Rather, I wanted to reflect on how creative ideas sometimes take shape.
In my last post, I stated that I'm working on a tune in the vein of a Black Sun Empire or Noisia type of sound (a dark, heavy drum and bass sound with big drones and rough synths). It made sense to me to pursue such a thing because I really like listening to that dark, technical kind of music. I can even sometimes hear those ideas taking shape in my head. This, up until yesterday, had me convinced that "my sound" would have that dark, techy atmosphere.
Visit the following for an auditory representation of what I'm talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gr5pZ99HII
But as I was working on that new piece, I could feel my mood suddenly take a nosedive. Making music was suddenly turning into a chore again, an assignment I was subjecting myself to rather than a way for me to enjoy myself. However, being a runner at heart, I've learned to push through the frustration and pain, if only because there's that slight hope that there's sunshine at the other end of the tunnel.
And suddenly, things started to turn around, but not in the way I expected. As I was toying around with a virtual synthesizer, I found what I now like to call "the sound". Once I heard it, I could almost immediately hear the piece that I could build around it. The tune I was working on before? Gone. Put on hold. No need to look at it for a while now.
I started a new piece immediately, based solely around that one tone I pulled out of the synth. And unlike that other tune I was working on earlier, this one started coming together quickly. As of now, only 24 hours after I started it, It's already 75% sequenced and is already prepped to be mastered.
This got me thinking about the creative process and what it takes to create "that" piece. I used to think it would take a lot of effort and a truly momentous inspiration to get the juices flowing. But it seems to be more specific than that:
It all starts with the mood; if I can't be bothered to make music, why try to force myself into it? Anyway, my reflections have shown me that as long as I'm slightly bored and a bit angry at the world (which occurs at least once a week), my time with the keyboards will be at least somewhat productive. But for that successful idea to come up once I'm sitting in front of the screen, I need "the sound". Actually, the only thing that should start me off is "the sound", as anything more seems to cloud my mind (I think too much). Once I can find it, the tune almost evolves from it, growing exponentially from a series of sine waves to a complex, lush piece of music that can make you stop and think or make you dance like a lunatic (preferably, the latter). And I've realized that when I've gone through this process a few more times, I'll have my own mental library of "those sounds" that have inspired a piece... and then, maybe, I'll be able to define "my sound", the holy grail when it comes to finding my creative self.
But this also leads to a slight conflict between what I feel works for me and what I know to be a tenet I must follow. In a previous post, I stated that one of the most important pieces of advice I was ever privy to was the idea that to make a truly successful piece of art, you have to be able to emotionally detach yourself from it. And yet I feel that this methodology of waiting for that right sound to appear is, in a way, drawing me into a closer relationship with the music, close enough to endanger is completion.
Maybe this is just me, who knows.
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