devs that also make music

[PurpleSunray]

It's funny you mention it like that, because i have the completely reverse experience. I guess it comes down to what you do professionally and privately/spare-time projects.

For sure. Back at the time as 'spare-time programmer ' it was different indeed. Programing can be a highly creative activity, but it changes rapidly if you do it professionally.
I do C++ for embedded devices on automtive business and there it is all about beeing very very carefully and thinking twice about each line of code you write, because if your software is out to the customer once there is no more chance to deliver any bugfix update. Creativity is certainly not what's important there

[PurpleSunray]

~ wrong button~
-.-

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

making music is the best

I have to admit that as much as I enjoy making music software if I have to choose I'd prefer to make music. It's been very refreshing after over a decade of writing junk like web apps to get back to low level, fast & clean C++. But my music output has tapered off to nothing since I started.

agreed. And when you build software for youself it turns out better.
A dream I had in 2005 was a complete software studio for myself, and I'm still working on that. When I'll have enough tools I'll stop

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

It's funny you mention it like that, because i have the completely reverse experience. I guess it comes down to what you do professionally and privately/spare-time projects.

For sure. Back at the time as 'spare-time programmer ' it was different indeed. Programing can be a highly creative activity, but it changes rapidly if you do it professionally.
I do C++ for embedded devices on automtive business and there it is all about beeing very very carefully and thinking twice about each line of code you write, because if your software is out to the customer once there is no more chance to deliver any bugfix update. Creativity is certainly not what's important there

I'm doing it professionally and I was never so much happy like I'm now. I'm lucky, I can wake up in the morning and decide to release a new compressor I want for my music and I like. Creative at maximum levels, happy, and very ansious of getting a new product ready, with the exact look I like

But
but
but

nothing beats music. Nothing.
Turning on my focal speakers for testing a compressor is just a waste of time, if you don't load ni massive and you play a new sequence, than you put some drums on it, compose a vocal track, make it real and start mxing again!!!!

[PurpleSunray]

> nothing beats music. Nothing.
I know what you are talking about I could never develop plugins professionally.. I would get lost in making sound while testing my code.. would have tons of new tracks at the end probably, but no plugin xD

[hibrasil]

KitClayton, Tim Exile, Errorsmith

[No_Use]

Justin Frankel.

[JCJR]

People have different attention spans. Some maintaining very long term interest in a topic, other people not so much.

I played music full time for a living for 25 years, played professionally part time for more years. Will still occasionally play live music for money. A full time music gig is 20 or 30 hours a week so there was time available for parallel part time vocations. At various times would spend a good bit of time with music related analog and digital electronics, acoustic and electric piano tuning and repair, recording, programming. All in some way related to music. Lately have spent a great deal of time acoustically treating the office, also music related.

For about 12 years did part time music programming while also playing music fulltime, while occasionally tuning a piano or repairing a synth or doing a recording gig. Then for 15 years fulltime music programming that left little time for anything else.

Lately have a hard time paying long attention to programming, or music, though it is fun for part of a day. It is more fun to play some unpolished disposable music than to attempt taking it to a polished end product. It always took so many hours to make a polished recording, that toward the middle of the project it quits being fun and turns into drudgery. Which lately is the same situation with programming. It quits being fun a long time before the project is finished.

[kuniklo]

Lately have a hard time paying long attention to programming, or music, though it is fun for part of a day. It is more fun to play some unpolished disposable music than to attempt taking it to a polished end product. It always took so many hours to make a polished recording, that toward the middle of the project it quits being fun and turns into drudgery. Which lately is the same situation with programming. It quits being fun a long time before the project is finished.

This is one disadvantage of experience. When you're younger you don't know just how much work it will take to finish something so you charge off on new directions full of enthusiasm. After a while you become all too aware how much of the process of finishing anything is just grinding through tedious details and not spontaneously creating.

[aciddose]

On the topic of coding for fun, check this out:
http://pastebin.com/rysDqdGs

I wrote this the other day because I was sick and tired of the crap lack of greyscale antialiasing in windows 7 & 8. "Cleartype" drives me nuts.

The code is simple and "terrific" enough that heck, I got all the enjoyment I needed out of it just by writing it.

If someone ended up using this code for something useful that would be just rad.

example output from modified tahoma.ttf (enabled smoothing on all ranges): http://pastebin.com/HzRazYrN

Use of this since it lacks a UI requires inserting breakpoints and modifying data in the debugger.

Having mad science hair could help.

[Andrew Souter]

I've noticed that since I started trying to make music software I've lost a lot of my energy for actually making music. After wresting with DSP code and C++ for many hours I don't seem to want to spend much more time staring at a computer screen or any other music software.

Are there any devs out there that have managed to keep a foot in each camp? That is, are there many of us that make software that could really also call themselves musicians?

I do.

https://soundcloud.com/andrew_souter/se ... utum-rains


I have very specifically and intentionally worked on "pure music" in the form of solo-piano music recently in order to keep my brain balanced between the technical and the creative... I also do various electronic music as well of course. But it is freeing to sometimes focus only on melody, harmony, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, performance etc. and not worry about the the things that I normally think about while making products or doing sound-design...

Also released earlier this year:

https://soundcloud.com/andrew_souter/sets/wayfarer

https://soundcloud.com/andrew_souter/se ... ou-preview

[Andrew Souter]

Having mad science hair could help.

It does...

https://twitter.com/2CAudio/status/490834226238201856

[elassi]

I have very specifically and intentionally worked on "pure music" in the form of solo-piano music recently in order to keep my brain balanced between the technical and the creative... I also do various electronic music as well of course. But it is freeing to sometimes focus only on melody, harmony, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, performance etc. and not worry about the the things that I normally think about while making products or doing sound-design...

Funny coincidence. I've recently read an interview with Bugge Wesseltoft (in a mag from 2007...) where they/he discussed this.

So, I'm curious to listen to your tracks after sending this post.

[tv_g]

Working on casual video games led me to want to make music which led me to want to make music software. Trying to balance my schedule so I can work on both music and software is tough. I go through phases as to which gets my full attention.

[kuniklo]

That's nice stuff Andrew. I can certainly see the appeal of getting away from technology entirely sometimes and focusing purely on musical ideas.