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brettworks

thinking through music


  • January 19, 2021

    Resonant Thoughts: John Cleese’s “Creativity” (2020)

    “So you just sit there and, eventually, as the mind quietens, odd ideas and notions relevant to your puzzle start popping in your mind. But they are…odd! And the reason they seem odd is that they’re not what our usual logical, critical, analytical mind is used to. They don’t arrive in the form of words,… Continue reading

    Creativity, Resonant Thoughts
  • January 18, 2021

    Keeping Still

    Continue reading

    new music
  • January 16, 2021

    Resonant Thoughts: Christopher Alexander’s “The Timeless Way of Building” (1979)

    “Each pattern helps to sustain other patterns. “The quality without a name occurs, not when an isolated pattern occurs, but when an entire system of patterns, interdependent, at many levels, is all stable and alive. We may see the sand ripples anywhere where we choose to put loose sand under the wind.  But when the… Continue reading

    pattern language, Resonant Thoughts
  • January 15, 2021

    Sketches: Perpetual Cyclical

    Continue reading

    new music
  • January 14, 2021

    Sketches: Memoire

    Continue reading

    slownesss
  • January 13, 2021

    Sketches: Passing Thought

    (The music was mastered by Alain Van Achte.) Continue reading

    new music
  • January 13, 2021

    Sketches: Afloat

    Listen on Spotify and Apple Music. Continue reading

    music performance, new music, Uncategorized
  • January 12, 2021

    Sketches: Blossom

    Listen on Spotify and Apple Music. Continue reading

    mellow vibes, new music
  • January 11, 2021

    Sketches: Clearings

    Listen on Spotify. Continue reading

    new music
  • January 8, 2021

    Small Musical Failures As Non-Obvious Usage Paths

    “Create non-obvious usage paths. In my experience, it’s the best algorithm.”– Dombaeb, KVR Audio In my work I notice a recurring pattern to small failures and the breakthroughs that sometimes follow them. Here is how the pattern plays out: 1. I’m doing my usual musical things, but nothing seems to be working. Nothing sounds interesting,… Continue reading

    Creativity, scripts, Uncategorized, usage paths
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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.

Recent Posts

  • Unquantized (Remodel)
  • Curating The Week: The Brand Age, Selling Out, Sync Music
  • Resonant Thoughts: John Ashbery’s “A Wave” (1984)
  • Art About Music: Google’s Lyria 3 (2026)
  • Studio Observations: Listening To Improvisation

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