In past articles I've talked about different record deals, and this is another option for up-and-coming musicians. Although it isn't a record deal, but the art of self-distribution.
With a self-distribution model, musicians have all the creative freedom and control that they want. They can distribute their own CDs, plan their own tours, do their own artwork and devise their own marketing strategies.
Generally speaking CDs are pressed and distributed in limited numbers, the number varying depending on how many a musician can afford to press. Touring is also another demanding aspect of self-distribution, and requires heavy promotional activity from the musician to ensure decent CD sales. Many musicians are also highly creative artists and can design their own artwork. Marketing may be a grey area for musicians, although many are proactive with social networking, an activity that's integral in the modern music business.
The question is would you want that responsibility? It is a very demanding and at times brutal activity to essentially develop yourself as a successful musician. There's also the cost - the freedom of this model could mean absolutely nothing if you're losing money paying session musicians, recording costs, CD pressing and distribution and any other expenses. There is also the problem that your model lacks innovation - there are plenty of websites that allow you sell music for free and there are plenty of musicians embracing that. Trying to separate your music and general ethos from the rest of the crowd is no easy feat. Another point is that you may seek an actual record deal in the future if the self-distribution model fails, and soon realize that the freedom you had as a DIY independent artist evaporates the moment you sign the record deal.
Self-distribution can be a highly effective strategy for any musician, and it's success as a model largely depends on how many areas a musician can manage. They may, however, give themselves too much to do when going up against the big boys.
Sunday 22 December 2013
Tuesday 3 December 2013
The Musician's Paradox
This is an obvious thing to say, but when a musician becomes successful and famous they have all the respect in the world, all the fans, all the money they need to buy whatever they want and generally earn God-like status.
However, there are many musicians who do not reach this level. They do not earn success, fame, fortune or God-like status, and furthermore they are made to feel failures or undervalued because they do not make a living from their art. It's not seen as a credible career choice. Many musicians work very hard, develop their craft and build a fanbase, and that takes time. They may not earn much money during this time, and self-esteem and security could be seriously effected.
This is the musician's paradox - you can be a successful artist, but you may have difficulty in fulfilling this ambition by social constraints and your own music issues.
The solution is simple - bring a bit of realism into your music ambitions and develop an ideal timeframe in which to improve yourself. After that, the sky really is the limit.
However, there are many musicians who do not reach this level. They do not earn success, fame, fortune or God-like status, and furthermore they are made to feel failures or undervalued because they do not make a living from their art. It's not seen as a credible career choice. Many musicians work very hard, develop their craft and build a fanbase, and that takes time. They may not earn much money during this time, and self-esteem and security could be seriously effected.
This is the musician's paradox - you can be a successful artist, but you may have difficulty in fulfilling this ambition by social constraints and your own music issues.
The solution is simple - bring a bit of realism into your music ambitions and develop an ideal timeframe in which to improve yourself. After that, the sky really is the limit.
Monday 18 November 2013
The Role Of The Session Musician
A session musician is essentially a musician who provides instrumental backing to the main artist or group. They need to be able to listen well and make harmonies on the spot. It goes without saying that you have to be a talented musician, and you often have to play a tune to death.
Session musicians can work with some great and famous artists/groups, and they may find themselves getting regular work from established stars, earning good money and travelling round the world in the process.
However, for many session musicians the work is often very erratic. Your pay will often be diluted if you are working with a number of session musicians. It is a very hard area to get into, and you may need to develop affiliations with a number of artists/groups before they request for your services. Many session musicians are often failed, fading or has-been artists, and therefore take session work purely to make a living from their art. The role of the session musician may attach a certain sense of self-unfulfilment - most session musicians truly aspire to be a rock guitarist for a stadium-filling group, or being a multi-million selling vocalist. A session musician is thus a lesser career by comparison.
One of the biggest benefits of being a session musician is the learning and experience you acquire from other, often bigger and more successful artists/groups. You may find yourself working on a variety of different artists working of differing styles, so you learn to adapt well to meet different artists' needs. When you gain the experience of working with other artists you may then develop the confidence and contacts to start your own successful band or solo career.
So providing you are an accomplished musician, session work may be an ideal career or job for you. The important thing is that you can work with different artists and ensure you don't get exploited too much.
Session musicians can work with some great and famous artists/groups, and they may find themselves getting regular work from established stars, earning good money and travelling round the world in the process.
However, for many session musicians the work is often very erratic. Your pay will often be diluted if you are working with a number of session musicians. It is a very hard area to get into, and you may need to develop affiliations with a number of artists/groups before they request for your services. Many session musicians are often failed, fading or has-been artists, and therefore take session work purely to make a living from their art. The role of the session musician may attach a certain sense of self-unfulfilment - most session musicians truly aspire to be a rock guitarist for a stadium-filling group, or being a multi-million selling vocalist. A session musician is thus a lesser career by comparison.
One of the biggest benefits of being a session musician is the learning and experience you acquire from other, often bigger and more successful artists/groups. You may find yourself working on a variety of different artists working of differing styles, so you learn to adapt well to meet different artists' needs. When you gain the experience of working with other artists you may then develop the confidence and contacts to start your own successful band or solo career.
So providing you are an accomplished musician, session work may be an ideal career or job for you. The important thing is that you can work with different artists and ensure you don't get exploited too much.
Monday 11 November 2013
A Guide To The Major Record Deal
In a previous post I talked about the 360 degree artist deal, but this time I will talking about one of the most popular artist contracts - the major record deal.
With this deal, the record company pays all the costs - recording sessions and gear, videos, promotion, pressing, distribution and any other costs. Bands or artists also get a huge advance as an additional 'sweetener' and contribution to some of the said costs. This deal comes with huge expectation and promise to the artist/band, with the intention to engineer big sales, fame and fortune.
If only it was that easy. The reality of this deal is that the artist/band has to recoup all the costs, and to do that they have to sell a lot of records. Major labels spend a fortune on the initial videos, pressing, promotion, distribution, recording, production and whatever else, and all the staff involved in those processes have to be paid before the artist/band receives anything from the fruits of their work. Typically a new artist/band gets 10-15% of the royalties on their initial album sales. Any artist/band has to be aware of these costs, and not get carried away with the fact that they've signed a major record deal and believe their sales will go through the roof. Record sales aren't what use to be, so it may take time just to recoup to the initial costs. Quite often an artist/band doesn't get that time.
However, having a major record deal has plenty of benefits. It can open many doors to many different areas of the music industry. It can give an artist/band the complete music business experience, both positive and negative. It can be a great learning curve for them, especially given the fact that they are surrounded by people who generally have years of experience behind them and can strategize the best method for an artist/band's success. It's an incentive for the label to make the band a success because that's how any label makes money - they are almost entirely dependant on artists.
A major record deal can be a huge breakthrough for any type of musician, but the risk is always there and any artist/band has to be aware of the expenses they have to recoup.
With this deal, the record company pays all the costs - recording sessions and gear, videos, promotion, pressing, distribution and any other costs. Bands or artists also get a huge advance as an additional 'sweetener' and contribution to some of the said costs. This deal comes with huge expectation and promise to the artist/band, with the intention to engineer big sales, fame and fortune.
If only it was that easy. The reality of this deal is that the artist/band has to recoup all the costs, and to do that they have to sell a lot of records. Major labels spend a fortune on the initial videos, pressing, promotion, distribution, recording, production and whatever else, and all the staff involved in those processes have to be paid before the artist/band receives anything from the fruits of their work. Typically a new artist/band gets 10-15% of the royalties on their initial album sales. Any artist/band has to be aware of these costs, and not get carried away with the fact that they've signed a major record deal and believe their sales will go through the roof. Record sales aren't what use to be, so it may take time just to recoup to the initial costs. Quite often an artist/band doesn't get that time.
However, having a major record deal has plenty of benefits. It can open many doors to many different areas of the music industry. It can give an artist/band the complete music business experience, both positive and negative. It can be a great learning curve for them, especially given the fact that they are surrounded by people who generally have years of experience behind them and can strategize the best method for an artist/band's success. It's an incentive for the label to make the band a success because that's how any label makes money - they are almost entirely dependant on artists.
A major record deal can be a huge breakthrough for any type of musician, but the risk is always there and any artist/band has to be aware of the expenses they have to recoup.
Wednesday 6 November 2013
The Transition Of Film Composition
Film composition has had some traditional trademarks as well as radical makeovers from the early 20th century to the present.
In the beginning of film composition in the early 20th century film music was essential for most silent movies, often a pianist playing in the cinema to the film footage.
When spoken film dialogue became popularized in the late 1920s, the role of film music changed significantly. Music often served to represent the action and dialogue, in a manor that you could say was more 'expressive' than in a lot silent movies. The music was often a rich, big, extravagant orchestration, fastidiously created by a notable composer of the time, such as Prokofiev, or Bernard Herrman, the legendary Hitchcock collaborator. Much of this extravagant music was composed for epic films, and is still heavily used in many action and Hollywood films today.
It wasn't until the 1960s and the 1970s that film soundtracks started to feature a popular music soundtrack. The 1973 film American Graffiti carries a non-stop hit collection of popular music that was used to great effect. Quentin Tarantino, director of Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994) is a major advocate of popular music soundtracks, using many popular songs in quite often humorously twisted ways. The major issue of using popular music in films is getting clearance to use them - often film music supervisors face rejections from artists over their use of music in a certain film, but when they see their royalty check for it's use they often retract their original statement.
In the past 30 years, technology has been one of the major influences in film composition. For a lot of futuristic sci-fi films, electronic soundtracks are often used, created by synthesizers, to add reference to the film narrative's time and culture. If you are skilful and musically adept enough, you can create a lavish and colourful film orchestra soundtrack using software synthesizers and sequencing software. You wouldn't ever have to hire an orchestra, although you would probably need to know the expressive characteristics of classical instruments.
Film music has many aesthetics to it, and you shouldn't assume that one phase of film music has evolved from the other - because that would imply the old compositional styles were inferior to the newer ones. What is important is that film music has the power to fuse traditional methods with newer technologies and tastes.
In the beginning of film composition in the early 20th century film music was essential for most silent movies, often a pianist playing in the cinema to the film footage.
When spoken film dialogue became popularized in the late 1920s, the role of film music changed significantly. Music often served to represent the action and dialogue, in a manor that you could say was more 'expressive' than in a lot silent movies. The music was often a rich, big, extravagant orchestration, fastidiously created by a notable composer of the time, such as Prokofiev, or Bernard Herrman, the legendary Hitchcock collaborator. Much of this extravagant music was composed for epic films, and is still heavily used in many action and Hollywood films today.
It wasn't until the 1960s and the 1970s that film soundtracks started to feature a popular music soundtrack. The 1973 film American Graffiti carries a non-stop hit collection of popular music that was used to great effect. Quentin Tarantino, director of Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994) is a major advocate of popular music soundtracks, using many popular songs in quite often humorously twisted ways. The major issue of using popular music in films is getting clearance to use them - often film music supervisors face rejections from artists over their use of music in a certain film, but when they see their royalty check for it's use they often retract their original statement.
In the past 30 years, technology has been one of the major influences in film composition. For a lot of futuristic sci-fi films, electronic soundtracks are often used, created by synthesizers, to add reference to the film narrative's time and culture. If you are skilful and musically adept enough, you can create a lavish and colourful film orchestra soundtrack using software synthesizers and sequencing software. You wouldn't ever have to hire an orchestra, although you would probably need to know the expressive characteristics of classical instruments.
Film music has many aesthetics to it, and you shouldn't assume that one phase of film music has evolved from the other - because that would imply the old compositional styles were inferior to the newer ones. What is important is that film music has the power to fuse traditional methods with newer technologies and tastes.
Sunday 3 November 2013
Why Mastering Is Essential
Mastering is the last stage of music production, and it is basically the stage where the music is finished to a professional quality. It makes tracks appear louder, more dynamic and clearer. It also removes any defects in the audio and alters the frequencies or tone to perfection. The track is tweaked to industry standards and is made to sound good on any platform, such as TV, home stereo, headphones, car stereo and online.
The tools often used in mastering include compression, which alters the dynamics of the track. Some mastering engineers use multiband compressors, which compress certain frequencies. Stereo reverb is another common enhancement used to make the track sound wider. Equalization is often used to bring up or bring down certain frequencies, and is another way to increase clarity of a track, particularly in the high-end frequencies. Many of these effects are available as plugins on digital production software, and the hardware effects processors are a good alternative if you decrease your CPU usage.
One of the biggest issues with mastering is that it's very, very hard. The standard of clarity in professional music is so high, so an upstarting musician has their work cut out when they try mastering. There's also the common case that you may have a great song but it's been poorly mixed, and you or a mastering engineer can only do so much to rectify the sound quality. Mastering cannot save a bad mix. The general notion with a lot of musicians is that mastering is not a creative or exciting process, and therefore they don't give it the required focus it needs. I should also add that because mastering is in essence the 'finishing line' of a track or album's production, so some musicians attempt to get over that 'finishing line' as fast as possible.
You can solve many of these problems by employing or outsourcing this process to an experienced mastering engineer, rather than learning the tricky process yourself. You should consider doing a good re-recording or remix of a track before you give it to a mastering engineer. They'll ask you questions that include how you'd like your mix to sound, which frequencies to bring up, the required loudness level and what dynamics you want. Experienced mastering engineers know how loud a professional recording should be, set an even level of the left and right channels, and are 'ear-trained' to pick out and enhance the best elements and cut out the worst elements of a track.
Mastering is a vital but difficult process to any musician or producer, and anyone who attempts it must know the basics. If you want your music to sound professional, give it to an experienced mastering engineer, and if don't your final track(s) will sound underwhelming.
The tools often used in mastering include compression, which alters the dynamics of the track. Some mastering engineers use multiband compressors, which compress certain frequencies. Stereo reverb is another common enhancement used to make the track sound wider. Equalization is often used to bring up or bring down certain frequencies, and is another way to increase clarity of a track, particularly in the high-end frequencies. Many of these effects are available as plugins on digital production software, and the hardware effects processors are a good alternative if you decrease your CPU usage.
One of the biggest issues with mastering is that it's very, very hard. The standard of clarity in professional music is so high, so an upstarting musician has their work cut out when they try mastering. There's also the common case that you may have a great song but it's been poorly mixed, and you or a mastering engineer can only do so much to rectify the sound quality. Mastering cannot save a bad mix. The general notion with a lot of musicians is that mastering is not a creative or exciting process, and therefore they don't give it the required focus it needs. I should also add that because mastering is in essence the 'finishing line' of a track or album's production, so some musicians attempt to get over that 'finishing line' as fast as possible.
You can solve many of these problems by employing or outsourcing this process to an experienced mastering engineer, rather than learning the tricky process yourself. You should consider doing a good re-recording or remix of a track before you give it to a mastering engineer. They'll ask you questions that include how you'd like your mix to sound, which frequencies to bring up, the required loudness level and what dynamics you want. Experienced mastering engineers know how loud a professional recording should be, set an even level of the left and right channels, and are 'ear-trained' to pick out and enhance the best elements and cut out the worst elements of a track.
Mastering is a vital but difficult process to any musician or producer, and anyone who attempts it must know the basics. If you want your music to sound professional, give it to an experienced mastering engineer, and if don't your final track(s) will sound underwhelming.
Saturday 2 November 2013
Where Has The Experimentation In Pop Music Gone?
There are countless resources and truly endless possibilities available to for innovation and ground-breaking new music.
However, when you listen to the popular chart music or even more specialized music you hear very little music experimentation. It seems that new technology has essentially homogenised many different musical styles, rather than enhancing them. The focus of new technology is make the music sound the best it can, rather than to encourage experimentation. Often when you do hear an unusual sound, particularly in pop music, it is a novel little moment rather than a solid component of the track.
If you think of every music movement and style from the 50s to the 80s you'll discover a huge development and spectrum of experimentation in pop music. The slap-back echo sound is characteristic of 50s rockabilly, multi-tracking gave new dimensions to 60s pop, the effective use of sequencers in 70s disco and the glossy synth sounds in the 80s were incredibly futuristic. The music arrangements were also great as well and that added to the technology that was being discovered.
In the last 20 years or so technology has mainly been used to enhance elements of distinctive sounds from the past, and quite often they are used on very uninspired and bland songs. The trick is to use any many effective musical elements as possible, but also to incorporate as much new technology and ideas as you can. You could do this by integrating tried and tested chord progressions, but unusual instruments to play these progressions, such as a theremin or some strange folk instruments. If you understand the boundaries of composition then you can start to play around with them.
So I guess what I'm saying is pop music has progressed the way it did in the past largely down to a happy marriage between new technological advances and quality songwriting. We need to inject this ideology and experimentation into modern pop music to lift it out of it's mediocrity.
However, when you listen to the popular chart music or even more specialized music you hear very little music experimentation. It seems that new technology has essentially homogenised many different musical styles, rather than enhancing them. The focus of new technology is make the music sound the best it can, rather than to encourage experimentation. Often when you do hear an unusual sound, particularly in pop music, it is a novel little moment rather than a solid component of the track.
If you think of every music movement and style from the 50s to the 80s you'll discover a huge development and spectrum of experimentation in pop music. The slap-back echo sound is characteristic of 50s rockabilly, multi-tracking gave new dimensions to 60s pop, the effective use of sequencers in 70s disco and the glossy synth sounds in the 80s were incredibly futuristic. The music arrangements were also great as well and that added to the technology that was being discovered.
In the last 20 years or so technology has mainly been used to enhance elements of distinctive sounds from the past, and quite often they are used on very uninspired and bland songs. The trick is to use any many effective musical elements as possible, but also to incorporate as much new technology and ideas as you can. You could do this by integrating tried and tested chord progressions, but unusual instruments to play these progressions, such as a theremin or some strange folk instruments. If you understand the boundaries of composition then you can start to play around with them.
So I guess what I'm saying is pop music has progressed the way it did in the past largely down to a happy marriage between new technological advances and quality songwriting. We need to inject this ideology and experimentation into modern pop music to lift it out of it's mediocrity.
An Introduction To Music Publishing
The relationship between music publisher and artist is much like the relationship between a novelist and a book publisher. The music publisher is responsible for royalty collection, song registration, licensing and creative aspects of artist's music.
Many music publishers relay these activities with performance rights societies such as American Society of Composers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) and Performing Right Society (PRS), as they provide a service of tracking, collecting and paying out 'performance royalties' to publishers and songwriters. Whenever an artist's songs are played on TV, film, online or even in live performances, they are paid royalties, along with their publishers.
One of the most crucial roles of a music publisher is protect songwriters' rights. Registering the songs for copyright protection is one of the most common ways. A publisher will often play the part of the 'enforcer' - protecting the artist's rights to ensure they are professionally established and granted. However, a bad music publisher may take advantage of an artist by taking more than their fair share of the deal, so if you're an artist, be careful what you sign.
The biggest question is this - if you're an artist, do you need a music publisher? A lot of that depends on what kind of artist you are. If you're a rookie artist then you may want to explore this option and see how it could work for your music. If you're already on a label the likelihood is they'll already have a music publisher in mind for you to work with. If you actively enjoy songwriting and composing but don't really have the time to seek out opportunities (or don't want to), then a music publisher may be an ideal option for you, as they'll seek various opportunities and uses for your music.
The music publishing world is a diverse and interesting area to explore for an artist. It could prove to be an incredibly lucrative step for an artist, especially if they sign a good publishing deal.
Many music publishers relay these activities with performance rights societies such as American Society of Composers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) and Performing Right Society (PRS), as they provide a service of tracking, collecting and paying out 'performance royalties' to publishers and songwriters. Whenever an artist's songs are played on TV, film, online or even in live performances, they are paid royalties, along with their publishers.
One of the most crucial roles of a music publisher is protect songwriters' rights. Registering the songs for copyright protection is one of the most common ways. A publisher will often play the part of the 'enforcer' - protecting the artist's rights to ensure they are professionally established and granted. However, a bad music publisher may take advantage of an artist by taking more than their fair share of the deal, so if you're an artist, be careful what you sign.
The biggest question is this - if you're an artist, do you need a music publisher? A lot of that depends on what kind of artist you are. If you're a rookie artist then you may want to explore this option and see how it could work for your music. If you're already on a label the likelihood is they'll already have a music publisher in mind for you to work with. If you actively enjoy songwriting and composing but don't really have the time to seek out opportunities (or don't want to), then a music publisher may be an ideal option for you, as they'll seek various opportunities and uses for your music.
The music publishing world is a diverse and interesting area to explore for an artist. It could prove to be an incredibly lucrative step for an artist, especially if they sign a good publishing deal.
Friday 1 November 2013
Crowdfunding For Musicians
Crowdfunding is essentially a method of financing a creative project through investment from fans. Sites like Indiegogo, Pledge Music and Kickstarter provide this platform of direct-to-fan involvement for many musicians who for whatever reason need funding for their project, whether it be a live show or to complete an album.
A typical Kickstarter page for a musician will have a description of the project they are doing, why they need the investment and the different packages available to fans who invest, which vary depending on how much they invest. Typically if you invest a small amount you'll get a thank you note from the musician(s) and possibly a limited edition CD of the finished work. If you invest between $50-$100 you get the album in many different formats, artwork, biographies, diaries of the project, and various other types of merchandise. If you invest even more you'll probably get a personalized video thanking you, music tuition, VIP access to a live gig, lunch and dinner with the musician(s) and/or the complete back catalogue of all their music. These projects have a deadline to reach a specific target, say $20,000 in four weeks.
I can't help thinking that this is really only beneficial for musicians who have a pre-existing fanbase, so it may be of little help to a musician who's starting out. If people believe that the music they hear in these projects is of little value, then they won't invest the small packages offered, never mind the VIP tickets or lunch and dinner with the musicians. People will only pay for what the music is worth, not the added-value packages that are offered to them. I also can't escape from the fact that these musicians are displaying themselves as charities, which they aren't, and they could more than likely finish their project without investment. Many musicians do not reach their required target in the within the project's time period.
The intention of a crowdfunding website is great, and creates a good relationship between musicians and fans. I think that it's best for musicians who have had mid-level success online and want to take their promotion and fanbase growth to the next level, but the rookie musician should grow their fanbase first before even thinking about creating a crowdfunding project.
Here are some links to crowdfunding websites to judge for yourself.
www.kickstarter.com
www.indiegogo.com
www.pledgemusic.com
A typical Kickstarter page for a musician will have a description of the project they are doing, why they need the investment and the different packages available to fans who invest, which vary depending on how much they invest. Typically if you invest a small amount you'll get a thank you note from the musician(s) and possibly a limited edition CD of the finished work. If you invest between $50-$100 you get the album in many different formats, artwork, biographies, diaries of the project, and various other types of merchandise. If you invest even more you'll probably get a personalized video thanking you, music tuition, VIP access to a live gig, lunch and dinner with the musician(s) and/or the complete back catalogue of all their music. These projects have a deadline to reach a specific target, say $20,000 in four weeks.
I can't help thinking that this is really only beneficial for musicians who have a pre-existing fanbase, so it may be of little help to a musician who's starting out. If people believe that the music they hear in these projects is of little value, then they won't invest the small packages offered, never mind the VIP tickets or lunch and dinner with the musicians. People will only pay for what the music is worth, not the added-value packages that are offered to them. I also can't escape from the fact that these musicians are displaying themselves as charities, which they aren't, and they could more than likely finish their project without investment. Many musicians do not reach their required target in the within the project's time period.
The intention of a crowdfunding website is great, and creates a good relationship between musicians and fans. I think that it's best for musicians who have had mid-level success online and want to take their promotion and fanbase growth to the next level, but the rookie musician should grow their fanbase first before even thinking about creating a crowdfunding project.
Here are some links to crowdfunding websites to judge for yourself.
www.kickstarter.com
www.indiegogo.com
www.pledgemusic.com
Thursday 31 October 2013
A Useful Method For Music Composition And Inspiration
There are times when every musician gets a writer's block and can't think anything to compose. One method to inspire creativity and revive this drought is through the use of synectic triggers. Synectic triggers are essentially words designed to inspire creativity. Within these words you have more specific commands or possible instructions. Here's a few examples.
Combine - Bring things together by connecting, arranging, linking or unifying. Make new mental associations that some may not necessarily make. You can apply this to music, for example arranging a harmony alongside a melody, linking certain instrument passages together or unifying different rhythmic textures.
Subtract - Simplify, omit or remove certain elements. Think what could be reduced, disposed of or eliminated. You could remove an instrument from a certain passage, leave out a rhythm or simplify a melody.
Add - Extend, expand, enlarge, or add colour. Can your idea be better developed by adding more? What else can be added to your image, object, material or idea? You could add distortion to a guitar, expand an instrumental solo by a few bars, or extend the octave range of a certain instrument.
Superimpose - Overlap, cover, place over or overlay. Overlay elements to produce new meanings, images or ideas. You could overlap certain instrument passages, overlay instruments onto a rhythm or place a new instrument over another.
These are just a few examples and there are truly endless options to trigger and inspire creativity in your music endeavours.
Here's a link to all the synectic triggers -
http://www.rawumber.com/education/level1/Synectics/synectic_triggers.htm
Combine - Bring things together by connecting, arranging, linking or unifying. Make new mental associations that some may not necessarily make. You can apply this to music, for example arranging a harmony alongside a melody, linking certain instrument passages together or unifying different rhythmic textures.
Subtract - Simplify, omit or remove certain elements. Think what could be reduced, disposed of or eliminated. You could remove an instrument from a certain passage, leave out a rhythm or simplify a melody.
Add - Extend, expand, enlarge, or add colour. Can your idea be better developed by adding more? What else can be added to your image, object, material or idea? You could add distortion to a guitar, expand an instrumental solo by a few bars, or extend the octave range of a certain instrument.
Superimpose - Overlap, cover, place over or overlay. Overlay elements to produce new meanings, images or ideas. You could overlap certain instrument passages, overlay instruments onto a rhythm or place a new instrument over another.
These are just a few examples and there are truly endless options to trigger and inspire creativity in your music endeavours.
Here's a link to all the synectic triggers -
http://www.rawumber.com/education/level1/Synectics/synectic_triggers.htm
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