brettworks

thinking through music

February 2012

February 29, 2012

On Reading Online Consumer Reviews

I’m fascinated by consumer reviews and I read them regularly on Amazon.com. You could even say that review reading is a hobby of mine. What’s fascinating about reviews is how they illuminate people’s thinking by expressing their passion and enthusiasm, a high level of analytical detail, and a steadfast belief in themselves. No matter what… Continue reading

consumer review discourse, music criticism, Quality

consumer reviewers, steadfast belief
February 21, 2012

Sound Decisions: On Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking, Fast and Slow”

“Instinct puts us in the moment, intellect is slower.” – Robert Fripp “The proof that you truly understand a pattern of behavior is that you know how to reverse it.” – Daniel Kahneman Sometimes while working on writing new music I’ve noticed how I oscillate between two frames of mind. One frame feels spontaneous and intuitive.… Continue reading

composition, creative strategies, decision-making, Electronic music, music cognition

american psychologist, inclinations, jumping to conclusions, nobel laureate, vague awareness
February 15, 2012

On Piano Lessons: Tricia Tunstall’s “Note By Note”

“An instrumentalist is an athlete.” –Tricia Tunstall For many people, taking piano lessons is an initial gateway to learning to make and understand music for themselves. Knowing that 88-key terrain of black and white tones and semitones is a giant step towards understanding the pushes and pulls of tonal music, and piano playing makes mind and… Continue reading

classical music, music lessons, music pedagogy, musical sociality, piano music
February 13, 2012

On The Trickle Down Of Electronic Dance Music Aesthetics III: Acousmatic Sound And Authenticity At The 2012 Grammy Awards

“All cultural change is essentially technology-driven.” – William Gibson This year’s Grammy Awards featured the first ever performances of live electronic dance music, showcasing the DJs David Guetta and deadmau5 with R&B singer Chris Brown, rapper Lil Wayne, and the rock band Foo Fighters in what the Los Angeles Times aptly called “a confused, if… Continue reading

acousmatic sound, authenticity, Electronic music, music performance, remixing and mash-ups

electronic dance music, grammy awards, instrumental virtuosity, manipulating digital
February 9, 2012

On Bass Culture: Beats By Dr. Dre Headphones

If you look around the streets of New York you see a lot of folks wearing Beats by Dr. Dre, those giant black and red (or white and red) plastic over-the-ear headphones with their iconic red cables. The Beats headphones are the result of a collaboration between Monster, an audio cable manufacturing company, and Dr.Dre,… Continue reading

bass materialism, headphones and speakers, listening

balanced response, bass frequencies, frequency spectrum, full frequency, hip hop artist, kick drums
February 6, 2012

On (Making) Recordings Versus (Living) Live Music

“Record stores”, a friend of mine once memorably observed as we drove past one, “are where music goes to die.” And with the demise of record stores, music recordings–and by recordings I mean CDs–have had a tough time surviving since MP3 downloading became the primary way most people get their music. For musicians, it used to… Continue reading

performance, recording culture
February 2, 2012

On Nostalgia And The Voice Of Michael McDonald

I’m in the grocery store, staring at the fish offerings, when a subtle wave of melancholy washes over me. I’m restless and keep moving, eyeing products on the shelves, looking for a particular milk brand–but I just can’t shake this feeling. Since when is grocery shopping such an emotional experience? The milk and some odds… Continue reading

easy listening music, listening, music and nostalgia, soundscapes

Thomas Brett is a musician and writer who holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from New York University. He is the author of Principles of Electronic Music Production and The Creative Electronic Music Producer, a book described by Sound On Sound magazine as “a deep philosophical analysis of the various creative inspirations, ideas and processes involved in producing electronic music.” His essays have appeared in the journals Popular Music and Popular Music and Society, as well as edited collections by Routledge, Oxford, and Cambridge University presses. Thomas has played percussion on Broadway since 1997 and writes about music at brettworks.com.