Electronic Producer “Cheats Real Musicians” By Making Complex Track On Complicated Software It Took Him Years To Master
An electronic music producer has this week been attacked by a self proclaimed “proper” musician who claims that “by making his tracks using complicated software that it took him years to master” rather than traditional instruments the electronic music producer “is cheating”.
David Blake, a 24 year old budding guitarist was scathing in his criticism of an acquaintance of his who produces electronic music as well as doing some DJing, Brian Ward. “For me, if you’re not using an instrument then it’s not making music,” said David lambasting electronic music as “piss-easy computer music that a kid with a joystick could make accidentally”.
“There’s no skill or talent involved in it,” he continued. “All it is is sitting at a computer where you source and create sounds which you then arrange and master to form a complex and interesting track that’s both aesthetically and emotionally pleasing….piece of piss.”
David insists that this arduous and complicated approach to making music is a “form of cheating”, claiming that he writes “the sort of terribly basic three chord ditties of a lovelorn teenager” which take about as much time to create as “it takes to move your fingers into three different yet similar shapes” and that that makes him “ten times the musician that any electronic producer is”.
Lambasting all electronic producers and beat making equipment, David listed artists who he considers to be “frauds and not real musicians” because they work using electronic equipment.
“Aphex Twin isn’t a proper musician,” he stated angrily. “It’s all just bleeps and noises. Window Licker, what’s that about? Play it on guitar acoustically and then maybe I’ll consider it a song.”
Reiterating that he thought using a computer to make music was “cheating because the computer does all the work”, David claimed that anyone could learn to master a “simple computer program” whereas a traditional instrument like the guitar sometimes takes a person as long as “ten lessons” to start to get good at it.
“Programs like Reason,” he offered as example. “How long could it possibly take to learn that? A few hours, a rainy afternoon?? It took me four lessons to learn to go from G to C to Em. I bet most of those electronic ‘musicians’ have never even seen a guitar, never mind being able to play a hard barre chord or some scales.”
“No matter what you try to tell me, I’ll never consider it real music,” he concluded. “It’s all just a complicated combination of beats and melodies that sound pleasing to the ear and incite a desire to dance that was made with a computer, which is not real, proper music.”
Absolute prejudice lol!
“a few hours” to learn a DAW?? perhaps our dear friend David should spend a “rainy afternoon” or two to learn any digital production software of his choice and another day to complete a track. Talent is not limited to tools but, creativity, discipline, diligence, consistency, and passion.
Just because a Design engineer designs a product on a computer, which is fabricated by machines, does not make the engineer any less talented or the product any less real.
Love this! 🙂
…and then the global power grid failed and electronic “musicians” were forced to STFU.
Yeah no. Obviously you’ve never heard of solar power.
Most electronic musicians I know have a hard time using menulog let alone rigging up a functional solar grid to make music out of.
So yeah no yeah. 😉
If the global power grid went down then we’d just have to put up with the same tired old combinations of chords and notes from a handful of the same tired old instruments….. but it’s not going to so all band people need to just move with the times and then……. STFU 😉
You do realize that, in that apocalyptic case nobody would actually care about your ability to still play any instrument that does not require electricity, right?
Maybe music would be useful for keeping the masses inspired 😛
I don’t recall saying apocalypse at any point though 😉
“global power grid failed” you’re right that’s just a minor issue (not like a global power grid is an actual thing, but anyways)
yeah NBD WE JUST HAVE NO ELECTRICITY IN THE ENTIRE EARTH. its whatever thoo
umm everything in our society uses power these days, street lights, food storage, bank accounts, cell phones. With that much disconnection so suddenly, with out any communication there would be rioting and chaos everywhere. So yes apocalypse is not a bad guess.
I was being sarcastic bro
M laptop has a battery, it will produce sound, your electric guitar doesnt. you need an amp. Also my laptop can run from a solar cell and not need a 110v power supply. your argument is moot.
Okay you run your laptop with your solar battery without amplification. Go hard.
Also, was the word electric guitar ever mentioned here? :S
What is this “global power grid” of which you speak?
In my country, an odd place known as the U.S.A., we have a network of state and local power grids fueled by a combination of hydropower, coal burning plants, gas burning plants, solar and wind power, and very occasionally fission reactors. These various grids are sometimes linked, but operate primarily independently of each other, which is why a power outage on the Eastern seaboard, for example, doesn’t mean I can’t watch TV in Los Angeles. And like most countries, this obscure little one is shifting toward renewables, which (like local natural gas production) are immune from global changes in fossil fuel resources and distribution.
The only way the “global power grid” fails is nuclear winter, in which case yeah– I think we all have bigger problems than worrying about whether we can make beats on our laptops.
The funny thing is I’ve heard this so many times…
Yeah. And why do the bandpeople play only one instrument at the time. Some of them don’t even know how to handle an other instrument. And this is where a producer comes on top and the stoneage musician pack their things and STFU
bandpeople?? im sorry but i am not agreeing with this guy but it is harder to play an instrument hence a lot of musicians only play one! takes a lot more you need passion and dedication! i play guitar, bass and drums and also am a hiphop producer and currently use reason 5.0! and to say a producer comes out on top is stupid! imagine being at a house party and a guy start freeform jamming the coolest funkiest shit going completely off his own brain! it is proven scientifically that a guitarists brain while playing guitar functions completely different to any one else! when you are making electronic music you are slightly disconnected from the song adding bit by bit sampling a MUSICIANS song chopping cutting up OTHER ARTISTS music! im not backing this guy because i love electronic music but nothing beats live music nothing else can match the pure emotions that run through a musician while they are playing! and yes a dj would have a great buzz but in a different kinda way, like a kinda fuck yeah these people dancing to my beats! where a guitarist for say john fruisiante would cry on stage because he is exploding his soul out through the guitar ya know not even taking notice of the crowd its just a release! sorry for this rant and going by this guy comparing 10 lessons on guitar to one hour on reason he quite clearly does not have a clue about music! fecking idiot so he sounds! i would hit him with a guitar strap him down and make him listen to window licker for a week! or even better come to daddy hahahaha!
It’s wunderground.
I know BandPeople that play multiple instruments, for you see, once a band person learns one instrument, it becomes easier to learn others. That first one taught you about notes, rhythm, sound quality, attenuation, how to play with others and keep time. I know djs that use turntables, keyboards,, samplers and all the rest. They also have to learn attenuation, rhythm, notes, sound quality but also tempo, mastering techniques, production of music from scratch. this article was satire am I not correct?
What a stupid cunt.
Seriously???
Im still learning guitar, started in 1982, I know five chords.
Meanwhile I use Ableton, the learning curve is very high. I have managed to make 5 tracks with the lead guitar done by me but I have yet to master it in an Afternoon. It took me 4 months to figure out how to render a master of a track, then eq it properly and it still isnt finished. this guy is a joke and a moron.
this person obviously has never tried making neurofunk, he probably dpesn’t even know what it is, but that is not easy in the slightest. just because there’s physical instruments doesn’t mean it’s not music.
i love reason, but that’s a proper opinion, too. not the truth, just an opinion: as i see no violence in it, i think he has the free to expressin it. I was just guessin, while readin it, that proper trained classical musician could, transitively, consider three chords tracks, like Nirvana songs, no music as well… i think it’s just a matter of perspective, what is music? that’s the question i’m asking, what’s the meaning of the word “music”?
if this guy was right than i would say: what you could call “guitar” is no music instrument, try Beethoven on Piano, that’s real music, that really takes time to learn.. that guitar sounds is designed only for hippy n poor or crazy people shouting n dancin n makin love like animals… transitively, but in fact it happened, people in the 60’s said that the noise from radio wasn’t music, but for some other younger people it was music… you got to take charge of the fact that actually trained classical musicians could say what you call music (rock stuff i guess) is no music, using the same logic approach you’re using about computer
Constant contradictions in this guys arguments. You’re going to say that all it does is “evoke emotion and make you wanna dance” and that’s not music? Music is NOTHING more than JUST THAT. Emotion through sound. DONE
Any medium of creative art and expression is about how you use the tools, not what tools you use. A lot of us Electronic Producers come from playing “real” instruments and have a solid foundation in writing music. Look at guys like Sonny Moore AKA Skrillex, he’s an amazing singer, plays guitar and has more passion for his craft then many “real musicians” now days. Anyway enjoy what you love to do and stop being jealous of other talents and put your gifts to use.
What’s truly sad is that many people commenting here are oblivious to the fact that this article, like all on this website, is clearly satire. Sheesh.
If it make you want to dance then i think its made the point .. .. ..
If it makes you want to dance then i think its made a point .. .. ..
What utter tosh, classical composers were cheating using their new fangled scripts? The guitar is a fab instrument but limited by the player, most guitarist suck and only copy. Dude is a dick.
Why doesn’t he understand that traditional or acoustical music is dead,or no more interesting and that there is a new generation of electronic MUSICIANS who simply have understood it well and know how to do real MUSIC with laptops?It’s so clear to me!
I’m a drummer for 20 years.
And I make my hardcore/speedcore/terrorcore/hardstyle on Fruity Loops.
I consider it music, since music is a broad name for calling something with a melody, music.
Bleeps and hicks, could still be considered music by certain people who can hear a tune in it.
The person posting that thing about calling computer-sounds not music, is probably retarded, since when you make music on a computer or on a guitar, you still need to understand the latter of notes…
Seems this guy probably never touched a music program, let stand has had any interest in it from the start, so he is obviously denying the fact he is lying to himself.
Let’s just keep him in his own little fantasy world.
Ah yes… The onion news for producers. It’s always fun watching people make fools of themselves.
With any instrument of artistic creation, you just have to ask– “can I pick this up and do something creative with it”. Sampling and programming drums is how I taught myself to play a real acoustic kit. I learned to work with rhythm transcription in the process which helped further me as a guitarist and bassist too. Never close yourself off from learning something new, that’s the worst thing you can do as a human being, much less an artist of any sort.