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Author: tylth on November 24 2007 Viewed 4314 times. 24 people liked this blog. You can rate it below if you haven't already.
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this is about a little crisis i have recently concerning my ability as a musician.
you may know i solely use a laptop and software to make musik. and audo samples. so far that is nothing special because a lot of "musicians" do that. i've put musicians in quote signs here because that is where i have encountered my problem.
how dare i call myself a musician, let alone an artist? fact is, i can't play keyboard for shit let alone read notes on sheets and random monkeys at the zoo are more educated in classical music theory/knowledge than me.
i think it's bold to call mere preset swapping on vst synths and sample arranging from the latest hip-hop / techno sample cd/dvd an artistry. isn't that like making wack trance "songs" with magix music maker?
that is the problem i have so far. but i want to make original music by choice not by chance. i want to express myself and not by material someone els prepared.
the question is now, where to begin. it it enough to put for instance a lfo'ed lp filter over a library breakbeat and call it my own "work"? would that be a part of expressing myself honestly?
should i instead of using a kickdrum from a sample cd make my own with appropriate applications? is that enough? or should i code that application entirely by myself to have it honestly original? by then, would i be even a musician anymore or rather a programmer? what is enough?
how would i think about that if i am using hardware machines to make music? would i encounter the same questions and get the need to circuit bend everything in order to make original music?
so far i backuped my entire sample collection, erased it from my hd with the plan of sounddesigning my own sample collection. i'll see how that turns out.
i could write on and on but i'll spare you that. boring enough so far.
instead i ask for your thoughts and opinions on a topic like this and maybe one or two useful tips (on sounddesing, original artistry, opinions on sample cds, presets) will materialize.
thanks.
alex
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11/24/07
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mixedtape
My lack of pretentiousness is greater than most here...just sayin.
11/24/07
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flies
some say i'm arrogant, and yea maybe they're right, but it's my only flaw.
11/25/07
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astroboy
you douchebags know that my music rules more thanyour ridiculous "tracks"!
that's for sure.
that, and the fact that i'm drunk.
fo shizzle, bros.
<3
11/25/07
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everamzah
drunk <3 em411 4 life
11/25/07
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quip
try playing a gig in bolton at the dog and partridge, with some rock bands.
you soon learn what people think of laptop musicians.
your scum, deal with it.
11/25/07
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implexgrace
oh tylth you card
your music is plenty original
sometimes it's not about where the sound came from but what you do with it
sometimes i generate my own sounds, sometimes i borrow
think of it like painting
the painter does not necessarily make his own brushes
or his own paint
or canvases
but they all use them in subtly different ways
an arits friend of mine painted over a shitty pollock 80s color blast nightmare
and made it a warm, open piece of art that also has texture due to the underlying painting
is that original?
fuck yeah it is.. and if anyone gives you shit just assk them
politely
to suck on your balls
11/25/07
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djugel
Basically .. if you use just a laptop, you're not a musician. You are an artist(probably not a composer either).. now the question is .. are you original or contrived ... the last question is.. are you talented or a genius 
AstroBoy said "all people who call themselves artists are pricks anyway.
i know what i'm talking about, because i've been studying arts for some years now..."
speak for yourself then? You just called yourself a prick in my eyes.
I consider myself an artist.. I don't go around saying that though... I'd feel more like a fraud if I said I was a musician. But I'd also feel like a fraud artist if I went to art school ;)
11/25/07
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cbit
djugel said: "Basically .. if you use just a laptop, you're not a musician."
Ok i'll bite: Nonsense. At least if you're using 'musician' in the way most dictionaries describe the word (a sensible starting point imo).
11/25/07
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djugel
where's the other definition? And why do you want this awful title? Where's the part on the laptop where I hold the note on one hand ... and strum with the other? It's more of a question if you're a composer or not.
Is this going to turn into "Expression Battle pt. 2".
11/25/07
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djugel
Btw - I play all hardware and I'm NOT a musician by any means. Throw me up there in the band at the taco palace .. and I'll totally blow it..
11/25/07
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cbit
djugel said: "where's the other definition? And why do you want this awful title?"
I don't particularly want it, but it happens to be the case that many definitions of 'musician' fit what i do. Here are some definitions. Notice: conspicuously absence of any mention of laptop use excluding a person from musicianhood/dom/ness.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version)
musician1 [mjuˈziʃən] noun
a person who is skilled in music
WordNet
musician
noun
1. someone who plays a musical instrument (as a profession)
2. artist who composes or conducts music as a profession
Online Etymology Dictionary
musician
c.1374, "one skilled in music," from music (q.v.)
American Heritage Dictionary
mu·si·cian (myōō-zĭsh'ən) Pronunciation Key
n. One who composes, conducts, or performs music, especially instrumental music.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
mu·si·cian
–noun
1. a person who makes music a profession, esp. as a performer of music.
2. any person, whether professional or not, skilled in music.
djugel said: "Where's the part on the laptop where I hold the note on one hand ..."
eh.. where does the idea come from that musician means someone who holds notes with one hand? c'mon meanhge! i have trouble believing that you really believe what you're saying..
11/25/07
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djugel
you know what I mean... and keep it in context. Someone admitting they know nothing about playing music and admits to basically playing "Photoshop The Musical" ... IS NOT A MUSICAN AND SHOULD STOP BEATING THEMSELVES UP ABOUT IT.
doesn't anyone ever see that my loaded comments are actually positive?
11/25/07
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djugel
Now the real argument is a "latop musician" a composer ... most likey no.. if you're are really taking advange of the laptop
This is a composer..
link
11/25/07
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djugel
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
mu·si·cian
–noun
1. a person who makes music a profession, esp. as a performer of music.
2. any person, whether professional or not, skilled in music.
haha .,. perform.
haha ,.. skill.
11/25/07
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cbit
djugel said: "you know what I mean... and keep it in context."
You said:
djugel said: "Basically .. if you use just a laptop, you're not a musician."
I was answering this assertion only. Which is false unless you ignore the way almost everyone uses the word (an approach which is going to make discussing anything problematic). As for context: there's no context i can imagine in which "if you use just a laptop, you're not a musician" doesn't sound like twaddle.
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