Artistic Concepts and Processes

We all know what an essay is, right? We've all had experience in school writing one or, at least, reading one--a short, opinionated writing about a specific subject. However, there is an alternative definition, one we often don't consider --an initial attempt or endeavor. It is vital for us to create without being afraid to fail, essayer as the French put it, to attempt. In doing so we become more familiar with a process or technique and eventually, with enough attempts, we can become experts.

Here is a sample of my attempts...

follow me on the twits yo!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

End of the World: Track 1



This is the music from a video I'm featuring this week called “Warming the Seats”. I tried writing this song a little differently.

I call it the vomit technique. Some may call it steam of conscious. Some may call it learning from mistakes. Some may call it think-tanking or brainstorming. Just put it all out there, throw it all up, put all your raw materials on the table. No matter how terrible, how putrid, how vile it may be, get it out there. I find when I sit down to write or compose and I don't produce more than I really need, then I don't say all I want to say and the product turns out inferior. Though it may start out clumsy and inarticulate, once you vomit all your creativity out you can sculpt it into something refined. My sketchbook is full of stream of consciousness writing just waiting to be sculpted with meter and rhyme into a verse and a song.

For this piece I wrote one foundation part, bass and percussion, then added as many other parts as I could think of and that would be appropriate—two acoustic guitars, three electric, two keyboards, and a synth. Then I edited and mixed to taste. In essence, a recipe for the sounds of the end of the world.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Followers