If you don’t like the palette you have been given, create your own, but then make something with it. Too often we find ourselves dissatisfied with what we have, insisting that if we only had more or if we only had something different we would be happy. The problem is that, if we actually get…
Tag: music
Taking Giant Steps
“I was shooting for something different. Like, some of my influence was John Coltrane — I played the sax, as well. So listening to him play and the different rhythms that he had: I was trying to write my rhymes as if I was a saxophone player.” —Rakim If you only look at other people…
Walk This (New) Way
“When I go to the schools to talk to the kids, I say, ‘Always be open to try something new because it might not just change your life, it could change the world.’” -DMC In 1986, hip hop pioneers Run-DMC put out a record single that changed the music world forever, but if it were…
Persisting Toward Genius
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” -Anonymous “There’s a fine line between genius and insanity.” -Oscar Levant “You can tell the amateur from the professional musician simply by listening to him practice. The amateur attempts to play the whole song over and over again, never really improving….
Creative Routines to be Routinely Creative
It is difficult to have a routine without a routine. It may seem counterintuitive to say that creativity is driven by routine. After all, when we imagine our favorite artists, musicians, and writers doing their greatest work, we imagine spontaneity, inspiration, and freedom. Routines sound like work. They sound boring. Creativity is alive and fluid,…