If you want your music to have staying power, i.e. music that will stand the test of time, here are some things to consider. Lately, I have been hearing about modular synthesis and it reminded me of groups that became studio bands such as The Beatles and Steely Dan. The question I ponder is: If it cannot be faithfully performed live or needs something unique in order to reproduce it, will it stand the test of time?
As a guitar player and writer, I think about this occasionally. Continuing on previous posts, MIDI For Guitarists and Do You Have G.A.S? on the virtual realm, and learning about modular synthesis (Is This the Pedal Rig of the Future?) I am thinking more about this. Let’s consider these aspects of music:
Repeatability for performance
Communicating our music to others now and down through history
The need for special instruments
Repeatability and Staying Power
Think about how we start to learn to play. We copy others either by learning to read the written music notes or hearing and translating that to guitar (i.e. learning by ear). For me, I started with guitar instruction books and a teacher who would come by the house for lessons. However, I really didn’t start to “learn” my instrument until I found I could learn my favorite songs by ear. It was a bit of a revelation and opened the instrument up to me. One of the things I realized was that my instructor taught me how to play a few songs incorrectly. It may have been that he knew what I could handle at the time but my ears became attuned to the nuances in the music after this time.
Now, let’s say the music required particular instruments or sounds that I could not replicate on guitar. Would I have learned them? Not likely. There are some songs I tried but was not satisfied with the results and moved on. For example, the sitar of The Beatles Within You Without You from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club. The melody was easy enough but I could never get the right feel. I also attempted a Billy Joel song and, while I could get the basic song down, the piano was a tough instrument to capture on guitar.
Still, I could get these songs to a point of being recognized by others. Would I play them in a cover band on guitar? Maybe not. I would try them on solo guitar, though. There is enough there to satisfy and recognize. I tried these more as challenges than actual songs for a repertoire. Much easier to crank out Sweet Home Alabama, eh?
The Challenge of Communication
On to passing our music on to the next generation. How will that happen? Clearly, you could write it down as has been done for generations. Recording also preserves the performance reliably for the most part.
Written music has staying power
There is more written music than anyone could possibly consume in a lifetime much less master. We all concentrate on the stuff we enjoy the most and that narrows the scope considerably. The sheer volume is still overwhelming and continues to grow. The issue with writing music these days is going beyond the standard components of music. Adam Neely explores this topic occasionally on his channel.
How do we include micro-tonal notes or electronic instrument settings in modern music notation? Many of us try to get the right sound of guitars in our favorite songs or ones used by our favorite artists. It can become a passion and even an obsession (G.A.S.) to get “the tone“. The ultimate communication may be the recording but it is not without its challenges.
Recording as communication through the ages
Getting our music down on some medium may be answer. At the very least, the precise sounds we want to produce are captured for all time. Or, is it?
Consider the lowly vinyl LP. Once as ubiquitous as the CD was. These days, it is downloaded digital media. As we have progressed from one recording medium to the next, music is lost. Visit a local estate sale or yard sale and you can find recordings that are no longer available except at this sale as a used record.
Tape is even worse. Originally relegated to the studio and then a convenient, portable medium, tapes wore out. My collection died years ago and I rarely see tape for sale anymore. Try finding decent cassette machines now. Some studios still use tape but you are not going to get to touch or even see those. A fire at Universal Music Group saw to it that even the master tapes of many important recordings are now GONE!
How will music be remembered down through history? Some will and some will not be remembered.
On a side note, it seems some recording labels and artists are bound and determined to make sure their music is forgotten. See this video by Rick Beato: Blockers!! How Rock Music is destroying itself.
Special Instrumentation
There is quite a bit of music that is meant to be a one-off effort. Typically, this is done by studio bands who never intend to tour. Their music is more like a fine painting or sculpture. Copies may be made but they are just that: copies. Attempting to recreate them live was never the plan. Take, for example, The Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows. A wild work of studio wizardry that took enormous effort at the time but now can be done digitally with ease. Cut and paste anything to create to your heart’s content!
Consider the modular synthesis mentioned above. Rhett Schull makes the comment in his video that sounds are basically, one-offs. Super creative but never to be repeated.
My question is this: will anyone know or care 20, 50, 100 years from now? It may sound cool and great but it also may be dated. Updating a one-off may be impossible. The bones of the song (notes, chords, beat) may be the only thing preserved as the changes in the recording medium have moved on and the originals are long gone. The original intent and sound will be lost.
Staying Power or Not
If you are simply playing other’s music (i.e. covers), staying power is not a real concern. The music you want to play is right here at your fingertips. Somebody has done the job for you but you don’t know what you are missing. As a director of my high school plays would say after a poor performance: The audience does not know what they just missed. The music you know now is standing the test of time, for now.
If you are creating for the sheer joy of it, staying power is not a real concern either. Have fun and enjoy the ride! Exploring the ways you can express yourself can be rewarding enough and is fulfilling in and of itself.
I straddle the two. I would like my creations to be more than just a one-off but I enjoy the process of creating just for the joy of it all! Who knows? Maybe someone will find one of my recordings and make a million with them years from now. More power to ya!
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Creating Unique Music: How to Have Staying Power
If you want your music to have staying power, i.e. music that will stand the test of time, here are some things to consider. Lately, I have been hearing about modular synthesis and it reminded me of groups that became studio bands such as The Beatles and Steely Dan. The question I ponder is: If it cannot be faithfully performed live or needs something unique in order to reproduce it, will it stand the test of time?
As a guitar player and writer, I think about this occasionally. Continuing on previous posts, MIDI For Guitarists and Do You Have G.A.S? on the virtual realm, and learning about modular synthesis (Is This the Pedal Rig of the Future?) I am thinking more about this. Let’s consider these aspects of music:
Repeatability and Staying Power
Think about how we start to learn to play. We copy others either by learning to read the written music notes or hearing and translating that to guitar (i.e. learning by ear). For me, I started with guitar instruction books and a teacher who would come by the house for lessons. However, I really didn’t start to “learn” my instrument until I found I could learn my favorite songs by ear. It was a bit of a revelation and opened the instrument up to me. One of the things I realized was that my instructor taught me how to play a few songs incorrectly. It may have been that he knew what I could handle at the time but my ears became attuned to the nuances in the music after this time.
Now, let’s say the music required particular instruments or sounds that I could not replicate on guitar. Would I have learned them? Not likely. There are some songs I tried but was not satisfied with the results and moved on. For example, the sitar of The Beatles Within You Without You from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club. The melody was easy enough but I could never get the right feel. I also attempted a Billy Joel song and, while I could get the basic song down, the piano was a tough instrument to capture on guitar.
Still, I could get these songs to a point of being recognized by others. Would I play them in a cover band on guitar? Maybe not. I would try them on solo guitar, though. There is enough there to satisfy and recognize. I tried these more as challenges than actual songs for a repertoire. Much easier to crank out Sweet Home Alabama, eh?
The Challenge of Communication
On to passing our music on to the next generation. How will that happen? Clearly, you could write it down as has been done for generations. Recording also preserves the performance reliably for the most part.
Written music has staying power
There is more written music than anyone could possibly consume in a lifetime much less master. We all concentrate on the stuff we enjoy the most and that narrows the scope considerably. The sheer volume is still overwhelming and continues to grow. The issue with writing music these days is going beyond the standard components of music. Adam Neely explores this topic occasionally on his channel.
How do we include micro-tonal notes or electronic instrument settings in modern music notation? Many of us try to get the right sound of guitars in our favorite songs or ones used by our favorite artists. It can become a passion and even an obsession (G.A.S.) to get “the tone“. The ultimate communication may be the recording but it is not without its challenges.
Recording as communication through the ages
Getting our music down on some medium may be answer. At the very least, the precise sounds we want to produce are captured for all time. Or, is it?
Consider the lowly vinyl LP. Once as ubiquitous as the CD was. These days, it is downloaded digital media. As we have progressed from one recording medium to the next, music is lost. Visit a local estate sale or yard sale and you can find recordings that are no longer available except at this sale as a used record.
Tape is even worse. Originally relegated to the studio and then a convenient, portable medium, tapes wore out. My collection died years ago and I rarely see tape for sale anymore. Try finding decent cassette machines now. Some studios still use tape but you are not going to get to touch or even see those. A fire at Universal Music Group saw to it that even the master tapes of many important recordings are now GONE!
How will music be remembered down through history? Some will and some will not be remembered.
On a side note, it seems some recording labels and artists are bound and determined to make sure their music is forgotten. See this video by Rick Beato: Blockers!! How Rock Music is destroying itself.
Special Instrumentation
There is quite a bit of music that is meant to be a one-off effort. Typically, this is done by studio bands who never intend to tour. Their music is more like a fine painting or sculpture. Copies may be made but they are just that: copies. Attempting to recreate them live was never the plan. Take, for example, The Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows. A wild work of studio wizardry that took enormous effort at the time but now can be done digitally with ease. Cut and paste anything to create to your heart’s content!
Consider the modular synthesis mentioned above. Rhett Schull makes the comment in his video that sounds are basically, one-offs. Super creative but never to be repeated.
My question is this: will anyone know or care 20, 50, 100 years from now? It may sound cool and great but it also may be dated. Updating a one-off may be impossible. The bones of the song (notes, chords, beat) may be the only thing preserved as the changes in the recording medium have moved on and the originals are long gone. The original intent and sound will be lost.
Staying Power or Not
If you are simply playing other’s music (i.e. covers), staying power is not a real concern. The music you want to play is right here at your fingertips. Somebody has done the job for you but you don’t know what you are missing. As a director of my high school plays would say after a poor performance: The audience does not know what they just missed. The music you know now is standing the test of time, for now.
If you are creating for the sheer joy of it, staying power is not a real concern either. Have fun and enjoy the ride! Exploring the ways you can express yourself can be rewarding enough and is fulfilling in and of itself.
I straddle the two. I would like my creations to be more than just a one-off but I enjoy the process of creating just for the joy of it all! Who knows? Maybe someone will find one of my recordings and make a million with them years from now. More power to ya!
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