Are you a hack?

[glasspuppy]

Kind of a touchy one

How do you define a hack? With the abundance of music technology available at prices that are lower than they ever were before at such a high quality there are more people making music of course....so out of that glob where do you sit? Do you suck outrageously? Are you better than you give yourself credit for? Are you adept at one kind of instrument but entirely new to electronic music production? Who are the hacks?, what seperates them from respectable musicians? How should we approach the matter?

Is there a big diff in your music quality between your' earliest work with what you are doing now? Examples please?

[zero crossing]

[polymer]

yeah, I suck, but in my defense I have only been actually making music for about 6 months. There's so much to know before you can even start with the music its self

[entropist]

I'm better than what I give myself credit for, mainly because what I'm best at is frequently not what I'd want to listen to. I am good at programming interesting drones; I don't get a lot out of doing so.

I'm not a hack, because although I've been too lazy to sit down and learn theory and actually practice an instrument for any length of time, I don't pass myself off as excellent (and in fact don't share my music with many people) - and am certainly not looking to profit off of it.

I'm trying to get around my limitations (which are significant, although not things that I would say contribute to hack-ism) by actually studying theory and so on. Also, I'm finally getting around to building an instrument I've wanted to do for years (about which I will post once it's done... maybe in a day or two).

[Swampwizard]

Im no hack but I am a charlatan:)

[glasspuppy]

Anyone else have some working definitions?

Another thing I'd like to ask is if you've ever been called one by musical traditionalists. "You aint no real musician. You just toy with them synthesizers, an body can make a beat with that." This was actually said to me by someone who overheard that I do my music with software. I'm yet to show him some demos. But yeah it pissed me off pretty badly. Something like this also happened a few years ago as well. Why are they ALL alike? They ALWAYS call electronic music techno no matter how different it is from that. Anyone know what I mean?!

[t.o.t.s.]

grab a guitar and smash his fucking face with it. BAM. You use a REAL instrument to make sounds with so BAM... you're a real musician! Really, just tell fuckballs like that to slurp your asshole and die... then go about making yer swanky tunes.

[metrosonus]

that's something that gnaws at the mind of anyone that takes anything seriously.

When i got into music, there was no downloading, no internet nothing. So you were left with two choices.. work really really hard and buy some stuff out of the paper or a paper catalog you got from the back of a magazine, or improvise. That kept alot of people into it for the cool factor, out of it.

These days, you're right. Keyboards are more affordable than ever, software is cheaper, free if it's stolen.. So there's alot of people into it that weren't before. That puts alot of noise ontop of the people that take it seriously.

So, I would define a hack and non hack by intent, rather than output product.

A non hack is interestead in what they are doing. They enjoy learning about it, are able to asks questions, do their own research and come back with a question that builds on the previous one, they share what they've learned with others... With non hacks there seems to be a well adjusted sense of satisfaction with what they are doing, or even a sense of maturity. Although it may be there, it may also be harder to seen in younger teens that are just getting into it. Non hacks also tend to follow their own inner artistic voice.

Hacks ask questions, demand answers, never contribute to the community, want to be told what they want to hear.. hacks in general want the quickest and easiest means to an end. They tend to want gear with lots of arps and presets beats, the same gear as their favorite musician, they love sitting around in bars talking about writing music rather than doing it.. hacks tend to want their 15 minutes more than they do anything else and typically stolen software, motifs and tritons with lots of combis, acid loops and other stuff is their means to an end in alot of cases.

I speaking in general here.. but also IMHO attitudes affect the quality of the music as well and that also affects my relationship (as a listener) to the artist and the work.

[hEADaCHE]

Ask your music traditionalists this:
Irving berlin could barely play piano and couldnt read or write music - does that make him a hack?

[mus0r]

Hmmm. Interesting question.

I can't play keyboard worth a damn. When I do a two-handed synth part, I record it twice played both times with my right hand.

I play guitar, but not well. I can play fast and do powercords and whatnot but can't play a solo or nice acoustic piece worth a damn.

I play bass, but not well. My slap technique sucks because I'm a cracker

I play drums, but with limitations. I can do insane double kick patterns and blast beats, but I suck at doing huge fills.

And here's the kicker...most people who hear my music liked it

[The Hours of Dawn]

Musically I don't think I'd consider myself a hack, I'm just usually out of practice because music is the last thing I want to hear when I get home from work.

[chinard]

electronic musicians have been hearing this ever since the days of WALTER carlos.
Actually even further back to Clara Rockmore if you include theremin musicianship. She had to struggle hard to get theremin to be accepted and respected as a proper instrument

traditionalist musicians think in a really small box.
most of them are more concerned with form and technique rather than the art and expression of music.
there is much more to music than just hitting the notes.
Take whitney houston for example. Technicaly speaking she is very good at hitting the notes, but her music is un-listenable and makes me want to claw my eyes out with a rusty spoon.

The same applies heavily to modern music mostly due to the fact that it is so accessible now and people can now express the music in their heads without necesarily needing to know how to 'play' the instrument.

Personaly, i've actualy had quite a bit of formal music training in my life but i still only consider my skills as mediocre.
Actualy i'm pretty particular about the labels i give myself because i am not a keyboardist, i consider myself more of a synthesist .
A keyboardist typicaly focuses on advanced technical ability on the keyboard while pretty much using only presets.
A syntheseist focuses on the creation of sounds and doesnt even particularly need to be constrained to using the keyboard.
I consider it a much more musical talent than the mechanical process of being an accomplished keyboardist.

when the muse is upon me, what care i for the hands of man?

[Swampwizard]

Isn't the Theremin like the hardest instrument in the world to play? I swear I have heard many people say this.

[The Hours of Dawn]

Nowadays I'm more concerned with the ARTISTRY of music than the technical. However, I'm very traditional when it comes to form and arrangement of music, although I want to rebel against that and do an ambient album one of these days.

[mazacultura]

"Are you a hack?"

Yes.

I have been noodling with software since 1999, when i was 18. I have probably written... six songs in the last eight years (few of them finished), generally due to having no idea what I'm doing. I picked up the bass in 2001, and have played in a few bands. I taught myself to play the drums around 2005 or so. I have good rhythm and some intuitive grasp of music that helps me find my way along a fretboard, though I don't always know what notes I'm playing. Now that I am band-less and trapped in the friggin Arctic, I've been trying to write on my own again. It's slow, painful, and often non-productive. This might be because I have no theory backing, and haven't taken a single music lesson in my life. Maybe it's a lack of motivation.

I say that I'm a "hack" rather than a musician, because musicians put a lot more time and effort into this than I have, and get more out of it.

But I still enjoy it, and would love to be able to play my own stuff live one day. That's why I keep bashing my head against the wall. I'm better now, but I have a very long way to go.

[chinard]

[Witewunder]

Yes I am a hack!

Now, before I get back to my hackery... Mazacultura, we are the same age. I mathematized that from the year and age you posted. You see, I was ALSO 18 in the year 1999. Not that it is important really, but I was awfully proud of myself.

Hmm... after pondering this whole hack in music topic, I also realize I am a hack at work, but that is a whole other topic.


Back to hacking music!

[celadon]

This is a very interesting question. I have sometimes felt that I am a hack, because I have no training and don't spend enough time practicing yet I'm out there playing music all the time. I manage to get by and make some interesting sounds, but I wish I were more facile. I find I am spending way more time on production and promotion than on practicing and composing. Not a very good way to get ahead artistically.

I often think it would be nice if I could just take some time to focus more on practicing and writing new material, rather than keeping busy updating Web sites and making fliers and videos and stuff, but realistically, I am sure I would spend just as much time distracting myself with other stuff. I guess I will continue to learn "on the job" so to speak...

As far as comments from "real musicians," I have had a lot of good comments from highly trained musicians who wish they had the ability or comfort level to improvise and/or just get out there and make music. A lot of people who have tons of training have the same problems with "writers block" and performance anxiety as untrained musicians and don't get any closer to achieving their dream.

[nolongerhuman]

[Mister Bill]

I would consider a hack is anybody who says they are more than what they are.

Skill level has nothing to do with "hackness". If you are reasonably successful and act like you're the best thing to ever happen to music, then yeah, you're being a hack. If you're a total n00b who's just fucking around with a w4r3z3d copy of Fruityloops and never really intend on every actually doing anything serious musically, you aren't a hack as long as you accept this and don't try to act like you're anything above what you are.

Would I say I'm a hack? I'd say no, but I honestly wouldn't take offense if somebody did consider me one. I do take what a lot of people would consider to be "shortcuts" (Yes, I am the proud owner of a Korg Triton, and am selling 3 or 4 pieces of pretty powerful gear to get a Nord Lead 2 simply because I don't have the patience to utilize the full potential of my Evolver, SY-77, or Virus Rack). Now, I don't use said shortcuts like most "hacks" use them (I program my own Combis on the Triton, complete with my own effects programming, and I doubt I'll use many Nord presets), though if somebody still wants to label me a "hack" I really just don't give a flying fuck.