Make Better Music – Creative inspiration

Make Better Music has been inspiring creative musicians since 2010.

Helmed by academics Dave Graham, the late Stephen Miller and Simon Laffy over the years Make Better Music has covered the aspects of music making that other resources neglect. Namely, the aesthetics of creating music and covering important topics like how to avoid the doubt filled pitfalls and stagnating blockages that result in mediocrity.

Each of these short articles contains several shots of creative wisdom, some pro-tips to make stand-out music, and lots of foundational concepts that help you push your music further.

Turn it up!

Make better music articles

1. Why do you write music?

2. Dancing about architecture

3. Five ways to re ignite your passion for making music

4. Everything I do turns out rubbish

5. Be your own worst critic

6. Master and servant

7. Think it over and it will fall down

8. What writing music is not

9. What’s your story?

10. Seven mistakes a creative musician should never make

11. Explore rhythm

12. Motifs

13. Organising ideas

14. Listen far and wide

15. Don’t be normal

16. Originality

17. Aim higher than high

18. ADSR

19. Chicken and egg melodies

20. Clarity and complex layers

21. Development

22. Ask yourself smart questions and make smart decisions

23. Well there’s bad music and then there’s good music

24. Be an artist

25. The art of your craft or the craft of your art

26. Be a musical Masterchef

27. Don’t be constrained by your means

28. Revolution not evolution

29. Disrespect

30. Simplicity

31. Rules and regulations

32. Losing your internal music player

33. Re-labelling and pattern shifting

34. Quantisation death ray

35. Your music as a burger

36. Exploit all parameters

37. Truthful creating truthful listening

38. Work on your weaknesses

39. Everything is music

40. Music as an evocation

41. Tempo rhythm time

42. Being the next big thing

43. Has everything been done

44. Polyrhythms the hallmark of complexity

45. Oh the possibilities

46. Satie, Reich, Schoenberg and the limits

47. Messiaen and the blues

48. Putting out production

49. Accepting the new

50. What would Jesus do?

51. Twenty better music tips

52. Practice vs the software trap

53. The software trap

54. Exile on Mickey street

55. Back to basics

56. Celebrating the old

57. Counterpoint

58. Go where the barriers are

59. It’s not what you put in it’s what you get out

60. Automation and the human form

61. The music diet

62. Working out your musical muscles

63. Simplicity vs complexity

64. What comes next

65. A musical process

66. Embrace the chaos

67. Raw power and sophistication

68. Words and music

69. On sound

70. Time

71. Soundlight

72. Music theory

73. Mindful qualities

74. Collaboration

75. The producer

76. The recording process

77. The recording process part two

78. The recording process part three

79. The art of remixing part one

80. The art of remixing part two

81. Monetizing Music

82: Online Piano Lessons

If you have any suggestions on topics that Make better music should cover please send ideas to editors@trebuchet-magazine.com with the subject line ‘Make Better Music Ideas’

David Graham : regolith.bandcamp.com

Stephen M. Miller : www.stevenmmiller.net

Simon Laffy

Comments are closed.

Our weekly newsletter

Sign up to get updates on articles, interviews and events.