A few weeks back I wrote a song of sorts instructing to “just get it done”. That song killed two birds with one stone: not only did I meet that day’s challenge requirements, it was something that I know I need to hear every now and then.
One of the big problems with being a creative type, and it can be any creative type, is putting things off because “I’m not ready yet.” It’s also known as the fear of success or, trying to make something “epic”, ie, so grand and big and all complete that it will be the best thing ever. The problem with that sort of thinking is that it doesn’t lead to very many completed projects. It’s a distraction.
I read a good book recently, Finish What You Start by Peter Hollins, in which he mentions how Colin Powell, former Secretary of State of the USA, often acted on the 40-70 principle. That is, if you have 70% of the information you need then you should just act already. But if you only have 40% of the information, then you need to wait.
I take a look at this Jamuary challenge at two weeks in and I can say that, although it’s been an interesting series of challenges, I’m starting to see some of the things that had held me back.
Some of the things I’ve learned so far:
First, the technology was complicated to learn and took some time to get used to. There are a lot of hidden things that, unless you know what you’re looking for, it’s likely you won’t find it. How to zoom in or zoom out in Logic? (Cmd + Arrow keys) How to work across two screens? (Under ‘Window”.) How does a channel strip work? (As a supplement to your other tracks.) What do I put on a channel strip? (Effects, usually.) What effect plugins do I need to use? (EQ, Compressor, Limiter are “the bigs”.)
Even something as “simple” as Garageband required some getting used to. I tried to make a sample track and failed miserably in the process. Part of the problem was figuring out how to switch between all of the blocks and then lining the start and finish times of the loops. It doesn’t help that I’m using an older iPad so things are a touch slower than I like but I’m working with what I have available.
Even if I play something I should know, such as the drums, if I miss a beat or a note then it requires fixing in post, which then requires either punching in or working with MIDI, something I’m not used to. I do a lot of my recording live off the floor to avoid the intensive editing required to get those perfect tracks. I’m sure you can hear that throughout the tracks I’ve put up so far. I know that my tempo isn’t always spot on but if I quantized it (ie, fixed the timing and note strikes), then the track would lose some of the feel behind it.
Second, moving away from the technology aspect of things and moving into the actual composition, one of my fears was simply whether or not people would “agree” with what I published. Many of the tracks I published up until the Guitar Solo involved a lot of percussion or using my voice. And even when I was using my voice it wasn’t in any “serious” way, usually beat boxing or making sounds and not trying to sing in one pitch or another.
But playing the guitar solo, wherein the whole guitar was laid out on the iPad, I have little clue about proper chord progression so I went with what sounded good. Would people criticize my movement from this note or chord to that note or chord? Would it be listenable? Would people even notice the things I worry about?
This thought also creeps into my mind when I’m playing the world instruments. Some people might not like the fact that I’m using their instruments or that I’m playing them wrong. Is there a wrong way to play an instrument? What’s the difference between “cultural appropriation” and then using something for what it is: a musical instrument?
The third challenge is to keep things simple and to get away from “epic-itis”. I’ve heard this term before in a few different contexts, be it music, writing or simply travelling somewhere. Being content with one’s current abilities and not wanting to prepare for “the big one”, whatever that may be. I’ve often had this thought plague me with my video work: I’ll get every shot and then I’ll build this and that and then another thing and then I just have to upgrade this and… then the feeling is gone. The inspiration is lost and the momentum to do anything dissipates as the next opportunity presents itself. Keeping it simple and doing what I can in the moment is integral in building up some sort of success.
That’s not to say that I’d just throw together anything and publish it. I mentioned before that the technology wasn’t easy to learn and it still presents some issues. Getting to the point of being able to play something worth listening to on the iPad even on the drum kit took some work because of the small screen size and limited area in which I can tap for a sound.
So those are some of the things I’ve noticed so far in this month of musical challenges. I’m half way through now and starting to think whether or not this is sustainable. The “originator” of the monthly challenge, Jonathan Mann, continues to write a song every day, and has sometimes his stuff goes viral. (He’s released all of the songs he’s recorded as albums, too.) If I continued to simply publish something every day, what would the order be like? Would I see progress in the tracks or would they all be half-assed audio tracks?
Overall, the creating and publishing process has become significantly easier and I hope that it continues to get easier. The next big challenge I’ll have is expanding my workstation set up to include a few new tools such as other programs or plugins or even new hardware, such as a set of studio monitors.