Downsized and happier.

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MrFigg
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23 Dec 2019

mcatalao wrote:
22 Dec 2019
IMHO this happens because of 2 things, mostly...

First, because you are extinguishing your "creative" mind with the same paths (not reason related, but musically).
You start songs the same way you did in a long time, you work with the same keys, you use a chord sequence too much and whatever you do sounds the same, if ever something comes out.
You have to fight this with new solutions. Work new melodies, find new harmonies, listen to new music, more complex, more out of your box. If you listen to rock, try jazz, try world. If you're fed up with EDM, go tribal or acoustic. But try shake things up. Listen to odd stuff, go indian and squeese up some ragas, hear classical, even contemporary, and so on.

The second reason is that you're losing focus on music to production. All the production shiet (1000+ vst's won't help you make a song), is secondary to the music. People will like a song if it has an amazing production, or if it was played on a crappy guitar. Because the most important thing is music, and the rest is secondary. So with all the production chiet, people forget that a great melody, enticing lyrics and an exquisite chord progression, are the first thing you need for a great song. The rest is subjective, and secondary. Takes a lot of time to get the rest done, and we loose focus because it takes the soul of the craftsmanship, but we can't forget this is all about the music!

So, take away the crap, remember which instruments you used to make those songs when you were younger with a 4 track, and use them again in your creative process, and don't start mixing or even arranging before your melody, lyrics, harmony and rhythm are well defined. Don't "produce" the song before the song exists.

Do the song. Then the rest.
You just described my record collection minus abou another 20 genres :). Still listen to CDs and records...still buy CDs and records :). One of the things with me doing songs is ever time I open up Reason I’ve got a different type of music in my head. Some days it’s reggae metal other days it’s hip hop prog. You get the picture.

At the moment I’m down to stock devices, 5 synths which were built before ‘85, 7 or 8 analogue effects and 5 refills. That’s out of around 250 REs and 120GB of refills. Think I’m on track.

Oh yeah...and an upside down bucket.
🗲 2ॐ ᛉ

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MrFigg
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23 Dec 2019

Fuck it!!
Buy a bucket.
Dont Have a bucket delay.
Go get a bucket today.

Mixmaster Freezy Figg in da house. Let me hear you say “hell yeah!!!”
🗲 2ॐ ᛉ

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motuscott
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23 Dec 2019

MC You One Raise You One uses only Titius BBD™ by Jiggery Pokery
Who’s using the royal plural now baby? 🧂

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mcatalao
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23 Dec 2019

MrFigg wrote:
23 Dec 2019

At the moment I’m down to stock devices, 5 synths which were built before ‘85, 7 or 8 analogue effects and 5 refills. That’s out of around 250 REs and 120GB of refills. Think I’m on track.

Oh yeah...and an upside down bucket.
Man, i don't mean that you have to downsize everything in reason. I couldn't possible do that. :)
What i say is that putting music in front of the rest, you start your songs with your mind and your instrument. So if your main harmonic instrument is guitar, then pick up a guitar, create from scratch. You don't even have to open reason before you have your song laid down, so a guitar (or a piano in my case), pen and paper to write the lyrics and chord progression.

I'm at the studio and my kid is in my next room playing violin. A freaking single instrument and a 8 year old kid, in my studio studying on an instrument that was invented more than 600 years ago! That's music. Simple but music. No need 1000 VST's or Re's or whatever because the most important part of it is already there.

Music is melody, harmony and rhythm. All the rest is secondary. Simplify the process.

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MrFigg
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23 Dec 2019

mcatalao wrote:
23 Dec 2019
MrFigg wrote:
23 Dec 2019

At the moment I’m down to stock devices, 5 synths which were built before ‘85, 7 or 8 analogue effects and 5 refills. That’s out of around 250 REs and 120GB of refills. Think I’m on track.

Oh yeah...and an upside down bucket.
Man, i don't mean that you have to downsize everything in reason. I couldn't possible do that. :)
What i say is that putting music in front of the rest, you start your songs with your mind and your instrument. So if your main harmonic instrument is guitar, then pick up a guitar, create from scratch. You don't even have to open reason before you have your song laid down, so a guitar (or a piano in my case), pen and paper to write the lyrics and chord progression.

I'm at the studio and my kid is in my next room playing violin. A freaking single instrument and a 8 year old kid, in my studio studying on an instrument that was invented more than 600 years ago! That's music. Simple but music. No need 1000 VST's or Re's or whatever because the most important part of it is already there.

Music is melody, harmony and rhythm. All the rest is secondary. Simplify the process.
Sure :). For me though the downsizing has been great. I can finally see the wood through the trees. As I said previously, all the stuff is still there on my account if I decide I'd like to download any particular RE to use but as it is today I've got all I need to play happily.
My two daughters both play violin and my son plays guitar. The youngest one, she's nine, has cracked the musical code...how stuff works. She plays by ear and after she's heard a melody once or twice can translate it to violin, piano and penny whistle amongst others. I've got a whole load of different instruments lying around to hand which she can just pick up when she feels like it. A couple of days ago she got a pretty good sound out of my didgeridoo. She even managed to get some gutturals in under the main vibration. So now it's just left to teach her circular breathing and we're golden.
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mcatalao
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23 Dec 2019

MrFigg wrote:
23 Dec 2019
(...)
My two daughters both play violin and my son plays guitar. The youngest one, she's nine, has cracked the musical code...how stuff works. She plays by ear and after she's heard a melody once or twice can translate it to violin, piano and penny whistle amongst others. I've got a 3whole load of different instruments lying to hand which she can just pick up. A couple of days ago she got a pretty good sound out of my didgeridoo. She even managed to get some gutturals in under the main vibration. So now it's just left to teach her circular breathing and we're golden.
Great man! Another musical family!

My oldest (12 y/o girl) plays the piano and the the kid asked to learn the violin. We thought it was a bit odd at first (because i'm the musician in the family and i play winds and keys with some singing and percussions on the side, so they never saw me playing violin or any other stringed instruments) but i think the instrument choice is a very personal thing so we respected that. They both have an amazing relative ear also.

TBH, somewhere in my life i made a turn into IT. I don't regret it but i wished i was a bit more involved in music (specially live music).
I miss the road and play on stage.

Proboscis
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23 Dec 2019

Young kids actively showing an interest in music is truly awesome. A good friend of mine has young three nieces, and from what he tells me they are all creative, and each girl has an active interest in a different instrument. Fortunately their parents are in a position to facilitate this interest.

Mcatalao, have you considered working on a set with your kid, and going 'on the road' by busking ? It would serve your passion for live performance and give the girl a bit of pocket money along with some real world experience in front of an audience ? I have another acquaintance whose sole income is busking, simply with an acoustic guitar and an incredible old-timey blues voice.

Proboscis
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23 Dec 2019

MrFigg wrote:
23 Dec 2019
At the moment I’m down to stock devices, 5 synths which were built before ‘85, 7 or 8 analogue effects and 5 refills. That’s out of around 250 REs and 120GB of refills. Think I’m on track.
Is 'down to stock devices' much of a limitation, with other 70 instruments, FX and utilities ? Perhaps take it one step further and restrict yourself not only a small number of sequencer tracks, but also limited to a period in time. For example, using only (emulations of) instruments that were around prior to your year of birth. The older you are, the more challenging it becomes. Kind of like life itself :lol:

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MrFigg
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23 Dec 2019

Proboscis wrote:
23 Dec 2019
MrFigg wrote:
23 Dec 2019
At the moment I’m down to stock devices, 5 synths which were built before ‘85, 7 or 8 analogue effects and 5 refills. That’s out of around 250 REs and 120GB of refills. Think I’m on track.
Is 'down to stock devices' much of a limitation, with other 70 instruments, FX and utilities ? Perhaps take it one step further and restrict yourself not only a small number of sequencer tracks, but also limited to a period in time. For example, using only (emulations of) instruments that were around prior to your year of birth. The older you are, the more challenging it becomes. Kind of like life itself :lol:
I should have been clearer. The inclusion of stock devices is purely because I don’t have a choice. Otherwise the majority of them would be gone too. :). The only player I might make use of is the drum sequencer due to its simplicity.
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mcatalao
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23 Dec 2019

Proboscis wrote:
23 Dec 2019
Young kids actively showing an interest in music is truly awesome. A good friend of mine has young three nieces, and from what he tells me they are all creative, and each girl has an active interest in a different instrument. Fortunately their parents are in a position to facilitate this interest.

Mcatalao, have you considered working on a set with your kid, and going 'on the road' by busking ? It would serve your passion for live performance and give the girl a bit of pocket money along with some real world experience in front of an audience ? I have another acquaintance whose sole income is busking, simply with an acoustic guitar and an incredible old-timey blues voice.
My kids are lucky that I've been in the loop. They both study at a conservatory near Lisbon, pretty high standard classical education. Not only we can afford it as the older is at the 3rd grade of piano in a regime that is fully payed by the govern (sort of a scholarship for kids ins school age that keep studying music at conservatory level). The kid is younger, so he doesn't have access to this regime yet (2 more years, and hopefully he'll get into it too). These guys have the scholarship until fifth grade. Kids with a good fifth grade can play Beethoven sonatas and stuff like that so we're talking about kids who really can play (i stopped after grade 4 and already played some complex stuff). Same for the violin. At that point i expect them to know if they want more from music or something else.

As for the "set", the kid is too young, the girl is a teen... probably wont want it. She loves singing too, so maybe. We already did some covers together that i recorded in Reason. It was for a video for their mom's birthday, but i can post the song online if you guys are interested in hearing it.

But above all, i don't want to force anything. Things are already difficult without forcing kids to do stuff, and its enough that we already have to make them study (and studying music is kind of hard!!!). I wanna give them some time and above all, we need to have fun doing it. If we don't have fun doing it, it's not worth it!

I also never liked busking a lot (and you can't do it completely freely in Portugal, specially if you're doing it with a minor). You cab do bars, but i don't think bars are good ambient for small kids. We have time (hopefully, because I'm not getting younger).

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jam-s
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23 Dec 2019

MrFigg wrote:
21 Dec 2019
It’s be great if someone could make a SS/RI converter. (Stainless steel to rusty iron). I much prefer that crunchy sound which only exists on older buckets.
This should be easy to do: Just add some acid to it. So hook it up to a 303 and twiddle the filter cutoff with a good amount of resonace and some slides and accents in the pattern.

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gullum
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23 Dec 2019

MrFigg wrote:
21 Dec 2019
maybe even look at the manual god forbid.
that is the most unmanly thing I've read on here in my lifetime :D who ever reads manuals

just before the release of Reason 11 I did a clean install of my OS and that included Reason then only downloaded the RE's that I know I use and it feels so much more free to make music now

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motuscott
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23 Dec 2019

Quadelectra Audioworx CV Suite Parametrix really been holding me back…


:puf_smile:
Who’s using the royal plural now baby? 🧂

Proboscis
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23 Dec 2019

jam-s wrote:
23 Dec 2019
Just add some acid to it.
The last time I used acid in the music making process, I came out with an extraordinary progressive concept album, a monumental 3 hour Opus that the world would have declared a holiday for. Sadly at some time through the night, gremlins found their way into my studio and turned it to complete garbage when I listened to it the next day.

Mint
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Joined: 17 Nov 2019

24 Dec 2019

Proboscis wrote:
23 Dec 2019

Sadly at some time through the night, gremlins found their way into my studio and turned it [my song] to complete garbage when I listened to it the next day.
:lol: haha

Why is that so often the case? You write some master piece at 2am, thinking - "this is the best thing since Sgt. Pepper's". Then wake up the next day excited to hear what you did the night before, and find that the song has been swapped for a pile of mince.

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miyaru
Posts: 624
Joined: 28 Oct 2019
Location: Zaanstad, The Netherlands

24 Dec 2019

Once in a while I clean up VST and stuff in Ableton and Reason, the included stuff is mostly more than enough for me. Use to collect so much software and hardware stuff for my homestudio, but downsizing is the way to go. The only things I bought for Reason is the Selig DeEsser and PusheR2. Suite11 contains all I need for the rest.

That said, I fancy the Marshall DSL1CR tubeamp for my guitarcollection though, can't help it - but I want it.
Greetings from Miyaru.
Prodaw i7-7700, 16Gb Ram, Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd gen, ESI M4U eX, Reason12, Live Suit 10, Push2, Presonus Eris E8 and Monitor Station V2, Lexicon MPX1,
Korg N1, Yamaha RM1x :thumbup:

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orthodox
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24 Dec 2019

You can just close your eyes and imagine you have nothing. Use zen or something of the sort.

Or just come from what you like to hear, instead of what you like to plant in the rack.

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Namyo85
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24 Dec 2019

This post has inspired me to clean out my laptop of all unnecessary files... all 74 million of them! :lol: In fact I probably need a new laptop soon as it's starting to show its age, the SD card reader and ethernet internet port seems to have stopped working. I can tell you what's been preventing me from making music recently and that's the amount that's already out there. New electronic albums are appearing on youtube and other websites almost every day, I like this, it's a good thing in a way but listening to other peoples music is stopping me making my own. :exclamation: Sometimes I wonder if I'm good enough, is there any point? I believe I'd have to make something very original and outstanding to gain any interest. Does anyone else feel similar... Should I keep making music anyway and cast it into the vast expanding internet ocean of music?

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orthodox
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24 Dec 2019

Namyo85 wrote:
24 Dec 2019
Sometimes I wonder if I'm good enough, is there any point? I believe I'd have to make something very original and outstanding to gain any interest. Does anyone else feel similar... Should I keep making music anyway and cast it into the vast expanding internet ocean of music?
I know that place, it's a pit. Such perspective is always seen from there. Gazing around is just a waste of time. Nothing is going to change until you get out of there and start just doing something.

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MrFigg
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24 Dec 2019

Namyo85 wrote:
24 Dec 2019
Should I keep making music anyway and cast it into the vast expanding internet ocean of music?
You know you’re going to. You know you want to. Of course you should. It’s a passion man. It’s therapy. Play that funky music :).
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MrFigg
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25 Dec 2019

Update: A side effect of me decimating my collection of devices is that I'm beginning to see the power of those which I have left. Features I was completely unaware of are cropping up right, left and centre. This morning I actually watched a couple of tutorial videos and as a result have learnt what the knobs and buttons do instead of just adjusting parameters randomly without understanding what's really going on as I did previously. So yeah...this, for me, has been a great move.
🗲 2ॐ ᛉ

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dannyF
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Location: Uranus

25 Dec 2019

Proboscis wrote:
23 Dec 2019
jam-s wrote:
23 Dec 2019
Just add some acid to it.
The last time I used acid in the music making process, I came out with an extraordinary progressive concept album, a monumental 3 hour Opus that the world would have declared a holiday for. Sadly at some time through the night, gremlins found their way into my studio and turned it to complete garbage when I listened to it the next day.
LOL

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dannyF
Posts: 359
Joined: 14 Jun 2019
Location: Uranus

25 Dec 2019

Mint wrote:
24 Dec 2019
Proboscis wrote:
23 Dec 2019

Sadly at some time through the night, gremlins found their way into my studio and turned it [my song] to complete garbage when I listened to it the next day.
:lol: haha

Why is that so often the case? You write some master piece at 2am, thinking - "this is the best thing since Sgt. Pepper's". Then wake up the next day excited to hear what you did the night before, and find that the song has been swapped for a pile of mince.
Yah I hear that. Just the other day that happened to me. When I returned to it everything seemed off key and dissonant. Maybe that's just the nature of analog too depending on tempurature and humidity. IF so, that's pretty cool as well.

Proboscis
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25 Dec 2019

dannyF wrote:
25 Dec 2019

Yah I hear that. Just the other day that happened to me. When I returned to it everything seemed off key and dissonant. Maybe that's just the nature of analog too depending on tempurature and humidity. IF so, that's pretty cool as well.
Yea that must be it. The analogue emulators in the Reason rack are drifting. Talk about authentic !

Actually I trialed some terrible Rack Extension ages ago, I think it was a Red Rock product, and I swear it was drifting.

Maybe I should just lay off the drugs.

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fullforce
Posts: 849
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25 Dec 2019

bxbrkrz wrote:
21 Dec 2019
Could a part of your frustration be coming from the always connected internet we believe we need?
I was very happy with my DX7, an Alesis HR16 and the Atari ST.
I am reading the sentence above and I realize I should've said "more focused", instead of "happy".

:puf_smile:
Correct. Me and my (well, a borrowed one) ST, a W30, 24 channel Behringer mixer and one Zoom 1204 effects machine. I knew the W30 inside out so it did whatever i told it to do. Never a nasty surprise like some unwanted key combo that totally fucks up your shit.
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