Onglbird's Philisophical Wankings About Music

[Cryptowen]

The Balance

 

For the purposes of this essay let us first posit that there are two primary minds - the logical, intellectual brain & the emotional, intuitive soul (traditionally represented by the divine masculine & the eternal feminine, respectively), and that the human experience is comprised of an ever shifting balance between these two poles.

 

Traditionally, intellect has been viewed as the domain of science & intuition as the home of art. This notion may well appear to hold true when one examines the history of music, which time after time appears to defy logic. Incredibly simple melodies conjure up strong emotional reactions. Revered artists from Mozart on down maintain an air of nonchalance, seemingly able to compose great works with ease thanks to some god-given gift, while millions intellectually gifted individuals struggle to carry a tune. Indeed, one is often told to "feel the music", to not examine something too close lest it lose its magic, and it is tempting to assume logic has no place in the world of artistic expression.

 

But I'm not sure if this is entirely true.

 

Imagine what purely intuitive music might sound like - a child hitting piano keys with wild abandon, an adult singing wordless melodies to themselves as they work. Now, to the creator, it may feel quite enjoyable, but most uninvolved listeners would not be particularly moved by such music, except in rare cases of extreme passion. Certainly, any recording would not properly capture its lustre. That is the nature of intuition - fleeting, intimate, rather nonsensical.

 

Intellect, then, can be viewed as a refining process, through which raw intuitive ideas are developed into works that can hold onto a feeling & share it with others. Just like the refinement of raw natural material into consumer product, some of the initial idea is often lost, but clever use of intellect can minimize this.

 

Here's where the balance comes in. Too much intellectual development of an intuitive inspiration often results in a finished product that sounds...rather uninspired. Many a time have I come across amateur producers, who boast of spending weeks on a track, of applying all sorts of esoteric production techniques & if I'm going to be honest the result usually sounds rather quite shit to me

 

You can go a long ways purely on planning & process, but when it comes down to it I think you need that initial flame of emotional magic to bring a track to life, & it needs to shine through all the diddly dads. You can't explain it. You can't make a formula out of it. Maybe you can train yourself to feel it more often, but in the end, it comes to you & all you can really do is be the best antenna you can be

 

Anyways, imhcmo intuition is the birth place of art & intellect is where it ends up. Sometimes it leans more to one side, sometimes the other, but ultimately there is a balance to be maintained. Or not man i dunno what do i know just do what feels good it's all music dawg

 

 

(stray thought - the word "compose" in a musical context often means to "create" but I think in the context of this post "to arrange/to calm down" makes more sense)

[Guest RadarJammer]

production is a game of good/bad (logic) & right/wrong (emotion)

something can sound good but not right, something can sound bad but it still works

my ability to make those intuitive distinctions is at its peak when I'm hungry/empty stomach but not feeling weak or low blood sugar

1 big bong hit really helps too