Songwriting Process: Are computers bad for songwriting?
By Don • Jun 22nd, 2006 • Category: Songwriting Tools
Here are some responses by musicians about computers being used in the songwriting process.
“I think it’s methodically killing great songwriting and singing.”
“I do not write songs with software. I write songs (always have and continue to) with my guitar, a pad of paper and a pen.”
However, I tend to agree with Gina Fant Saez that computers in music work about the same as word processors for writers:
“Contrary to the tedious debate that computers make music sterile and stiff, the computer is simply a tape recorder. It’s not going to perfect every beat and note unless you tell it to. All of the over-editing that gives music recorded on a computer a bad rap (no pun intended) is in the hands of the operator. If you prefer not to quantize (time correct) your drums or tune your vocals, it’s up to you.”
What do you think? Let BloggingMuses know in the comments below.
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Don is the founder, writer and editor of BloggingMuses.com. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina, USA.
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I must admit, the more comfortable I’ve become with recording on computers, the more impossible it becomes for me to recreate my songs with just an acoustic guitar and voice. That’s just my style though.
The way I look at it is this: just the same way that an acoustic guitar was the instrument of folk music of yesteryear, allowing anyone with vocal chords and two arms a chance to create music, the computer is the same for today. The people with the right tools now can make music without ever having prior experience. How giving more people the ability to create art and speak through music could ever be a bad thing, I won’t understand. If you don’t like what’s coming out, that’s cool, but I think the grunge scene probably produced just as many bad musicians as computers, yes?
Great grunge scene comment. Never thought about it that way. You’re exactly right. -dm
I think computers and technology are great for musicians. We’re now more aware of artists who create because they can do so on a machine in their spare room what used to require expensive studio time. As a result, you hear more great stuff and more poor stuff.
Specifically on songwriting, there are a ton of resources available now that you just didn’t have 15 years ago. Online rhyming dictionaries, ability to word search notes in an electronic journal, limitless information on the subject, ability to get feedback from writers all over the world. Not to mention the ability to collaborate with anyone in the world. In the past 2 years, I’ve collabed with four people I’ve never met face to face. They live in Nashville, UK and Germany. I’m in Colorado.
Laziness kills creativity. You can argue that computers facilitate laziness, but I can get very energized creatively by my workstation and the sounds I’m able to produce at home. I can also get creative with a pen, paper and my guitar too. Just let your computer be another tool in your bag of tricks.