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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Making Music, Finishing Music – An Inquiry Into the Music-Making Practice of Popular Electronic Music Students in the “Laptop-Era”

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In this study we seek to present a description of how bachelor and masters students in popular electronic music experience making original music in their chosen Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). The chapter focuses on how the participants understand their role while making music afforded by the DAW environment, their strategies for getting started when making music, and the challenges they experience when finishing music. In the study we interviewed six students at bachelor and masters level. We see a tendency in how participants attribute the technical component of music making as the defining aspect of the producer role. The respondents seem to understand themselves as primarily producers when making music in the DAW environment. When starting out with a new song, most of the respondents describe an experience of flow that gradually dissolves as the structure of the song emerges and their inner critique gains foothold. The respondents concur on the challenges of finishing music in the rich decision-making environment that the DAW affords. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of students developing their own creative strategies suited to their unique music-making practice. We argue that the students need to become self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses in order to develop such creative strategies. Arguably, teaching practice that facilitates such meta-learning is therefore highly relevant in higher electronic music education. This is especially relevant in the DAW environment where discipline is required in order to stop fiddling with details and release their music to the world.