Why Do We Make Music?

There have been a couple of threads lately about people getting frustrated about their recording quality, comparing, wanting to give up, etc so I thought being someone who has been doing this a long time and many hours a day I might make a comment and start a thread. I go back and forth about this subject and this brings up so many thoughts. At moments I think I'm a god as I get so moved by the composition (very rare moments—doesn’t happen so much anymore) or recording, etc but then at other times I am definitely ready to quit (this also doesn’t happen much) when I hear certain recordings from the big leagues. There is a really good book about writing that's on the market right now and it explains things really well. It explains how uncomfortable you are when you have something that you just "have to get out". Music is like that for me. It can be one of the most frustrating things that can possibly happen to you. For me it’s actually painful and I almost feel sick, much like I’m sure artists throughout history have felt. I don’t have any delusions of grandeur and feel that I am of the caliber of Michelangelo, etc. but I feel that the “disease or curse or blessing” or whatever you want to call it is the same. I was born to be this way and to produce music and all of the ups and downs and bumps along the way are just part of the ride. I know that this forum is largely comprised of amateur/hobbyist musicians but hey, what does that mean? That means that you don’t make your living doing it? I don’t know if any of you are familiar with Dudley Moore’s musical gifts. Whether or not you liked him as an actor, he was one talented guy. But then one day I saw him jump on stage in San Diego with Kenny G. and play a gorgeous piece on piano. Is he amateur because he doesn’t do it for a living? If he is, he was damn good at it and obviously enjoys it.
I think producing music is a bit like anything else in life. Part of the enjoyment comes in the doing such as playing golf, knitting, carpentry, etc. But a great amount of the enjoyment is in the final product. I would love to be able to make beds with built in speakers, strong enough to drive a truck over etc. like 3 of my sons, but hey, I can’t. The difference between this and making music is, I don’t try. I don’t think I could ever learn to love the process so much that I don’t care about whether what I do is useable. Of course what is useable? If carpentry, it would be dangerous to set out a rocking chair for your guests to use that sends them crashing to the floor. But in the case of music, if it makes you feel good, and the only person that agrees that it is good is your mom and your dog is it wasted time? I say no. It’s a much better hobby than watching TV or becoming a couch potato. (Hard to stuff down those saturated fats while playing an instrument.) Of course, there is satisfaction in producing a song that you not only like, but people pay you well for and they are happy to show it off to everyone and take it to a major label. You may never feel this, but to be honest the moments I have in the studio just filling the empty page with lyrics or finding the right chord progressions and harmonic structure or a good overdub are just as wonderful a thrill in their own way. It is always a miracle to watch the process and see God make something out of nothing—and using me to do so. Or of course, take golf for example—there are millions of people around the globe that enjoy golf but they aren’t comparing themselves to Tiger Woods while they out on the course.
Gosh, this is non ending. (You wished). I have had this conversation so many times. It’s like drinking wine. I have learned over the years who I should “educate” and who doesn’t need to know as far as having a discerning palate. I wished I was happy with Budweiser and Gallo but I’m just not and would rather have a little of something good than a lot of something not good. (sad to say I often have too much of something good and wake up with a headache.) If people are happy with Bud, then what is the point to teach them to like more expensive things? Happiness is the end result that we are all searching for. Music is very much the same. If producing music makes you happy, then keep doing it. If not, then maybe you should consider some other form of relaxation. In my case, I can’t stop. That’s what I do. It would be like stopping to breathe.
And of course, the hardest person to please is usually myself.

Happy recording

P.S. If you want to hear one of my latest I just posted a song in the Songs Forum entitled,
"Everyday Begins and Ends with You."

http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.asp?m=1561258

Make music/songs cause you have to...you have something to say.

I think, if you write a song and find yourself writing the same line over and over, like more than four (8 measures) or eight times (16 measures), forget it, you ain't got nothing to say. Eventhough it is used alot in songs, it's a real bore it there ain't a half naked chic singing it. : D

Find a girl, have a deep relationship, then break up -- then you'll have something to say in your lyrics.

it is exorcizing the demons that play that stuff in my head. when i have it on tape they have to come up with something new

Hi Michael,

I'll share a few things with you from an artist standpoint, a signed recording artist standpoint, an engineer and a common, simple human being. :)

"Why do I make music?" As an artist, it's not something I can turn off and on like a television set. It's something that burns inside that can only be compared to a serious drug addiction or alcohol problem for me. I can't go one day without toying with an idea or experimenting on something. However, we sometimes can't get blood from a stone. Like for example, I can't wake up today and say "today, I will write a song" if I do not have inspiration, a melody, a hooky lyric or even a grooving piece of music. I can, however, wake up and say "today I will work on a few ideas and maybe put a few segues together from other things I have archived or try a few new things to add to those archives." I sincerely believe the more pressure we put on ourselves, the less productive we will be. Though, some people work very well under pressure and achive the best results.

This brings me to the "Signed recording artist" aspect of things. Labels really put stress on some artists and though I'm no big star, I have felt the pressure of this animal and have been feeling it since my first record deal in 1999. One thing that I will never be down with, is the way labels will alter a contract in which they signed. If my deadline is a set date, I don't like to have this altered no matter what. But in an industry like this that can change from hour to hour, you almost have to expect and accept this sort of thing. To me, there is nothing worse than having a dealine cut short. As an artist, this makes me feel like choking someone to the point of death. LOL! Ok, maybe that's a bit too extreme...but I'm sure you know how it can make you feel. I have found out that the more I am on time and to the numbers, the more is expected of me. This can sometimes be a downfall and it's almost a good thing to make up a story that something tragic has happened in your life and you may be 3 weeks late in your final product.

For example, my first album was something that was hyped in the melodic rock world to no end. The reason being, they tried to sell me as "the gadget". You know, the dude that did it all...which is what I did on that album. As a matter of fact, there was so much hype, I was touring to support the album and it wasn't even out yet! This in turn stirred up such a stink that nearly 2 months of production time was taken away from me due to my Japanese label (Marquee Avalon) demanding the album to be ready for a review in Burnn! magazine, who is also my publishing company in Japan. Burnn! is of course the magazine that is the most important for my style of music and the review they give you can make or break an artist in Japan and the south eastern Asian territories. My album wasn't ready, I was stressed out trying to rush to finish things, and it made my first experience as a signed artist one that I will never have happen again. Each time I listen to my first album, I cringe. It was so unfinished and rushed...I can't even tell you how it makes me feel. Ok wait, I can...it's bothered me so much, I started re-recording the entire thing in September of this year just to see how much better I can make it. Those that find out about it that purchased the first album will get this other one free of charge. It's my way of redeeming myself I guess you can say. :) Since this all went down though, I have strict contract details that basically say "you will NOT get the album earlier than the date on this contract and you will NOT force me or rush me to do things that inconvenience me." If they don't acdept that, I don't sign with them. I will never be put in that situation again. I feel it is demoralzing for an artist to have to go through.

Also, I have learned that being a signed artist also takes the fun and enjoyment factor out of music for me. Sure, it's a dream job but that's just it...it has become "a job". When I wrote music for myself and had no deadlines or big paychecks coming through, the experience was so much more gratifying. I can't even explain it to you. Add in deadlines and money, then you fighting for your money due to hold-ups or late distribution/stores paying etc, and it becomes a nightmare. This can really put a bad taste in your mouth. People always think the grass is greener on the other side...lemme tell ya, sometimes there ain't even grass...you jump from decent grass to a puddle of mud, yet you can't see that puddle until you jump the fence and land in it. Also, because of deadlines and other stuff associated with the above, you sometimes don't feel inspired or have the right ideas for an album. Yet, that deadline clock keeps on ticking. I am a stickler for good tunes. One of my pet peeves is filler material. I will never release a filler song for the sake of putting something on due to being out of material. If I can't give quality songs in full on an album, I have no reason being a signed artist. This of course is stressful, but all too often in my world, I have purchased album that may have 3-4 good songs on them and the rest, filler material. This is not fair to the fans and it will never be on a Danny D album. This brings me to another scenario...the fans.

When you get to a level in which you have a real fanbase, you no longer totally write for yourself. I think it is a good rule of thumb to always keep the fans in mind and this in turn can sometimes make you rethink a song or an idea. I find myself saying at times "is this song self-serving, or will my people really like this?" Sure, first and foremost we have to write for ourselves and do what we believe in, but we really have to take our fans into account on these decisions because THEY are the reason you are successful. I know what they expect from me and I have to deliver the goods. I can't try to redifine the face of music giving them an album that doesn't resemble what got me where I am in the first place, ya know? Sure, you can test the waters a bit and throw a few songs out there that may drift away from your standard norm that also show growth and evolutions, but you can't bombard people with this. An artist has to remember that they were welcomed into the hearts of other due to a certain sound. That sound is what made you acceptable and it needs to remain for a bit. Give them a few advant guard type tunes, but also give them a larger dose of what got you noticed in the first place. This too can be a bit stressful at times because you have to find a balance of your own self happiness as well as "Oh hell yeah, I know they are going to truly love this one!"

From an engineer aspect, I think the most frustrating thing is when we compare mixes to the pros the same as you have mentioned. But you have to set all that to the side man. We cannot compare our $100,000 worth of gear to their millions and specialty people they hire for each assignment. We just can't compete. Even if you could, a real label would make you redo your entire album anyway with their producers, engineers and other tech guys. Just accept that what we do can be for demo purposes or releases on indie's or for ourselves. The day you accept that we can get close but never top the pros, is the day you may just achieve your goal due to not stressing out about it. I'm as competitive as the next guy. I too try my best to hang with what I hear on the radio production wise. Sometimes it frustrates me, other times it challenges me. But I think we have to keep a balance and give ourselves a reality check without giving up totally. :)

My biggest frustration in this field was feeling I was damned good engineer, yet always fell short somewhere. I have always had decent mixes which started on a Fostex 4-track, then on a Tascam all in one 388 with an 8 channel mixer 1/4 tape, then a 16 track 1 inch Tascam, 2 inch 24 track Tascam, and now of course Sonar. I've always like my mixes, but, I have never considered them anything more than "really good demo's". For years I've struggled with this to the point of just accepting I'm a demo studio and nothing more. One day, after extensive talks with another enginner friend of mine, he totally bashed my work, my studio, my gear, everything. He didn't do it in a mean way, he just basically told me...

"You have ns-10's and no room treatment. You don't know what to listen for, the sound you hear is not the sound you can make the right judgment calls on, you need to get rid of the yamaha's or tune your damn room, you need to stop mixing on headphones, you need to stop putting the verb in "reverb", you need to stop doing this, you need to stop doing that, you need to buy this, your pwer amp sucks, you need to read this" etc. At the time, I went to the guy for help because I was not happy with my studio sound at all. I was at the point of giving up really other than doing demo's to show to my band so we could work on tunes. My fire was gone, I had lost my competitive edge to try to get good sounds, and I can't tell you how down I felt after he went off on me like he did. It didn't help me at all, it brought me down even lower. But, he was right in everything he said and on my drive home, everything he said made more sense and I saw the light. He told me for years about the NS-10's and the lack of room treatment, yet, I never thought it was an issue. Sure enough, new monitors and the ARC room correction plug, and I am finally happy with all my mixes here. It proved I really was a decent engineer and my problem all these years was not hearing the right stuff enough to make the right logical decisions. Add in that have done some reading, I have picked the brain of Bob Katz and Beau Hill as well as a few other guru's, and I'm right where I need to be.

As a music fan that seperates all of the above, my biggest frustration is that all of the above is meaningless to a common listener or music lover. Sure, some are into musical performances and some are into the production. But, most are not. Let's be totally realistic for a minute. A common listener is interested in the beat, the melody or the lyrics of a tune. They could care less whether you are a skilled theory major or you can play guitar like Satan himself. They don't care how long it took you to get your incredible guitar sound, they don't care if you used a piccolo snare or a kick drum that hits you in the heart each time it thuds. They could care less if your bass guitar is boomy or trebly, and they can't even tell if you used a Korg Triton, the new Sonar piano synth or a freakin' Casio piano. They don't care if your strings are real samples or a Korg M-1. They don't care if you spent 4 days programming your drums while editing your velocities to sound human or if you used EZ Drummer with the humanizer function on. They don't care that you can't sing in key and you used Antares or V-Vocal to fix your vocal parts. It's all meaningless to them really. It's about the final song that matters and whether or not they can relate to it and feel it.

Most listeners can't even tell you what instruments you have in a tune. They can't seperate the pan fields and tell you "ohhhh, wow that was a killer horn hit at 1:23" or "omg, that reverse effect at 3:30 was just off the hook!" This is where in some ways, we have to just put out great music that has a message over trying to produce a tune that God himself would create and produce. I'm not saying let your production skills fall to the wayside, but I am saying that the only people that will notice are people like us and other engineers. Even some record company A&R guys are clueless about what is going on behind the scenes in our music. They just know whether they like a tune or not and could care less that you spend 25k on your demo. They only listen to the first 30 seconds if you're lucky. You have to win them over in 30 seconds in order for them to revisit the tune in full. So, thinking this way can remove some of the stress we are faced with as engineers and producers, but, it can also make you want to pull your hair out when you accept some of the reality in this. And...one last thing...here's the kicker! No matter how well we try to mix or produce, the outcome of your work will most likely enjoyed on....earbuds!!! All your speakers, nearfields, house bins, great production tricks, producing....all meaningless really when you consider all your hard work will be listened to by the majority on speakers that are one inch wide. LOL!!! :) I say write, play and produce because you love it and it's who and what you are. If it gets to be too much stress, it's time to find another job because once the love and enjoyment factor is removed, you no longer look or listen the same way. Just my opinion though as I have lived it. :) Good thread Michael, thanks for sharing.

Ty Sir Jonesey! I'm a long winded baystid, but I have to always tell it like I've lived it...and I've done quite a lot of living. LOL!! Uggh, me and my novels....probably half the forum has me on ignore. :) That's ok though, if we can get through to one person we've done our job on this planet, right? :) Thanks again.

Here's some reasons I *don't* write or record music.

1. To make a profit.
2. To get the chicks.
3. To impress anyone in general.

What motivates me is the *fun* of doing it. I don't pick up a bass, a guitar, jump on keys or drums unless I'm inspired to do so. When I do get on an instrument and start (key word) playing, I'm doing for the fun of it, and if what I'm jamming around on starts sounding good to me, I punch into record, right then and there while the groove is happening. I have all my gear setup such that if I'm playing, I'm going through the DAW as well, so I'm always a heartbeat away from pressing record. I look at recording as a means to capture a moment, and all my music is about the performance happening right now. I put my stuff up on the net primarily to share the fun time I had with others. My newest song "Piano Bar" at my JamBits site is a classic example of me and my guitarist buddy "Joey Who", just knocking around on a Sunday morning, purely for the fun of it.

Wow - very nicely written, Danny. (Though I've come to expect that from you....)

To Michael - first, nice to hear from ya, you're one of the folks on this board that I sometimes wonder "Hey, haven't heard from so-and-so in a while, wonder how he's doing?". So, good to "see" you.

Definately NOT about the money for me, could care less. Like Danny, some label experiences early on sucked the joy right out of it for me - I do NOT produce "product", I am NOT a "commodity" to be packaged and market-researched. I'm just another person spinning around on the globe, occasionally I might have something to say or a piece of sound sculpture that may prove entertaining to someone for a few minutes. If so - well and good. If not - well, I have other ways to pay the rent.

I have been a "professional" - made my living entirely from music. I now regard myself as a "highly experienced hobbyist" - I've got decades of experience in all aspects of the biz, from the stage to the console, but I do it now only because it pleases me.

Personally, I haven't been particularly creative in the last many years - maybe just nothing to say, I guess. But I've been enjoying finding young local artists to mentor, bring into my modest little home studio and show them that their material can be brought to the next level. In fact, I recently disengaged myself from any/all outside musical commitments just to clear the slate and see if, over the next little while, I can find my personal muse - see if, in fact, I DO have anything to say. We'll see.......

I regard music as (potentially) one of the most honest of human activities - pure emotion, transcending language and culture. And it's those rare little moments when you know that you've communicated something to another person that keep me in the game.

It has to be for fun, as doing something that isn't is not a good idea; unless of course you are a masochist.

I have only 2 real regrets in life, and both are music related.

1 - I regret not learning to play the guitar the "proper" way around when I first picked one up when I was a kid. Being naturally left-handed and ignorant, I learnt to play with the strings upside down. It was only later that I realised my mistake, and rather than adjusting immediately, stuck with it. This hasn't been a total disaster - but playhing the treble strings involves a lot of stretching which nowadays cause my fingers & tenfons to complain a lot more than they did 20/30 years ago.

2 - I regret not haing the courage of my convictions and to really try and make it on either side of the glass. Growing up in the 70's should have provided me with the platform and opportunity to explore both sides of the musical world, but I always treated it just as a hobby.

But.... I know for a fact I wouldn't have met my wonderful wife if I'd gone with Plan 'B' so it's more than just a small recompense.

I'm with Mike Mccue on this. Music keeps me sane. I don't know what I'd do without music in my life but I can promise you this, if I didn't have it there would probably be one more serial killer in the world.

Mike

"Expression of oneself"

We need to unite against those serial killers

Protect the serials at all costs! .

I kind of liked the old Buck Rogers ones - not that one with the Bidibidibidi thing.

1. To make a profit.
2. To get the chicks.
3. To impress anyone in general.

Yes, that's what I want, in that order too! : D