Timothy
 M.
 Shull,
 Jr.
 

 

Berklee
 College
 of
 Music
 
Valencia
 Campus
 

 
Music
 Technology
 Innovation
 

 
Master’s
 Culminating
 Experience
 

 


 

Introduction
 


 

My
 time
 at
 Berklee
 Valencia
 has
 been
 one
 filled
 with
 personal
 growth
 as
 a
 musician,
 
a
 technologist,
 as
 a
 creative
 artist
 and
 as
 an
 individual
 in
 relationship
 to
 the
 world
 
around
 me.
 
 The
 four
 years
 prior
 to
 my
 time
 here
 were
 characterized
 by
 a
 struggle
 
with
 music
 that
 grew
 out
 of
 personal
 hardships
 and
 resulted
 in
 both
 creative
 anxiety
 
and
 performance
 anxiety
 and
 ultimately
 inactivity
 and
 writer’s
 block.
 
 I
 chose
 to
 
pursue
 a
 master’s
 in
 Music
 Technology
 Innovation
 here
 at
 Berklee
 Valencia
 because
 
I
 felt
 that
 this
 program
 would
 offer
 me
 the
 opportunity
 and
 resources
 to
 more
 
skillfully
 use
 technology
 to
 overcome
 these
 struggles.
 
 Originally,
 my
 plan
 for
 my
 
Culminating
 Experience
 was
 to
 build
 a
 website
 that
 would
 generate
 algorithmic
 
music
 based
 off
 of
 user
 input.
 
 As
 the
 year
 progressed,
 I
 came
 to
 realize
 that
 the
 
Culminating
 Experience
 project
 would
 offer
 me
 the
 perfect
 opportunity
 to
 force
 
myself
 to
 overcome
 my
 creative
 anxiety
 in
 a
 systematic
 way
 and
 build
 a
 process
 that
 
will
 help
 me
 in
 all
 of
 my
 future
 creative
 endeavors.
 
 
 

 

The
 Work
 
It
 is
 for
 this
 reason
 that
 I
 eventually
 chose
 to
 change
 from
 my
 originally
 planned
 
project
 to
 one
 that
 would
 allow
 me
 to
 focus
 on
 writing
 music
 and
 developing
 and
 
refining
 the
 set
 of
 tools
 that
 I
 am
 using
 to
 make
 music.
 
 For
 the
 physical
 tools
 that
 I
 
am
 using,
 part
 of
 the
 project
 has
 been
 to
 develop
 a
 production
 and
 performance
 
setup
 that
 can
 be
 used
 to
 create
 high
 quality
 recordings
 from
 start
 to
 finish
 outside
 
of
 a
 studio
 as
 easily
 as
 it
 can
 be
 used
 for
 live
 performance.
 
 The
 setup
 that
 I
 have
 
developed
 uses
 a
 MacBook
 pro
 running
 Ableton
 Live,
 Max
 for
 Live
 and
 Resolume
 at
 

its
 core
 with
 a
 UAD
 Apollo
 Twin
 Duo
 low
 latency
 thunderbolt
 audio
 interface
 to
 
process
 incoming
 audio
 from
 an
 electric
 guitar
 or
 bass
 and
 a
 vocal
 microphone
 in
 
real
 time.
 
 For
 MIDI
 input,
 sequencing
 and
 live
 triggering,
 I
 have
 chosen
 to
 use
 the
 
Ableton
 Push
 because
 of
 the
 benefits
 it
 offers
 as
 a
 powerfully
 integrated
 Ableton
 
Live
 control
 surface.
 
 During
 my
 work,
 I
 have
 used
 this
 setup
 extensively
 for
 
recording
 and
 production
 on
 my
 own
 and
 with
 others.
 
 As
 the
 project
 has
 
progressed,
 however,
 under
 the
 instruction
 of
 my
 advisors
 and
 through
 my
 own
 
realizations,
 my
 focus
 has
 shifted
 away
 from
 the
 technical
 aspects
 of
 the
 setup
 and
 
its
 potential.
 
 The
 concentration
 of
 the
 project
 is
 now
 on
 my
 writing
 and
 production
 
process
 and
 the
 ways
 that
 I
 am
 using
 these
 tools
 to
 combine
 my
 knowledge
 and
 
skills
 with
 Ableton,
 Max/MSP,
 Max
 for
 Live,
 Pro
 Tools,
 synthesis,
 songwriting
 and
 
instrumental
 performance.
 
 The
 music
 I
 have
 chosen
 to
 write
 is
 music
 that
 is
 cross-­‐
genre
 stylistically,
 combining
 elements
 of
 indie
 rock,
 hip-­‐hop
 and
 various
 styles
 of
 
electronic
 music.
 
 In
 my
 experience,
 the
 general
 approach
 used
 for
 each
 of
 these
 
styles
 of
 music
 is
 very
 different.
 
 Because
 I
 learned
 how
 to
 make
 these
 styles
 of
 
music
 in
 very
 separate
 social
 contexts
 and
 I
 also
 generally
 enjoy
 these
 styles
 of
 
music
 in
 very
 different
 social
 contexts,
 joining
 them
 together
 has
 presented
 some
 
difficulties.
 
 Because
 of
 this,
 I
 have
 spent
 a
 lot
 of
 time
 paying
 close
 attention
 to
 which
 
production
 approaches
 and
 creative
 techniques
 have
 been
 most
 beneficial
 to
 me.
 
 
The
 work
 in
 its
 current
 state
 has
 now
 been
 thinned
 down
 to
 the
 production
 of
 three
 
pieces
 of
 hybrid
 electronic
 music,
 instrumental
 music
 and
 songwriting,
 with
 
particular
 focus
 on
 one
 song.
 
 Each
 song
 has
 presented
 its
 own
 difficulties
 and
 been
 
finished
 through
 similar
 but
 unique
 approaches.
 
 
 To
 assist
 my
 production,
 I
 have
 

also
 developed
 a
 number
 of
 Max
 and
 Max
 for
 Live
 patches
 that
 I
 have
 used
 along
 the
 
way
 in
 the
 sound
 design
 and
 creative
 process.
 
 
 

 

Innovative
 Aspects
 
For
 me,
 the
 most
 innovative
 aspect
 of
 this
 project
 is
 the
 production
 approach
 that
 I
 
have
 developed
 that
 utilizes
 all
 of
 the
 software
 tools
 that
 have
 now
 become
 industry
 
standards
 but
 combines
 them
 in
 a
 unique
 way.
 
 This
 attribute
 of
 my
 project
 is
 more
 
progressive
 on
 a
 personal
 level
 because
 I
 feel
 that
 each
 musician/artist
 must
 find
 
their
 own
 path
 and
 negotiate
 the
 tools
 they
 are
 using
 in
 their
 own
 different
 way.
 
 In
 
relationship
 to
 the
 rest
 of
 the
 world,
 this
 project
 is
 advanced
 in
 that
 it
 is
 an
 
interesting
 application
 of
 a
 number
 of
 new
 tools
 and
 technologies
 towards
 the
 
production
 of
 an
 uncommon
 synthesis
 of
 musical
 styles.
 
 For
 example,
 many
 people
 
are
 probably
 using
 z3ta
 2+
 combined
 with
 Ableton
 Live,
 but
 to
 increase
 the
 
customization
 within
 z3ta
 2+,
 I
 modified
 a
 simple
 tool
 in
 Max/MSP
 to
 be
 able
 to
 
draw
 and
 save
 my
 own
 wavetables,
 a
 feature
 not
 included
 in
 z3ta.
 
 
 

 

New
 Skills
 Acquired
 
The
 main
 skill
 that
 I
 have
 been
 focusing
 on
 developing
 for
 the
 past
 few
 months
 is
 the
 
stage
 of
 creativity
 in
 music
 that
 comes
 after
 the
 initial
 ideation
 phase.
 
 One
 common
 
creative
 adage
 is,
 “write
 hot,
 edit
 cold”.
 
 The
 “edit
 cold”
 part
 in
 relationship
 to
 music
 
can
 be
 a
 very
 large
 and
 hazy
 phase
 of
 the
 process.
 
 The
 ability
 to
 develop
 a
 vision
 for
 
the
 end
 goal
 that
 remains
 flexible
 but
 is
 strong
 enough
 to
 generate
 a
 plan
 for
 project
 
management
 is
 an
 essential
 part
 of
 this
 phase.
 
 Even
 though
 it
 has
 long
 been
 

recognized
 as
 such,
 more
 and
 more
 creative
 rhetoric
 these
 days
 is
 pointing
 towards
 
creation
 as
 a
 combinatorial
 process
 that
 culls
 various
 sources
 and
 results
 in
 a
 
patchwork
 of
 pastiches1.
 
 In
 music,
 one
 extreme
 of
 this
 spectrum
 can
 be
 represented
 
by
 the
 musical
 mash-­‐ups
 created
 by
 mixing
 DJs
 and
 the
 other
 extreme
 can
 be
 
represented
 by
 a
 virtuosic
 jazz
 instrumental
 solo
 that
 weaves
 together
 various
 
quotations
 from
 any
 number
 of
 sources
 in
 real
 time,
 on
 both
 the
 micro-­‐
 and
 macro-­‐
 
levels
 of
 melody.
 
 The
 creative
 process
 that
 I
 have
 developed
 around
 this
 idea
 and
 
refined
 during
 the
 course
 of
 this
 project
 is
 one
 that
 takes
 as
 source
 material
 any
 
musical
 idea
 that
 I
 have
 generated
 at
 any
 time
 over
 the
 past
 year
 and
 combines
 it
 
with
 any
 other
 idea
 made
 during
 this
 time.
 
 This
 process
 is
 then
 iterated
 to
 create
 
large
 structures
 and
 repeated
 until
 enough
 source
 material
 has
 been
 generated.
 
 
From
 there,
 the
 source
 material
 is
 arranged
 and
 re-­‐arranged
 until
 it
 feels
 complete.
 
 
 
Over
 the
 course
 of
 the
 year
 I
 generated
 over
 70
 Ableton
 Live
 sessions.
 
 These
 
sessions
 varied
 in
 size
 and
 complexity
 and
 source.
 
 For
 instance,
 for
 some
 of
 these
 
sessions
 I
 worked
 with
 the
 intention
 of
 sequencing
 a
 MIDI
 drum
 beat
 by
 hand
 (i.e.
 
not
 playing
 it
 with
 drum
 pads,
 but
 drawing
 in
 the
 notes)
 that
 sounded
 as
 close
 to
 the
 
sound
 of
 a
 real
 drummer
 as
 possible.
 
 Some
 were
 created
 during
 collaborative
 music
 
production
 sessions
 that
 included
 network
 synced
 instances
 of
 Ableton
 Live
 
combined
 with
 live
 processed
 guitars
 and
 real-­‐time
 drum
 sequence
 programming.
 
 
From
 there,
 once
 I
 had
 amassed
 a
 large
 resource
 of
 these
 sessions,
 I
 exported
 WAV
 
files
 of
 each
 idea
 and
 created
 a
 spreadsheet
 with
 information
 including
 key,
 tempo,
 
qualitative
 descriptions
 and
 other
 pertinent
 details.
 
 I
 then
 created
 Ableton
 sessions
 
and
 combined
 anywhere
 from
 3
 to
 7
 ideas
 and
 set
 them
 back-­‐to-­‐back
 to
 listen
 and
 

compare.
 
 After
 trying
 different
 combinations
 and
 re-­‐arranging
 the
 ideas,
 I
 began
 
creating
 large
 Ableton
 sessions
 with
 each
 track
 from
 the
 source
 sessions
 combined.
 
 
In
 these
 sessions
 I
 created
 new
 potential
 song
 sections
 by
 trying
 out
 combinations
 
of
 each
 clip
 in
 Ableton’s
 session
 view.
 
 From
 there,
 I
 created
 rough
 arrangements
 
and
 then
 systematically
 refined
 them
 by
 working
 one
 section
 at
 a
 time.
 
 The
 next
 
step
 was
 to
 export
 each
 track
 into
 Pro
 Tools
 to
 begin
 mixing.
 
 At
 this
 point,
 if
 
necessary,
 I
 also
 continued
 the
 process
 of
 adding
 tracks
 or
 parts
 until
 the
 mix
 was
 
finished.
 
 
 
With
 this
 process,
 I
 can
 very
 easily
 separate
 the
 ideation
 stage
 of
 music
 
making
 from
 the
 editing
 stage
 of
 music
 making.
 
 The
 reason
 why
 this
 particular
 
process
 is
 so
 invaluable
 to
 me
 is
 because
 it
 allows
 me
 to
 use
 the
 instantaneous
 
inspiration
 that
 comes
 from
 free
 improvisation
 but
 then
 look
 back
 on
 it
 from
 a
 
macro-­‐view
 and
 find
 new
 associations,
 ultimately
 refining
 the
 work
 and
 smoothing
 
out
 the
 rough
 edges.
 
 To
 explicitly
 state
 this
 process
 may
 seem
 like
 it
 puts
 into
 
words
 what
 other
 people
 do
 intuitively.
 
 However,
 it
 is
 exactly
 this
 explicit
 
understanding
 through
 which
 I
 have
 become
 much
 more
 confident
 in
 my
 
musical/artistic
 personality.
 
 
 
What
 I
 have
 not
 mentioned
 in
 the
 discussion
 so
 far
 are
 all
 of
 the
 technical
 
skills
 that
 I
 have
 developed
 over
 the
 course
 of
 this
 year
 that
 feed
 this
 ability
 and
 this
 
process.
 
 These
 skills
 include,
 but
 are
 not
 limited
 to:
 sound
 design
 using
 Max/MSP,
 
z3ta
 2+,
 FM8,
 Massive,
 and
 countless
 other
 plugins;
 electronic
 music
 production
 
using
 Ableton;
 effective
 and
 creative
 use
 of
 various
 MIDI
 controllers;
 studio
 
recording
 skills
 that
 allow
 me
 to
 confidently
 work
 in
 large
 or
 small
 studios
 and
 work
 

with
 high-­‐quality
 mics,
 mic
 pres,
 and
 other
 equipment;
 music
 production
 and
 
processing
 using
 Pro
 Tools;
 and
 mixing
 and
 mastering
 using
 a
 wide
 assortment
 of
 
plug-­‐ins
 and
 outboard
 gear.
 
 Without
 the
 advances
 I
 have
 made
 this
 year
 in
 these
 
technical
 areas
 that
 were
 prompted,
 guided
 and
 aided
 by
 the
 teachers
 here,
 I
 would
 
not
 be
 where
 I
 am
 with
 my
 own
 creative
 process.
 
 
 

 

Challenges
 
When
 setting
 out
 on
 this
 project,
 I
 knew
 that
 I
 would
 have
 to
 face
 the
 issues
 with
 
creative
 anxiety
 that
 I
 have
 struggled
 with
 and
 the
 hindrances
 that
 they
 present
 to
 
my
 productivity.
 
 Eric
 Maisel
 is
 a
 PhD
 psychotherapist
 who
 has
 written
 books
 about
 
the
 issue
 of
 creative
 anxiety.
 
 In
 his
 book
 Mastering
 Creative
 Anxiety2,
 he
 outlines
 24
 
generalized
 sources
 of
 creative
 anxiety,
 which
 include
 the
 anxiety
 of
 failing,
 the
 
anxiety
 of
 ego
 bruising,
 and
 the
 anxiety
 of
 surviving.
 
 Most
 people
 experience
 some
 
levels
 of
 basic
 anxiety
 at
 the
 very
 least
 as
 a
 result
 of
 physiological
 mechanisms.
 
 I
 
have
 struggled
 with
 varying
 degrees
 of
 difficult
 and
 sometimes
 overwhelming
 levels
 
of
 anxiety.
 
 As
 an
 adult,
 this
 issue
 has
 become
 deeply
 intertwined
 with
 my
 
professional
 and
 artistic
 pursuits
 as
 a
 musician.
 
 It
 is
 for
 this
 reason
 that
 I
 knew
 that
 
I
 had
 to
 take
 the
 opportunity
 of
 the
 Culminating
 Experience
 to
 work
 to
 overcome
 
this.
 
 I
 have
 found
 that
 the
 solution
 to
 this
 for
 me
 lies
 with
 technology.
 
 Ableton
 Live
 
presents
 an
 important
 solution
 to
 problems
 at
 the
 stage
 of
 ideation
 by
 providing
 me
 
with
 the
 ability
 to
 quickly
 and
 easily
 prototype
 many
 musical
 ideas
 and
 
subsequently
 trying
 many
 combinations
 to
 further
 develop
 them.
 
 When
 combined
 
with
 the
 Push,
 I
 can
 interact
 with
 Ableton
 in
 a
 more
 tactile
 mode
 of
 creation
 that
 is
 

closer
 to
 the
 improvisatory
 nature
 of
 idea
 generation
 with
 the
 guitar
 that
 I
 am
 used.
 
 
The
 next
 problem
 is
 the
 issue
 of
 sound
 quality.
 
 Sound
 quality
 is,
 for
 me,
 an
 
important
 subconscious
 aspect
 of
 feeling
 like
 an
 idea
 should
 be
 pursued
 further.
 
 
This
 is
 where
 the
 MacBook
 and
 the
 UAD
 Apollo
 Twin
 come
 in.
 
 With
 these,
 I
 can
 hear
 
the
 ideas
 in
 a
 high
 quality
 sound
 format
 instantly
 and
 I
 can
 combine
 acoustic
 
instruments
 and
 vocals
 with
 ideas
 generated
 within
 the
 software
 domain.
 
 I
 do
 not
 
have
 to
 demo
 the
 ideas
 in
 a
 low-­‐quality
 format
 and
 imagine
 what
 it
 is
 going
 to
 sound
 
like
 when
 I
 have
 the
 chance
 to
 record
 them
 in
 the
 studio.
 
 Another
 major
 problem
 
that
 I
 have
 encountered
 is
 the
 question
 of
 where
 to
 go
 with
 an
 idea.
 
 Thanks
 to
 
increased
 digital
 storage
 capacity,
 I
 can
 generate
 ideas,
 save
 them
 for
 as
 long
 as
 
necessary,
 and
 revisit
 them
 as
 often
 as
 I
 want
 to
 see
 if
 they
 work
 with
 more
 recently
 
created
 ideas.
 
 The
 final
 hurdle
 presented
 is
 finalizing
 a
 piece
 of
 music
 to
 a
 
professional
 level.
 
 This
 is
 where
 Pro
 Tools
 and
 mixing/mastering
 plug-­‐ins
 come
 in.
 
 
With
 these
 tools,
 I
 can
 take
 arrangements
 and
 refine
 them
 to
 the
 level
 of
 commercial
 
release
 all
 on
 my
 laptop.
 
 This
 is
 something
 that
 I
 did
 not
 feel
 I
 was
 able
 to
 achieve
 
prior
 to
 my
 time
 here
 at
 Berklee.
 
 
 
 
 
One
 unexpected
 challenge
 that
 I
 encountered
 was
 the
 need
 to
 re-­‐learn
 how
 to
 
work
 with
 others
 on
 my
 own
 music.
 
 Because
 of
 my
 personal
 journey
 with
 my
 own
 
music
 creation,
 before
 coming
 to
 Berklee
 Valencia
 it
 had
 been
 a
 long
 time
 since
 I
 had
 
worked
 with
 others
 on
 my
 own
 music.
 
 This
 project
 has
 made
 me
 realize
 that
 I
 
cannot
 do
 all
 of
 these
 tasks
 on
 my
 own
 and
 that
 I
 need
 help.
 
 It
 has
 also
 made
 me
 
realize
 that
 the
 end
 product
 is
 greater
 than
 the
 sum
 of
 the
 parts
 when
 other
 people
 
are
 involved.
 
 I
 have
 worked
 with
 Ben
 Cantil,
 Ben
 Houge,
 Ganavya
 Doraiswamy,
 Ian
 

Kagey,
 Michael
 Sean
 Harris,
 Ryan
 Renteria,
 and
 Will
 Clark
 at
 varying
 stages
 of
 this
 
project.
 
 The
 work
 that
 I
 have
 done
 with
 these
 collaborators
 has
 been
 both
 fulfilling
 
and
 invaluable
 to
 my
 progress.
 
 Another
 unexpected
 challenge
 has
 been
 time
 
management
 and
 the
 process
 of
 alternating
 between
 helping
 others
 on
 their
 
projects
 and
 then
 returning
 to
 my
 own
 work.
 
 In
 many
 other
 areas
 of
 my
 life,
 time
 
management
 is
 not
 an
 issue.
 
 Being
 adaptive
 to
 the
 ups
 and
 downs
 and
 differing
 
demands
 that
 my
 time
 here
 has
 presented
 is
 a
 skill
 that
 I
 have
 been
 forced
 to
 refine
 
because
 without
 it
 l
 would
 not
 have
 been
 able
 to
 keep
 up.
 
 For
 me,
 mental
 and
 
creative
 energy
 is
 a
 limited
 resource
 from
 day
 to
 day
 and
 time
 constraints
 add
 to
 
this
 tremendously.
 
 For
 many
 of
 these
 issues,
 the
 act
 of
 intuitively
 dealing
 with
 the
 
problem
 has
 helped
 me
 to
 find
 solutions
 in
 a
 more
 efficient
 way.
 
 
 
 

 

Future
 
This
 project
 has
 grown
 from
 a
 simple
 exercise
 into
 a
 holistic
 learning
 experience.
 
 I
 
have
 chosen
 to
 discuss
 this
 project
 here
 in
 a
 way
 that
 reflects
 my
 subjective
 internal
 
experience
 in
 place
 of
 describing
 technical
 details
 because
 I
 feel
 this
 more
 
accurately
 communicates
 how
 important
 this
 project
 is
 to
 me.
 
 Because
 of
 the
 time
 I
 
have
 spent
 here,
 I
 have
 learned
 to
 incorporate
 technology
 into
 my
 life
 as
 a
 creative
 
individual
 and
 an
 aspiring
 professional
 in
 a
 way
 that
 is
 more
 seamless
 and
 more
 
intuitive.
 
 To
 assimilate
 to
 ever-­‐changing
 technologies
 is
 to
 make
 them
 work
 on
 our
 
own
 individual
 terms
 instead
 of
 those
 dictated
 to
 us
 by
 the
 user
 manual.
 
 The
 future
 
of
 this
 project
 is
 creating
 more
 music
 with
 this
 understanding
 and
 this
 fearlessness;
 
it
 is
 incorporating
 this
 method
 of
 music
 production
 into
 my
 daily
 life;
 it
 is
 moving
 

this
 music
 over
 into
 the
 realm
 of
 performance;
 and,
 finally,
 it
 is
 using
 this
 project
 as
 
a
 stepping-­‐stone
 outside
 of
 myself
 to
 be
 able
 to
 connect
 with
 others.
 
 For
 the
 lessons
 
that
 I
 have
 learned
 during
 this
 project
 to
 become
 second
 nature,
 I
 must
 make
 them
 
part
 of
 my
 everyday
 practice.
 
 It
 is
 in
 this
 way
 that
 I
 can
 let
 go
 of
 the
 things
 that
 have
 
been
 mental
 barriers
 and
 allow
 them
 to
 become
 a
 source
 of
 inspiration,
 motivation
 
and
 creativity.
 
 
 

 

 

Footnotes
 

 

1.
 
 Popova,
 
 “Networked
 Knowledge
 and
 Combinatorial
 Creativity,”
 

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/08/01/networked-­‐knowledge-­‐
combinatorial-­‐creativity.
 

 
2.
 
 Maisel,
 Mastering
 Creative
 Anxiety
 –
 24
 Lessons
 for
 Writers,
 Painters,
 
Musicians
 and
 Actors
 from
 America’s
 Foremost
 Creative
 Coach
 (California:
 New
 World
 
Library,
 2011)