TW #50 — Aesthetics of Composition and Music Groups (Spyder / NOISE)

An opinion piece from #trax conversations about music groups and "the philosophy about composition practices", written after one year of tracking.

Key claims#

• Groups exist for two reasons: "1) promotion of music (via distribution) and 2) personal musical development of their members (via collaboration)". Trackers who join only to put "/xxxx after their name" are a minority.
• Sharing is essential "because its in our nature" — like a poet, who keeps a journal privately but must share poems to get the "aesthetic experience". The danger is that seeking acceptance "can stifle creativity"; what matters is the sharing, "not whether those you share with like your stuff or not".
• Feedback from peers is the second reason to share; taking the advice is your prerogative.
• On theory and criticism: "knowledge is power, no matter what you do with it" — like learning about communism without becoming a communist; "the more you know the better off you are, even if you're one of those people who hates to 'sound like everyone else'".
• Moral: no prejudice for or against group members; share, listen, tell people what you think (but do not flood mailboxes with unreleased raw tunes).

Practical takeaways#

• Release and ask for feedback; use a group for distribution and for collaboration, not for the tag.
• Learn theory even if you intend to break it.

Notable quotes#

• "Its the SHARING that is important, not whether those you share with like your stuff or not."
• "Learn as much as you can about music and create as many 'aesthetic experiences' as you can."

Relevance#

Scene workflow advice (release, feedback, groups) rather than technique; one more voice for theory-as-tool in the 1995–96 debate (s-tw039-chord-theory-debate).

Pages touched#

chord-progressions, tracking-workflow (via notes).