A discussion of the DAW as a compositional tool

[Octahedra]

[abreaktor]

so, ive done some "research" for myself.

i think to a certain degree the daw you use either influences your music OR your musical preferences influence what daw you choose.

for instance:

browsing self-made songs on FL studio forums is a pain, since 99% of them are really dumb techno or hiphop with blocky arrangements and near to none modulation/syncopation at all.

doing the same on a, say, ableton forum gives you an overview over a lot of genres, approaches, and musical "skills". you will find live sets, idm, classical stuff (as in score music), and so on, and so on.

otoh, i know 2 idm producers who work with trackers, jeskola buzz and renoise. you wouldnt notice, no bar is like the next, everything is in flow and alive, and all done on those old trackers. i guess if you are willing to use everything a daw has to offer, and to use it well outside its factory limitations, your style will permeate/overwhelm the daw's boundaries.

i for my part cant imagine doing my style on another daw, tho. except if this daw offers me the same hands-on feel when editing audio... ive tried FL studio, and hated it because of its counterintuitive approach to audie editing.

[PierreV]

In my opinion the " public" does not give a s...... as to how the song has been made.They like it or they do'nt.


The fact that everyone can buy a software programm with multiple correction and filter possibilities does not mean that they also buy the ability / talent to create grate music. Oke , technically they wil be at a much higher level than a professional musician could even hope for some years ago which leads to a situation where much more technically acceptable music is produced.
And , with the mediums like internet, you tube etc etc. much more music can be made public to a large audiance.
Really good music , however remains , in my humble opinion , scares.

Pierre

[Jakester]

I’m using Sonar right now and I find it to be clunky. Whenever I go to do anything, there always seems to be some parameter or setting that requires attention. It has totally sapped the fun right out of it.

I reverted back to my old ways, seeing no real benefit for me using Sonar. Record to 10 track, import to Audacity for final processing. Maybe I’ll use the plugins for Sonar the music notation and lyrics section might become handy for copyrighting, beyond that it to me it just seems so contrary to creativity.

I’m going to pursue the straight audio side for as long as possible, then call it quits with music. I cant stand the idea of performance editing like quantize, cut and paste etc. It's a paraphrase of what was played. On the other hand, I am incapable of playing a track for four minutes flawlessly. Musical instruments are becoming obsolete. They make an ok interface for computers, but would be absolutely perfect with all human influence removed. It's human nature to seek perfection, but now that the computer can achieve it, that's the standard.

[bachus]

[Antimon]

[bachus]

[seraph]

[Acoustic Interloper]

[bachus]

[Octahedra]

[Uncle Krunkus]

As with most things, I don't believe in a universal truth as far as music is concerned. Therefore, the concept of musical "perfection" is completely subjective. If the "perfection" of Kraftwerk were the same as the "perfection" of Snakefinger we would live in a very dull world full of shit music.
There are always ways of me improving tracks which I've worked on in the past, (the computer DAW gives me that option), but I'll never attain any kind of "perfection".
Hopefully, I'll approach something which makes me happy. Possibly even proud.

[Jakester]

Folks I don’t want to give the wrong impression. Composing through a DAW is just as valid as performing. Good music is after all good music, regardless of the source. I don't want to seem argumentative, it's just the way I feel the trend of the future is moving towards.

I don’t think it’s a narrow view that computers are perfect for music creation, when it’s common practice to actually interject flaws to make it sound human. In fact the only problem seems to be, it’s “too” perfect. It is pretty much the point I’m getting at. The amount of flaw added is a calculation based on a creative decision, not the constrains due to talent or ability limitations, or even in some cases what is realistically feasible.

Acoustic-Interloper, when was the last time you played something then said: “Nah, I can’t use that performance, it’s just too perfect!” I don’t know about you, but that would be one problem I would love to have.

Antimon, any musician will literally spend decades, perhaps even a lifetime, to achieve the same level of exactness you have to in turn degrade to make believable. Of course if you are a DAW composer it isn’t a goal, since it’s already been achieved. Practice makes… ? If they aren’t seeking perfection, what would be the point?

I’m not saying anything about that is bad at all. To skip all that and go right to music creation is simply fantastic. Can you imagine what you will come up with, when you have forty years experience spent in nothing but music composition? Not having to worry about the performance end, removes a huge (and more to my point)increasingly needless burden.

All I am getting at is, what is the actual role of musicians today? If there is a better method of doing something, logically that will eventually be the method used. Looking at sampling over the last ten years or so, I don’t think it’s at all unrealistic to think, side by side in a few years the untrained ear is not going to know the difference. More importantly they are just not going to care, just as long as it’s unflawed and fits the current successful cookie cutter design. What part of popular music isn’t heavily processed and doctored in timing and pitch already?

The current trend, in the NE USA, of anti-smoking and anti-drinking has done a lot towards the elimination of privately owned bars. Live venues are drying up and in NJ, those that remain want covers only. So around here anyway, if you can play “Free Bird” better than anyone else out there, you have a future as a musician.

Beyond that, for anything original you will have to use every technological advance available, in order to blindly compete through audio only, CD and internet. So yeah I enjoy playing music, but when it gets to where it needs to be absolutely sterile, there wont be much point in pursuing anything more on the performance side. If you have no choice but to end up on the computer, you might as well start there to begin with.

[GaryRea]