#078: Bring More Dimension To Your Music: A 3D Approach

I am fascinated with 3D printers. I don’t have one and I don’t see that I will ever need to have one, although we would have said the same about a smartphone just a few years ago. The idea, though, that a computer file, which seems less than tangible to begin with, can be turned into a solid three-dimensional object fascinates me, And 3D printing is used virtually everywhere: to produce eyeglasses and furniture, scale models, medical devices, reconstruction of ancient artifacts, and the list goes on.

The process is also interesting. It requires special software to read the design file and slice it into hundreds or thousands of cross-sections of the end product which are then created one by one until the end product is complete. 

What I find so intriguing is that the process is an additive process where the slices are added together to create the object. Consider how this is the reverse of more traditional processes where material is taken away, or subtracted, from an initial block of material to reveal the object. This subtractive process is the sculptor’s process, taking away the clay or stone that is unnecessary for the finished figure. 3D printing, however, is about adding, about looking at the slices of the whole and putting them together. 

I started thinking about what an additive process for learning music would be like. What are the essential slices that we need to combine in order to get the complete musical result? Rather than focusing on taking away the elements we don’t want - which in itself is worthwhile - what are the elements, the dimensions if you will, that we need to build the music from the inside out?

That’s the idea behind this show today. We’ll look at three dimensions of music that, if we consider them, will help shape our music from the very first moment we begin a new piece all the way to its first performance and beyond. It’s a different point of view and one which I hope will engage your creativity and spark your inner musicality.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 

• Crush the Rush Workshop
• Related resource Creating Perspective: Giving Your Music Depth blog post
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]