arrange • compose • conduct
Posts discussing creativity, both in and outside of music
I love the comfort of a habit. My daily practices form the core of my day, and they help me move forward creatively and successfully. But I need room for spontaneity. Put another way…I love the joy of spontaneity. My best ideas come when I have the space to let […]
One of the reasons I like to stay consistent in my work is I never have to ask myself, do I know how to do this? I think that question is at the heart of writer’s block – answer that question “No” enough times and you will find yourself blocked. […]
Don’t you worry about repeating yourself? That’s a question that might be lobbed at a prolific blogger or author or composer. I certainly used to worry about it with regards to my posts here, or even with my composition and arranging – I felt I should always seek to say […]
I love to read and hear about individual’s creative process. (A beloved read was Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey.) I regularly listen to podcasts by Tim Ferriss, Adam Grant, and Debbie Millman because they involve deep dives into the daily habits of creative people. But in my […]
William Shakespeare is celebrated less for creating original stories – many of his best plays were adaptations of earlier works – than for the piercing language he used to tell the stories. The specific scenes, interactions, and dialogue he used are what make him the most celebrate English-language author. I […]
It has been my great good fortune to spend some time with Alice Parker over the last few years: she is as remarkable as you think, and each opportunity to chat with her is a treasure to me. I’m offline this week and visiting once again with Alice; I highly […]
A busman’s holiday isn’t all bad! A busman’s holiday refers to the idea that a family road trip for a bus driver would find them doing exactly what they did when not on vacation – driving. It refers, generally, to doing the things you do for work on your off […]
When I’m working on a recording or video project, there’s often a spot with a little timing or balance issue that needs solving along the way. My favorite moment is when I take the final step and the issue completely disappears, and it’s impossible to hear there ever was an […]
My bread comes out almost exactly the same every time. Even when I take photos of my bread loaves fresh from the oven, they look the same as they did 6 or 8 years ago. It got me thinking about creative voice. Is my bread consistent because I have a […]
In his new podcast, Lightning Bugs, Ben Folds sets aside time between interview segments to answer a question from a listener. On a recent episode, he answered a question from someone who was feeling nervous about putting his work into the world. Here is part of Folds’ response: I think […]