creative space – Cornerman

Slow and steady

Progress, I am a little late with this weeks update and I have nothing big to report other than I have been going thru boxes and cleaning everything out I have no use for anymore. Which helps with creating space for other things. Mainly mentally as I have postponed this tedious task for a long time. Not finished yet but I am getting there one box at a time.

I have however maintained my weekly minimal hours I have set for working on music or music related things. This mainly being connecting everything up with cables and re arranging everything a few times. I am not there yet workflow wise.

It has been fun discovering how a space influences my thinking on future stuff I want to do. As it is not only a music making space but also needs to be a home office, writing and reading room and in the future once my movements improve a space for drawing. A swift way to transform the space is vital in that respect.

It’s a work in progress, slow and steady. More news on this and other topics next week. See you next week.

Wiring everything up

Building the creative space is entering it’s final stages. I have set some of my equipment up and after some back and forth I have decided on a semi permanent set up.

What I am working on at the moment is wiring everything up as nice as possible. Which is a bit of a laborious task. And while I like tinkering, wiring is not one of my favorite things to do. Considering incorporating a patchbay into it all for flexibility. But getting my head around how I want it is not that easy.

The best way for me is if I can use everything in Ableton at route it however I want it. But that needs some figuring out. To be continued.

That was most of my week, however I have been doing some manual reading as well, mainly my beloved Machinedrum, which I need to dive into some more. I really love all the Elektron machines and I have some part of the sequencer in my head, there is still lots out there with triggers, LFO’s and all sorts.

Simply reading the manual is a bit of a dry exercise but I hope some of it sticks.
That was pretty much all I have done this week. I hope to finish the work on the studio before the end of this year and I can start sharing some music next year.

Shaping the creative space

This last week has been all about shaping the new creative space. Lot’s of cleaning up as well. I am trying to keep it as minimal as possible for now. To see how the space can be used and add to it while using it. Yesterday was the first day when I worked in the space and I liked it a lot.

Still some decorating to do, and some installation of stuff but it already feels good. It’s a very good space just to be in. All the important books, from inspirational books through manuals and technical books are sorted and the important ones are within easy reach.

I will keep the desk clean, and my instruments on and in a stand or cupboard, yet to be decided. So I can focus more easily and not get too distracted all the time.

That’s pretty much all I did, but I did some patching in Max again, which is becoming a staple activity every week, I hope I will get sufficient enough so I can work on systems in Max and generate ideas for music from that. Which I can later develop further in Ableton. I have also had a bit of a clean up and found some old and redundant stuff others might find useful. So I am trying to find people who can use it.

A pretty short blog this week, not much on the music side of things and lots at the same time, as a nice space to be creative in is very important.

Creative space almost finished

Almost done, a few minor and one major thing still needs to be finished but I can start working on decorating the space and making sure I have a nice workflow. I am taking my time as this is something that needs some careful thinking and experimenting.

I am collecting some nice inspirational pictures from the internet and making a mood board. It’s also great to watch architecture, studio and gallery videos on Youtube fore some insight into how other people deal with space and creativity.

I will however move my desk and setup some basic workstation as soon as possible. So I can start working in the space. This will help me with deciding what I want to do with the space.

Lot’s to do but I am in no particular hurry. On the music side of things I am working on learning Max MSP and designing my output channels. Like band camp, an addition to this website for sharing my music and setting up a Git for the sharing of some of my musical coding and other things people might be able to learn from.

I am also thinking on starting a Patreon page for something completely different, more on that in the future. For now I have plenty of work to do and this will keep me busy.

Building things is always fun, that’s why making music, art & code is at the hart of what I love to do. It just needs a bit more focus. Which I sometimes lack. In other areas I am very focused but with music, art and in some ways code I miss the edge. Mostly because of a lack of energy. Luckily I have writing which helps me gather my thoughts and have a fixes moment to reflect. Not just on this page, but I keep a diary as well.

This brings me back to another important thing in my life, notebooks. I love writing down ideas so I always carry a notebook. I find writing ingrains my thinking much more than when I type it into a note on my phone. Which I still do a lot as well, but I have to make sure I come back to them later.

With my notebooks I don’t have that problem, I also re write notes into notebooks I keep and make sure I reorganize my thinking and add to my ideas. It’s a big part of my creative process. It’s also very relaxing. I find that taking time to do things right gives me better results.

Now I have to go and start building my desk 😉 See you all next week.

Creative space, progress and Max MSP 9

It’s been a few weeks since my last blog, been recovering from my marathon and had a pretty busy schedule where music making and learning about music took a bit of a backseat.

The creative space is almost done, unfortunately delivery of some parts has been delayed so the finishing touches can’t be completed. Hopefully at the end of next week we will be finished and I can start furnishing the space. Which is about time as I am done getting everything out of storage and setting up everything if I want to do something. It’s costing me too much energy and takes the fun out of it.

A little bit of wait but then my working space is there.

Max MSP 9

The new release of Max MSP came as a bit of a surprise to me. I am nowhere near an expert on Max but this update seems like a big step forward, especially in Jitter and the addition af Ableton’s ABL library for DSP, which allows for the direct use of Ableton effects in Max.

Also there is a code box where you can work on code for Gen, javascript and other stuff in Max. I am not there yet as my skillset is lacking bit these additions seem very cool and useful.

It’s a never-ending tool for making musical productions, with visuals, instruments and so on.

Besides all this work on Max, all the learning resources and help stuff has been updated, integrated in max and redesigned on the website. It’s the perfect starting point for anyone wanting to start and learn Max MSP. I have said it before it’s a big learning curve. At least for me, but it’s very rewarding and can be used for anything you can think of. Especially for building your own musical and visual environments and in interaction with hardware in a way that is custom to you.

It is overwhelming at first, by doing it opens up more and more avenues for creativity as you go along. I am looking forward to learning more and diving into this new version.

Some other thoughts

The state of the world is not great at the moment, rising far right autocracy and the devastating effects of global warming are taking a toll on a lot of people. Not to mention the ongoing wars around the globe and the dangers of more conflict looming every day. Sometimes it’s very hard to focus on the things you want to do in life and work on. I have that exact same problem.

But as I am limited severely in energy I need to focus on what I can control and work on. For me meditation works very well. I have mentioned the benefits of meditation more often but this is as good a time as any to talk about it again.

As it brings me right back into the here and now. It’s only 12 minutes a day for 5 days per week. So you can even skip two days, and maintain this for a few months, at first you will not notice the benefits. But after some time and keep the 5 times a week going and you will start to feel a shift. And for me this was a real eye opener.

More about this and about the science behind it in the excellent book Peak mind by Amish Jha

Give it a go and keep at it, see you all next time.

Building a dedicated creative space

Having a space for your creative adventures can be important in maintaining consistency in the process. This past week I have not been doing any actual music making, reading manuals or learning stuff. I have been cleaning out my attic so it can de build into a studio space. Or to more exact, a creative space. As music is not the only creative thing I like to do. Writing, coding & drawing being other creative outlets for me.

Construction will begin shortly and in the end this will be a space where I can put my musical instruments, and other stuff I use to work on my various projects.

Up until now the kitchen table was the place to be, which had a downside that after each session I had to clear everything again. And building stuff up before starting a session.

I can also create specific longer term setups for projects more easily in the new space. I have been thinking about the layout and various other things. But we will see where it ends when all the construction is finished.

Why I need a dedicated space

Lot’s of people can work anywhere. Whether it be on the sofa, at the kitchen table or in any coffee shop in the neighborhood, that is great, but not me.

I need a space where I can go to and everything is available, plugged in and ready to go. It’s easier to start, take breaks and finish things for me that way. It’s also a space which has a lot of stuff in it which gets and keeps me inspired. Like books, art, music and miscellaneous bits.

It also save me the energy I now need to take a few pieces of kit, set it up, have a session and tear it down again. Even just sitting in a custom space and thinking about projects, solutions and take notes is worth having it. It’s a luxury I know. But if you can have even a small dedicated space this will undoubtedly improve your creativity, efficiency and consistency. Just going in for an hour every day is easier when everything is in one place and ready to go.

It’s been a long time coming, so now that it is finally happening I am pretty excited. Next thing will be planning the lay out of the space.