Organic Music

The word "organic" is used quite a bit these days. We hear it in business as organic growth and now we hear it with regard to music recording and podcasting. The term "organic" has come to refer to something that is natural, authentic, and has core value. For example, the organic growth in business refers to true expansion in the central core of the company not inflated increases from outside venues or other sources.

According to the online urban dictionary, organic music is music that has a core sound and tone that is natural by use of acoustic instruments and vocals. This definition went on to elaborate about organic music resonating positive vibes or something to that effect. As musicians, the music industry cautions us to be "more organic." However, in this digital age, recording music in a home studio on a PC via Audacity or Adobe Audition by its very definition is digital. The sound is stored in a system of ones and zeros. Musicians can record short segments and easily repeat these sections by copying and pasting multiple times. Drums can be manufactured on keyboards or can be made completely inside a computer by using software. Most indie musicians use electronic keyboards, drum machines, and software for instrumentation when recording. These resonating vibrations though, are merely recreations from a computer.

Indie musicians are branching out into selling their music to film and television (i.e. sync licensing or synchronization). This leads to wondering how modern indie recording musicians can obtain an organic music texture?

TROUBLE WITH QUANTIZATION

Quantizing is a digital software adjustment that can move beats to equal other beats. So if a beat is slightly off, it can be snapped perfectly into place. The same can be used for vocals that are slightly flat or sharp by adjusting the pitch. Anyone doing their own recording and mixing has their own techniques for editing and layering tracks. However, something that I noticed early on with quantizing beats in my instruments was when listening back, some instrumental sounds were canceled out. The aural threshold of human hearing is limited, so by aligning every single instrument to an exact beat meant that the listener wasn't hearing everything that was intended. This aural phenomenon means that only a few sounds can exist in the same space at the same time. I also noticed that if two instruments had similar timbres or tones, one of them might be canceled out aurally.

Maybe this organic music direction has a slightly different meaning? Maybe it means less perfect?

ORGANIC SYMPHONIC

Let's compare this to a symphony orchestra or choir where you have multiple musicians playing together at the same time. The orchestra has a thick acoustic sound which fulfills the definition organic music. If all the musicians are playing at the same time how can we hear the various instruments? There are a few factors that