When I – or any musician for that matter – creates a work of art, you generally see the product. That piece of music or video production is the thing that you get to enjoy. The product that you see often seems like one moment in time, but in reality, it’s the result of a long process that culminates in the release of the product that you see. When you see a different product – and this week’s song, “Make It Better” was quite different – something big is happening behind the scenes. And if I’m going to be honest, that process is the fun part for me.
You see, the process is the part of the equation where things get really interesting. It’s the place where I get to make artistic decisions that take an idea from thought to a tangible bit of sound out in the world. There are a million different ways to do that and they’re all equally valid. It’s about the way that I want to do things, based on my experience and my priorities. The product is the part that’s all about you; the process is the part that’s all about me.
MY PROCESS
I release a new piece of music – usually framed in a video – about once a week and there’s a lot that goes into the creation of that product. It all starts with an idea; I need to have a destination before I start the journey. Then I take time to flesh out the idea, which involves both harmonic and melodic composition. Once I’ve got a song, I’ve got to make sure that I can play it either on one bass or several. Sometimes that piece is easier said than done! After I’ve got the parts under my fingers, I’ve got to record the song as both an audio and video file. This involves a lot of technical set-up, decisions about what I’m going to wear, lighting, and more. Once everything is recorded, there’s a lot of editing to make those rough tracks – both audio and video – ready for public consumption. Then I’ve got to write up something to accompany the video, upload it, and hit publish. In between all these steps, I’m thinking about the music throughout my day, reflecting on what need to happen to make the music a reality. There’s a lot that goes into my process; fortunately, it’s something that I enjoy!
Let’s not forget that this process builds upon years of experience where I got to the point of creation. I’ve spent decades wrestling with the bass, putting in countless hours of practice as I tried to play it at a certain level of proficiency. Then there’s the artistic piece of that puzzle, where I tried to find a unique context for the bass that was simultaneously a reflection of my life and my musical priorities. I’ve also had to learn quite a bit of technology, developing skills to record my music, capture video, and then edit the two entities into one product. This also requires me to understand how to get this music out in the world, placing somewhere that people can find it. I may put out a song once a week, but the process has been going on for years as I developed the skills to do it.
As artists, we often develop our process and then stick with it. Once we find a process that leads us to the artistic products that we are pursuing though, it will serve as the foundation for our work. For most musicians, the process won’t stay exactly the same – it will evolve in small increments as we try new things. But that evolution will be gradual, as small changes weave their way into our process over the course of time. It may morph into something completely different, but only after years of experimentation based upon our core process.
That’s been my path for a while – I’ve brought small changes into my process over the past few years, integrating things like new technology, effects, or variations on my playing approaches. At first, I was playing my bass on top of pre-programmed MIDI backdrops. From there, I started structuring the MIDI backing tracks myself. Then I started replacing some of the MIDI programming with overdubbed layers of bass, eventually moving away from MIDI completely. That led to an exploration of solo bass techniques that is currently in development. Things have become more slightly different and more mature, but it has taken years of experimentation.
DISCOVERING A NEW PROCESS
That’s why I was so excited by “Make It Better” when I recorded it – this song involved a completely different process. I didn’t start with my bass, I started on the computer thinking about textures as opposed to harmony and melody. I put them together in an uneven looping context which allowed for some random form elements. I put some heavy effects on my bass, significantly altering my voice. And then I pressed record and I played. I didn’t know exactly what would happen – instead, I just let it happen.
And it was quick, which was a major difference for me. Usually my songs and videos take the better portion of a week to put together. Honestly, that’s still pretty quick, but a lot happens over the course of seven days. You experience life every day and that life impacts your decisions; you might make a very different artistic decision on a Saturday than you would have made the previous Monday. But this one came together in less than an hour. It didn’t mean that I put any less artistic thought into the song to quicken the process; I just put a different kind of thought into it.
I don’t mind putting a longer time into musical creation, but there was a beautiful timely element to this piece. It captured the moment that I was living as closely as possible. I sometimes question that piece of my standard process. I often say that music should be a reflection of life, but how can you honestly reflect life if you construct that reflection over the course or a week? What if you take even longer?
That instant reflection was the most exciting part of this process for me, but honestly, it was also the most scary. If I need to keep things improvisational when I reflect life in the moment, it feels like I have to give up some musical things that are important to me. I really like complex harmony. The sound of an intricate and well defined melody just resonates with beauty. And I love structure; I thrive when I know where I’m going. There’s a piece of me that feels like I’d have to give those things up if I shifted towards this process completely.
So no, I won’t be completely abandoning the process that I’ve spent years developing to explore this new, spontaneous, and exciting process. I’ll be writing and arranging music for years to come; it’s too big a piece of who I am. I’ll be coming back to this new idea though; possibly on a regular basis. It sent too big a jolt of electricity up my artistic spine to ignore. And it needs to develop through ACTIVE exploration – imagine what it will be like in ten years.
It’s so exciting. That’s why I love process just as much as you love the product!