Last week, I came across this video by the keys player of the band ‘The Doors’, Ray Manzarek.
Manzarek talks about the composition process for one of their iconic tracks, ‘Riders on the Storm’. And it really struck a chord with me, for a few reasons, but primarily around the topic of creativity.
Now if you’ve ever played in a band, you’ll recognise this process, and it’s a beautiful one to be part of.
This story is one of creativity without a strict set of rules and guidelines. It’s not about ticking the boxes to get a song into the top 40, or to play off similar sounds that have been used successfully by other acts in the last year. Heck, they even decide to include clips of actual thunder in the track, simply because it serves the purpose of setting the mood for a song about a lone rider in a storm.
I’ve talked previously…
… about the era of recording with tape vs digital recording. Now we have digital recording, people do take after take after take after take, etc. Most artists today don’t go into the studio with a ready song, they go in with some idea, and hope to get it right after recording, rather than getting something solid in the first instance.
But what this also means is that they don’t take the creativity into the place of production, into the music-making space. They create a load of parts, and then try to pull it all together using technology, often at the expense of creativity, because it then has to follow a certain pattern of production.
Of course, modern technology is a wonderful aid to writing music. It helps in getting great ideas to take flight, where past technological limitations might have obstructed getting some music off the ground. But the point still stands, that the music industry has shifted it’s emphasis from music, to industry.
It’s not about old music vs new
But that’s enough of a disclaimer. The reason I share this video, is not to wax lyrical about older music being absolutely better. There’s plenty of good and bad music in every decade. Instead, to remind people that when it comes to music and making art, we don’t have to conform to some imagined set of rules about how we go about being creative. Can you imagine a creative process like Manzarek describes happening within the studio for a mainstream act today? I certainly can’t. There’s too many rules and ifs/buts. In turn, many singers and musicians not at the top level start to imagine that these must be the rules for creativity for everyone.
“The Creativity Police”
Too often, people get caught up in imagining there’s some “creativity police” that may hear their song/performance, and summarily judge it as either acceptable or – more likely – not acceptable.
“Sorry ma’am, do you have a license for that extra verse?”
“Wait a minute, that’s not a standard melody. Did you seek permission before writing that?”
“Hmmm, this section doesn’t appear to be a verse OR a chorus. I’m going to have to see some identification for that”
Fortunately, even the current powers of the British Police don’t extend that far.
There are undoubtedly trends that help make songs more/less accessible, and if someone wants to be the next Taylor Swift/Adele, they are going to have to follow some unbelievably strict rules to produce music with universal appeal. But these are not universal or absolute for the creation of interesting and enjoyable music.
You’ve already got permission to try new things
Above all, as musicians, we need to be willing to try things and see what works. Whether you’re a songwriter, a covers artist, someone who just likes singing for fun in the car/at home, or even the occasional gig, just be willing to try things. Some things may well be more correct than others, and an audience may well not like something you put out there, but you simply won’t know until you try. If something weird works, then you just struck gold. If something doesn’t work, then you’ve figured out something else valuable as well.
Try not to ever lose the magic of making music, and having fun with it along the way.