Making music can be a bit intimidating. Not only because it represents a complexity in terms of knowledge and creativity, but also because sharing our music with the world is not only exposing our creations but exposing ourselves. We know it can be challenging to reach the audience we want to hear us, and we've been thinking about how we can help underrated composers to get more visibility. Talking to Sawyer, our first ambassador, we came up with an idea: to create a space on our blog called the composer of the month.
What is this all about?
The idea is to choose a talented composer with few followers in "Flat" and conduct an interview. This way, we can share with the community their music and a bit about their creative process.
How can I become a composer of the month in Flat?
If you have original creations on Flat, have a small audience, and want us to share your music and story, write us at hello@flat.io.
The requirements are pretty simple:
- Have less than 200 followers on Flat
- Have original compositions
- Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. If you don't have social networks, it doesn't matter. You can write to us anyway.
The composer of the month, the September edition: Earth
Erik, better known as Earth on Flat, is a young composer from Barcelona, Spain. He has always been a musician, starting with the violin when he was three years old, adding the piano two years ago when he was 13 years old. He is passionate about singing, which he has been doing in a choir for five years.
His composition path started when he joined Flat three years ago.
"I am really glad to be the composer of the month... I didn't expect it"
Background
As might be expected for someone who is just starting to compose, Earth didn't feel very confident in what he was doing at the beginning. The first attempts at creating songs were not what he expected:
"...they were hardly finished and they were very simple: 4 chords and a melody..."
For Earth, "Flat" was a turning point because he found a nurturing community that helped him improve as a composer. Especially the Discord server Music Composing Station, where you can get feedback from other users, support, and participate in upcoming challenges, which will help you grow and connect with other users in Flat. He shared with us that thanks to the community, he has improved considerably.
The influences
As a good musician, he loves music. 🤩 I was happily surprised by how open-minded and curious he is about music. When asked about his influences, he answered that he listens to music all the time and of all kinds. He thinks that there is something to learn in every type of music. Earth draws inspiration from different musical genres to create his pieces. His influences are not some composers, but it is the music itself.
"Right now, I am doing a song taking as a reference Dvorak, Symphony of the New World"
☝️ What a masterpiece!
💙 As with many of our users, the platform's composers are also a source of inspiration. For Earth, Aech, BC, and Groovy are one of the most relevant musical references he has.
His style
It is difficult to answer the question: "what is your style"? Since we are in a moment of humanity where globalization and the development of culture is so mixed and varied that it is not enough to describe us in a single style. The same thing happens to Erik, and we can notice it in his music. He describes his style as semi-classical and modern. Personally, I think this is an excellent way to describe his style.
His open-mindedness is evident in his willingness to explore classic academic styles while integrating more electronic and contemporary sounds. He found the balance between honoring classical music and modern music, allowing himself to express authentically.
His time in Flat
"Flat is one of the best notation softwares, because the instruments sound so good. I feel the instruments are human. It is very well design, it has a blog, you can listen to other composers..."
We care a lot about the user experience. Therefore, having a functional music editor is not enough for us 🙅. We know how important it is to have a neat design and a harmonic culture among the community to let your inspiration flow.
Regarding the instrument sounds in Flat Power, the HQ instruments were recorded in a studio, resulting in a realistic and human playback sound.
We asked Earth what has been your favorite moment in Flat. He mentioned a competition hosted by another user in the platform, in which the participants had to imitate another composer in Flat. Earth won second place with the following score!
This competition was amazing. We actually wrote an article about it, in case you want to check it out.
Who is your fav. composer in Flat?
This is always a tough one since there are so many talented composers on the platform.
"I don't really know... I think is Aech"
Aech is well known on Flat. He writes Epic Piano Duos and one of Earth's favorite pieces of his is "Naturally Savvy". A great song indeed!
The creative process
"I begin doing something simple"
For Earth, the creative process starts with a simple idea, which he elaborates and polishes. And therein lies the advice he gives to those who want to start creating their music: "Start with something very simple".
"If you begin with that, step by step, you will find new harmonies, add second melodies, increasing the instruments... Start small, otherwise you can feel you are not so good enough and that is not a good feeling"
🤯 Excellent advice! A great thing to learn from music is: don't rush into anything. Everything has a process, and we have to learn to enjoy each stage, have the humility to understand our limitations, and the discipline to improve every day.
Another observation he made is the importance of the circle of fifths.
"When I started I didn't know what the circle of fifths were and now I use it almost in all my pieces because it is a very practical way to modulate, to go to the relative major..."
In fact, it is a fundamental tool. It is one of the simplest ways to understand music and how to compose.
If you want to understand what the circle of fifths is, check out our dedicated article.
Music as a form of expression and a way of life
"For me music is a way to express your feelings, to tell people how you are feeling"
Music is part of who Erick is. It is his primary language. Since he started at such a young age, this kind of art has become a structural part of his essence. Music is a means to probe our feelings and to connect with others.
For Earth, it is impossible to imagine a life without music. Consequently, he is applying for the Catalunya National Orchestra this October, aspiring to get the Scholarship for composers in Catalunya National Music University at some point.
He has a lot of talent, and from the whole team, we wish him the best of luck!
Lastly, I want to thank Earth for this interview and for being part of our community!
Can you guess who will be the next composer of the month? Stay tuned!
Bye,