Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

"Now people are taking it seriously, trying to be producers and want 
it to be just that easy. I don't get it."
No shit. I teach guitar, but I stopped for years after getting an 
endless succession of dopes that thought I could teach them to play 
like Hendrix or McLoughlin or you name it in three weeks, and god 
forbid they would have to learn scales!!!!! Just ain't gonna happen. 
To me, songwriting/producing is the most intense mental work I do, 
and the most rewarding. Why in hell would you want to cut out the 
process, just to end up with some shit-generic music? Aren't you 
trying to express what YOU are feeling, not someone else?
Indeed, electronic music is no different than any other art: you 
only get back out what you put in.
OK, I'm off my soapbox now.
Dana

--- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, erik_magrini@B... wrote:
> Great post from another website I frequent, author unknown:
> 
> "Alright, you know how kids are always going "How do I make my 
mixes sound 
> better?" and what not. The answer is so simple really. Just love 
what you 
> do, study and practice.
> 
> Think about it all day, every day for years and keep learning, 
keep trying 
> new ideas all the time.
> 
> First off you have to be creative enough to come up with a good 
idea and 
> some people just don't have that. If you do have the ideas then 
you need 
> to have the patience, knowledge (technical) and confidence to 
bring it all 
> together into something that you know is good. There aren't any 
formulas 
> for that. It takes time and effort, more of both than most people 
have or 
> want to give. People are so quick to ask for eq frequencies and 
> compression settings and what software to use and what synth is 
good for 
> this and that. There are more than enough books and web resources 
that 
> will give you general guidelines.
> 
> Man... this is art and people want recipes. I understand that 
there is 
> nothing wrong with asking questions, I do it more than most. But 
when you 
> ask for a decade's worth of knowledge and experience in one broad 
question 
> it's obvious that you need to be more self sufficient and dig for 
what you 
> want. Does anyone want the journey from here to there... or is it 
all 
> about achieving everything right now?
> 
> I don't know why people think that electronic music is any 
different from 
> drawing, writing, sculpting, etc... You don't see people on forums 
asking 
> "How do I paint like Michelangelo?" but somehow... because you can 
click a 
> few notes into a drum grid on a shareware program and say "Whoa I 
made a 
> beat!" the idea that a finished product is right around the corner 
> presents itself. Then people start doing stuff and in a month's 
time don't 
> understand why their mixes aren't on wax yet. You can load a drum 
kit 
> consisting of clean hits that are already processed to work 
together into 
> a softsampler, spend a while learning to write basic patterns, 
then throw 
> a sampled bassline or melody over it... and on pc speakers hear a 
real 
> track. This is akin to doing a decent job on a paint by numbers 
project 
> and then expecting to paint for a living. 
> 
> It's normal to be ambitious at first and you should be, but you 
have to 
> keep things in perspective.
> 
> There is something that a lot of people forget... In dance music 
half of 
> the art is in the mixing and engineering. It's not a science, it's 
taking 
> theory and technique and learning it so well that it becomes 
> transparent... and you start using that knowledge in a 
thoughtless, fluid 
> way. It's the fact that you know the rules and know them well 
enough to 
> break them in your own fashion. The guy that engineered the latest 
pop 
> tune on the radio would probably do a rotten job at making an 
underground 
> dance tune tear it up because that is not his passion. If you 
don't really 
> want something it's just not gonna happen. If you do and have the 
knack 
> for it, it will. It's just a natural progression. That has been 
the way 
> forward since the beginning.
> 
> Nowadays it is so easy to start making music with computers... 
everyone 
> wants instant gratification. There was a time when you had to 
commit 
> yourself to this because you had no choice but to spend a lot of 
cash just 
> to get started. Then you had to rely on your own ambition and 
creativity 
> for new techniques. It seems like the attitudes have gone wrong in 
dance 
> music. People used to take it as a joke because they thought it 
was easy 
> to do... just computer generated, robotic beats. Now people are 
taking it 
> seriously, trying to be producers and want it to be just that 
easy. I 
> don't get it."
> 
> rEalm
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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