hat
to create? I shall address this only insofar as it pertains to music with
a specific emphasis on the synthesizer. I am not qualified to give cooking advice for a fondue, or hairdressing advice
for a new 'do, or advice on the aerodynamic construction of a wing of
a jet plane etc. I will give solid guidelines so as to assist in the creative
process with respect to musical composition, however.
You have a need to create. It is either prompted by your inner desire
to achieve fulfillment, or perhaps not so noble an impetus: you got
the gig. Your first question to ask is: Is this audio creation intended
to stand on it's own? Did ZyGote Records just sign you up to play the
synthesizer like a wildman? Or will it be an accompaniment to video
imagery? Say a video game, a commercial, or a motion picture? Once defined
along these lines, the approach thereafter is quite rudimentary. That
is not to say that it is devoid of all emotion-on the contrary. It is
brimming with emotion, just that it is selectively aimed emotion. This
book is all about getting you to aim better and with more ease and frequency.
Remember, you're dealing with emotions. On a purer level, simply sound
waves triggering emotions. If you got the gig, the person paying you
likely has a good idea of what she's after. How long the music should
be is usually determined as well. Through the process of elimination,
we then proceed. We'll get into an in-depth dissection of this in the
next section.
In certain instances these limitations can be self-imposed. For example:
Paul McCartney once read an interview of another artists record in which
the reviewer said about a song that it was the hardest edged song he'd
ever heard. That sparked Paul to write the hardest edged song he'd ever
written. He came up with Helter Skelter off the Beatles' White Album.
Even the greatest writers are continually perfecting their craft. Stevie
wonder writes a song a day. He says that by the end of the year he has
365 songs from which to choose for his next album. He added that there's
got to be a few goods ones out of a batch that size.
NEXT CHAPTER >>>