Will I be a better musician?

The Lounge General Discussion
1

Friends at the forum,

For a year and a half, I’ve been through them all. The synths, the samplers, the gizmos and the gadgets.

Well, not all, but a lot more than what’s healthy.

For awhile, this was justified. Yes, a great musician can make good stuff with almost nothing, but in the world of electronic music, the tools make a difference. You can play a Mozart Sonata on any piano, no matter how good or bad it is, but in our blessed world, there’s a difference between samplers and samplers, synths and synths, and so on.

Lately, however, I believe there’s nothing in my rig that prevents me from creating great tracks. Sure, I’m still searching for a better balance, but it’s not like I’m seriously blocked.

And yet, I am.

Obviously, this is psychological, the pursuit for gear that will give me the perfect balance is a bittersweet chase, since I create this idea that there is a perfect rig and once I find it, the tracks will flow like never before. But I know this is not true, since once I do get some work done, the results are pretty decent. So obviously, with what I’ve got, I can make something that earns a few likes on Soundcloud.

So recognising this, knowing that my mind and my heart are in conflict and really I am an addict in all senses but perhaps the family destroying one (my wife thinks my trading and swapping is kind of cute), I’ve found a way to calm myself down, in order to find peace with what I’ve got and stop chasing for new stuff. Because it’s tedious, it’s like chasing a rainbow, you can never reach to the end because there’s no pot of gold, and that’s tiresome to know if you’re still chasing.

So I’m asking myself this question, every time I think “Oh, I should get this” or “I’ll sell this” and so on.

Will I be a better musician?

Most of the time, the answer is No. Which is why I returned my Analog Keys. It would not make me a better musician.

This is actually working for me. I can still feel the pull, but it’s easier to resist.

Writing this is part of my therapy, by the way.

2

I think this is completely false: just ask yourself why, in any piano concert or orchestra, the pianist mostly play on STEINWAY & Sons rather than on Casio, and why great violinists prefer to play on Stradivarius rather than on cheap violin? Of course, the gear brand doesn’t make the artist and a beginner will play awfully on a Stradivarius, but there is no ontological difference between classical music and electronic music…

You should also think of the important historical and technical work realised in baroque music from the point of view of the instrumentation: the gear to play Bach, today, is not the same than yesterday. In the baroque piano world, you can’t play Bach on any piano, because you need to play it on a baroque piano, and certainly not on a Steinway and sons of the 20th century!

3

good thread …

gear: not supposed to last forever in my studio - it may stay forever, but it may also leave .

the above sentece, and the peace I made with myself is exhilarating … it allows me to use pieces of mankinds’ development, and travel through “our” ( = people on earth) development phases …

practical example:

in the 80s there was a 808 909 Sh101 Juno 106 etc… now it is 30 years later… and I have the opportunity to feel like jeanjearre, aphextwin, underworld, tomcosm, etc … and (here comes the impotant part: —> ) undergo their development phases , AND learn like them !!!

after this process is over , I can get rid of the gear (yay ebay, craigslist etc) and move to my next development stage …

let the next stage be: ableton (fucking mouse clicks, but why not have 1 mio options at your finger tips) … guitar, just to see I am not giftet with that, I am not the cool bonfire hippi … get a baroque piano to see, I am not gifted in memorizing black and white keys …

next phase? plocks ! (I tell ya, these will go down in history !!!)

next phase: drone (no need for XYZ, but ABX)

next phase: producing vocals (just to learn my voice is crap, not even vocoders seem to be able to do the trick)

next phase: collaboration

next phase: organic drumming on DIY harvested goat skins (remember the other thread :stuck_out_tongue: )

next phase: standing in a cave with a digeridoo, trying to find the resonating spots, and look for cave drawings)

next phase: investigate whale sounds (underwater ideally)

next phase: create cymatics

next phase: visualize Lissajous patterns on oscilloscope

next phase: modular

next phase: online collaborations

next phase:

you see? if I was to NOT accept things coming and going I would probably get stuck (only talking for myself) … YOLO, transitions into new experiences, balblbalbalbaaaablbla

4

@andreasroman you’re right it’s not about being a better musician, for sure.

I once change a Washburn N2 for a Telecaster, and I really felt I could focus on the emotion in my notes, instead on focusing on getting the note to the right pitch.
But somehow playing on an incomplete instrument trained my ear, as I had to make do with what I had for years. I guess it’s kind of a journey, if you take the time to know your instrument before upgrading to another.

Now the GAS that makes me feel like I need something when I still haven’t mastered what I have is really something that gets in the way.
And needs therapy, sort of.
Will you found the GASonymous ?

5

Well, the point I’m making is that to compose and create music, you can get by with very little. In reference to the above, I’m sure Bach could’ve written his most beautiful organ pieces on a crap cembalo, knowing of course its perfect conditions for its final performance. But to just make music, you need very little and when it comes to pieces such as sonatas and other solo-related structures, you can get by with anything that makes a sound close enough to the intended pitch, because you can also hear what it’ll sound like once it’s played on a Steinway. In your head, you’re already enjoying the piece in its final stages. For example.

This, however, is not entirely true in electronic musics. You can’t work on a sample-heavy piece of you don’t have a sampler. And you can’t create synth-intense compositions with lots of real-time stuff going on, if you don’t have some kind of oscillator-based instrument. And you can’t trigger drums if you don’t have a drum machine.

But let’s say you’re geared up with only a Volca Sample, a Volca Beats and a Volca Keys.

From there, you can build the foundation for anything. It’ll sound better (likely) on other platforms, such as the Sample stuff going into the Analog Rytm, the Beats stuff going into a Tanzbar and the Keys going into a Sub 37.

But you don’t need those high-end instruments to build a great track. You need them to perform at their best, but a great track shines through no matter the circumstances, as long as the foundations are there in terms of tools.

I suppose I should challenge myself and work with a setup similar to what I described above. Maybe that’s therapy. I’d have to hide away my current gear, put them behind locks, give the key to my wife and say “Don’t open this door no matter how much I scream and shout.”

And I would scream and shout, at least in the beginning.

You know, I’m actually tempted to try this.

6

You should get your wife’s opinion.

Usually they are spot on.

7

I think you are onto something here.

You could go further and also ask yourself the question;
“On whose behalf does this desire for another piece of gear arise?”

Does it arise on behalf of an idea about someone who could be a better musician, or does it flow from a wholesome sense of boundless creativity.

Sure, you’re still going to act from the former, but in all areas of life I find it at least to be a useful reflection (“On whose behalf does this desire arise?”…)

Find out the nature of the one who could be a better musician.

:slight_smile:

9

She’s fine with anything, as long as it looks good on the table. As a consequence, the Electribe is right out, the Elektron stuff is in the danger zone but it’s tolerated and anything from Moog is great.

10

I believe you are right.
I’m actually going to take this further and not only keep what I have, but strip it down. I have an idea, and I’ll share it on this thread soon.

11

A year and a half isn’t very long when it comes to exploring the vast world of amazing and intriguing gear. To me it sounds like a case of too many options. On one hand, you’re like a tourist in a strange new land - you want to see and experience everything this strange and interesting place has to offer. But on the other hand, you know that you’re missing a deeper understanding of the things around you, and you’re wondering what you’re missing out on.

Heck, look at a lot of pro musician’s studios - some of them have tons of gear. They have lots of experience and crank out killer tracks with the gear they have, but of course they are still adding new pieces to their collections. Interacting with all these different machines is part of the fun. But those pros probably spend far more time making music than you or I do, and so they most likely get maximum value from their gear much more quickly than those of us who only have several hours of play time a week. So, there’s nothing wrong or strange about collecting gear, unless you’re not using it, and just doing it for the act of hoarding, which a whole other thread entirely.

The other type of pro musician seems to prefer a very minimal setup, but those guys have probably gone through lots of gear to find the magical combination that puts them in the flow with their own personal method of working. Like pro athletes who constantly try new equipment to find what really really works for them. There’s only one way to know what works for you, and that’s to try different things.

I think the trick is to figure out if you’re searching for something specific, or if you’re just being a tourist.

12

Very sound advise.
I know the answer to the last one for sure.
I’m not a tourist. I’m searching for something very specific. And I do get music done, of the four or five tracks I’ve published on Soundcloud, there’s perhaps ten more that I didn’t upload but that weren’t horrible. So while I’m exploring, I’m also creating.
I know what my ideal piece of gear would be like, and I’m basically trying to mix and match instruments to get as close to that kit as possible.
I used to be a workstation kind of guy, and had that and a drum machine and was happy with that. But as I gained an acquired (cursed) taste for analogue gear, my preference became very specific and it’s the combination of all this that makes this balance act tricky.

I have a friend who sold all his stuff and went modular. He’s hollow-eyed, thin and pale now. With so many options, he’s completely lost his way and last time I saw him, he was wandering the streets, searching for his own name.

Jokes aside, he hasn’t built a track since he went into the modular world. But he seems to be enjoying himself all the same, just tinkering away in his studio, enjoying the work without any ambition to ever be done or finished. A bit like gardening, I suppose, but for the electronic musician.

13

As hard as it can be to earn money, it’s much easier to buy things than it is to develop talent. All you have to do is look at the many studio threads on gear forums to see that-people with $100,000 worth of gear who occasionally make a generic house track. While those folks are sitting on the internet looking for the next $4,000 compressor to buy, there’s a 16 year old kid with a cracked copy of FL Studio putting in work every day after school and on the weekends making track after track. Which one do you think has a better chance at becoming a better musician?

There are very few true musical geniuses in the world at any given time, and of those folks they really have to be in the right place and time in the world to have access to the tools and exposure. If Mozart hadn’t been able to perform for royalty as a youth, he may have never been discovered. If Hendrix hadn’t been discharged from the Army and moved to England, people probably wouldn’t be playing guitar in the same way.

For the rest of us, we’ve got to work at it. It’s not going to happen overnight. And with electronic music, there are a lot of different hats to wear to be considered a good musician. You’re doing sound design, programming, composition of every element of a song, mixing, etc…there’s a lot more than just playing the right notes at the right time.

As you’ve also pointed out, there are so many differences between electronic instruments of the same general category. For the most part, I can play the same song on any guitar, and while it may sound different because it’s on acoustic or electric, amps, effects etc, the song remains the same. Not so with synths-you’re not going to be playing lush chords on a Moog. Hell, you’re not really going to be making lush chords on anything with only 4 note polyphony-you can chuck all your jazz theory out the window. Thus, being a good electronic musician is as much about knowing what your gear does as it is about knowing what notes to pick.

As you get older, you often have less and less time to spend learning new things, and gear is a huge time suck-researching, saving, buying, and wasting energy wishing for more and more. That is time not spent learning how to master what you have. But I do think some gear does make you a better musician. I can say that learning the Elektrons that I have has made me a much better musician, as they have forced me to consider different approaches that have inspired creativity and changed my understanding of electronic composition. But not everything I’ve purchased has had that effect, and the time I spent researching, learning, and planning is time I could have spent bettering my craft.

When I only had a DAW and a couple of other tools at my disposal, I made a lot more music. Now that I’ve got everything I could ever need in my home hardware studio, I spend a lot less time finishing tracks, and a lot more time looking for that one thing I think I need, but I like what I make far more than what I did before, because learning that gear changed how I made music.

So I think that the gear can make you a better electronic musician, but continually acquiring new gear will likely only make you a mediocre technician if you don’t put in the time.

14

Agree completely with this. It’s interesting that this is such a wide and accepted principle. I wonder what basic human desire we really slave before, when we pursue new gear all the time.

And for those who don’t, are they the equivalent of zen monks or grand masters in kung fu?

15

“GEAR” will NOT make you a better musician.

Practice, Practice, and a LOT MORE Practice WILL make you a better musician.

There seems to be this disconnect many times these days with SO MANY options and new gear coming out faster than ever, that MANY people have this allusion that one should just hit a button and the instrument makes the music FOR YOU and does majority of the work. Of course this is not everyone, but it is an element of this societies “Immediacy Generation”, wanting to sound JUST LIKE X, buy all the same gear X has so I can sound just LIKE X, without ever learning music theory, composition, or never an instrument inside and out.

Too many people are totally skipping true sound design and rely almost exclusively on other’s sound banks or factory presets…guess what? That will not make you stand out from the plethora of others in the music crowd.

A mate of mine in Denmark that’s worked with Access-Music and Waldorf many moons ago has always said it best, “It’s never very flattering to blame the gear for one’s inability in lieu of practice…any particular instrument MAY WELL BE more inspiring for any given person to create with but true musicianship is displayed when two different people have the same instrument and each can do wonderful music on them in polar opposite musical genres…it’s not the instrument…it most definitely is the musician.”

The only caveat to this is when a given instrument is simply not intuitive to work with personally and it stifles your creativity.

Expecting any instrument to just play itself is not creating your own distinct sound and niche at all…you start sounding like 95% of the Elektron demos on You Tube…they all start sounding pretty much the same because everyone is using SAME patterns, SAME sounds, et al.

Be U. Be original.

16

spot on :slight_smile:

So I think that the gear can make you a better electronic musician, but continually acquiring new gear will likely only make you a mediocre technician if you don’t put in the time.

i would also add that you do need to know some music (and improve your skills) or you’ll end up getting stuck in a loop sooner or later.
it’s a learning process which requires time and dedication. practice and learning how to use the instruments you use will definitely make you a better musician but as Accent mentions: Hendrix/Mozart wouldn’t have been who they’ve been if… if… :slight_smile:

17

I skate and snowboard. I’m far from a pro but call and consider myself a skater/snowboarder.

I have three electronic instruments: A4, AR and OT. That’s it. But I don’t call myself a musician; rather a hobbyist.

I rarely upgrade or buy new skate or snowboard equipment unless the gear I have wears out - about every 6 months for a skate deck and once a season for a new board and boots (30-60 days a season depending on conditions)

I used to buy electronic gear all the time, searching for the right combination with the hope of one day becoming a true “musician”. I never found the right mix.

Now-a-days I’m pretty settled to the idea I’ll never be a true musician and hence the buys/sell/trade madness has ended. Music is a hobby, that’s it. The tools I have work and every once in a while I make something worthy enough to post on SC.

While everyday I skate or ride I learn something new. I try to have the same approach to making beats.

I don’t know what my point is. I guess it depends on how you go about your deal and what your needs are. I’m fairly confident I don’t need new gear to progress on a board; the board doesn’t progress for me; my body does.

Same could be said for music. The machines don’t progress for me; my mind does. Where’s my head at? Depends on the day and situation.

18

i would also add that you do need to know some music (and improve your skills) or you’ll end up getting stuck in a loop sooner or later.
it’s a learning process which requires time and dedication. practice and learning how to use the instruments you use will definitely make you a better musician but as Accent mentions: Hendrix/Mozart wouldn’t have been who they’ve been if… if…

Spot on, Guga. I spent years learning music theory as a result of playing guitar and bass, and ended up taking a few years hiatus during which I tried to “unlearn” a lot of what I knew as I was getting into really experimental music. Of course, you never really forget something you’ve put that much time into, and while my instrumentation has changed, the application of theory and practice hasn’t. I think that has a lot to do with creative roadblocks for electronic musicians, as you generally don’t need to spend a lot of time with theory, or practice (as in repetition) in the sense that most electronic musicians are always trying to write new material instead of learning how play a song perfectly for recording or performance as one does with non-electronic instruments. It’s great because that approach can often lead to wild experimentation, but also a limitation because it doesn’t force you to cement theory and practice together. It’s much easier to program a great sound than it is to turn it into a great melody.

20

There seems to be some method to the madness, though, at least for myself. There’s gear I’ve never lusted for, never even considered when they’ve turned up second hand, even though they’re highly desirable items. Never wanted a vintage analogue synth, never wanted something from the Virus line, don’t care much about the PO-synths from Teenage Engineering, the new Electribe Sampler is around the corner and I don’t much care, and so on. Now, turning down something from Access is easy since I can’t afford it, same goes with the Nord synths, and yet I could sell stuff and then maybe have the cash.

So there’s a pattern and I’m pretty sure it’s paving the way to some kind of balanced rig.

But as I said, I’m preparing a little experiment here on myself, I’ll post it here shortly for your thoughts.

21

…you hear music in your head…
…or you’re able to fool around like child…

if you don’t know what you want and/or can’t get surprises out of it, it won’t tkae you anywhere…

…and you’re always only that good, as you’re into your tools…
…no matter how much stuff you got…if you don’t know your gear inside out, you’re doomed…

you can have lucky dips, if your stuff is taking you somewhere…
but real results are only achieveable if your machines do what YOU want…not the other way around…

…it’s always a big pusher if you got lot’s of stuff, to concentrate only on a few of them for each project…

or if you figured out what each thing does best for you and you let it only do exactly that…

and never forget…making money with music is a bitch…
once you’re there, it’s a job…and a job is a job…end of the day…

it took me more than twenty years to get only paid for what i really do, instead of being a contract whore…

22

I think there is a certain amount of gear buying/ selling that goes along with finding the few pieces that really help facilitate the music and sound you want to create, I think this is just a natural progression we all go through. Having so many options and so much affordability and with new “latest greatest” instruments coming out each year tends to make you want to buy new stuff or at least try and see if new products fit into your workflow. Personally I’ve found that yes there are a few instruments that when you finally get them in your hands you know it will have a drastic effect on your music makign going forward.

The one thing that stops this whole “oh I want this or that synth, that plugin, this compressor”, for me has been actually focusing on playing my music live. When you start to look at okay how can I play this DAW created stuff live you start to care less about hey I want this preamp or this synth, its really all about functionality, ok what can I carry, what can I control without things getting too out of hand, its suddenly all about functionality. Ok I need a bunch of audio cables that’s a cost, ok what’s the cheapest mixer that will have the right number of inputs, what synth can I midi sync for bass. It becomes more about functionality and necessity rather than is this the best sounding synth/ drum machine. And you start to cross off things that are completely unnecessary, because your listeners certainly wont care.