Technology and Creativity
I have been writing a new song for the last couple of hours, and as usual, I am now pondering whether or not technology is a creative hindrance, or a helpful partner. I guess for me, it’s a little bit of both. Let me explain.
It goes like this: I feel the inspiration of a song coming on. So I rush into the studio, turn the computer on, turn my keyboard on. While I am waiting for everything to boot up, I grab a pen and paper. Ooops, forgot to turn my audio interface on, luckily that can be turned on while the computer is up. Okay, in business now. Well, wait, I have to boot up Cubase, my recording program. Okay, no big deal, I am almost ready to start writing…. Ahhh!!!! Forgot to turn on my external audio drive, Cubase is looking for it. Crap. Okay, reboot computer (with audio drive on this time). Okay, computer and drive back up, Cubase running…new project file…..name it……do I need a drum loop going for this?……hmmm….how about this sound?……..Wait, what’s the correct tempo?……Hmmm…maybe I need to make some coffee first. Inpiration…..GONE.
Any of you go through this as well? All of our computer programs are amazing, we can do just about anything with them, but it can slow down the creative process significantly. So what is the answer? For me, it is actually using another technological device, my phone. I fired up my recorder app on my droid, and started playing and singing. Done. Writing has commenced. Honestly, any little handheld, simple recorder would do the trick.
Everyone has there way of doing things, I think this works best for my creative process. Now, of course, once I have something concrete written, I will then fire up Cubase, and the drives, and everything else, and start producing. But that is a different creative process altogether.
So, what is your creative writing process? How does it work for you? Please comment, chime in…
Here’s to creativity and technology coexisting,
-Jamie
Comments
Wow Jamie! And thought all you had to do was press a couple of keys on the keyboard. LOL
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admin Reply:
December 3rd, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Hey Don, thanks for chiming in. Hope to see you Monday! And, hey, a couple of presses on a keyboard these days can actually make you a track! You may not have a song, but you will have something….
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Bro this is crazy. I was eating breakfast while reading/admiring the lyrics to a song by the Zac Brown Band called “Colder Weather”. I was thinking “man when they wrote this they weren’t using Logic or Protools or any of that stuff. They just wrote (probably with a guitar or a piano). That’s when I saw your link to this post on FB. Crazy!
I think that is why I’ve been getting rid of a lot of the gear in my studio. It’s overkill and it IS distracting. I can remember playing demos of my songs in the past thinking “Yeah the lyrics need work but man listen to that awesome snare sound! HA! Great post man!
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admin Reply:
December 3rd, 2011 at 1:38 pm
I love that tune! Thanks for the comment, Michael. Yeah, I am thankful for all of the technology at our disposal, it’s pretty amazing what we can do these days. But it does slow me down sometimes, and I just go for the simplest, purest way to play and sing, hum along, whatever.
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