Creation Vs Detection

In an age where the lines between television and the internet get increasing blurry, the same could be said about the lines between creative thinking and detective thinking in the context of digital composition. 

If a sample is mangled, repitched and replayed into a completely different context than its original source, is that stealing? Or is being creative? I’m not going to debate that narrative in this blog but more so the neurological science behind it in the context of young people’s music-making. So allow me to put compositional cognition under the microscope for a moment. 

A recent paper published by the Harvard Medical School states that “According to conventional wisdom, people tend to have a personality, thinking style or way of doing things that is either right-brained or left-brained”. But where does this subject sit in the context of creative thinking? The report goes on to say that “Those who are right-brained are supposed to be intuitive and creative free thinkers who think in qualitative terms” whilst those who are left-brained tend to think in “a more analytical fashion”, perhaps those who process subjects in a more objective, less instinctive style. 

So which one are you?

Perhaps you lean more towards one of those more than the other. That's your aptitude, your genetic makeup. But what about your learned behaviour? Can one side become more developed with practice? I believe so. 

Let’s simplify this thinking in a songwriting context. Let’s suppose you subconsciously use your right side brain to create a new song. It has yet to hit your left side brain which will tell you whether or not its actually a good song. That process might take a day, a week, a year, a decade or maybe it doesn’t ever happen at all because your passion and love for your creativity leave you in a position where you only think you can understand what you have created. Love is blind, they say. 

Why is it that DJs and electronic music producers find this easier? Because they are more objective? Possibly. It’s the same cognition but the process is happening in reverse. They hear a song, a hook or a phrase. Their left side brain analyses the content for suitability and then it moves over the right side where they get creative with it. This brings us back to the blurred lines of criminality and creativity. 

So what about the use of artificial intelligence? Where does that sit in the context of music production and composition? Well, it's everywhere. In fact, AI is nothing new for electronic music producers. Whether that be spectral analysis, reactive EQ tools, groove generators or even the use of MIDI as a whole. These tools provide sparks which fuel creativity. It starts on the left and moves to the right and then back to the left again.

Let's imagine there is a young person playing the guitar and writing their next song. They are right siding their creative cognition. Now imagine that same young person flicking through apple loops inside of Garage Band for their next song. They are now using their left side to assess the value of each loop in their sound. 

It is the same process, just in reverse.

Written by Jonny Amos