I think I might post this old draft now. It’s just chit-chat really. Oh and lots of pictures of books.
I just caught a train [update: that was seven days ago now]. It's not like I struggle to find time to draft a journal entry; just a fun thing to do on the Simplenote app. I have some Ableton Live video recommendations.
Making Music
I've been working on musical ideas. I got my keyboard back out and set up. It takes up a lot of desk space which is at a premium so I'm thinking I'll look for amending the rackety desk set up I have [update: no. remembered I have a keyboard stand. clever.] Working with keys sounded a bit more musical than my endeavours with MIDI.
Inspired by a podcast that made a lot of sense last week, I wrote some lyrics. Maybe they can become a song with vocals. That would be kind of great if I can manage that. Mark's PIVOT cards helped me adjust the song lyrics and find a direction I was happier with. And I bought a similar set of cards called 'The Deck of Character' which is fun. 'Trust your instincts’ and pick a card. I like the idea of it - introducing this random/spiritual input into the music. I like the idea of putting more truth into my music. It needs it. It needs something.
I'm still enjoying Substack but finding more of a balance with it [update: It’s very wayward my Substack addiction. Up and down with my mood. I am learning stuff a little bit and communicating with people a little bit]. There's a lot of high quality writing on here and it's a fun place to explore.
Music. I have recorded some ukulele (which I'm studying with a group in town) and I'm feeling more confidence in my singing [update: less confidence today. update: better again five days later]. You get a nice semi-aerial view from the train coming into Brighton.
People are laughing at me because I've put too much perfume on. It's hard to gauge a subtle amount.
‘Oh, there’s more to life than books, you know, but not much more…’
Now I'm not on a train. Now I'm just up late. I took some photos. Podcast-inspired once more, this time the podcast was about listening to your body... which I did a little and it was cool. Anyway from there somehow I got to re-organising my books a little; shifting them around. Here's a photo-essay of what I did:
This used to be my 'To Read' shelf but now it is just a shelf with some books on.
Pictured below is my music and espionage bookshelf or just a shelf with some books on. I've read a few of these.
And this is my current reading pile. Up to page 34 [update: page 206 now and it’s been a fantastic adventure of a book. it’s brilliant]. The author's readable if a bit long-winded. Anyway, the point for me is I'm trying to vastly reduce my long list of things-to-do-that-I-don't-have-to-do-at-all [update: yeah! this feels good].
Next, my table, snapped as is [update: five days ago]. Less work. The CDs will disappear soon and my three music textbooks which I don't read... Er, they're fine there.
Update: Today my table looks like this:
Back to Substack
A music reviewer on Substack (nice site; a good read) followed me today and through them I discovered Network Notes which is a very interesting Substack about many things including how the music industry is leaving artists behind in some sub-listener class but how Taylor Swift is going to topple the music industry anyway and sort it all out (sic). Not really. Insights upon insights into the music industry is what that newsletter actually provides. Another good read.
I'm not seeking a big audience but, it's funny, put some numbers in front of the customer and they do get interested in seeing those metrics rise. My very brief research into the reach of Substack finds a company called Backlinko. I fail to find the numbers I want here like how many newsletters or how many writers are on this blogging service but it's probably a staggeringly huge number pre-exodus from the platform which can't be far off. I've only just had the brainwave that big tech and AI collecting data insights from contributors to social media might actually apply to Substack too. Anyway...
"According to a report by Backlinko, the average Substack writer earns $8,900 per year. This means that a writer would need approximately 450 subscribers paying $20 per month to earn a full-time income of $90,000 per year. However, this is just an average, and some writers earn much more than this." [source]
Gosh! Back in the real world, I'll get on with my video referrals to YouTube.
The Ableton Live Links
Two new devices ship with Live 12. Meld is an MPE-Capable synthesiser and Live calls Roar ‘a coloring and saturation device.’ Both devices offer extensive modulation possibilities. Modulation is pretty big in music production right now. It’s a slightly nebulous term that roughly means to ‘morph, distort or shape a sound over time.’
Hence Seed To Stage reviews Roar: “Of course it’s a distortion but Roar can also be a compression, an EQ, an envelope follower, an insane delay, a randomiser, a filter bay, a waveshaper, a bit reducer, a sample rate reducer, a source of uncertainty, a noise generator, a band-splitter and so much more.”
Side Brain explores Meld which is a synth (so is working initially with MIDI) while Roar is an audio effect but it’s hard not to get the two confused since you can modulate a sound so much with both devices.
Two excellent ‘Made in Ableton Live’ tutorials show off Live’s capabilities as a DAW. S1gns Of L1fe produces an ambient track. He has an advanced template set up for gain staging (?) and a highly efficient workflow but he does show how a lot of Ableton tools can be utilised in the production of a track. This is perhaps one for the pros.
In an easier to follow video STRANJAH creates a drum ‘n bass banger (I liked it). He holds your hand and takes you along at a gentle pace, making it all seem very easy which, of course, it’s not. I definitely recommend this video to all beginners to Live, regardless of your chosen genre.
Back to non-Ableton-related stuff
Someone on here said ‘Write like nobody’s reading’ which I thought was silly at first but then I realised (a) it’s a refined old Emma Goldman quote (‘Dance like no-one is watching,’ which is a great line), and (b) they are probably referring to writing books, fiction even, and probably not articles on the internet, which makes a lot more sense.
I did read a post that I thought was great [update: and one or two more since. nice to see young writers on the platform.] Oh I see, Taylor Swift has released a new album. She’s doing her bit for international harmony and staying on TikTok. Go Taylor! A day before this newsletter gets published I might have a listen [update: I did but I didn’t get far and… er… The Tortured Poets Retail Department is not for me].