On making Music
The slightly discordant tone in my music comes from often overlaying tracks with another identical track that is 2% slower than the original. Sometimes, I’ll even add the same track in again at 42% slower. I alter arbitrary details in each song with those specific numbers, almost every time. Most songs include only 2-5 tracks with unaltered speeds or pitches. Another detail I enjoy about the slight speed reduction is how as the song goes on, the tracks will deviate further and further. In the beginning, they sound in-sync, but by the end, they are likely harmonizing (or dis-harmonizing). The finale sounds nearly like a cannon song. I could never recreate a song precisely. I don’t write down the steps and I don’t remember them. If I change a track and realize later that I don’t love it, I won’t remember what I did to change it in the first place, so I’ll likely delete it and just take the song in a new direction. If I love a tidbit of singing or tone, I will be sure to attempt to repeat it similarly, or I may even carefully select that good bit to keep in the song. Or maybe I’ll just build an entirely different song around that bit.
And each song could evolve further. But at some point, I feel an urge to let it go. The process of creation has served its purpose for me. It is truly meditative to make music. I focus carefully on the sounds I’m making and the sounds I’m hearing. And then when I find that I genuinely enjoy listening to a song, or I feel that I learned some new technique, or I simply get tired, I close that door and open the next. I may love the song I create. Or I might not. Either way, I’ll try to remember what I would like to do differently (or the same) next time. The result is merely a checkpoint on the journey; it is not the purpose. A new song, or skill, or job, or partner, or house will not bring me lasting joy. However, the process itself of learning how to be a better human empowers me. Perhaps the journey itself is my purpose in life. Or perhaps my purpose is to share love and joy in a time of fear and confusion. With myself and with whoever else needs it.
