I admit it. A good part of the reason that I enjoy composing music is because of the challenge. Can I come up with something really good? What will my next song sound like? What genre will it be? Will I attempt something I’ve never done before? What sounds will I use on this particular track? Let’s explore some of these questions and see where they take us as far as the inner man and what makes him tick.
Let’s take the first question I asked. Can I come up with something really good? For starters, what does it matter? Aren’t we supposed to love writing music for music’s sake? Well, I don’t know about you but I’m not quite that pure. I admit it. I want to be complemented on my music. Sure, I love writing and if I was doing it just for the recognition I would have stopped a long time ago as recognition has been very sparse over the years. But let me tell you, when I get it, it’s really nice. Like when I write anthems for my church choir. I love when people come up to me and tell me they liked my music. It makes me feel good. So I constantly challenge myself to write music that people will like Something tells me I’m not alone there. Hey, just being honest.
What about the next questions? What will the song sound like, what genre will it be and will I come up with something I’ve never done before? This, for me, is where the real fun of composing comes from. The discovery. The unknown adventure waiting for me every time I turn on this computer. I never know what I’m going to write next unless it’s a specific assignment or project I’m working on.
For example, right now I’m working on a number of dance tracks for a special project. While it in itself is fun, it’s not the exciting discovery that I usually have on a normal day when I can write just about anything. Sure, there are lots of things I can do with dance music, but I’m still kind of limited. So as challenges go, this particular period in my life isn’t exactly at the top of the list.
But maybe it should be. After all, it has to be a challenge to come up with 150 dance tracks (yes, 150) that sound different. Let me tell you, it’s not easy. Dance music has a very unique sound and rhythm. That kick on all 4 beats and the snare on 2 and 4. That really doesn’t change much. Yeah, you can throw slight variations into the mix, but you better basically stay true to the form or it stops being dance music.
So, as you can see, there are challenges even in the routine such as trying to keep the routine from becoming dull and boring. Sometimes that’s the greatest challenge of all, to keep interested in what you’re doing. In the meantime, I have about 70 tracks left to do. I think I’ll get through this project without driving myself dance crazy.
Then of course there is the music creation process itself. When you have a system, it’s hard to introduce to much variance into it. After all, that’s why it’s called a system. So I try to mix things up as much as I can in order to keep things interesting.
How do I do this?
Well, when I’m not working on a particular project where I have to do a specific kind of song or songs, I’ll randomly choose the next genre I’m going to compose in. That’s right. I have a little random generator that I created in Excel and I run it to help me choose a musical genre. The most exciting challenge is when I get a genre that I’m not very comfortable composing in. Sometimes I even have to sit down and listen to some music in that genre in order to get ideas.
For example, after completing my required work for the day yesterday, I figured I’d try one random track for the site. I got Latin music, a genre I’m not 100% comfortable with being a real WASP. So I went to YouTube to listen to some Latin instrumentals just to get a feel for the flavor. I did notice some similarities, especially in the drum beats, but there were also some interesting differences too. Not all Latin music sounds the same. This was actually a relief to rediscover as it made me realize that I don’t have to write a Latin tune that sounds a specific way. I have some room for experimentation.
What else do I do to try to mix things up and keep them interesting? I’ll play around with how I choose my synth sounds. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I have hundreds of VSTs so I have a lot to choose from when laying down tracks. What I’ll sometimes do is force myself to use VSTs that I don’t normally use to see what kind of new and interesting sounds I can come up with for a track. I might even use sounds that don’t normally go in certain genres.
Again, for example, in a recent dance track I used a violin sound towards the end of the track. The way it was used and the way it blended with the synths, it didn’t really sound like a violin. Yet, it’s the same one I use for all my classical music where it sounds very much like a violin. So sometimes context is everything. I take this as a great challenge to use conventional sounds in unconventional ways.
I’ve just scratched the surface with the few things I’ve discussed above. All of these help keep the writing and recording experience challenging. Because when we stop being challenged, we stop being creative. And when that happens, well, what’s left. If all we keep doing are the same things everyday, we’re nothing more than assembly line workers.
And trust me…there is nothing challenging about that unless it’s to keep from falling asleep at the keyboard.
For The Love Of Music,
Steven “Wags” Wagenheim