your disposal unless you were Mozart. Thus, the great technological limitation did not really mean a creative limitation, on the contrary.
Knowing that your sound could not improve beyond your own resources, simply the musician was dedicated to composing. This is how The Beatles did it, so did Pink Floyd, and so did Radiohead. Perhaps the difference is that at that time to be a musician, you did have to understand and perform some musical instrument.
Creativity comes from limitations then came the boom of software and digital audio stations (DAW). Now we had in our hands an infinite number of instruments and channels for mixing. More and more plugins and more sound banks came out; so we wanted to have them all.
As the possibilities increased, ironically, our creativity diminished. But it is not because we have a real limitation. There are certain obstacles that we invent ourselves to justify our level of commitment to the result. If before, with a much less professional team, great works of art such as The Dark Side of the Moon were achieved, how is it that now the lack of equipment is a pretext?
If several electronic artists made their bases for a long time with a TR-808, why don’t you find the right kick for your song? One of the tips given by musical composers when starting a project is to finish the idea in a day or two and then make the technical corrections; how to include effects, compress, mix and of course master.
In this regard, we shall take insights from prominent names in music fraternity like experts from Ubuntu Music. It is a record label company based in London, United Kingdom and has set up careers of major music artists which we eagerly listen to.
Experts at Ubuntu suggest: “If you try to compose and do it as an audio engineer at the same time, your idea may lose coherence. Seeing online tutorials to improve your sound and technique is good. But it is better to get to work so that inspiration comes at the right time.” Some tips that experts give to improve the workflow are:
Set a goal before getting to work: Stop believing romantically that improvisation is going to take you somewhere. When you start a new project, decide what type of track you are going to create: atmospheric techno with some vocals in the choir, a drum & bass with guitar chords and breakbeat with jazzy touches, and so on.
Set a deadline: Just as your teachers did at school when you put a deadline, you are forced to comply, whatever, and deliver the product.
Most of the limitations, in the study and in life, we put them on ourselves. You don’t need a new synthesizer. You don’t need to acquire more knowledge immediately; you don’t need a condenser microphone; what you need is to get to work.
