TURN ON CNN: THE WORLD IS FLAT

[Sepia]

BUMP


because the discussion that spawned was ten times more interesting than the piece itself and I'd LOVE to hear more of how the PD people think and what insight they have gained about that.

[Dysnomia]

When I write music, I think of drumbeats in terms of drumbeats.  I think of basslines in terms of basslines.

When I record music, I think of drumbeats in terms of objects in space, and velocity of sticks.  I think of basslines in terms of frets and strings.


It's only when I have to communicate these things to someone else do I have to use words.

do you prefer to count or just feel it?

When I listen to music, instead of listening to it as music, it creates something in my head.  Depending on the song, sometimes it's a musical freestyle that I'll log for future dressage competition reference, sometimes I remember I dance I did in HS (and will reenact them...even in public.  ), sometimes I'll see a movie.

In my Christian days (loooooong ago), when I was in the church Hand bell Choir, I'd bounce/"dance" in place rather than count.  That was the only way I could do it because every time I tried to count, I'd mess up. 

[Triple Zero]

i count, always.

when i listen to music, or dance, there's a whole bunch of counters going off in my head, unnoticed, but they are there because of practice. what they do is they go "pay attention!" at the 4s, 8s (2x4) and 16s (4x4) in a beat, and if something happens there (or just before, or just after), it reinforces this pattern and allow me to "get into" the structure of the music.

it sounds like a very clinical way of describing it but it all happens automatically (subconsciously?). i dont need to pay attention to it, when i dont actively listen to a track, i often know exactly when the break is coming, because something in the back of my head has kept track of the counting of beats or whatever.

but when i work in Ableton Live, to mix tracks, i work in a very visual way. there's all sorts of beat markers showing the counters, and laid over that you can see the waveform of the sound, which has specific shapes depending on the type of sound (shapes i also recognize because of my previous work with DSP algorithms--it's beautiful).
when i lay two tracks next to eachother, i count beats (or certain waveform 'bumps') with my finger on the screen, i try to match them up in visual or symbolical way, of which there are often a few possibilities, and in the end of course i listen to these possibilities and keep the one that sounds best.

a friend of mine, who i'm practicing with Ableton with, who is much more of the actual musician type, works in a completely different way, right the other way around, not even, just putting things together in a way that sounds best to him, and only when i comment on it, to adjust it so that it actually matches up "perfectly".

it's kind of weird. i love music, i love playing with it too, but this seems to be the only way in which i can work with it, at least in a manner which leaves me pleased with the end-result.

[Adios]

Interesting conversation. I THINK I tend to think conceptually and then I have to translate my thoughts to words and at times I lose the concept. I honestly don't know if this is a short in my internal wiring or if some concepts can't be translated.

Does anyone else have difficulty moving from a concept of thought to verbal or written communication at times?

[Dysnomia]

Interesting conversation. I THINK I tend to think conceptually and then I have to translate my thoughts to words and at times I lose the concept. I honestly don't know if this is a short in my internal wiring or if some concepts can't be translated.

Does anyone else have difficulty moving from a concept of thought to verbal or written communication at times?

I do sometimes.  I have a much easier time typing something out, rather than verbalizing it, since I can go back to correct things.  But when I speak, sometimes it will come out jumbled, or I'll forget words, etc.  Cain can attest to this since he's heard me try to talk/fail. 

[LMNO]

When I write music, I think of drumbeats in terms of drumbeats.  I think of basslines in terms of basslines.

When I record music, I think of drumbeats in terms of objects in space, and velocity of sticks.  I think of basslines in terms of frets and strings.


It's only when I have to communicate these things to someone else do I have to use words.

do you prefer to count or just feel it?

When I listen to music, instead of listening to it as music, it creates something in my head.  Depending on the song, sometimes it's a musical freestyle that I'll log for future dressage competition reference, sometimes I remember I dance I did in HS (and will reenact them...even in public.  ), sometimes I'll see a movie.

In my Christian days (loooooong ago), when I was in the church Hand bell Choir, I'd bounce/"dance" in place rather than count.  That was the only way I could do it because every time I tried to count, I'd mess up. 

It depends on how complex the beat is.  If it's straight 4/4 or 3/4, I just feel it.  When it's something a bit trickier (ex: 1 bar of 3/4, 2 bars of 4/4, 1 bar of 5/4*), I tend to count it out.

But since I'm a drummer I'm in constant movement anyway, so it's kind of both at the same time.












*Yes, that adds up to 16 beats.  It actually makes more sense this way when you consider the phrasing.

[AFK]

I hardly ever count music.  Unless it's an odd time signature like LMNO mentions.  But I'm sure that's because I've been playing music for so long that it's become engrained into my mental wirings.  Though I do remember when I was in band in H.S., if we ever played any marches or other pieces that were in cut-time, that I'd have to mentally concentrate and count it out.  Cut-time is a bitch and if you lose your place you're fucked, especially in a march.  There were many times when I mentally envisioned stuffing Sousa into a tuba. 

[Dysnomia]

ugh band.  The marching band at our school was SUPER hardcore.  Many of my friends were either in band or color guard, so I got to hear about how utterly fucked up it was at times.  Gave one of my friends stomach ulcers actually.  I played flute for a bit too...and god how I hate that damn thing now.  I couldn't ever get the hang of it, and it was always the Bflat.  That damn elusive Bflat that wouldn't ever come out when I was playing off by myself, but every time I would go "Mr. G!  Mr. G!  I can't seem to do this right"...guess what, perfect Bflat. Handbells imo are much easier for me.