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brettworks

thinking through music


  • August 26, 2019

    On Musical Transitions

    I’ve been thinking about transitions—that is, how the music gets from one place to another. One of the pros of DAW music software that is simultaneously a con is that in your arrangement page view you can juxtapose a bunch of discrete sections of music and have them seamlessly play in sequence as if that… Continue reading

    musical transitions, Uncategorized
  • August 23, 2019

    Arrows Of Attention: A Pattern Language For Electronic Music Production

    Arpeggiate  Automate  Breakdown  Browse  Compress  Copy And Paste  Delay and Echo  EQ  Extend  Fade In / Fade Out  Filter Sweep  Fractalize  Harmonize   Humanize   Interrupt  Juxtapose   Layer   Loop  Mix  Mute   Pan  Pedal Note  Quantize   Randomize  Recombine  Reduce   Remix   Repeat  Resample  Re-Tune  Reverb  Reverse  Route   Stretch  Subdivide  Syncopate  Texturize   Transform  Continue reading

    arrows of attention, Uncategorized
  • August 22, 2019

    Resonant Thoughts: James Williams’ “Stand Out Of Our Light” (2018)

      “What do you pay when you pay attention? You pay with all the things you could have attended to, but didn’t, all the goals you didn’t pursue, all the actions you didn’t take, and all the possible yous you could have been, had you attended to those other things. Attention is paid in possible… Continue reading

    Resonant Thoughts, Uncategorized
  • August 21, 2019

    Brett’s Sound Picks: Mr. Bill’s “Apophenia” (2018)

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    Brett’s Sound Picks, Uncategorized
  • August 20, 2019

    Art About Music: Niccolo Renieri’s “Musical Society” (17th century)

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    art about music, Uncategorized
  • August 19, 2019

    Breaking Free From A Modus Operandi Towards Enchantment

    This happens to me all the time:  I’m building up the music, fixing and adjusting things, calibrating and measuring, evening out and making everything balanced then I realize, crap, I don’t like it.  The problem is that I’ve lost touch—temporarily, I hope—of what I would like to listen to. My busyness has assumed an outsized life… Continue reading

    music production, Uncategorized
  • August 16, 2019

    Friday Freestyle

    • I’ve been enjoying Nadia Eghbal’s newsletter, and also Kyle Chayka’s newsletter. (Also: Chayka’s forthcoming book on minimalism.)  • Thinking about music making as some kind of litmus, but not a test.  • Tee shirt sighting: “Sorry for what I said at mile 20.” • A second tee shirt sighting (shirt worn by a very… Continue reading

    Friday Freestyle, Uncategorized
  • August 15, 2019

    Resonant Thoughts: Erik Kessel’s “Failed It!” (2016)

      “Play with something ordinary and make it extraordinary. Don’t worry what you might be destroying; think about what you’re creating.” Erik Kessels, Failed It! (2016), p. 120 Continue reading

    Resonant Thoughts, Uncategorized
  • August 14, 2019

    Brett’s Sound Picks: Alex Twomey’s “Maybe Late” (2019)

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    Brett’s Sound Picks, Uncategorized
  • August 13, 2019

    Art About Music: Thomas Cooper Gotch’s “A Pageant Of Childhood” (1899)

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    art about music, Uncategorized
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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

  • Drumming Diaries: Energies of Performance
  • Brett’s Sound Picks: øjeRum’s “I (2026 remaster)”
  • In The Works: 28 April
  • Resonant Thoughts: John Berger’s “Permanent Red: Essays in Seeing” (1960/2025)
  • Stolen Moments Are Open-Ended

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