Thomas Brett
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Notes On Making Beats
“Rhythm is the most perceptible and the least material thing.” – Leopold Sedar Senghor (quoted in John Chernoff, African Rhythm and African Sensibility). I find making electronic beats difficult, which is strange because I have the dexterity to play them on a controller, and at least in theory, I know what makes a good one.… Continue reading
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Micro-Information As Subliminal Feeling: Learning About Musical Phrasing
When I studied music in university, my percussion lessons frequently touched on the topic of phrasing. My teacher would listen to me play through a piece and then suggest ways to improve its rendition. Most of the time, this involved considering alternate ways to play a passage, which I needed because I was so concerned… Continue reading
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An Attentional Arc Of Working: Compressing Beats and Focusing Energy
9:30 Breakfast. 9:40 Watch some tennis and consider working. 10:02 I’m still watching tennis. 10:10 I open up the music file, listen for five seconds, and realize it isn’t happening— the beat is plodding (my enthusiasm is low). I consider going back to watching tennis. (Are mornings even optimal for making music?) Almost anything could… Continue reading
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Musical Failure
failure – a lack or deficiency of a desirable quality I’m listening through an almost finished piece, trying to get a sense of how the music moves. There’s a lot I like: the mix is clear (the music has only four parts), the effects and EQing are minimal, the tempo is unrushed, and some kind… Continue reading
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Composing By Playing
I want to begin the piece carefully, by considering my options and plotting a sensible route. But I can’t design from the top down, only from the ground up, so I begin playing to hear where that takes me. Whenever you’re in doubt about what to do or how to proceed, just start playing. By… Continue reading
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Musical Mindsets
When I think about strategies for composing music, I often think in terms of problem-solving within the process of doing whatever I’m doing. Most often it’s as simple as hearing what I don’t like, then trying out various solutions for fixing it. (Deleting notes is by far my favorite solution.) Other times it’s a little… Continue reading
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