Frictionless musical creation? A critical analysis of the democratisation of musical creativity through technology

Vincent Meelberg

doi:10.59391/1dd4dn68

Authors

Vincent Meelberg Radboud University Nijmegen https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9021-543X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59391/1dd4dn68

Keywords:

music technology, creativity, discomfort, friction, democratisation

Abstract

This essay critically examines the relationship between music technology and the democratisation of musical creativity, using the Ableton Move as a case study. While digital advancements like the Move simplify music creation by promising accessibility, speed, and frictionless workflows, they often conflate democratisation with mere accessibility. True democratisation, however, requires more than removing barriers; it demands fostering agency, originality, and meaningful engagement. The Move’s design, prioritising convenience and pre-approved gestures, risks homogenising music-making by stripping away the struggle, reflection, and discomfort essential to creative expression. Drawing on theories of creativity and the role of productive discomfort, the essay argues that friction is not an obstacle but a catalyst for creativity. It concludes that democratisation in music technology must move beyond frictionless design, embracing intentional discomfort to empower users to challenge norms, redefine their creative processes, and reclaim genuine artistic agency.

References

Ableton. “Move: A compact tool for intuitive music making.” Accessed March 3, 2026. https://www.ableton.com/en/move/.

Benjamin, Walter. “The author as producer.” In Understanding Brecht, translated by Anna Bostock, 85–103. Verso, 1998.

Benjamin, Walter. “The work of art in the age of its technological reproducibility.” In The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Media, edited by Michael W. Jennings, Brigid Doherty, and Thomas Y. Levin, translated by Edmund Jephcott, Rodney Livingstone, and Howard Eiland, 19–55. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2008.

Brusila, Johannes, Martin Cloonan, and Kim Ramstedt. “Music, digitalization, and democracy.” Popular Music and Society 45, no. 1 (2022): 1–12. https://doi.org/10. 1080/03007766.2021.1984018.

Challis, Ben. “Technology, accessibility and creativity in popular music education.” Popular Music 28, no. 3 (2009): 425–431. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0261143009990158.

DeSchryver, Michael, Danah Henriksen, and Sean Leahy. “From friction to synergy: The complex interplay of human creativity and AI.” Possibility Studies & Society 4, no. 2 (2025): 293–305. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 27538699251350483.

Gaut, Berys. “The philosophy of creativity.” Philosophy Compass 5, no. 12 (2010): 1034–1046. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00351.x.

Green, Adam E., Roger E. Beaty, Yoed N. Kenett, and James C. Kaufman. “The process definition of creativity.” Creativity Research Journal 36, no. 3 (2024): 544–572. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 10400419.2023.2254573.

Hanrahan, Nancy Weiss. “Democratisation without democracy: Musical discourse in the digital age.” European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology 11, no. 3 (2024): 414–421. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 23254823.2024.2356100.

Harkins, Paul, and Nick Prior. “(Dis)locating democratization: Music technologies in practice.” Popular Music and Society 45, no. 1 (2022), 84–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 03007766.2021.1984023.

Hassan, Doaa K. “Creativity trilateral dynamics: playfulness, mindfulness, and improvisation.” Creativity Studies 12, no. 1 (2019): 1–14. https://doi.org/ 10.3846/cs.2019.4313.

Henricks, Thomas S. “Play as experience.” American Journal of Play 8, no. 1 (2015): 18–49.

Kumagai, Arno K. “Discomfort, doubt, and the edge of learning.” Academic Medicine 97, no. 5 (2022): 649–654. https://doi.org/ 10.1097/ACM.0000000000004588.

Leyshon, Andrew. “The software slump? Digital music, the democratization of technology, and the decline of the recording studio sector within the musical economy.” Environment and Planning A 41 (2009): 1309–1331. https://doi.org/ 10.1068/a40352.

Marcora, Samuele M., Walter Staiano, and Victoria Manning. “Mental fatigue impairs physical performance in humans.” Journal of Applied Physiology: Respiratory, Environmental and Exercise Physiology 106, no. 3 (2009): 857–864. https://doi.org/ 10.1152/japplphysiol.91324.2008.

Mercer, Lisa E., and Deana McDonagh. “The pedagogy of discomfort: Transformational experiential learning.” International Journal of Design for Social Change, Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship 2, no. 2 (2021): 22–35.

Orton, Fred. Aesthetic Thinking: Essays on Intention, Painting, Action, and Ideology. Brill, 2021.

Piirto, Jane. “The creative process in writers.” In The Creative Process: Perspectives from Multiple Domains, edited by Todd Lubart, 89–123. Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

Pram, Liam, and Fabio Morreale. “Opening musical creativity? Embedded ideologies in generative–AI music systems.” arXiv:2508.08805v1 (2025). https://arxiv. org/abs/2508.08805v1.

Prior, Nick. Popular Music Digital Technology and Society. Sage, 2018. https://doi.org/ 10.4135/9781529714807.

Sawyer, R. Keith. Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation. Second edition. Oxford University Press, 2012.

Schraefel, M. C., and Michael Jones. “Discomfort: A new material for interaction design.” Frontiers in Computer Science 5 (2023): 958776. https://doi.org/ 10.3389/fcomp.2023.958776.

Synth Anatomy. “Move Everything for Ableton Move: New update adds Auto Sampler and LFOs.” Last modified March 16, 2026. https://synthanatomy.com/ 2026/03/move-everything-turns-ableton-move-into-an-open-platform-with-more-synths-fx-and-more.html.

Tschaepe, Mark. “Somaesthetics of discomfort: Enhancing awareness and inquiry.” European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy 13, no. 1 (2021): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.4000/ejpap.2264.

Walia, Chetan. “A dynamic definition of creativity.” Creativity Research Journal 31, no. 3 (2019): 237–247. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/10400419.2019.1641787.

Winks, Lewis. “Discomfort, challenge and brave spaces in higher education.” In Implementing Sustainability in the Curriculum of Universities, edited by Walter Leal Filho, 99–111. Springer International Publishing, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70281-0_7.