{"id":2596,"date":"2013-12-20T00:00:16","date_gmt":"2013-12-20T00:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arpjournal.com\/?p=2596"},"modified":"2014-01-18T15:08:32","modified_gmt":"2014-01-18T15:08:32","slug":"creativity-and-home-studios-an-in-depth-study-of-recording-artists-in-greece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arpjournal.com\/asarpwp\/creativity-and-home-studios-an-in-depth-study-of-recording-artists-in-greece\/","title":{"rendered":"Creativity And Home Studios: An In-Depth Study Of Recording Artists In Greece"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The aim of my research is to identify whether the use of DAWs in home studios has influenced the way Greek artists produce music and if so, in which ways this medium can influence creativity. The nature of the topic dictates the full understanding of how musicians and producers in Greece work, what are the reasons they choose a home or a professional studio and what they feel they gain from this way of working.<\/p>\n

Defying Creativity<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Creativity as a subject is one of the most difficult issues that scientific psychology is currently facing (Deliege, Wiggins, 2006). The major issue with Creativity is that it scopes on various fields of academia thus defying the term is extremely challenging. What is now common in most research papers is the researcher defining the term in his own way based on the subject of his interest. Psychologists for instance, approach the definition on a variety of angles but tend to focus on the creative person or the creative process (Hennessey, Amabile, 1987).<\/p>\n

Because of the complexity of the subject, defining creativity in recording is difficult but Phillip McIntyre (2008) provides us with maybe the best definition of musical creativity based on his research:<\/p>\n

Creativity is a productive activity whereby objects, processes and ideas are generated from antecedent conditions through the agency of someone, whose knowledge to do so comes from somewhere and the resultant novel variation is seen as a valued addition to the store of knowledge in at least one social setting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Methodology<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Because of the complexity of the subject I used primarily focus groups for my research. This was done because that this research method has the complete view on people\u2019s opinions and feelings and gives a wider perspective (Bertrand, J., Brown, J., Ward, V., 1992). This and the openness of the discussions that arise during the focus groups provide an ideal setting that is not possible with other research methods, especially for such a personal topic as music creativity.<\/p>\n

Choosing the right participants for a focus group is a key element of the planning process. Because of the nature of the results that focus group research can produce we know that the results will provide us with the way in which the participants \u201csee\u201d and \u201cfeel\u2019 (Bers, T. 1989) the world and do not represent the opinions of a larger population. Planning the groups I wanted to have a broad palette of people in order to cover the broadest and diverse possible data. I decided to divide the participants into four groups based on their occupation so that I would avoid possible issues that were going to be created by their different approaches to recording music and because participants often feel comfortable and secure in the company of people who share similar opinions and behavior (Folch-Lyon, E., Trost, J., 1981; Richardson, C., Rabiee, F., 2001; Krueger, R., 1994).<\/p>\n

The participants<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Sound Engineers group:<\/strong><\/p>\n

GP: owner of one of the oldest and biggest studios in Greece.
\nDG: studio owner, musician, composer and sound engineer with a degree in music technology.
\nDB: studio owner, musician, composer and sound engineer with a post graduate degree.
\nYI: \u00a0 sound engineer.<\/p>\n

The Hobbyists group:<\/strong><\/p>\n

DD: guitarist, studying audio technology at a local school.
\nTP: \u00a0plays French horn\u00a0\u00a0 on\u00a0\u00a0 the\u00a0\u00a0 Municipal\u00a0 \u00a0orchestra\u00a0\u00a0 of\u00a0\u00a0 Thessaloniki with minor recording experience in big commercial studios.
\nYK:\u00a0 saxophone and clarinet player, with postgraduate studies abroad and minor recording experience.
\nAT: \u00a0amateur composer with a couple of released albums.
\nAB: \u00a0bassist, guitarist and lead singer, with years of experience in recording and touring.<\/p>\n

The Professional Pop\/Rock Musicians group:<\/strong><\/p>\n

YA: keyboard player with years of experience on performing, recording, composing and arranging.
\nPK: bass player with several collaborations on CD releases. He is also a part-time singer, composer and guitar player.
\nDK: drummer with years of experience of performing and recording. He is also one of YA former band mates.
\nTH: drummer with years of experience of performing, recording, composing and arranging. He also plays trumpet, guitar, melodica and other instruments. He has produced several releases.
\nPA: \u00a0bass player with several collaborations on CD releases and a solo album.<\/p>\n

The Professional Classical Musicians group:<\/strong><\/p>\n

KP: session musician, multi-organist (flute, guitar, bass, keys etc), composer, arranger conductor with several orchestras and choirs.
\nAS: violinist, soloist and concert-master of the Thessaloniki State Orchestra, composer,\u00a0 arranger\u00a0 with\u00a0 huge\u00a0 experience\u00a0 with\u00a0 orchestras\u00a0 in\u00a0 Greece\u00a0 and abroad.
\nDN: musician (guitarist), composer, sound engineer and studio owner.
\nTM: session musician (pianist) that has many years of experience in the music business with the biggest names in Greece.
\nFK: musician (cellist) that plays with the Symphonic Orchestra of Thessaloniki.<\/p>\n

The Focus Groups<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The opening questions of a focus group are always broad and help to get the discussion started (Morgan, 1998). The first two questions appertain to this category of questions and worked mainly as \u201cice breakers\u201d.<\/p>\n

The third question: \u201cThe use of computers has changed the way we record music. Professional\u00a0 recording\u00a0 equipment\u00a0 is\u00a0 now\u00a0 at\u00a0 a\u00a0 low\u00a0 price\u00a0 and\u00a0 near\u00a0 the\u00a0 reach\u00a0 of amateurs. Do you believe that this is a step forward for musicians, producers and sound engineers?\u201d. In the sound engineer group, the discussion started to get really personal, as was expected, because the issue has a financial impact to their profession. DG said \u201cTechnology helps the musicians [\u2026] but its damaging for\u00a0 the\u00a0 professionals\u201d\u00a0 and\u00a0 then\u00a0 further\u00a0 added\u00a0 that\u00a0 sound\u00a0 engineers\u00a0 lose\u00a0 money because of the equipment that is available in the market although it also provides opportunities to people that couldn\u2019t pay for studio time to be creative and record their music.<\/p>\n

The classical musicians group started as well with a definite \u201cof course\u201d but it doesn\u2019t always help the sound engineers. From that point on, a discussion started within the group about the rise of professional studios and music schools in Thessaloniki (where the focus groups took place) and how even the use of home studios can benefit the professionals by bringing more clients when in the old days those people couldn\u2019t afford to record. This opinion wasn\u2019t shared by the sound engineer group, but the change to a \u201cmixer\u2019s market\u201d is something that is happening to the industry because of the increase of home studio recordings that: \u201c\u2026need someone to straighten them up\u201d. So in a way a home-professional hybrid benefits in the end the professionals giving them a bigger target group for the services that they offer. On the other hand, there was a discussion about the downgrade of quality, thanks to not having full control over the product that the professional studios put out because of the use of home studios. KP talked about his own\u00a0experience with home studios and in the end said: \u201cI prefer somebody paying me to sit down for ten hours in the studio, do 400 takes and just say this is it! Let somebody else do the sound, I don\u2019t care!\u201d adding a completely different point of view in the discussion, that of a session musician that gets paid to go to the studio and not having to pay for the studio himself. TM also added that many people may use recording software without really knowing how to use them, but even that isn\u2019t helping the sound engineers because it\u2019s taking a lot of their customers away.\u00a0 The discussion continued with KP saying that all these software helps the musicians only if the musicians want to serve their music! If the musicians don\u2019t really care for their art, they get sucked into the process of trying to get the perfect sound. Here again, DN didn\u2019t agree with KP saying that recording has helped the musicians fully understand their sound. For example, we know that Chuck Berry developed his unique sound with the use of a tape recorder. The veteran engineer Clarke Scheicher (2000) also noted that a lot of musicians have also become engineers thanks to the home studios and their new-found knowledge on recording.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the pop\/rock musicians started their discussion with a strange and vaguely answer from PK talking about effects that reduce the musicality (\u201can effect that\u00a0 makes\u00a0 the\u00a0 vocals\u00a0 sound\u00a0 like\u00a0 an\u00a0 alien\u00a0 or\u00a0 something\u201d), something that Prior (2009) names de-humaniser (primarily the use of the software autotune with extreme settings).\u00a0 The discussion ended with the conclusion that technology enhances the productivity, and that leads to a lot of \u201cgarbage\u201d music. That was something that stirred up the whole discussion leading to a later bigger debate with two different sides. One side with YA saying that there isn\u2019t any \u201cgarbage\u201d music, only \u201c\u2026CDs that we don\u2019t need to own\u2026\u201d and the other side with PK and DK that argued that some \u201cCDs shouldn\u2019t exist\u201d. Hewitt (2009) argues that this shift of technology created the need to search more, because of the quantity, \u201cto find the good stuff\u201d and in the end he comes to the conclusion that: \u201cit comes back to the percentage thing\u201d. This is also the conclusion that the debate came to later in the discussion. The technology changed the ratio of \u201cgood\/bad\u201d records only because of the advances in technology, which gave the recording capability to far more users, boosting productivity that results to mediocrity. Another thing that was discussed was the fairness of the new technology. This question was not clearly addressed by this group. All participants chose to answer\u00a0 with\u00a0 philosophical\u00a0 answers\u00a0 rather\u00a0 with\u00a0 a\u00a0 simple\u00a0 \u201cyes\u00a0 or\u00a0 no\u201d,\u00a0 with\u00a0 the exception of YA who was in favor of new technologies because of the \u201cfreedom\u201d that it provides. He was also the first to add a financial and more practical aspect to the conversation. Later on, he continued his thoughts by adding the independence of musicians from record labels, something that we can easily see happening with the music industry today. PA had a bohemian approach to the question talking about the beauty of imperfections in music and how this element can suffer with the more \u201csterile\u201d approach of technology but TH quickly underlined the positive outcome that can come from the internet in order to send recorded music quickly to another part of the globe. DK also had a different angle on things by adding that technology has helped people that can\u2019t read sheet music (or don\u2019t want to learn) to fulfill their creative needs to learn an instrument and express themselves. This newfound freedom that digital technology is presenting to the users, provides the ability to bypass notational constraints and help pop musicians who often learn by listening to other recordings rather than by the traditional way of going to a conservatory.<\/p>\n

The hobbyists discussed the overuse of the technology that is given to them producing in the end \u201ctoo perfect recordings\u201d. Here YK describes the recording as \u201cthe big con\u201d, adding that he feels cheated by the engineer and the musicians. That led to a conversation of how errors in the recording makes the product more human and acceptable in contrast to the \u201ctoo good to be true\u201d recordings that we now are used to listen. This \u201cbig con\u201d is not a secret, and we can see that famous engineers are alarmed by this issue. Jimmy Douglas, an engineer that worked with a variety of artists from Rolling Stones to Justin Timberlake, expresses his disappointment when collaborating with artists that rely mostly in technology for their performances.<\/p>\n

The fourth question: \u201cDo you believe that an amateur can produce a good recording with a computer, recording software and a decent sound card?\u201d was quickly positively answered by everyone in all groups. In the sound engineer group, GP went as far as to comment \u201che doesn\u2019t have to be an amateur, even a hacker can [produce a good recording]!\u201d. DG added \u201che should know music\u201d and later added \u201cthe companies [that produce hardware] have made everything very easy\u201d, a point that is also shared by many well-known sound engineers. Trevor Horn for example, said in an interview that \u201cwith autotuning and the ability to line up everything in time it\u2019s pretty difficult to create something that\u2019s crap\u201d.<\/p>\n

In the other groups, some participants expressed their doubts. In the classical musicians group DN said: \u201cAn amateur even in a real studio cannot produce a decent outcome\u201d and AS argued\u00a0 about\u00a0 the\u00a0 performance\u00a0 and\u00a0 not\u00a0 the\u00a0 recording\u00a0 part\u00a0 of\u00a0 the\u00a0 process.\u00a0 In the pop\/rock musicians group DK added that the expertise is needed. Highlighting maybe the most important asset that a good engineer must have, being able to get a good sound no matter where he records. The hobbyists added that because we were talking about an amateur musician and not a sound engineer we have to take into consideration the space, the knowledge of computers and the musical instrument (for instance, the differences between an electric guitar and a trumpet). This\u00a0 comparison\u00a0 led\u00a0 to\u00a0 the complains of YK and TP about the sound that their instruments have inside a professional studio due to the sound absorption and how a \u201cdead room\u201d can destroy the psychology of a musician, resulting to a bad performance.<\/p>\n

Home Studios<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The next question was about the definition of the term \u201chome studio\u201d and this is where things started to get very interesting. A clear definition of the term home studio isn\u2019t available in the literature because of the broad meaning that the term implies. White (2003) presents the definition:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026making music recordings that sound as much like commercial records as possible by using affordable equipment in a home environment\u201d ,<\/p>\n

and Coryat (2005) also provides a similar definition:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026the pursuit of professional sound in ways that don\u2019t require you to spend a lot of money\u201d<\/p>\n

Both definitions have certain things in common; both have the financial aspect, which is the hypothesis that the home studio is far cheaper to build than a professional studio, and both have the professional sound\/commercial record as the main pursuit of the engineer\/musician. White\u2019s definition also implies the particular environment where the studio is built; a home environment, something that we see in more studies as well (Stobart 2011, Theberge 1997). But during the focus groups though, we could clearly see that all these aspects are relevant according to the views of the owner and user of the home studio. We also found out that a home studio doesn\u2019t have to be inside ones leaving space; it doesn\u2019t have to be cheap, and the outcome can have professional use (Filipetti, Visconti, Levine etc.). Below there are a few definitions from the participants:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • DB said: \u201cIt\u2019s a good place where you can record a few good tracks and then go to the studio and record them\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • DG said \u201cit\u2019s a term that implies something cheap. It\u2019s low budget and not for professionals\u201d but later added \u201cthere are [some] great home studios, even better then professional ones\u2026\u201d commenting on the need for a new term for such establishments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n
      • GP added by saying: \u201cWhat is a home studio? Nothing! Somebody that bought a computer and is experimenting in his house. The term home studio is inappropriate! It has to be banned!\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          \n
        • DN\u00a0 started\u00a0 by\u00a0 saying\u00a0 that\u00a0 by\u00a0 definition\u00a0 is\u00a0 the\u00a0 exact\u00a0 opposite\u00a0 of\u00a0 a professional studio and continued by saying: \u201c\u2026when I am recording alone, I feel it as my home studio [he owns a professional studio]\u2026 I have to record someone else in order to feel it as a professional studio\u2026\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
            \n
          • AS said that a home studio has to be private: \u201cIf you record by yourself with your sleepers and your piano, it\u2019s a home studio\u201d. He also said that if he is at his home studio and there is a sound engineer present, offering his services for free, it\u2019s no longer a home studio.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
              \n
            • TM said that, at his opinion a home studio has something imperfect about it, \u201cin the mind of people, home studio has a sense of an imperfect studio in comparison to a professional one\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                \n
              • DK started by saying that, for him, a home studio has to be available at all times, it has to be inside the owner\u2019s living space where he can just pop inside and record his ideas instantly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                  \n
                • YA commented again on the financial aspect saying that a home studio is where everything is free. He also said that a professional can have a home studio but if he uses it for a professional job then it\u2019s no longer a home studio and it all depends on the use of space.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                    \n
                  • PA said that a home studio has to be near your living space, but it also means that there are limitations of space, equipment and funds but this again has to do with the financial background of the owner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                      \n
                    • PK said that a home studio has to be private in use, if it\u2019s only used just for the owner as his way to express his creative needs, as a hobby \u201cif the guys that record there are professionals, even if you are at your shower, then that isn\u2019t a home studio\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      So it\u2019s clear that the term \u201chome studio\u201d represents completely different things to different people, depending on the user, his relationship to music and his financial condition.<\/p>\n

                      Concerning the differences between home studios and professional studios, the musicians were clear. The difference is the producer and the experience of the sound engineer. Adding that guidance and feedback from someone with the proper training is really important. Later TM added that the producer has to inspire you and DN said \u201che has to get the best out of you\u201d. The bottom line of the discussion was \u201cit\u2019s not about the tool: it\u2019s about the skill of the person using the tools\u201d.\u00a0 Going to a professional studio is a financial investment and you expect better results and something extra for your money. Of course, the conversation had reference to the technical differences (soundproofing etc.) but it was mainly focused on the financial aspect.<\/p>\n

                      In the sound engineers group, the participants again made it clear that home studios are not intended for professional use but we can see in pop music a lot of artists owning their own home studio and using it for commercial releases. The group continued the discussion saying that in a professional studio, the artist is more focused, and GP again said that, for him, home studios are nothing. What was interesting here was the response of DG to the question which added a different definition to the term home studio and how it influences him as an artist: \u201c[\u2026] even in a professional studio, when I am all alone, I sense it as my home studio. When somebody else is recording me, when I go to another studio, and another guy is recording me, even if it\u2019s the guys\u2019 home studio, for me it\u2019s a studio! When somebody else is recording me, I perform much better.\u201d<\/p>\n

                      The hobbyists started by saying that the big difference is the architecture and the layout of the establishment leading to a response from DD saying that you design your professional studio to have specific acoustic elements where in a home studio environment \u201cyou adjust to what you have\u201d. On the other hand, AT said that it is all in someone\u2019s mind, a home studio can now easily surpass a professional studio on all accounts but it is just that feeling \u201cyou are saying to yourself that you are going to a recording studio\u201d that makes the difference. But again here as with the musicians group the bottom line was the sound engineer.<\/p>\n

                      Home-made aesthetics <\/strong><\/h3>\n

                      Artists are now recording on their home studios; thanks to the gear that is available in the market and the capability of this gear to produce recordings of the same quality to a professional studio. The next question was about the effect that a home studio might have for the finished product. \u201cA lot of artists are now recording exclusively on their home studios. Do you believe that this affects artistically the finished product? \u201d.<\/p>\n

                      In the hobbyists group, the answer was given straight away from all participants, \u201cYes it does\u201d. Following that positive response AB said that recording in a professional studio \u201c[\u2026]would be less creative!\u201d and then mentioned what he thought were the negatives of professional studios. He later praised the home studio for its qualities (freedom to work at the artist’s pace, more control of the creative process etc.). At the end of the discussion AT said that he believes that the best way to record is a combination of home and professional recording.<\/p>\n

                      TM started the discussion in the classical musicians group, by saying that he feels that the whole discussion was centered too much on the equipment, \u201c\u2026it\u2019s like saying that the equipment is performing by itself\u2026\u201d. \u00a0He used the synthesizers as an example to make his point, by saying that when the synthesizers came out, all his colleagues were saying that it wasn\u2019t a real instrument because it was meant to emulate other sounds and he concluded by saying: \u201cIt\u2019s not the instrument by itself, is not a machine, it\u2019s the performer that steps in and wants to contribute something\u201d. TM afterwards made his opinion clear by saying \u201cas a listener when I listen to a good recording I feel better but nevertheless the important thing is who is performing and what he is offering\u201d making clear that for him the composition and performance with all the imperfection, are far more important than sound quality. The music is \u201cwhat truly matters\u201d, and he continued saying that the place and atmosphere where an artist is composing or performing doesn\u2019t make a difference. This notion of putting music over sound quality is also stated by John Simon (2009) (producer for Janis Joplin, The Band and many more) who says that a bad recording is no problem when there is a good song. AS answered this question using Paul McCartney as an example. He said while McCartney used his home studio to record a particular album, the recording depended on the mood and what the artist wanted at the moment. He also talked about limitations and boundaries, which he feels are what an artist needs and wants in order to create. Titelman (2000) says about placing limits on recordings:<\/p>\n

                      \u201cI recommend it, yeah. It does something to your creative juices, and it does something to your decision-making process\u201d .<\/p>\n

                      This is something that comes in complete contrast with one of the biggest selling points of digital technology: the unlimited tracks.<\/p>\n

                      Moving on to the next question: \u201cIf money weren\u2019t a factor would you record home?\u201d the hobbyists removed all the negatives of the professional studio that we talked in the previous question and judged only according to the creativity aspect of recording and got divided exactly in the middle with two \u201cyes\u201d, two \u201cno\u201d and one \u201cmaybe\u201d.<\/p>\n

                      In the classical musicians group, all the participants said no for various reasons. AS said that he feels the need of having someone to keep him focused, because when he is employing someone for a specific job, he is more concentrated on doing the job right. KP said that he prefers the communication that a professional studio has to offer. There is an active feedback from other musicians, the sound engineer and the producer. TM also said something similar with KP, that he prefers the professional studio because of the freedom that it gives you and the time that you can experiment while other musicians are recording, and you are free to jam in the control room or a different booth.<\/p>\n

                      In the pop\/rock group, the musicians were divided into three groups.<\/strong><\/p>\n

                        \n
                      • Recording in a home studio. YA said he prefers the home studio as a creative environment, \u201cI would build a good home studio, and I will prefer to have my comfort, my inspiration, my time, my this and that, so I could call five friends and have them record fifteen ideas\u201d. TH also argued by saying that he prefers a home studio (especially if he is recording something, he had written) because he believes that recording by himself is part of the creative process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                          \n
                        • Recording in a professional studio. PK said he prefers a professional studio because he will have better results. DK also said something similar but added that he would also prefer a professional studio so that he wouldn\u2019t have to worry with anything other than performing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                            \n
                          • A home-professional studio hybrid where some recording take place in a home studio and some may be recorded in a professional. This hybrid is something that many sound engineers use, some to overcome limited budgets and financial issues (Schmitt, 2000; Killen, 2009; Niebank, 2009) and some for the benefit of being home relaxed (Bullard, 2000; Mardin, 2000; Visconti, 2000; Levine, 2000). PA talked about an \u201cideal studio\u201d that would be a professional studio with the intimacy of a home studio.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                            In the sound engineers group GP and YI said they prefer the professional studio, but DG and DB said something different. DG said he would build a home studio, \u201csomething professional but at home so I can be comfortable\u201d. This was clearly an unexpected answer coming from a studio owner. And DB said that he would combine home and professional studio.<\/p>\n

                            The last question was: \u201cdo you believe that the place that art is created can affect the creative process?\u201d. In the classical musicians group TM was the only to say that space has a big impact something that\u2019s noted by Delaney on his book \u201cLaptop Music\u201d where he compares the \u201cideal creative environment\u201d of a quiet home studio to a table in a caf\u00e9, turning the distractions (noise, people) to inspiration. KP said that the place only helps to warm up and nothing else. AS commented on modern recording, that it\u2019s done in pieces and thus you lose the performance, so the place doesn\u2019t really help. Closing the discussion KP talked about how creativity has to do with how the artists are used in doing things, how they get focused and their need for boundaries, \u201cthose boundaries are that get you focused and get you excited, they help you reach your spiritual height\u201d, and this was something that all the participants agreed on. In the sound engineers group the answers were completely different. All participants said that the location and the vibe is a huge factor in the creative process, with GP telling stories of Greek artists that recorded in his studio.<\/p>\n

                            Williams (2007) compares studio design to Bentham\u2019s \u201cpanopticon\u201d, an architectural design for prisons where the guards are in a central tower having the power to observe all the prison cells<\/p>\n

                            Similarly, the very design of recording studio control rooms, with their glass observation windows looking out on the inhabitants of the recording room, enables technicians to exercise power over the musicians involved in the recording process.<\/p>\n

                            This view of the recording studio may be thought as extreme but is relevant to the musicians leading them to the use of the \u201cfriendlier\u201d home studio. In the pop\/rock musicians group, the participants agreed that recording in a home studio environment influences the finished product. In a home studio, everything is friendlier, making mistakes doesn\u2019t really matter, and the musician doesn\u2019t feel constantly judged by the sound engineer or other musicians. That final remark started a new conversation and the whole group commented on sound\u00a0 engineers\u00a0 that\u00a0 add\u00a0 sarcastic\u00a0 comments\u00a0 or\u00a0 have\u00a0 a\u00a0 certain\u00a0 kind\u00a0 of\u00a0 attitude towards musicians. The relationship between musician\u00a0 and\u00a0 sound\u00a0 engineer\u00a0 is\u00a0 vital\u00a0 and\u00a0 all agreed that\u00a0 a\u00a0 musician\u00a0 can\u00a0 easily\u00a0 overcome problems\u00a0 when\u00a0 the\u00a0 engineer\u00a0 creates\u00a0 a\u00a0 relaxed\u00a0 atmosphere\u00a0 for\u00a0 the\u00a0 musician\u00a0 to perform.<\/p>\n

                            Outcomes<\/strong><\/h3>\n

                            a) <\/strong>Quality of sound recording available from inexpensive devices is now available in the home studio<\/strong><\/p>\n

                            The sound quality of home recordings is at top level quality, and this is something that all focus group participants agree upon. Even sound engineers who believe that the studio is a better place for recording go along with this position. Thus, the equipment that is available at home can produce a good quality recording. This is also evident through the present research and the accompanied literature, noting that the recording technology is now available not only to the professional but also to the everyday consumer, where with a small setup one can produce a sound result.<\/p>\n

                            b) <\/strong>The importance of professional expertise<\/strong><\/p>\n

                            The tools are available to everyone, but the user needs to have the proper knowledge to use them. Musicians may use the internet more than other people, but they are not always technologically adept and giving them another task to do, besides performing, may result to poor performances and later on bad recordings.<\/p>\n

                            c) <\/strong>Role of the professional engineer in guiding\/advising\/assisting the performer<\/strong><\/p>\n

                            Having on a recording session another individual with the musical and technical knowledge to hear things that need correcting is very valuable. A professional engineer can help the musician avoid common mistakes and can also give an outsider\u2019s perspective to the musicians work. It can also positively impact the performance because the musician fully focuses his attention to the music. The engineer is there to keep the mayhem of controlling the machinery away from the musician, allowing the artist to have only the music on his mind. A lot of times we can see that the input of the engineer or producer can trigger a creative collaboration with the artist with positive results. Bob Dylan acknowledged that he would never have written the song \u201cMan in the Long Black Coat\u201d if it wasn\u2019t the \u201cnagging\u201d of Lanois (his producer on the album \u201cOh Mercy\u201d). It was that \u201cnagging\u201d that drove Dylan to be creative and produce a new song.<\/p>\n

                            d) <\/strong>Relaxed or solemn working atmosphere<\/strong><\/p>\n

                            We can clearly see that there is no ground rule for the power that drives the musician to perform better. Like the classical musicians who cannot really agree on the nature of the relationship with the orchestra conductor, some people perform their best while they are under a lot of pressure and others need their time to work things through. The home studio environment can provide an artist a relaxed place for him to work at his own pace and also help him experiment on sounds and arrangements where, on the other hand, the professional studio can give a sense of urgency and pressure that some people need to concentrate on their music.<\/p>\n

                            e) <\/strong>The \u201cpen or pencil\u201d question<\/strong><\/p>\n

                            It became clear from the focus groups that the tools that are used during a recording can have a positive or a negative effect on the creative outcome. Of course, this is not something that can be generalized using the data created by the focus groups but we can clearly see a specific pattern. The focus groups data could be used to produce a questionnaire that could lead to conclusions about a larger population sample (for instance Greek musicians).<\/p>\n

                            Bibliography<\/strong><\/h3>\n

                            Albini, S. (1997) \u2018The Problem with Music\u2019. In: Frank, T. (ed.) Commodify Your Dissent. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. pp. 164-176.<\/p>\n

                            Amabile, T. M. (1982) \u2018Children’s Artistic Creativity: Detrimental Effects of Competition in a Field Setting\u2019\u00a0In: Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin. 8, pp. 573\u2013578.<\/p>\n

                            Amabile, T. M. (1996) Creativity in Context. Boulder, US: Westview Press<\/p>\n

                            Bohm, D. (2006) On Creativity. London: Routledge Classics<\/p>\n

                            Brown, A. (2007) Computers in Music Education, London: Routledge<\/p>\n

                            Chaffin,R., Lemieux,A., & Chen,C. (2006). Spontaneity and creativity in highly practiced performance. In: I. Deli\u00e8ge & G.A. Wiggins. Musical creativity: Multidisciplinary research in theory and practice. London: Psychology Press. pp. 200-218<\/p>\n

                            Coryat, K. (2005) Guerilla Home Recording: How to Get Great Sound from Any Studio (no Matter How Weird or Cheap Your Gear Is). San Francisco: Hal Leonard Corporation.<\/p>\n

                            Delaney, M. (2004) Laptop Music. Thetford: PC Publishing<\/p>\n

                            Deli\u00e8ge, I. and Geraint A. Wiggins. (2006) Musical Creativity: Multidisciplinary Research in Theory and Practice. Hove: Psychology.<\/p>\n

                            Dylan, B. (2005) Chronicles Volume One. New York: Simon& Schuster<\/p>\n

                            Feldman, D., Csikszentmihalyi, M. and Gardner, H. \u00a0(1994) Changing the world A framework for the study of creativity. Westport, CT: Praeger<\/p>\n

                            Folch-Lyon, E., & Trost, J. F. (1981). \u2018Conducting focus group sessions\u2019. In: Studies in Family Planning, 12, pp. 443-449.<\/p>\n

                            Gardner, H. (1993) Multiple Intelligences: The theory in practice. New York: Basic Books<\/p>\n

                            Gardner, H. (1993) Creating Minds: An anatomy of creativity seen through the lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi. New York: Basic Books<\/p>\n

                            Hargreaves, D. J. (1986) The Developmental Psychology of Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.<\/p>\n

                            Harvey, J. and Michael D. (1999) Music and Inspiration. London: Faber and Faber<\/p>\n

                            Hennessey, Beth A., and T. M. Amabile.\u00a0(1987) Creativity and Learning.\u00a0Washington, D.C.:\u00a0National Education Association<\/p>\n

                            Judy, P. (1996) \u2018Life and work in symphony orchestras: An interview with J.Richard Hackman\u2019. In: Harmony 2. pp. 1-13<\/p>\n

                            Krueger, R. A. (1994) Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications<\/p>\n

                            Krueger, R. A. (1998) Analyzing and Reporting Focus Group Results. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.<\/p>\n

                            Krueger, R. A. (2005) Developing Questions for Focus Groups. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                            Introduction The aim of my research is to identify whether the use of DAWs in home studios has influenced the way Greek artists produce music and if so, in which ways this medium can influence creativity. The nature of the topic dictates the full understanding of how musicians and producers in Greece work, what are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[169,217,218,216,141],"class_list":["post-2596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles-editorials-provocations","tag-creativity","tag-focus-groups","tag-greek-musicians","tag-home-studios","tag-technology","author-stefanos-kaloterakis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arpjournal.com\/asarpwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arpjournal.com\/asarpwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arpjournal.com\/asarpwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arpjournal.com\/asarpwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arpjournal.com\/asarpwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2596"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.arpjournal.com\/asarpwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2782,"href":"https:\/\/www.arpjournal.com\/asarpwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596\/revisions\/2782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arpjournal.com\/asarpwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arpjournal.com\/asarpwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arpjournal.com\/asarpwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}