I often have a hard time getting motivated to make stuff.
I’ve been looking for ways to trick myself into starting pieces.
One is to compose ringtones, notifications, and alarms for my phone.
I got tired of the selection of my phone’s built-in sounds, so I set out to make some that were more distinctive. I first came up with around 8 alarm and notification sounds and have been using them for the past year or so.
The first custom ringtone I made was done when I dated someone a few years ago. I thought it would be nice to have a ringtone specifically for her. That relationship didn’t last, but the ringtone remains. I decided recently that I should make distinct ringtones for the people in my life now.
I’ve so far made two more ringtones since then. It’s a good get-going trick because I’m mostly looking to get something that suits a (largely) utilitarian purpose. In the process I find myself playing around with melody and harmony and instrumentation. Things that give me ideas for longer pieces.
Something I noticed as I was listening to them recently was that I liked it when the ringtone didn’t sound, for lack of a better word, conclusive, or complete. What I mean is that they, in some way, feel (to my ears) as if they were extracted from something longer. This makes me want to go back and extend them, develop them, to discover just what that longer piece might be
These ringtones aren’t specifically intended to reflect or describe any person. But, of course, as I try out different things I do ask myself if the piece is somehow suitable (by whatever broad definition) for a person, possibly in a way that might only makes some sense to me. I listen to hear if it somehow “works”.
Still, it has turned out that resulting pieces really do seem to capture something about the associated person.
I have no idea if these folks would even like them. Some ringtones have some degree of angularity and chromaticism that I like but may sound odd to others.
Some of this chromaticism, etc. is a result of early versions sounding too “nice” or obvious or trite; I will write a piece, listen a bunch, use it, then later listen again to see if I still like it. That is when I start to tweak things. Or start over, maybe with some core part of the original, maybe from scratch.
In the end, since I’m the one who is going to be hearing these, I have to like it. But I’d like to think my friends might, too.
There are some practical constraints that make this an interesting exercise. The sounds can’t rely on the lower frequencies, since phone speakers aren’t well-suite for that. There isn’t necessarily a limit on length, but notifications seem to work best when no longer than a few seconds, and I prefer that the ringtones be distinct more or less right from the start. Ringtones should also kind of get to the point pretty quick (since they may not play very long before I answer).
Some alarms need to sound, you know, alarming, others can have more of a coaxing sound. I wrote some wake-up alarms with the goal of being gently eased out of slumber.
I’ve collected what I have so far into an album: RNA
It’s a name-your-price release. I still have to compose a few more ringtones and corresponding notifications, and will add those as I go along.
Last edited: Sun 23 Nov 2024