Making Great Music is More about EDITING than Composing

[techristian]

Making Great Music is More about EDITING than Composing. That is what I have seemed to learn over the years. On good days, I can pound out 5 or 6 tracks on a keyboard , BUT HOW MANY OF THEM will be in the final product?  Sometimes, I even throw out the first track that started the whole process! Jamming for 2 or 3 hours may create the skeleton of a tune, but it can be up to 30 hours of editing that makes it fly.  Recently a song got so "busy" that I copied a track out to start another complete composition.

I admit that I'm a drummer and not really a keyboard player, but I found that EDITING is the most important.

 

I have also found that sometimes, breaking melodic "rules" helps.

 

Dan

 

[Anderton]

For me, the same is true of writing. My first drafts suck. I have to spend a lot of time editing before my writing goes public.

[CHarrell]

This is a small snippet of the lecture, but I always return to this.

 

 

The emerging view of genius has been shifting from not being struck by the divine rays of heaven in glorious epiphany of revelation, but the ability to constantly refine and hone potential. 

 

 

 

[Philbo King]

1 hour ago, techristian said:

Making Great Music is More about EDITING than Composing. That is what I have seemed to learn over the years. On good days, I can pound out 5 or 6 tracks on a keyboard , BUT HOW MANY OF THEM will be in the final product?  Sometimes, I even throw out the first track that started the whole process! Jamming for 2 or 3 hours may create the skeleton of a tune, but it can be up to 30 hours of editing that makes it fly.  Recently a song got so "busy" that I copied a track out to start another complete composition.

I admit that I'm a drummer and not really a keyboard player, but I found that EDITING is the most important.

 

I have also found that sometimes, breaking melodic "rules" helps.

 

Dan

 

The sad truth is that it is very tough to be great on all instruments at once.  Still I find it far more productive to spend an hour polishing a performance and a half an hour getting 6 or 8 takes, than spending 6 hours retiming each note, repitching every vocal flaw (while also scrubbing every trace of feeling and soul from it).

For me, 90 minutes vs. 6 or more hours is a no brainer.

[Anderton]

54 minutes ago, Philbo King said:

Still I find it far more productive to spend an hour polishing a performance and a half an hour getting 6 or 8 takes, than spending 6 hours retiming each note, repitching every vocal flaw (while also scrubbing every trace of feeling and soul from it).

 

But don't forget that what technology takes away, it can also give back. My favorite example is vocal pitch correction. I can feel much more free when singing because if there are a few bad notes in an otherwise good performance, I can fix them. Before pitch correction, I'd have to do vocals over and over, or be really careful about punching. That's what scrubbed the feeling from my vocals. 

[Philbo King]

Yeah, everyones needs and abilities vary.  Hard to generalize...

[techristian]

On 3/9/2024 at 1:27 PM, CHarrell said:

This is a small snippet of the lecture, but I always return to this.

 

 

The emerging view of genius has been shifting from not being struck by the divine rays of heaven in glorious epiphany of revelation, but the ability to constantly refine and hone potential. 

 

 

 

I love this example!!

Dan

[David Emm]

Whereas I once labored over full solo piano pieces, I now sculpt and stitch in generally productive multi-track fits and starts. Debates over losing the human touch or 'too much of a good thing' quickly stumble to a halt for me. Even as a kid, I thought in orchestral terms, so a DAW is a heavenly thing in my view. Craig is right to point out that you may lose aspects A & B, but what you gain from C to R leaves them in the dust. 

 

I know its generally best to leave mixing until the end, but I know several shortcuts and basic moves that make it far easier. Its a rather bionic approach, born of simply having the options. DAWs have matured to such a degree that editing and composing have blurred together. I enjoy feeling like the Conlon Nancarrow of Synthesizers.     

[Piktor]

What is the cliche? Great songs aren’t written; they’re REwritten. I heard some good advice that one should try to flesh out a new idea as much as they can while the feeling of the music is strong, but I most certainly have found that editing is essential.
 

[jazzpiano88]

Yes!   So much often comes later!    Here's Jimmy Webb talking about the evolution of his songs to the recording.  Some through him but often through the orchestration and arrangement.