Finally, an absorbing hobby
Monday, April 09, 2007
So I've decided on a very time consuming hobby. Digital music production. I know I've talked about it before, but I'm prettttty sure I'm sticking with it now, so I thought I'd explain it. I'm aort of happy about it, but I'm also starting to dread getting sucked into this as a pastime.
Anyway, digital music is no simple thing. You need to make use of tons of software, and invest in boatloads of hardware to make it work, and even after that, you need to muster the creative energy to crank out a few tunes. I think I have plenty of the creative juices to squeeze out, unfortunately I've never been one to enjoy spending vast amounts of money, nor do I enjoy reading manuals and learning very very task-specific technical knowledge. I am, however, quite handy with electronics, so I'm not too worried.
I've been browsing the world of production software off and on for about 4 months now, and just tonight I finally found exactly what I'm looking for. I found out what programs and hardware, specifically, that Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails' frontman and creative force) used to produce both With Teeth, and my new favorite album ever, Year Zero: Native Instruments. Native Instruments is one of the leaders in digital production. I used their website to find the basic info on what I need to do what I want, and where to get it, and how to use it, etc. Anyway, after gathering all that info, I found that all of these programs are extremely complex, and I was going to need an in-depth tutorial, rather than an overview to figure them all out. So it was off to my good friend the Wiki. Gotta love piles of information.
So essentially, I'm in the learning stages of digitally producing my own unique sound. In the meantime, I'm also teaching myself piano, and making sure not to slouch in my guitar and singing skills.
Whats my goal? I want to express my opinions and emotions in a large, evergrowing body of musical compositions. I've already got a growing stack of lyrics, and once I get down this computer shit, I'll have a medium. Then what? Then I'm gonna share it with everyone! And maybe if lots of people like it, I'll get a couple fans. Can never have too many of those. I'll keep posting my progress on piano, vocals, guitar, and this computer stuff so you'll all know when to expect some music. And hey, if you wanna help, let me know, I'm sure theres something you could do.
Posted byJoe at 10:58 PM 0 comments
Labels: digital, guitar, hobby, instruments, learn, music, native, piano, production, sing, vocals, wikipedia
Digitally produced music.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
A new passion. I have to give credit where its due, Trent Reznor is all the inspiration for this. I'm still learning piano, yes, but I've found myself yet another creative outlet. The new album, to be released in April, was produced by Trent on a laptop. With technology today, its easy to take one sound, and turn it into an entire song. It takes a bit of technological know-how, but once you get the hang of it, its really pretty easy.
The program I prefer for now, is Sony Acid. Its easy to use, doesn't require too much of my computer, so it runs well too. I've been using scraps of my earlier recordings to make all sorts of strange sounds. I really like the dirty, eerie sounds that NIN makes, so as far as influence is concerned: NIN. Hopefully I'll start cranking out some music once I get a good feel for this stuff :)
Let me know if you're interested in picking up the hobby.
This sort of music can be tedious, so I could use a little help :P
Posted byJoe at 3:38 PM 0 comments
Labels: acid, digital, inch, music, nails, nine, produce, reznor, sony, trent
