learning curve – Cornerman

Is learning how to code still relevant?

My journey in computer’s started with programming, which was somewhat essential way back when if you wanted your computer to do something. Especially if money was tight and you wanted something. Software was expensive.

It’s been the start of a fascination with technology, engineering and science.
Making stuff work out of nothing is some sort of magic.

In this day and age there is so much software, free and lower cost in general. So a lot of people just use software without ever getting near a line of code. In this new AI era you van code without knowing a lot (or anything) about coding, engineering and other technical subjects the question is, is learning how to code (or engineering skills in general) still relevant.

Is there any use for learning how to code.

As with all new technology there is always a group of people which are warning for a demise of knowledge in the field of this breakthrough new technology. When higher level coding languages appeared on the scene a lot of people were concerned with a lack of technical knowledge on how computer’s function on a technical level. How this would lead to inefficiency in software and bulky programs which were less efficient. In some respects this was true. But this had more to do with More’s law than anything else. The abundance in power did lead to less focus on small and memory efficient programs.

As time went on these topics are back in full force. Same will be true for coding is my expectation. If you want to build solutions domain knowledge is important, and if a technical engineer has domain knowledge this is a very nice advantage.

Can you build solutions with AI with just a great idea nowadays? Yes, I think you can, however it will most likely be good enough for the first release or at least good enough as a prototype. After this, you will probably need engineers for future updates, new functionality and making sure the solution will scale properly and get new larger goals implemented.

And for this, coding is essential, a basic knowledge will get you only so far. Deep knowledge of coding, or any engineering profession is extremely important for future tech roles in this new Era.

How important is the coding (or any engineering) knowledge?

AI can do a lot, especially logic and straightforward things like coding and the all sort of task. Likely to get better in the future. So why learn how to code and write code yourself. The answer is simple. It’s important to deeply understand language to communicate effectively. And really convey what you want to achieve. The only way to do this is to really know it and all the constructs behind the language.

The most important factor is the fun of learning how to code, the joy when things work, you find that bug that’s been there for ages and just experiencing the flow state when writing. This can only be achieved when doing the actual coding, also it’s a very cool challenge which isn’t easy and takes time. The rewards are there. It also teaches you a framework for working trough problems, ideas and translating ideas into solutions.

Can AI do a lot of things very fast and pretty good, it cannot give you the sheer joy of building things and learning (hard things). It trains your brain and makes growth possible. Learning anything is very important and coding is as good a start as anything.

Simply go for it.

The Max MSP wormhole is a happy place

Getting deeper into Max MSP Is really cool. I am getting better at patching and using the help and other resources such as books in figuring out what I need to achieve my ideas. The biggest win is that I can make notes directly as patches. I am getting more familiar with the names of the objects.

While it takes a lot of time to learn Max, at least for me, it’s a very good way to learn about sound design and synthesis. And I can work on it very consistently, When I can’t listen to music, I can patch, or read and learn. So it’s the biggest constant factor in my musical journey.

It might be a controversial statement, but if you start out with a computer, daw, and Max MSP you have a life long journey. while I love hardware and love playing around with them. If I would start out today I would buy a laptop, a DAW and a MAX MSP license.

After that the biggest investment will be books and resources. At the moment all my hardware is in storage and this is the only thing I have. And the focus is very cool. The possibilities are endless but I have a process where I can minimize my options and focus on a single idea.

I will still install my hardware in my new studio, but I don’t think I will be buying any hardware anymore going forward. I have years of learning and fun with the stuff I have. Even just Max MSP contains a limitless space for developing ideas and making music. Or other art installations.

Now I am confined in the MAX world I am learning pretty fast, and it’s great fun. It also gives a lot of room for interaction with visuals, via jitter, making your own instruments and combine external gear with interfaces and the newly released RNBO, which let’s you export patches to a raspberry pi, the web and others to create stand alone instruments or art installations. All very cool stuff.

It also gives more room for my original ideas around ever evolving instruments and output to different media. I will share some patches open source in the future. Or maybe I will start by documenting my own learning curve, however not sure if that is of interest to anyone. Lot’s of ideas going through my brain this week. Less is more, it certainly gives me more ideas. Now I need to limit my enthusiasm and focus on small steps.

Eurorack patching adventures

Last week was all about the new proces. The idea was I make a patch on my eurorack, record it, make samples and make a track out of it. I already encountered some time difficulties getting all this work done in a week. So I let go of the fixed time table and started at the first item on the task list.

Patching the Eurorack synth, it’s a pretty basic setup, think of a single voice mono synth with some extra modulation. The great thing about Eurorack, or any other like-minded system like Max MSP, Reaktor or VCV is that you can construct your own path of sound & functions. This is a double edged sword as it can lead to just patching and nothing further. Which is always a dangerous thing with me, being limited in time.

It’s also a way to escape the limitations in processing sound by my brain, I can patch without sound and audition the results later. Perfect for me. So while time flies when patching, it’s a great way for me to learn more about developing sounds, signal flow and other sound designing stuff without over extending myself.

The second part of the week was spent learning max map further and reading about design in general. Which is always interesting. Max MSP has a high threshold for me in getting fluent with it so it will take time mastering it to a degree I can write ideas without spending time in books and manuals but its fun and has the added benefit of not having to have sound on all the time.

All in all a good week spending time doing music and music related things. Looking forward to next (technically this week as I am a bit late writing this blog) week.

Less is more

The larger the setup the more options I have. Which I absolutely love. However this also has a time implication, more of my limited time and energy will go into setting up and learning how to use it. I have tried to use a limited set of tools before which quickly escalated into much larger setups.

I am not very good in keeping a small setup and focussing on just that setup. Which is a bit weird as my discipline is pretty good. I can keep to my planning. I suppose this is because I love my toys. I am like a little kid in a toy store which is allowed to play with anything. And this does not yield any result. Just a lot of unfinished sketches.

So this time I absolutely need to keep my setup small and learn it inside out. which will be my focus the coming month. I keep my timelines a bit wider as last time I got frustrated with not achieving my goals. In retrospect I had too many things I wanted to get done in too little time.

This time that has to change. There is a lot to do which will take time. That’s just how it is.

The music journey – Making an album (week 29,30) the final report

Running behind is never fun, and whilst it has been fun keeping tabs om my ambitious plan on making an album this will be my last post in this form. I think I have written all there is about my ups & downs learning to use my musical equipment and subsequently produce an album. Which was a bit too ambitious in hindsight. The project will go on and one day the album will be finished.

But as I have said before, aiming high will get you places you don’t get too otherwise. And this is true. The end result is not here yet, but the work ethic & proces is. And moreover its a sustainable rhythm. I keep having problems some weeks with my cognitive energy and imbalance. That’s something I have to deal with on a daily basis no matter what I do.

It has been annoying at times, but this project gave me another thing keeping me busy for the long term, hopefully a lifetime. However fun hobby’s are, molding those hobby’s into projects makes them way more valuable. In experience, in learning and in focus. Hard things are enjoyable. And you can have fun doing it.

So I have 2 modes at the moment, working on my projects, and leisure time. The first category consist of hobby’s molded into projects, whether it be in music, sports or other ventures. The second consists of walking about, reading books , casual listening, visiting people & places.

That distinction makes it easier to plan, and get ideas out. It takes the work out of work and the procrastination out of the hobby’s. It might not work for everyone, but I am sure that if you find a few things in life you love doing, doing it with a bit more focus and working towards goals it’s will be indefinitely more rewarding.

In other words, you will never work a day in the rest of your life. This whole process has given me the insight in what I can do, aspire to, and dream about. It has set the stage for continuous work on my own terms and on my own pace.

In a nutshell this is what I learned to do, and these steps will help anyone wanting to get a hobby or any other pasion project further. So here is a list.

- Plan your time consistently.
- Plan 3 or more sessions a week , at a minimin 3.
- Don’t overdo it in hours , you can only work with a high focus for so long.
- Write down all ideas. Take 3 at a time for further development.
- Divide sessions into playtime, learning, and finishing work.
- Aim high , you might not make it to the perceived goals, but you get further with it then if you aim for easily achievable goals.
- Always focus on the next step, don’t make the steps too big (that creates frustration in case of the lack of succes).
- Trust the proces and more importantly yourself.
- Be strikt not hard on yourself.
- Yes, showing up (consistently) is half the work.
- Take breaks and celebrate the little victories.
- Have fun, and focus.
- Keep a diary, it will help put things into perspective.
- And last but not least, record everything.

Just some things I learned, lot’s of them are obvious, the most important thing is keep working at your craft, build knowledge, make it a habit. It will not seem like much progress at first. But it all adds up.

This was it for this series. I will continue writing music related blogs on a weekly basis and will go deeper into workflow, techniques, and time managent in future episodes. I am still figuring out the form factor but I will get started right away.

Thanks for reading so far and see you soon!

The music journey – Making an album (week 28)

I am running behind on my blogs, didn’t have time too scribble about week 28, due to other activities, mostly out of the house. Week 28 has been a week with lots of difficulty showing up. Starting any activities regarding my music ambitions was very hard.

I really value the rhythm I have developed and letting go of that rhythm is hard. It’s the same feeling I get when I can’t run. And that’s not even factoring in the positive effects both have on my wellbeing.

Yet this week has been all about having a hard time getting started with any of the activities I can normally swap between depending on my energy levels. And when I got started I had to give it up pretty fast.

I know its a case of falling down and getting up again, this week however was mostly falling down.

I will write about the previous week at the end of this week, making sure I get some of my Rhythm back.

The music journey – Making an album (week 27)

Still going, this was a hard week. Most of the time showing up is not that hard. This week however it was. My cognitive state didn’t allow for much activity at all. Most of the time I am good enough to be able to switch between activities.

If reading is a problem, I switch to editing samples, making a patch or just messing about with loops. This week was different. I could not perform any of the tasks I normally do. I did however give it a go a few times. So I managed to read a chapter in this phenomenal book on ~gen in MAX MSP. It’s called Generating Sound & Organizing Time by Graham Wakefield & Gregory Taylor

I probably mentioned it in another post, but it’s recommenced reading. Even if you are not into Max , it’s just good getting an understanding of what this does in terms of musical ideas and seeing things in a different perspective.

It’s about working with the ~gen functionality within MAX and what you can achieve with, and it’s a lot. For me a bit difficult to get my head around but it’s really intriguing. And I will probably have to read it a few times and work with it to fully get to grips with it.

So it was a bit of a frustrating week and not what I had in mind. Eventually that is life as well.

The music journey – Making an album (week 25)

This week I made a good start in building the sequencer for my Eurorack in Max Msp, for now it’s aimed specifically at the Morphagene and what functionality I need for that. Already done a few tests and still have a lot of work to do.

That’s basically it as far as progress goes. while designing the Max patch I got to think about how music touches all of my interests. It satisfies my technological curiosity, I can think about design concepts and I can dive into musical history.

From reading manuals, via biographies and watching documentaries. Without even making any music. So when I have a good day cognitively speaking I can read and think about music, and if I have a really good day I can make music. It’s an integral part of my life, and weekly activities. There is always something to do which drives me forward in the direction of my goals.

As I touched upon last week, getting those goals in to fruition isn’t always easy and sometimes an activity doesn’t seem to contribute anything towards the goals. But if you look at it from another and wider perspective there is always something in the things you do which moves you forward, inching closer to your goals.

The music journey – Making an album (week 24)

Another week done. Time sure goes pretty fast. Especially when working on fun things. So this week has been all about MAX MSP. Partly due to having problems this week with listening too sound over a longer period of time, and partly because I had it planned.

Besides learning the workings of MAX I got into learning short cuts, basic workflow stuff that’s all over this software. I am more and more seeing the use of memorizing all this in order to gain some speed in my workflow. With my limited cognitive energy it’s vital for me when I able too handle sound I can can get ideas out quickly. And finish them fast as well.

Muscle memory is key in that it skips thinking about were I can find a certain function, it becomes like riding a bike. It’s not the most exciting bit of this journey but a very essential one. Getting to know your equipment and making sure using it becomes second nature.

However learning these things is very straining, which I didn’t really expect. I know I have too get trough this phase of the learning curve in order too speed up the music making proces. To be continued. Onto next week.

The music journey – Making an album (week 23)

This week a more philosophical post. The whole proces of making an album from scratch is hard, for me it was starting all over again with making music. From getting back into learning how to use Ableton to more conceptual questions about how I wanted my project and ultimately my album to sound and look like.

At first I wrote a white paper of sorts too gather what I wanted out of it. Which was too learn as much as possible and also do as much as possible. The whole concept, which I will keep to myself for now as it isn’t finished, was pretty big.

Not just in the timeframe but also for my current level of knowledge and experience. That’s ok, and I will explain why.

First of all, it means the first iteration will most probably fail, as my project did in the timeframe I had set myself. The failure however is the goal in many ways. As reaching for goal far beyond what I can accomplish today will get me too learn a lot. A lot more than I would do when I set myself up for easy goals.

The trick is however, to set shorter term goals that are achievable, but contribute in a large part towards the big goal. The short iterations and tiny tasks will get you there. However this is for me at least pretty frustrating at times. As I am used to learning very fast, and put lots of time in a project. Which I can’t do anymore.

But by taking small steps I got a rhythm going, every week I spent a fixed amount of time on music projects , whether it be learning, researching, programming or making music every week I do something. No matter how little it is, I put in my fixed set of hours which I know I can put in. Also everything which is ultimately worth something to me is achieved by doing hard things consistently.

As a result I have learned a lot, it might not go as fast as I want, be as good as I want, but I am getting there. Consistency is key.