Creative Process, Part One: Melody

For reasons I’m not, yet, going to go into here I am going to try and capture my creative process in writing, starting at a basic level and then building it up into a fuller picture. This is my creative process and therefore should not be used as a good example of how to create [...]

Read Full Post »

The Humours Of Music; Reflections

So, all this wittering about the four humours of music, was there any point to it … or was I just procastinating, musing about music instead of getting my lazy arse into gear and actually creating some? Well, probably the latter if I’m being honest but I’d like to see it as an attempt to [...]

Read Full Post »

The Literalism Humour

The final of the four humours of music. The literalism humour like, the impressionism humour, defines what a piece of music says and how it says it. Unlike the impressionism humour, the meaning of music with a high level of the literalism humour comes directly from the creator rather than the listener. The most obvious [...]

Read Full Post »

The Impressionism Humour

Whereas the levels of the mathematics and the neurophysiology humours in a piece of music are a result of the music and it’s performance, can’t be consciously altered or planned and are musical genre and cultural tradition independent, the impressionism and literalism humours are a result of the conscious thinking of the artiste … what [...]

Read Full Post »

The Neurophysiology Humour

The aspect of music that affects the subconscious. The aspect of music that makes you tap you feet despite your best efforts not to, makes you want to dance, makes you want to fuck, makes you play air guitar although you really, really know you shouldn’t, makes you smile, makes you cry without being able [...]

Read Full Post »

The Mathematics Humour

The aspect of music you appreciate consciously, that you have to think about and analyse to admire. Music with a high concentration of the mathematics humour is music for the sake of music itself. Examples would be classical studies or “variations on a theme of …” type pieces. Not music that’s trying to tell a [...]

Read Full Post »

The Four Humours Of Music

Just as it used to be believed that human moods, emotions and behaviours were caused by the combination and proportions of body fluids (the humours) – blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm – leading to the four temperaments – sanguine, choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic – I think all music is the combination of four [...]

Read Full Post »

Inversion Perversions

Had a moment of clarity recently with regards my guitar playing, where I could suddenly see how to play guitar and it seemed something I could achieve. What I mean is I could suddenly see how to play guitar properly, like my friends where they can just pick up a guitar and play something that [...]

Read Full Post »