Creating a Playlist - The Bigger Picture
This is my first time trying to put together a playlist on Soundcloud, and I've been listening to this a lot. Wow. As a composer you're in the weeds trying to get past creative blocks that you don't think about the big picture until you try to put what you have into a playlist. This just flat out doesn't Breathe, Ever.
- Not enough space between tracks, both in the beginning and the end
- While my general style is kind of dark and often melancholy, in a playlist it gets to be a bit much and it would be nice to have a few lighter "palate cleansers" in the mix
- While I prefer playing at faster speeds, it makes everything (especially over a half hour period) pretty intense, more so than when you listen to single tracks at a time. Also, fast and softer is more listenable over that sort of extended period, but fast and a lot of loud can be a bit much.
Much like in the world of technology, it's interesting how your perspective shifts when you gain access to a larger world, and can see the bigger picture. That information and experience is invaluable. Now I need to roll up my sleeves and embark on another "clean up in aisle 9" session.
6/25/2015 - I'm going to amend the section on fast and soft vs. fast and loud. Obviously there are hour long house and techno samba mixes, so why do those work? I realize the difference is that the good ones (that keep my attention anyway) are just repetitive enough to get you into a zen-like trance, yet there are also minute shifts here and there in rhythm, addition of a melody, a surprising pause that it keeps you just a bit off balance and engaged.
However, with the type of music that I do, the shifts tend to be constant and wholesale, as I personally don't like too much repetition. That makes the brain work, and making it work like that for a solid half an hour is exhausting, and leads to listener fatigue.