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The "electronic" part and the "musician" part
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
There are two sides to being an electronic musician...I'll call them the "electronic" side and the "musician" side. The "electronic" side is learning the ropes of synthesis, sampling, EQing, compression, effects, and so on. The "musician" side is actually coming up with melodies, harmonies, basslines, rhythms, and chord progressions.
Which side is more important to you? If the "electronic" part weren't available, would you still be interested in doing the "musician" part?
And the really touchy question that I want everybody to answer:
Do you ever find yourself compensating for what you lack in the "musician" department by putting the "electronic" part into high gear -- i.e. masking bland and uninteresting music with lots of effects, technical tricks, or heavy percussion?
For me the honest answer to that is, "Yes, many times."
If someone asked you to write an interesting and compelling piece of music using just a piano, could you do it? |
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| Project-K |
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
Do you ever find yourself compensating for what you lack in the "musician" department by putting the "electronic" part into high gear -- i.e. masking bland and uninteresting music with lots of effects, technical tricks, or heavy percussion? |
I used to at first, but not anymore.
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If someone asked you to write an interesting and compelling piece of music using just a piano, could you do it? |
Yes, but I'd much prefer not to be restricted to one instrument. I guess as a result of working with electronics for so long I've gotten spoiled with an abundance of sounds, and I like to use a variety of them.
In any case, I wouldn't call it the 'musician' part and the 'electronic' part. Best to call them technical and artistic - and that is common to all music, not just electronic. You've got guitar players who can play fast and accurate and are consistently boring to tears. |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| quote: | Originally posted by Project-K
In any case, I wouldn't call it the 'musician' part and the 'electronic' part. Best to call them technical and artistic - and that is common to all music, not just electronic. You've got guitar players who can play fast and accurate and are consistently boring to tears. |
Good point. |
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| Floorfiller |
actually my interest in electronic music fueled an interest in classical music. the last 6 months i've been teaching myself piano and have written some simple piano peices hehe :p
but to answer your question, i really like the electronic aspect of it. that is a very large part of it for me. if i didn't have that aspect i probably wouldn't be as interested in production. i'd never really be interested in the rock band thing, but i would probably continue with the piano and stuff.
i don't really find myself compensating for bad melodies that often, but i think that is mostly because my electronic music isnt melody driven like most of the trance producers try to do.
also i don't really think you can cover up bad musicianship. i think most of the time its pretty obvious. |
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| Project-K |
| quote: | Originally posted by Floorfiller
actually my interest in electronic music fueled an interest in classical music. the last 6 months i've been teaching myself piano and have written some simple piano peices hehe :p |
That's funny. My interest in electronic music fueled an interest in bebop and 50-60s era jazz. I've recently started playing the clarinet again (which had been gathering dust for nearly ten years now) and I do plan to learn bass sometime soon. :p |
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| zodiac9 |
I was doing the musician part way before I was doing the electronic part. I've played guitar and keyboards for 25+ yrs now. I've played guitar in rock and metal bands. I've been seriously producing EDM for about 2 yrs now. I think I still lack a bit in the electronic department. There is a lot to learn when it comes to synthesis and advanced production techniques.
I think both parts, electronic and musician, are equally important, to me at least. Sometimes my progressive house and progressive trance tracks are too musical and melodic, and I have to tone them down. I play by ear, so I can pick up about any style. I've composed compelling classical pieces with piano, strings, brass, ect, that have impressed classical musicians. Any musical ideas I hear in my head, I can play, or at least punch into the sequencer.
The electronic side of EDM is crucial though. A lot of my favorite progressive house and progressive trance tracks are fairly simple musically. Simple, but with clever hooks and arrangements. It's the technical elements that make them stand out, the synthesis, effects. Now that I think about it, some of my favorite tracks are probably more electronic than musical. Who knows if they are compensating, I don't really care so long as it sounds good.
The reverse was true for me, I used to try to compensate for my lack of technical skills, with musicality. I quickly figured out that's not a good idea. |
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| Stef De Roux |
| I am a bit confused, by saying that certain producers are covering up their lack of musical ability and knowledge by throwing in loads of percussion; are you implying that the simplicity of a song is a testament to it's overall quality? |
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| Stef De Roux |
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
No. |
Technically genres like minimal house and tech house require the most knowledge in terms of the "electronic" part but yet they are so simple and not crowded with anything extraneous. |
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| phantom limb |
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
There are two sides to being an electronic musician...I'll call them the "electronic" side and the "musician" side. The "electronic" side is learning the ropes of synthesis, sampling, EQing, compression, effects, and so on. The "musician" side is actually coming up with melodies, harmonies, basslines, rhythms, and chord progressions.
Which side is more important to you? If the "electronic" part weren't available, would you still be interested in doing the "musician" part?
And the really touchy question that I want everybody to answer:
Do you ever find yourself compensating for what you lack in the "musician" department by putting the "electronic" part into high gear -- i.e. masking bland and uninteresting music with lots of effects, technical tricks, or heavy percussion?
For me the honest answer to that is, "Yes, many times."
If someone asked you to write an interesting and compelling piece of music using just a piano, could you do it? |
The musician aspect is by far, more important to me. I usually judge a piece of music by its melody and harmony. I tend to ignore lyrics, unless they just really completely suck and are too 1-dimensional.
As a percussionist, I would always find some outlet to play music such as my drumset or worse, on any hollowed surface. When thinking about it, I could honestly say that if I weren't introduced to EDM and it's production, I probably would have ended up learning to play the piano and actually understanding music theory, lol.
At this point in my music production, I find that the more I produce, I have moved further away from the electronic part and more towards the organic and real-deal type of music. Currently, I produce more rock and new world music and not as much trance. Essentially, since I can't play the guitar or anything beyond smacking something, I use a lot of samples to make my productions. In all honesty, when it comes to mixing down my tracks, I always find it difficult and usually a Herculean task.
I would say that if someone gave me quite a bit of time to write a piece on the piano, I could do it. Although, I would doubt that it would be widely respected. Most of my music usually is full of simple, but catchy riffs. |
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| cryophonik |
Hmmm....interesting topic.
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
Which side is more important to you? If the "electronic" part weren't available, would you still be interested in doing the "musician" part?
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The musician side, definitely. I was a musician long before I was electronic.
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Do you ever find yourself compensating for what you lack in the "musician" department by putting the "electronic" part into high gear -- i.e. masking bland and uninteresting music with lots of effects, technical tricks, or heavy percussion?
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Sure, I add effects to sounds, but I don't do it to compensate for lack of musical ability. IMO, The purpose of adding effects is typically for (1) enhancing the musical quality of the song (e.g., well-placed delay, or multi-tap delay that adds an interesting rhythmic component to a sound) or (2) improving the technical quality of my mixes (e.g., adding reverb to give an instrument its own space).
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If someone asked you to write an interesting and compelling piece of music using just a piano, could you do it?
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Yes, I do this all the time. When I was a music major, it was a requirement in many of my courses. Now, I start almost all of my compositions at the piano or sometimes even on my bass, which is my primary instrument. |
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| DJ Robby Rox |
I've ALWAYS been a musician. Since the day I was born.
You can use the more generic word "artist".
But the first time I heard a trance track I had a love for it that was not normal at all.
I'd repeat parts over and over in a complete state of retardation trying to understand how the sound was changing in such ways. It just sounded so cool, and as much as I wanted to understand it, I didn't know where to start.
So I was always a musician, even before I was the text defined one.
The electronic/technical side was the logic part. Its what allowed me to tool my artistic ideals into reality. In a sense, it also ruined a certain appreciation I had for that "magical" side of music. Because thats naturally what logic does. But it also upped my standards for music a lot too.
I don't think either side is more important. They are both extremely important in their own accord. And I never really made that distinction in my mind till you made this thread so good thread!! |
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