Wow. Detailed and fully invested approach. Fascinating to see this process. Way beyond where I am in my 88 key journey(!), which mounts mainly to 'comfort zone' playing, with a smattering of the art of noodling....
Patterns though. That strikes a chord. Still a 'beginner' in my reading of music (and a struggler), but the 'matching' of shapes and patterns is really quite interesting.
Thanks so much for this, Adrian! Really pleased this has proven interesting for you, and I'd say this is exactly why I'm writing and posting this stuff. It's helpful for me to put down, but I really hope it's helpful for people, especially those who are working on things, regardless of what stage or level they're at. I'm constantly trying to think of how to make it more open and less boxed-off for people, so I'm really pleased to hear it resonated with you.
I really love that you saw the patterns in this. That was very much what I was aiming for. The gallery/exhibition team asked for my response to touch on the nature of rhythm and repetition within the artworks, which haven't always traditionally been elements I have focused so much on, at least in recent times. Quite the opposite sometimes, in relation to leaving space and not filling the space with notes.
So...I'm really pleased that the more metrical, rhythmical approach came through in this from a visual perspective, that's very good to hear.
This series should be required reading for anyone aiming to be creative professionally. I wish I heard advice and approaches like this in college. Thank you Sim!
As I mentioned in part one, success often comes down to doing the work—planning and executing—rather than following some perfect formula for immediate results. While part one served as a preface, this section delves deeper into the actual process of creating.
But the parts that jump out at me, and perhaps the advice I could take from this are:
“Something about this project felt different to the range of similar things I had done before. Firstly, there wasn’t much time - by the time things were all agreed, I would have two months to make a piece of up to 20 minutes long, and this time period contained the busy Christmas and New Year season, and some time away in Europe on tour.”
Reading this, I was reminded of my own early experiences in the music industry—specifically, a conversation I had with a recording engineer at a Brooklyn studio. Many years ago I met a recording engineer at a studio in Brooklyn and we had a conversation about a possible internship. One piece of advice and a story of his always sticks out to me and how it relates to the music industry. "You get one day off a year, it's Christmas" was the advice and the message is essentially "You will be constantly working almost no matter what, even when you think you're off." The story he told is of how he went through university with an entire class filled with students looking to break into the recording industry and one-by-one it seemed students fell off after and did something else. Ultimately, he was the last one standing who got the job in the recording industry. It's that kind of work-ethic and persistence that gets you in the door and keeps you in the music industry (and I'm sure luck was involved too).
One lesson I've learned from this is that as life progresses, responsibilities pile up, making it harder to focus on creative work. The phrase is 'make time.' You have to try and find the time in which you can get to the things you'd like to do and sometimes because of life's obligations, you have to change your schedule or your goals or your approach.
“Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, I had determined to focus my composition specifically on Prophet, which would be situated immediately to the left of the piano as I performed; literally in its shadow. This meant the source material/inspiration for the piece was going to be constantly on view for the audience as they listened; in some ways creating a collaborative interactivity of art forms - one static and complete, the other still coming into existence.”
I like the juxtaposition here you're illustrating. Throughout this substack, my understanding is "What is the feeling this artwork is giving me and how was it created?" and how can that feeling and process be translated into a different medium, like music? I always admired works that did something like this (Yann Tiersen's EUSA record comes to mind; piano and locations in Yann's hometown of Ushant, complete with GPS coordinates and photographs).
“I was also aware due to the time constraints, my schedule and my change in circumstances at home, that I would have less opportunity to be fully immersed in this task, as perhaps I might have had chance to in years gone by. I would need to be able to generally work quicker, and likely in more frequent, less-lengthy time periods. As such, these parameters would be an important part of how I approached this commission.”
Again, illustrating the "You only get off one day a year, it's Christmas" attitude. The music industry is busy, constantly. You adapt to the circumstances. It's principles like this that I wish were talked about more often in university. Developing the attitude to work in the industry as opposed to writing about what Limewire did or whatever.
“I find sketching ideas, loosely - mostly in lovely A4 Leuchtturm manuscript books - with a rubbered pencil, to be a helpful approach as I explore and experiment with a range of ideas. It helps avoid the pitfall of assuming that the first idea you have will be the best one you have/the one you use (although, ironically, it is fun when this happens), whilst remembering how we feel about and in ourselves on any given day can have a distinct impact on our work, it being something of an expression of who we are.”
Now we're entering your specific method on this and admitting that good ideas come 99% of the time through iterations as opposed to happening perfectly on the first try. Refinement is required and gathering all your ideas in one place is pinnacle. The melodies you write here may only have come about because of the mindset you entered the project with and the research you've done for it. What if a melody came about here and you revisit that melody for a project that comes later, with a new approach and perspective given new research? The ideas you come up with here can serve as kernels for the compositions you write in the future.
“(side note: if music is primarily a fundamentally auditory experience, why is the act of composers writing things down so venerated and exalted as “the way to do it”?)”
This reminded me of something the bodybuilder Rich Piana once said "If I got 22 inch arms, what the f**k does it matter how I got em? The point is I got em and you f**ckin' don't." The point being it's the result that matters as opposed to the process in which you undertook to get there (granted, Rich was abusing steroids til the day he died and the quote is in reference to people saying he earned his arms nefariously through steroid abuse). I guess what I'm trying to say here ultimately is phrase "The end justifies the means?"
“We have to do the work. Sure, we take from others - gladly and gratefully - what we can glean and apply it to our context through the lens of our approach and philosophy; but we have to do the work.”
Again, this can't be said enough with regard to doing the work. We can be inspired by others, but it's our unique lens which makes things our own. I heard a track 'xsalt' by Purity Ring for the first time in a long time the other day. It's near the exact opening chords of Sakamoto's Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence. I can't help but think the producer, Corin Roddick, was listening to that piece while composing this one (although I am not a mind-reader, for all I know he came up with those chords organically). Bad artists copy, great artists steal is the quote to use here.
“This was mainly because our memories do not always occur in a linear way, as if by magic creating a compelling narrative plot line for our own lives.” “However this reprise is all transposed (a technique where the pitch of a phrase is shifted to make it sound higher or lower) up by an interval of a perfect 5th. This version is higher in pitch and feels a little less warm than when previously stated.”
These quotes remind me of the project that goes around YouTube all the time "Everywhere at the End of Time" done by The Caretaker in which the music degrades over time as the character succumbs to Dementia and ultimately death. On the album "An Empty Bliss Beyond This World," one track is repeated "Mental Caverns without Sunshine." Reprising up a fifth allows the listener to appreciate something they know in a new way. Skempton's Images does this on preludes 1, 2, and 3.
“Just as important, though - and arguably more important - is learning how to stop. I think it is universally understood that a creatives’ greatest challenge is how to know when I have finished, and with good reason. The refining process could, in theory, continue for ever, and nothing would ever be done, finished or “good enough”.” “If I may, I’d like to suggest an alternative addendum to this, and transform the phrase into: learning how to stop beginning.”
The quote my father used for this exact feeling is "learning to walk away" which is something I've struggled with at the piano. You can go on forever, but there is an art to knowing "this is complete."
“Why? Because we all want a quick fix. Time is money (apparently). We all want someone to tell us how to do it." "But, no - we have to do the work. That’s why this post is so long. If you got to this point, well done! Putting in the work.“
I think the quick fix is so apparent in music production these days it's become a volume game as opposed to a quality game. I think you see this most in rap music and the metrics we use to determine success in the music industry cater to the quantity over quality style. Thankfully, I think the industry is reaching a tipping point. More people seem to be shifting back toward quality over quantity—at least, that's the direction I find myself gravitating toward.
Appreciate you appreciating me putting in the work here on these posts!
Wow. Detailed and fully invested approach. Fascinating to see this process. Way beyond where I am in my 88 key journey(!), which mounts mainly to 'comfort zone' playing, with a smattering of the art of noodling....
Patterns though. That strikes a chord. Still a 'beginner' in my reading of music (and a struggler), but the 'matching' of shapes and patterns is really quite interesting.
Thought provoking stuff Mr Walker!!
Thanks so much for this, Adrian! Really pleased this has proven interesting for you, and I'd say this is exactly why I'm writing and posting this stuff. It's helpful for me to put down, but I really hope it's helpful for people, especially those who are working on things, regardless of what stage or level they're at. I'm constantly trying to think of how to make it more open and less boxed-off for people, so I'm really pleased to hear it resonated with you.
I really love that you saw the patterns in this. That was very much what I was aiming for. The gallery/exhibition team asked for my response to touch on the nature of rhythm and repetition within the artworks, which haven't always traditionally been elements I have focused so much on, at least in recent times. Quite the opposite sometimes, in relation to leaving space and not filling the space with notes.
So...I'm really pleased that the more metrical, rhythmical approach came through in this from a visual perspective, that's very good to hear.
The music is coming over the weekend 😊
This series should be required reading for anyone aiming to be creative professionally. I wish I heard advice and approaches like this in college. Thank you Sim!
This is such a kind and generous thing to say, Chris. Thank you!
Without wishing to be ego-fishing in any way, I’d love to hear what aspect of this you find helpful and encouraging, if you have a moment
As you wish!
As I mentioned in part one, success often comes down to doing the work—planning and executing—rather than following some perfect formula for immediate results. While part one served as a preface, this section delves deeper into the actual process of creating.
But the parts that jump out at me, and perhaps the advice I could take from this are:
“Something about this project felt different to the range of similar things I had done before. Firstly, there wasn’t much time - by the time things were all agreed, I would have two months to make a piece of up to 20 minutes long, and this time period contained the busy Christmas and New Year season, and some time away in Europe on tour.”
Reading this, I was reminded of my own early experiences in the music industry—specifically, a conversation I had with a recording engineer at a Brooklyn studio. Many years ago I met a recording engineer at a studio in Brooklyn and we had a conversation about a possible internship. One piece of advice and a story of his always sticks out to me and how it relates to the music industry. "You get one day off a year, it's Christmas" was the advice and the message is essentially "You will be constantly working almost no matter what, even when you think you're off." The story he told is of how he went through university with an entire class filled with students looking to break into the recording industry and one-by-one it seemed students fell off after and did something else. Ultimately, he was the last one standing who got the job in the recording industry. It's that kind of work-ethic and persistence that gets you in the door and keeps you in the music industry (and I'm sure luck was involved too).
One lesson I've learned from this is that as life progresses, responsibilities pile up, making it harder to focus on creative work. The phrase is 'make time.' You have to try and find the time in which you can get to the things you'd like to do and sometimes because of life's obligations, you have to change your schedule or your goals or your approach.
“Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, I had determined to focus my composition specifically on Prophet, which would be situated immediately to the left of the piano as I performed; literally in its shadow. This meant the source material/inspiration for the piece was going to be constantly on view for the audience as they listened; in some ways creating a collaborative interactivity of art forms - one static and complete, the other still coming into existence.”
I like the juxtaposition here you're illustrating. Throughout this substack, my understanding is "What is the feeling this artwork is giving me and how was it created?" and how can that feeling and process be translated into a different medium, like music? I always admired works that did something like this (Yann Tiersen's EUSA record comes to mind; piano and locations in Yann's hometown of Ushant, complete with GPS coordinates and photographs).
“I was also aware due to the time constraints, my schedule and my change in circumstances at home, that I would have less opportunity to be fully immersed in this task, as perhaps I might have had chance to in years gone by. I would need to be able to generally work quicker, and likely in more frequent, less-lengthy time periods. As such, these parameters would be an important part of how I approached this commission.”
Again, illustrating the "You only get off one day a year, it's Christmas" attitude. The music industry is busy, constantly. You adapt to the circumstances. It's principles like this that I wish were talked about more often in university. Developing the attitude to work in the industry as opposed to writing about what Limewire did or whatever.
“I find sketching ideas, loosely - mostly in lovely A4 Leuchtturm manuscript books - with a rubbered pencil, to be a helpful approach as I explore and experiment with a range of ideas. It helps avoid the pitfall of assuming that the first idea you have will be the best one you have/the one you use (although, ironically, it is fun when this happens), whilst remembering how we feel about and in ourselves on any given day can have a distinct impact on our work, it being something of an expression of who we are.”
Now we're entering your specific method on this and admitting that good ideas come 99% of the time through iterations as opposed to happening perfectly on the first try. Refinement is required and gathering all your ideas in one place is pinnacle. The melodies you write here may only have come about because of the mindset you entered the project with and the research you've done for it. What if a melody came about here and you revisit that melody for a project that comes later, with a new approach and perspective given new research? The ideas you come up with here can serve as kernels for the compositions you write in the future.
“(side note: if music is primarily a fundamentally auditory experience, why is the act of composers writing things down so venerated and exalted as “the way to do it”?)”
This reminded me of something the bodybuilder Rich Piana once said "If I got 22 inch arms, what the f**k does it matter how I got em? The point is I got em and you f**ckin' don't." The point being it's the result that matters as opposed to the process in which you undertook to get there (granted, Rich was abusing steroids til the day he died and the quote is in reference to people saying he earned his arms nefariously through steroid abuse). I guess what I'm trying to say here ultimately is phrase "The end justifies the means?"
“We have to do the work. Sure, we take from others - gladly and gratefully - what we can glean and apply it to our context through the lens of our approach and philosophy; but we have to do the work.”
Again, this can't be said enough with regard to doing the work. We can be inspired by others, but it's our unique lens which makes things our own. I heard a track 'xsalt' by Purity Ring for the first time in a long time the other day. It's near the exact opening chords of Sakamoto's Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence. I can't help but think the producer, Corin Roddick, was listening to that piece while composing this one (although I am not a mind-reader, for all I know he came up with those chords organically). Bad artists copy, great artists steal is the quote to use here.
“This was mainly because our memories do not always occur in a linear way, as if by magic creating a compelling narrative plot line for our own lives.” “However this reprise is all transposed (a technique where the pitch of a phrase is shifted to make it sound higher or lower) up by an interval of a perfect 5th. This version is higher in pitch and feels a little less warm than when previously stated.”
These quotes remind me of the project that goes around YouTube all the time "Everywhere at the End of Time" done by The Caretaker in which the music degrades over time as the character succumbs to Dementia and ultimately death. On the album "An Empty Bliss Beyond This World," one track is repeated "Mental Caverns without Sunshine." Reprising up a fifth allows the listener to appreciate something they know in a new way. Skempton's Images does this on preludes 1, 2, and 3.
“Just as important, though - and arguably more important - is learning how to stop. I think it is universally understood that a creatives’ greatest challenge is how to know when I have finished, and with good reason. The refining process could, in theory, continue for ever, and nothing would ever be done, finished or “good enough”.” “If I may, I’d like to suggest an alternative addendum to this, and transform the phrase into: learning how to stop beginning.”
The quote my father used for this exact feeling is "learning to walk away" which is something I've struggled with at the piano. You can go on forever, but there is an art to knowing "this is complete."
“Why? Because we all want a quick fix. Time is money (apparently). We all want someone to tell us how to do it." "But, no - we have to do the work. That’s why this post is so long. If you got to this point, well done! Putting in the work.“
I think the quick fix is so apparent in music production these days it's become a volume game as opposed to a quality game. I think you see this most in rap music and the metrics we use to determine success in the music industry cater to the quantity over quality style. Thankfully, I think the industry is reaching a tipping point. More people seem to be shifting back toward quality over quantity—at least, that's the direction I find myself gravitating toward.
Appreciate you appreciating me putting in the work here on these posts!