How challenging can a collaboration with an artist be?

Sebastian_2107

Sebastian_2107

New member
I've been wondering what would be the biggest difficulty in collaborating with a musician, artist, or music producer remotely. What do you think would be the biggest problem based on your experience? I'll be reading them!
 
Sounds like an exam question. I'd say finding a partner on the same wavelength as yourself.
If I could just clone myself, we'd make a great band.
 
First job, define collaboration. Are you partners with equal voices, or are you a service provider? It does sound like a problem posed in a college yo make you think. Why don’t you tell us what you think, and we’ll back you up or tell you you’re wrong. You have to do some of the work? Context, personalities, technical issues. All play a part, but until you explain what you are doing, our idea of collaboration may be way off yours.
 
I sometimes wonder if these open questions from brand new folks are just bots collecting data for a blog, reddit article, whatever, and not "real."

The biggest problem is that this question involves unknown people with unknown skills, and the "actor" in the question is undefined.
 
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That’s an unanswerable question. Too many variables. And yes, it may be data mining.
 
Seb Said
"I've been wondering ,
what would be the biggest difficulty in collaborating,
with a musician, artist, or music producer remotely. ,
What do you think would be the biggest problem based on your experience?
I'll be reading them!"

it takes time to learn how to listen to the one you dub the collaborator
and by the very term, a nefarious shadow can be slowly draped upon the table
see what I mean?
Remote is a problem - the biggest one.
to Collab, I have to look deep into the eye of the person across the table
and they better be willing to spend long stretched minute arguing the meaning of the minute of the moment.
and the light, oh yes, it must be right to accentuate my holy cheek bones
once that simple ask is attained then comes the turn
I say, so, coll, what's your sign?
Oh! Well, then... we're diametrically apposed to any possible agreement on the rhyming of the the word "sad"
 
Well I think he's gone. He was back on Thursday and presumably read the posts and couldn't be bothered to add anything - I suggest he did do what he said - "He'd be reading them" - probably didn't expect to not like them, but it's very true. Questions without context mean so little.

I've just sent a reminder invoice to a collaborator. We worked together on his project, me doing most of the work, him guiding and changing things. We even agreed a special price with a ceiling as it was a vanity project really. £200. Probably about 20 hours worth, maybe a bit more when he kept changing things. It's now six weeks and two so sorry responses, I'll sort it shortly. I bet! Collaboration really shouldn't mean one party loses out and the other gains.
 
I wondered about a situation such as this when I was halfway through a recent collaboration via a website service. I was able to listen to as many takes as were necessary until I was satisfied with the requested material. However, I was not able to download or otherwise capture the track(s) until I had "signed" an agreement and forwarded payment via PayPal. On the whole, a very gratifying experience.
 
Sebastian_2107 said:
I've been wondering what would be the biggest difficulty in collaborating with a musician, artist, or music producer remotely. What do you think would be the biggest problem based on your experience? I'll be reading them!
Click to expand...
From a personal perspective, it depends.

From the age of 16 I played guitar in some great bands with some talented kids. We did gigs, cut the odd demo here and there but would squabble and fall out and break up as kids do. Also being in NE England in the 80s we had no chance. Everything was London in those days and you really had to relocate if you wanted to give it a go. A lot of the guys I worked with then are now really consumate respected "go to" session players for live and studio work in their 50's.
I went back to music college in the 90's and my ethos now is.... I can still play good guitar, I can play some piano/keys, I am a good sequencer of drums and bass and I now have a good amount of recording gear and studio mikes in a dedicated room at home. I am a producer who can compose my own material and I sing and arrange backing vocals. I can sing but I will never be Steven Perry or Don Henley.
So now I can do it ALL on my own... without any distraction from conflict..
The only problem is that I am very old now.
So.... with that in mind it would be so nice to find a young raw talented singer and make them a superstar and me a millionaire... like Guy Chambers did 😅🥰🥰👍👍
 
I find your point interesting! Honestly, it is incredible how this industry does not stop innovating and that I have only been a music producer for 6 years. and it's true haha we need a superstar to become rich 8-):LOL:
 
as far as just collaborating, with collab being... simply... two home amateur musicians trying to work together? It can be almost impossible.

My story on it... I was (still am) doing the "classical type thing" at home... another musician I was talking with (on here, old site, years ago?) made a song idea... I asked if I could have something he made, and I could make a "classical" backing to "go" with it. he agreed to let me try...

it was a fiasco for me,and proved impossible for me to do it. I had to give up.
1) I wanted/needed to know what "key" his piece was in, and what scale he used. He? Didnt write like that... he was an ear musician, and didnt concern himself with that.
2) I had an idea I could "hear" in my head? Was never able to make exactly what I was hearing as the orchestral background.
3) In the end? I doint know... maybe I would have had to have "been there" when the thing was being created, and... been in on it from the get go.

In the end? I have the same/similar problems trying (on other site) to "talk" to other classical composers. I hear a constant stream of "I dont know what youre asking"

in this case, I know its because I am completely self taught how to compose classical music. I have my own... internal I guess... words and phrases I use to describe my techniques. Making it worse? I would read about "real techniques" but... not use/apply them like those guys were taught in music college.

its kind of bittersweet for me... I'm in my own little world, making classical stuff. I cant "work" with regular songwriters, they dont speak my language... I cant work even with other "real" classical composers, or even ask questions or answer questions they pose me... I dont speak *their* language, at least not the right way they want.

I keep moving forwards though, but, it sucks to be alone.
on the other hand? It makes me able to do whatever I feel or want, and I'm not constrained by anything.

I have trouble letting regular singer songwriters hear my stuff and offer their experience on it. I get...
1) I'm not into classical... I'm into "x"
2) sounds pretty good? But... it sounds like "you real;ly didn;t have anything to really SAY, man..." (which to me? means nothing)


the best I ever get? I sometimes let some teenager hear my stuff... one said...
"huh... sounds like something from a starwars movie..."
which honestly, made me feel great.... teenager didnt even know, he was simply saying...
"sounds like classical soundtrack", which was what I am always going for anyways.

I honestly dont know HOW "real musicians" collaborate. I wish I did, I feel like I have something to offer
and just don;t know how to do it.
 
When you're interested in classical, SEDstar, it almost makes you an outcast.
It is all music. I play classical, and can also appreciate death metal.
Within classical there is an enormous variety of styles, developed over hundreds of years.
Original classical compositions of today can be very exciting.
Many rock enthusiasts see the inability to read music as a qualification.
Rock musicians can play by feel, but so can classical musicians.
The difference is that the classical musicians will have a further layer of formality.
I am on a solitary path, and have never got very far with other amateur enthusiasts.
 
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Slouching Raymond said:
When you're interested in classical, SEDstar, it almost makes you an outcast.
It is all music. I play classical, and can also appreciate death metal.
Within classical there is an enormous variety of styles, developed over hundreds of years.
Original classical compositions of today can be very exciting.
Many rock enthusiasts see the inability to read music as a qualification.
Rock musicians can play by feel, but so can classical musicians.
The difference is that the classical musicians will have a further layer of formality.
I am on a solitary path, and have never got very far with other amateur enthusiasts.
Click to expand...
I have never collaborated virtually. I was in a originals prog rock band for almost 5 years in the late 70's . 95% of what we performed were our own tunes that we wrote together. We were in our early 20's and were all able to show up for practice 5 nights a week for about 3 to 4 hours of jamming / rehearsing and woodshed songs...rare situation and would not happen in this life I live now. It was very cool. We'd throw an idea out there, run through it and build upon it ..Maybe a week later go hey I had an idea for this or that and add or remove from it. Finally coming to a final version. As the years went on and members came and went the songs evolved to.

Flash forward to today. I am working on this Almost Beatles project and it is very much like it was back in the day except we are a only getting together once a week for practice and brainstorming.

Being as it is technically impossible to jam live "virtually" the ability to collaborate writing in this way is weakened. For sure we see these videos of a known song where musicians from all over the world perform it together...very cool stuff....but to build an original song in this manner...challenging / different from sitting in the same room going back and forth arguing over what the name of the chord is or what is the best bass line or when you should come up in volume or go down in volume... That's my take on it
 
I am one of those by ear players and absolutely envy the sight readers. I just chose to try and go it without the arduous task of taking the time to learn how to read and play at the same time. For sure I have learned a lot more about the names of chords and such over the last 55 years of playing but am still an ignoramus of sorts on that topic. I know a ton of "sight readers" who are beast players and totally "feel" the music. I also know some highly trained players who have not got the ability to feel the music. It is a gift and not everyone has it.
 
It's an interesting question. Lately I have been collaborating both live and virtual and I think there are challenges with both. Live you are with people and generally for long periods of time so you need to get along both musically and on a personal level. Virtual you are not with anyone but communication can be a struggle when passing files back and forth as well as other technical things like having compatible gear, etc. With either approach it's important to be open minded and willing to do whatever is needed for the greater good of the project. I try to be easy to get along with and as chameleon as possible. The past few years my music schedule has been busy and I actually cannot take on some of the offers I receive.
 
I didnt start out wanting to BE classical... I just learned that the classical *influence* was what separated the bands I liked from others...

ELO, moody blues... even early Queensryche, you can *hear* that progressive=classical

"slashing and tearing, my way thru the gate... a towering fortress of blackened steel...
in the end, with a world gone insane, only dying remains...
enforcers..."

then? the reverse was there... heavy classical? you can just *hear* progressive metal in it...
 
I just make up my own classical.
Brahms would probably punch 🤜😵 me silly 🤪 or even worse, send in Shostakovich 🧟‍♀️and Rachmaninov🧟‍♂️ to sort me out.👨🏾‍🦼
 
I have a video DVD of Metallica performing with a symphony orchestra.
A great show, and they worked well together.

On the point of collaboration, most of my experience is with developing software/electronics projects,
with up to 5 different companies working on a project.
It always takes longer, and communication between the collaborators is frequently difficult.
Thing always work better when all participants are together.
 
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