arrange • compose • conduct
Posts discussing creativity, both in and outside of music
I make no secret of my admiration for Tom Lehrer – an admiration that I came by naturally, thanks to my dad’s love, which followed his introduction to Lehrer’s first record by his sister, who heard Lehrer around Harvard in the early ’50s. Simply put, Tom Lehrer is the most […]
Composition lessons are generally full of careful feedback – I try to mix positive and constructive responses, while always being mindful that I, the teacher, shouldn’t force my own musical vision onto the student. But sometimes the best feedback to give is simply, “More bars.” Write more. Write more. Write […]
My son and I play what we’ve come to call “The Doodle Game” whenever he’s home sick from school. It’s simple: one of us draws the same doodle on two pieces of paper. We each take one and “finish” the doodle into a drawing. Sometimes we might put a limit […]
When I experience the sensation of writer’s block, a good strategy for me is to make it meta. I write about the writer’s block. I write about strategies that have worked in the past to get me through it. I write about the circumstances that might have led to the […]
You don’t decide on your personal voice. Your personal voice is the outcome of a million decisions. Or a handful of decisions, made over and over again, until patterns emerge. The patterns reflect your preferences, your outlook, your insights. And when the patterns become well-established, you discover you have a […]
I wrote for an hour today and then threw it all away. Was it a waste of an hour? It’s easy to say yes, because I finished the hour precisely NO closer to completing the project. And I’d be lying if I didn’t walk away from that precious hour a […]
I have been writing and rewriting a challenging bridge section of a piece. (It’s always the bridge, isn’t it?) For these challenging sections, it’s all about multiple drafts for me. I write, I print, I markup with a colored Flair Pen. I revise, I edit, I start again. It’s hard […]
I taught myself to use a new notation software today, and I did it by being almost completely uncreative. I use notation software throughout my creative process – to complete scores, but also as I am composing and arranging. It is a creative tool. But when you’re using a new […]
Creative work isn’t more fun or easier than less creative work. Indeed, our busy, conscious brains seem to do everything in their power to keep us from taking the risks that let us be creative. There is, though, a powerful switch that lets us sidestep consciousness. It’s the switch of […]
There are at least four different mindsets around the universal human urge to make art. I want to make art, so I make art. I want to make art, so I ask for help and learn. I want to make art, but I don’t want to fail, so I wait […]