This may take one or two posts or more. As I’m into computers and programming, software development methodologies and strategic information systems analysis have played a big part of my life: SSADM, soft-systems methodology etc. I have also studied TQM and manufacturing things like SPC. Actually, as an extreme systematizer (geek), I can’t live without trying to make a system out of something. Of course, this spills over into my Ohurwurm programme of research (notice how I refer to it?) The objective is making beats that are not necessarily artistic nor aesthetic, but catchy and quick to make – pop! The process of producing such doggerel lends itself well to the idioms of the music industry, and hit factories such as PWL and Cheiron have done just that: produced music.
Music really is just another form of software when you think about it. Being a software engineer then I am compelled by my DNA to take it that stage further: a formal methodology for music manufacturing. Formulating these frameworks is an endless work in progress of the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. I have whiteboards on my wall depicting all kinds of strategic matrixes and flow diagrams. I am at the stage where I have a big spreadsheet and Gantt chart for my up and coming songs and have precise dates for each task.
Most musicians and artists would run off screaming, and rightly too, as it would seem to impose deadlines and clamp creativity. My art though is the art of systems thinking – decomposing complex processes into more manageable and reliable chunks. The mission here is to experiment and document the methods of making an earworm. Hence, I will post bits of my methodology as the processes become clearer.
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