techniques – Alternative Student

Rhythmic Conflict

I had the opportunity to share one of my songs in class and have it critiqued. The song was pretty much done; I just needed to re-track the vocals, add some layers, and finish mixing.

As soon as he pressed play, my teacher noticed some issues that I hadn’t. The acoustic guitar and drums were not vibing. Everything was performed on time, but they had opposing feels. Basically, I had written a guitar part without drums in mind, and when drums were added they didn’t fit. Rather than change the rhythm of the guitar to be more drum friendly, I just dumped drums in. (I could also have changed the drums to accommodate my guitar, but at the time I didn’t notice the issue).

This is common for singer-songwriters. We outline a song with guitar and vocals, and just add everything else on top. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn’t. What do you do if you like the drum part, but it isn’t working with your guitar? You change the guitar part! As obvious as this sounds, it’s never something I try. I tend to be attached to the first iteration of a song, and changing strum patterns or rhythms isn’t even considered.

You might think of the acoustic guitar and vocal version of your track as the main dish, whereas other instruments (bass, drums, synth pad) are seasoning, but that’s not the case. The song is the sum of the parts. All the parts have to play together nicely, and if they don’t, they have to be changed or removed. Just because a part is cool by itself doesn’t mean it’s right for the song. How does it sound in context?

If you’re writing a song and you know you want to add drums later, write with drums in mind. Just like with mixing, you want to be thinking ahead to the next step. My teacher said, “Writing is mastering.” If you wrote a song without drums in mind, but later decided to add drums (like I did), be flexible about changing parts. The part doesn’t necessarily need to be changed, but if it does be open to it. It’s all about what’s best for the song.

Here is the second version of my song. I didn’t have time to re-record the guitar before it was due, so I opted to change the drums.

It’s not there yet, but it’s better. I’m finding out that the more I write, the more I learn. I’m always uncovering these issues that I didn’t even know I had. For my next song, I’m going to write with percussion in mind.

You Don’t Have to Be First

Eddie Van Halen is famous for his tapping technique, but he wasn’t the first to do it. In fact, hundreds of years before “Eruption,” Niccolò Paganini (1782 – 1840) used a similar technique on his violin. Jazz guitarists in the 50s and 60s did it, and Italian musician, Victorio Camadese, tapped extensively on his classical. Van Halen changed the game by applying it to distorted, electric guitar.

Skrillex is often called the inventor of dubstep, but the genre originated in London in the 90s. Although the style drastically changed later, the characteristic sounds of wobble bass, subs, syncopated rhythms, and drops all pre-date Skrillex. Skrillex’s flavor of dubstep (sometimes refered to as brostep) favors mid-range frequencies and aggressive rhythms. This was hugely popular in 2011 and Skrillex’s interpretation of dubstep soon became the standard.

YouTuber, Andrew Huang, is known for found sound sampling. He records sounds from random objects, processes them in his computer, and uses them to compose music. He’s made songs from pineapples, Legos, radiators, candy, and lights bulbs. As you’ve probably guessed, he wasn’t the first to do this.* What made Andrew special was the sheer amount of sampling he did and the absurdity of challenges (my favorite is carrots).

Facebook came after Myspace, the iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone, and Spotify wasn’t the first streaming service. We get so hung up on the idea that we need to be innovators but the truth is that most of our ideas are not original, and that’s okay. Working is 95% of it. Don’t think you need to change the game to win at it. Sometimes putting your own spin on a great idea is all that’s needed.

*I couldn’t find who originated the technique, but I remember seeing it on videos before Andrew Huang’s time.

Show Your Work! – Austin Kleon. The Importance of Community.

I recently read Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon. Austin is a writer who uses drawings, photos, and blackout poetry to illustrate his points. Each chapter is a lesson on self-promotion. Not only are the tips good, but it’s stuffed with helpful images. I recommend it for creatives with no idea what to do after hitting “Publish.”

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My big take away is the importance of community and relationships. The obvious but not so obvious fact is that we’re dealing with people when we sell, individuals with interests and passions. How we relate to our audience is very important.

I don’t usually post to social media, but when I do it’s to promote something. Other than that, I’m silent. I used to be proud of that fact. Kleon, on the other hand, recommends sending out a “daily dispatch” (47). Share your rough drafts, your current inspirations, what music you’re listening to, and what you’re working on. Documenting your creative process allows followers to have “an ongoing connection with us and our work” (38). He talks a lot about connecting with your audience, telling good stories, and being part of a community.

There’s a chapter called Teach What You Know. “The minute you learn something, turn around and teach it to others” (117). This ties into documenting your process: share your secrets and fans feel closer to what you do. Another plus, they will want to pass on what they know as well. I’ve heard of this “teaching as you learn” principle before, and it’s one of the reasons I started my blog.

This is a coffee table book: short, fun, and insightful. There are a lot of great lessons and it’s a very easy read. I’ve shared only a few here, but if you’re a note-taker like me, you’ll constantly be jotting down ideas as you read.

Rating: 7/10.

Being Your Best Self

I’m not the best guitar player, the best songwriter, or the best anything, really. This is hardly news, but I bring it up because in the arts there’s a lot of sizing up that goes on. People get their sense of self worth in how they compare to others and music is no exception. Whether it’s shredding ability, writing chops, or local clout, we’re always comparing ourselves to our peers.

When I was at McNally Smith College of Music, I quickly realized how many guitar players are better than me. Around this time, I started singing my songs for people. You could get away with simple guitar parts if you sang, and although I couldn’t sing well enough to be a singer, I could sing well enough to be a singer-songwriter. I could write and perform my own stuff and no one would think I was faking it. This was perfect because at the time I just wanted to see if I could cut it as a music major. As a guitarist, I could not. As a singer, I definitely could not. As a singer-songwriter, sure.

All too often, we quit because we think we aren’t good enough. We see guys who have been practicing five hours a day since they were three and think, “Whoa, I could never do that.” And while it’s true that if you strive for that level of musicianship, you do need to practice five hours a day, that level of dedication isn’t for everyone. For myself, I never wanted to be a virtuoso; I wanted to write songs that meant something. What I found at McNally Smith is that I didn’t need to be the best; I had to be my best. What that means is different for everyone, but articulating what you want is the first step. If you’re not sure what that is, pick something and run with it. Action is at the heart of discernment.

Whatever kind of music you make, you’ll be tempted to compare yourself to others, but art isn’t a competition. Nobody listens to music because they want to hear the best in the world (unless they Googled them for that explicit reason); we listen to music because we enjoy it and feel connected to it. Keep moving forward, and don’t be afraid to share your art.

Planting a Tree

My original plan was to release a singer-songwriter EP every year. I succeeded in 2015 and 2016, but in 2017 I procrastinated. I kept giving myself excuses and putting it off. Other projects took priority and after missing my self imposed deadline, I lost motivation. I’m just releasing it now in 2019, and although that makes me happy, I wish I had done it earlier.

I was trying to think of a better way to phrase this without using the old cliche, but better late than never. This phrase applies to many things in my life: quitting a bad job, losing weight, going back to school, and learning piano. These are all things I could have done a long time ago. Once I finally took action, that was clear, but just because you didn’t start when you should have is no excuse not to start at all.

Take it from me. If you sit around thinking about something you wish you had done, and every year is another year you wish you had already done it, do it. Don’t give into the lie that there was a perfect time to do something and now it’s too late. The only cure to the regret you feel is to do what you should have been doing all along. As the Chinese proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

I’ll leave you with the long-awaited EP.

Creating When You’re Not Inspired

This is the perfect topic for today because right now I don’t feel like writing. I’m in the school library sipping a La Croix, trying to get some work done, and no topic is calling out to me. It’s not that I don’t want to write; it’s that I don’t have anything to say. I’m uninspired. This happens in music too. I’ll be trying to write and nothing seems to flow, my progressions feel as bland and stale as every song I’ve ever heard. It’s like I’m writing the same tune over again, repeating myself. It’s all very deflating.

A common misconception is that creativity occurs only when you’re inspired. If you’re not feeling it you have writer’s block or something and shouldn’t even try. In his book, On Writing, Stephen King writes, “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.” There’s a lot of great quotes on the topic, but rather than just share what others have said, let me offer my own experience.

What we call “writer’s block” isn’t the failure to create; it’s the failure to create something you like. Under that definition, you can always write. There’s no reason not to. You don’t need to share everything you try, and you don’t need to like everything you finish, but you always need to be trying.

If you’re in a rut listen to some great music, try something you’ve never done (new synth sound or chord progression), or approach the song in a new way (starting with melody instead of chords or vice versa). There’s a lot of techniques you can do to shake things up, and pretty soon you’ll be inspiring yourself.

That being said, every song you finish isn’t going to be great.

Earlier this year, I was attempting to write three songs a month. I put my best effort into them: writing, mixing, and mastering. I wanted a solid product. I was hoping to release an EP every month, focusing on different genres. What I found is that for every three songs or so, I only really liked one. You don’t realize that at the time, of course. You don’t think, “Man, this song I’m writing sucks,” but looking back it’s easier to be critical. What I’m getting at is you need to keep writing so you have songs to pick from. Otherwise you release an EP of two songs you like and three others that are there just because it’s all you have.

I’m not advocating you write songs you don’t like. Just write the best songs you can and when it comes time to share them, be picky.

KING, STEPHEN. ON WRITING. SIMON & SCHUSTER, 2000.