Can anyone produce music?

[The Red Bladder]

I hate to be the spoiler in all this debate about what is or is not art - but one thing is fairly certain - it ain't a commercial product!

Most sample packs are for private use only! They are watermarked and if used commercially, will require the producer (or whatever we are supposed to call him) to apply for a far, far more expensive license.

Before wasting time and effort cobbling together some doofus noises and calling that art, read the terms and conditions of sale - and do so FULLY!

[Sam Spoons]

I'd agree with Arpy above that a better paint analogy would be painting by numbers...

I'd disagree. Painting by numbers implies someone else has already worked defined the final image design, shape, colouring etc etc....

However, that's really not the case with someone creating music from samples. In this genre it is working more like a collage artist -- the 'producer' is in direct and full control of what the final image looks like, but it's built using pieces of other people's work and images... Check out Terry Gilliam's artwork in Monty Python as an amusing example.

Same with a producer using samples. They determine the final shape, sound, and structure of the piece.

It's definitely still an art... albeit maybe not one that moves or inspires everyone.

H

I think, as I said, that it covers the whole spectrum from genuinely original painting to paint by numbers. It's what the producer does with that control that places the piece within that spectrum.

[Arpangel]

We're sort of getting into what the definition of art is, and how enjoyable it should be, which is a bit off the point I think. Is a piece of art any less worthy if it’s done entirely using machines and preprogrammed building blocks? After all, human beings made the machines, and made the building blocks, maybe this way of working is just all part of artistic evolution. We can try and hold to the romantic vision of the lonely artist slaving away on his own, with his inspiration and genius which translates into high value if we’re talking about "how art and artists should be" But how relevant is that vision and expectation in today’s world?
Something doesn’t have to be life changing or high art to be enjoyable, a lot of music these days is like a Macdonalds, or a pint of beer, throw away, and popular music has always been made that way, with little thought for future longevity.

[Drew Stephenson]

Then in answer to your initial question, yes.

[Arpangel]

Then in answer to your initial question, yes.

Well that’s that sorted then!

[GilesAnt]

Anyone can bang a saucepan with a wooden spoon whilst whistling a tune of course - but sound is not the same as music. For me music has the attributes of art in that there is some imagination at work, or some sense of purpose.

[Sam Spoons]

Art is art because somebody says it is

[The Red Bladder]

Is a piece of art any less worthy if it’s done entirely using machines and preprogrammed building blocks?

In answer -

https://www.soundonsound.com/forum/view ... 71#p641371

[Rich Hanson]

Absolutely. This is going to be quite close to the bone for me, but I've had a few gins, so feck it.

The last few pieces I have posted in the Self Promotion forum have all stemmed from me trying to do something to express the break up of my marriage. The intent has always been to put lyrics to it, but somehow I find it too hard. But the music is the way I try to get the pain and regret out of me, and it helps with the coping. I doubt whether this comes across, but it's been a help for my coping mechanisms.

Whether the music I produce has any long term value, I don't know, but it is an expression of how I feel.

And now I'm off to hide in a corner and pretend I never said any of that

[Eddy Deegan]

That makes perfect sense Rich, I had similar productive spells during various challenging times in my life, of which the end of my first marriage was one.

On another occasion I was pining, quite pathetically in retrospect, after a woman with whom I was friends but never more than that. Wrote some quite good music (and lyrics which will never see the light of day) at that time.

Happy New Year mate and I hope you find some comfort in being creative