Category: Music

Funk

If you do any kind of creative work, you’ve dealt with the dreaded funk. No, I’m not talking about funk music, I’m referring to that depression that comes when we avoid a creative task. And there’s usually a simple reason we get into a funk and avoid a task. The words or music just won’t come. Nothing’s flowing.

In a way, I’ve been in a funk going on four years now. But I’m not too worried about it. You see, traditionally, my first creative gig is that of the singer-songwriter. I spent most of 40 years writing and performing over 1000 songs. A few years ago, something weird happened. I all but stopped writing songs.

When I discovered electronic music production, I started focusing on composing music without words. And instead of writing songs, I started writing free-verse poetry. It’s almost as if the music and words divorced themselves, a kind of deconstruction.

In fact, I started this new website with the faith that when COVID-19 is all said and done, and life returns to a bit more normalcy, I’d start writing and performing as a songwriter again. I’ll reconstruct the old singer-songwriter in me.

Yet, currently, that songwriter funk is still lingering. What am I going to do about that? Honestly? Nothing. If there’s something I’ve learned in over 40 years of practicing music and writing, it’s this: Never try to force creativity. It doesn’t work. Just wait it out. The funk won’t last forever. I promise. – dse

Five Birds on a Wire

Five Birds on a Wire is out now and available at BandCamp. Check it out today.

This five-track experimental album uses elements of chance in the composition and production. This is also known a aleatoric music. A 12-sided die was used to pick five notes for each track. Then the die was used again to pick five sounds or samples for each track. The die was also rolled to determine the tempo and the approximate length of each track.

The live samples used were also done in simple spontaneous recordings and then weaved into the music.

The result is unique. The album would not be what it is without these purposeful limitations and restrictions. I did take some creative license at times, but mostly stayed within the parameters of chance. – dse

Drum Rudiments

If you’re not a drummer, or at least a musician, you might not know what drum rudiments are. Simply put, the rudiments are short drumming patterns that can be practiced in order to become a better drummer. For example: LLRL-RRLR.

Guess what? Most drummers you might meet on the street may never have learned the rudiments. A few years ago, I spent a couple of months learning all 40 of them, and I didn’t even have a drum set at the time. I simply used a practice pad on top of a five-gallon bucket.

Okay, it’s not really drum rudiments I want to discuss. It’s plain old discipline. Whether we’re talking about writing poetry or playing the drums, in order to create, you need discipline. That doesn’t look the same for everyone. There is no exact rudiment regimen. You don’t have to set a timer and write for exactly two hours each day. You just have to have the gumption to practice regularly.

For some odd reason, I woke up at 3:20am thinking about drum rudiments. So, I wrote this piece. Nothing creative comes without discipline, and sometimes writing at wee hours. That’s not to say that creativity is hard. It just takes a little time and extra effort. – dse

Five Birds

I’ve started an experimental album using aleatoric methods of determining certain components of the compositions. Many of the parameters of the music are chosen by chance. I rolled a 12-sided die to dictate five notes and five sounds to be used on each track. The die is also used to determine the tempo and the length of each track.

I still allow myself the creative freedom to work within those parameters. It creates limitations that one must work around which can lead to interesting results. I’m happy with the initial recording.

Five Birds is the first of five compositions for the forthcoming album, Five Birds on a Wire. Look for the complete album in the near future.

Listen to Five Birds. – dse

Risk

In today’s world, we must be willing to take risks. Whether you decide to get the COVID-19 vaccine or not: risk. Your political stance and willingness to fight for what you believe: risk. Driving a car: risk.

The popular entertainment world is full of talent. It’s also full of people who are not willing to take creative risks. It might hit them in the pocketbook. It’s better to stick with what sells. This is why we see so much cheap imitation art, and a lack of intuitive thinking among popular artists and musicians. There are great artists and musicians that infiltrate pop culture, but they are the marginal, not the norm.

Studies show that it’s more often those who come from wealthy families who create some of the greatest works of art. And why wouldn’t it be? If money is less of a factor, it gives them more freedom to create work that breaks norms. They have more freedom to risk creating the new and unusual.

To make great and unique art, profit can’t be the primary goal. If it is, the art will be tainted by the need to stay within the bounds of what is commercially successful. Perhaps, any thought of creating art that will hold monetary value is vain. There are four fundamental roles of the visual arts, none of which are profit. – dse

On Minimalism

If you’ve followed my writing journey, you know I like the idea of minimalism. But I want to set the record straight concerning what minimalism is.

First, minimalism is not a lifestyle. Period. You might live simply, perhaps economically and environmentally-friendly. But that’s not minimalism. Minimalism is a specific form used in architecture, art, photography, music, and writing. A sparsely-decorated home is quite possibly a form of minimalism, but it’s the aesthetic of it that makes it minimalist, not your lifestyle.

Do I prefer to live small and with less stuff than the average Joe? Yes. Does that make me a minimalist. No. It just means I understand the value of living with fewer things.

Creating music with a repetitive beat and very little melodic structure, however, is a practice in minimalism. Writing poetry that uses the fewest words possible to relate meaning is minimalism in writing. Photography that focuses on a single subject could be considered minimalist.

Simple living is a lifestyle. Minimalism is an art form.

I attempt both, however, I’m much more interested in the art of the matter. – dse