On a New Artistic Practice

I’ve been using my time this summer to begin building a new creative output, centered on composition and improvisation, and largely using the drumset and various technologies as the medium. Breaking away from decades of work that has largely revolved around performing through interpretation, this has been a refreshing endeavor and a journey that promises to challenge me.

I’ve been inspired for several years by Ed Sarath’s writings on the performer-composer-improviser model of training university music students, and have applied this widely throughout my teaching and mentoring. It is refreshing to have my own work catch up to that of my teachings, but has also posed a number of thought-provoking questions:

What Does a Productive Practice Session Look Like When I am Improvising?

I spend many hours each week teaching students how to apply deliberate practice, break down learning into chunks, and to appreciate a slow and methodical method of engraining material the first time. As interpreters we work on setting attainable goals so every session feels like a “win.” It’s clear that with this shift in artistic practice, I’m going to have to re-learn how to create efficiently and re-define what it means to have a good day.

How Much Constraint is Needed to Effectively Compose?

I’ve known for quite some time that the best artistic product often comes from various constraint systems. However, one of the drumset’s most appealing elements is its orchestrational possibilities. This dichotomy immediately poses creative dissonance. Bags of mallets and non-traditional implements, cymbal stacks and effects, drum sizes and tuning, and setup configurations all create a limitless amount of combinations that is both extremely exciting and paralyzing all at once. I’ve already found that it can be difficult to find a way in.

Where is the Line Between Breadth and Depth When Using New Technologies?

I’ve been exploring a few pieces of software and hardware that were the original inspiration for this journey, but these systems pose similar constraint issues. I’m working hard to avoid shiny-object syndrome and each new piece of technology feels like learning a new instrument from scratch. So much potential and I want to make sure I’m respecting the range of each thing I consider adding to the arsenal of sounds. 

Will I be Able to Recognize my own Voice Among These Sound Sources?

Additionally, many DAW setups can produce some incredible varieties of beats natively. At my core, I’ve always been drawn to rhythm, and there’s nothing to say that many of these will not be appealing. After all, very few creatives are only drawn to a singular style or medium. I’ve depended on my curatorial ear and instinct thus far as an artist, however the combination of these mediums has roots in genres I have far less background in. I believe it is going to take some time for me to find a mode of creation that feels authentic, and exposure and listening to new-to-me artists is going to be an important (and equally refreshing) part of that journey.

Facing these questions at the beginning of this journey is daunting to say the least. It can make it difficult to begin most days. But I am energized by the idea of creating my own body of work, of developing my own meta-instrument, and of weaving in and out of many genres that inspire my soul. It remains to be seen if this journey will more closely resemble Taylor Swift pivoting from country music or Michael Jordan playing for the White Sox. Either way, I am doing my best to embrace these challenges and as always, enjoy the process.