Music Kick
July 23rd, 2008 Posted in Musicianship
I spent $600* on this program so it’s damn well appropriate that I should be using it on a frequent basis.
But I’ve been thinking, have any of you taken on a creative hobby that sometimes feels like you’re only making minor progress because simply going through the motion is what you find most appealing?
Think of baking a cake. You set to making cake mix, but you find yourself playing with the flour for about three hours before considering adding it to the mix. Then, you look at the clock and see that you should get to bed. You become sad now that your time is up, and resentfully clean up the flour mess you’ve made, but not before marveling at the mess first. You say to yourself that you’ll get to adding the flour tomorrow.
…So maybe cake mix is a terrible analogy, but you get my point. And this describes what writing music has become for me recently.
That is, until I rediscovered how to practice singing; introducing this dynamic to the music I’m currently writing completely re-frames a shit-ton of my usual antics.
Problem: I am highly insecure about how my voice sounds. And another thing, it’s profoundly weird to disembody your own voice and have a computer recite it back to you, especially if you’re not used to disembodying it in the first place. Those of you who practice singing on a regular basis probably don’t have this problem (eh, Courtney?). But the thing is I am primarily an instrumentalist. I feel much safer behind a guitar.
“So what? Just do it. Sing. Get out of your comfort zone.”
Okay, fine. After all, practice makes perfect, right?
So get ready, internet.
It’s about to get all awkward up in here.
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*“Nico, why didn’t you steal that program? Aren’t you good at that?” Well, yes, I am. But if I like a program well enough, I will support the developers by purchasing it. Same principle applies to music.
“I will support the developers by purchasing it. Same principle applies to music.” THAT’S EXACTLY IT! I know it’s not the topic of this post but when people see my cd collection they ALWAYS ask; “Why don’t you just download it” Grr!
Nobody could sound worse than me when I sing so I’d love to hear you!
Well, nico, as a former singer, I can tell you that we all think our voices sound weird. THe first time my voice was played back to me i was all “Is my voice really that high pitched and pointed?” ugh… hated it. but once i got used tot he sound and wasnt so critical i began to hear what othe rpeople heard.
And, as far as slow progress, i was also a painter… a hobby I wish to get back into later. Yeah, that’s pretty slow moving.
I might be able to help you. We have the technology here at the office to record voice overs onto memory sticks. If you ever patronize any of our customers, you will probably hear me over the PA, making cheesy announcements. I have a good speaking voice. Anyway. I’m nearly tone deaf, and WH says I generally sing so flat I’m almost sharp. So I could record you some songs, and when you’re feeling self conscious, you could just listen to me. I think you’d feel better. Kind of like when I get frustrated with my life and problems, so I watch Dr. Phil and realize that I’m really pretty normal. ;-)
Let me know. You should hear what I can do to Amazing Grace, or even Happy Birthday!
i handle my music purchases the same way. some artists i buy spot unseen because i think they’ve already earned my dollars.
and as to singing…throat injuries seems to have rendered me Johnny Cash, which a few years back i was upset about, but now i’m not so bummed. i’ll put down some horrible lyrics if you’re ever looking for a low voice. :)
abelton! i’ve heard so much about it but havent been able to play around with it… hopefully you’ll post some of your handy work!
Hey, it’s still a little weird for me too. Especially when you consider that your guitar is your guitar day after day. It basically plays the same until you decide to put a new set of strings on it. With voice, it doesn’t matter how much you practice, something will ALWAYS be different (health, environmental factors, etc.)- and that means sometimes you end up listening to yourself recorded, thinking you weren’t doing so bad, and you think to yourself, “really?!” but then sometimes it’s the complete opposite.
hang in there. you’ll get used to it:)
Go for it! :) I have found that as far as cooking goes, you HAVE to play with the flour to learn how to treat it right, before you can coax it to do what YOU want it to. Learn its properties, so to speak.
& while wer’e on the subject of food, I’m certainly looking forward to the ‘bilingual power struggle’ song. :) Tell me if you need help with the lyrics, and I’ll go have a food argument with mom.
Added. Nice work on this one. Btw, my blog is dofollow, stop by and grab a link. Bompa
I do this with polymer clay dollmaking. I’ve been working on the same stupid doll for months and it isn’t finished yet. Very similar to the cake thing you describe. 1. Get out the stuff. 2. Mess with it for hours, making no progress. 3. Put it away and clean up the mess.
Also, I love to sing and can’t stand to hear my own voice. Actually I think other people feel the same way about hearing my voice though.