I think to further look into this point, you have to think about composers. That back in the day, you could not hear everything instantly. If you were to be somewhere without your whole orchestra, you would have to to be able to orchestrate something in your head. Everyone can hear a tune in their head, but they cannot identify the notes. They couldn’t put in down on a staff for another musician to play. You also had no way of knowing what say an oboe would sound like in your song if you have never even heard one. There was not such an easy way of composing music in a “Happy Accidents” or exploratory sort of way. As a musician playing while you compose, you can have those happy accidents. As a composer alone… I guess you could have notated something wrongly and when you heard it it could have inspired you.
Now we can try out 40 different kinds of oboe samples and melodies in 15 minutes… All with no prior knowledge of musical notation, theory, or technique. So I think it is easier for people to use a workflow based around exploration.
Also sometimes the squeak or screech makes the song.
I also completely agree with this as a sort of workflow concept. It is how I work now when I(rarely) make music. My problem is that what I hear in my head is amazing to me, but I cannot replicate it. I can replicate the notes and rythms, but I cannot get the tone to fit. I don’t yet have the skills to create the patches and sounds I hear. I am classically trained, I do sound and produce. I can work with bands and musicians no problem. But I can’t create the music I hear in my head. So even with the background, I still don’t have the “tools” to make my head tunes a reality.Most of what I make is found sounds and happy accidents, because it is more rewarding than trying to capture what I hear.
More along what Rodrigo said though… I tend to find myself starting tracks behind creative concepts than any kind of melody. I will pose a question to the extent of “I wonder what it would sound like if I did this…”. Then wrangle that into something usable (sound kinds like modular synths right?). Whether it’s a sonic concept like something an effects chain or synth patch, or a music theory concept. I could start a song on an idea like “what if I made a track where notes only move in fourths”. Or “what if I took the gated reverb or a snare drum and time stretched it super slow and phased it”. I also like to try to approach every song a new way and not have a certain process. There’s merit to all styles of creating music.
Not sure any of this makes sense. In the end if you want to learn to read music and play guitar. Go ahead, it can’t hurt. If you don’t, don’t. Who really cares or knows what process you took to make your music.
tldr; Don’t worry about it.
