You may have noticed that a lot of YouTube channels are built around current events.

Something happens in the financial world - those channels talk about it for a day or two and then move on. Something happens with a plugin maker trying to switch to a subscription model - those channels talk about it for a day or two and then move on.

This usually results in faster short term success for those channels, and if your barometer for success is simply views and subscribers, it seems like the way to go as a creator.

So why am I typing up a newsletter right now instead of making a new video every single day about the latest pay cuts from Spotify, or how much Waves sucks for moving to subscriptions?

Because I want to talk about things that have withstood the test of time, and will likely continue to do so.

This means I don't have to rush videos to make sure they're done before everyone has completely forgotten about a topic, and once a video is finished, it will remain relevant for years - not hours.

If you want to remain relevant longer, don't fixate on current events. If you want your music to remain relevant for longer, don't fixate on current trends.

How does this apply to music?

I think this approach also directly applies to the kind of music I like to focus on making.

Many of the concepts I talk about here are TIMELESS - having already lasted centuries in some cases.

This doesn't "date" my music, in fact, I think it has the opposite effect.

By borrowing older concepts, you find things that many of today's artists aren't utilizing - because they may have never even heard of them, or they may not seem trendy.

This counter-intuitively means that implementing those concepts can give your music a unique, fresh quality to the average modern ear.

Bach was "Switched On" already, so what do we do now?

What fascinates me most is using those concepts with today's technology in interesting and unexpected ways - not simply rehashing what Wendy Carlos and the early electronic pioneers have already done.

To me, it's not about writing exactly like Bach, it's about taking the core concepts that made Bach's music so strong and applying them in new ways.

This requires a basic understanding of WHY these old, dead composers made the decisions they made.

It’s less about “rules” than it is realizing what problems those guidelines were put into place to solve.

“Don’t write in parallel octaves” - because you essentially eliminate one of your voices and weaken the harmony.

In order to push the boundaries, you have to set some boundaries to begin with.

So set some “rules” for yourself in the form of limitations - things that you won’t do. Then pick your spots when you decide to break them.