Peak of Creativity?

[Oneirogenic]

Originally Posted by deepBassie

If you were to step back and try to make an impartial observation of your body of work (I know, very difficult to do), do you find a common theme/sound/thread that prevails throughout your musical evolutions?

Sure. I tend to have very different styles for the instruments I compose with but I'll give it a try. I haven't written for a band in a long time but my earliest compositions were very much influenced by Justin Chancellor's more melodic and textural lines in Tool's songs. Melody, texture, consonance, and typically a strong adherence to a single mode have been a common thread in my compositions across all styles and instruments over time. I strive for a mood that is deep, evocative, at times mystic, and always open to interpretation. I've never had a particular formula when it comes to song structure but I will admit in my earlier days I would strive for unusual and complex structures just for the sake of doing it. Is that a pretty good analysis? I could probably go further....

[phillybass101]

It's as simple as this. When you are a child you speak like a child, as a child would speak. Now expand that through puberty, your teen years, young adult etc. Your music will change and mature as well. In comparing something I did let's say back in 1993 and something I did in May 2012, both are good but you can hear how I've grown.

[Oneirogenic]

Originally Posted by Joe Nerve

My creativity has taken a frightening nosedive in the past ten years, but I don't believe that has anything to do with time or age. I believe we all grow creatively. I believe my best work is yet to come. I believe however that strange as it may seem, I have allowed money and technology to temporarily cripple me. When I had the simplest of recording setups, I knew it all inside out and produced tons of stuff. Now I have thousands and thousands of dollars worth of software and equipment, and I haven't learned how to use half of it. Much more thoughts on this, but I gotta run...

You reminded me that despite the overwhelming amount of creative ideas I have my productivity is very inconsistent. My output is slow and usually happens in short bursts which is odd considering how little time and effort it actually takes me to get from conception to nearly finished recording. I use very spartan and inconsistent methods(not as primitive as some) for capturing my own work and I know my gear well enough for my standards. Part of my inconsistency has to do with how little actual time I have to work writing/recording and me having spare time and feeling creative have to line up properly.

[deepBassie]

Originally Posted by phillybass101

It's as simple as this. When you are a child you speak like a child, as a child would speak. Now expand that through puberty, your teen years, young adult etc. Your music will change and mature as well. In comparing something I did let's say back in 1993 and something I did in May 2012, both are good but you can hear how I've grown.

Philly - as you matured and filled your musical bag-of-tricks, did you find that creating songs became easier (i.e., did learning more words make it easier to speak)? Or was it easier to write songs, back in the day, because you had fewer preconceived notions as to how your song should be structured (i.e., knowing more words complicates the speaking process)?

[deepBassie]

Originally Posted by Oneirogenic

My output is slow and usually happens in short bursts which is odd considering how little time and effort it actually takes me to get from conception to nearly finished recording.

This I can relate to. I can work for days/weeks trying to create a song and then, seemingly out of the blue, it all tumbles out in an instant. I had this experience often when writing and painting. I am fascinated by what it could be that triggers this burst of creativity.

[Clef_de_fa]

My problem with sound writting is ...
If you want to make money you have to have that predictable structure of Intro/Verse/Chorus/Verse/chorus/Bridge/Chorus/outro ...

to me it is boring ...

I really like classical music for that, the form is different. Or music that have wierd structure. I have bought the last Blotted Science album a few weeks ago and no songs have a normal structure and they all have complex time signature that change.


Something I try is to force myself to write something with only 4 notes in a time signature at xBpm ...

[deepBassie]

Originally Posted by Clef_de_fa

My problem with sound writting is ... If you want to make money you have to have that predictable structure of Intro/Verse/Chorus/Verse/chorus/Bridge/Chorus/outro...

Yes, if money is the goal then the surest path to success is to create canned music in attempts to stay current with what the masses a/o record labels demand. Remaining a successful song writer under these limiting conditions is admirable IMO. For instance, think of how the work of Quincy Jones kept many performers "current". That being said, the innovators that redefine the "predictable structure" of pop music are remembered as music icons...and sometimes even make a few bucks if they can stay alive long enough.