Category Archives: Creativity

Answers

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Last week we talked about asking questions to encourage our creativity. I hope that you spent the week asking questions of yourself – I know I did! As we said there, asking questions is a great method. The good thing about questions is that they beget one of two things – more questions and/or answers!

Who knew that asking the questions would be the easiest part of being creative?!?

Answers are good to have. Answers describe action. Answers are hard. Answers require us to be brave enough to act.

So, Answers can make you be stuck. Moving forward can be scary. What if we’re wrong? What if our creative idea is a dud? What if we fail?

Well, I can’t assure you that all your creative ideas will be brilliant. But I can help you be brave enough to give your creativity free rein to try! Although there are loads of them, let’s start with five ways to be brave enough for your creativity to shine through:

1. Remind yourself that you are creative. Having doubts? Think about this – every sentence you utter has to be generated from scratch. Each time you say something, you illustrate your innate ability to create (even if you say nonsensical stuff!). You are creative!

2. Size up the risk. It’s not like I asked you to go on TV and perform cold as the entire world watches! What’s the worst that can happen as you sit at your harp at home by yourself? Your rhythm is wonky? You hit some unintended tones? You forgot about reverb and what seemed like a good idea in your head turned out to be the sonic equivalent of baby s**t brown? No one is going to take away your birthday. No one is going to point and laugh. No one is even going to hear you unless you ask them to! The risk of exploring is so minimal as to defy definition!

3. Practice laughing. Here’s a harsh reality – not all your ideas are going to soar. So, when you have a serious creative misstep – laugh about it! (see 2 above – who heard your misstep? That’s right – no one) If a misstep happens alone in a forest, did it happen at all? Only in your laughter!

4. Laugh with yourself, not at yourself. Don’t be your meanest critic. Be nice to you!

5. Being creative doesn’t mean you can’t learn something. Every time you try something and it works – celebrate!! And every time you try something that doesn’t work, you can learn from it. What is causing you to have a gap? Do you need to master another technique? Have you become an idea one-trick pony? Learn what your gap is and then create a way to fill it!

I’m going to be brave enough to stop there – I am sure you have other, better ways to help yourself find the courage to be creative – what are they? Let me know and we can share our epic tales!

Questions?

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We are all different. We know that. One could argue, given our proclivity for an instrument very few people every attempt, much less become proficient, we are quite different. Yay us!

One of the major ways we differ from one another is in our fearlessness. Full disclosure – I’m a chicken most of the time. How about you? I am fortunate to be able to hang out with some incredibly fearless people though.

Ok, fearless can mean a lot of things but right now I’m thinking about being brave while being creative with our playing. And on that, we all run the gamut!

We all know of people who somehow rub two notes together and suddenly an amazing, lush, brilliant blanket of sound bursts forward, enveloping us and taking us places we never even dreamed of!

And we all know people who take something beautiful and amplify it, generating landscapes of abundance that leave us breathless!

And then there are those who are tentatively bold, making little nips and tucks but sticking fairly close to the well known – never straying too far from the shore.

And there are those who are small and timid, sticking strictly with the program, using what was given and becoming comfortable, never straying off the beach.

As I read this, it feels judge-y. Its not meant to be – I can’t seem to leave sight of the shore myself. What I do know is that we are all in awe of the first two and may wonder how we get into their lofty ranks! How do we move in that direction (even if we don’t get to the pinnacle)?* Here’s how:

“To create, one must first question everything. Never adopt someone else’s conclusion without putting it to the test of your own reasoning and imagination.”

Eileen Gray (architect & furniture designer)**

And right there is the crux of the differences between our boldness and creativity – it’s in the questions we ask. In the questions we think to ask and in those we’re willing to ask.

Here’s the secret – it never hurts to ask a question. And it nearly always opens door to another dimension of thinking about the original question. But if we’re not in the habit of asking questions of ourselves and our music – how do we do it? How do we ask ourselves musical questions and create our own music?

1. Be quiet. Asking questions (even of yourself) will go better if you have a moment to think. Because really, that’s what your question starts as – a moment to think. We often don’t give ourselves this luxury – even when we think we do. Breathe, quiet your mind, focus, and ask.

2. Is this good? isn’t a starting question. When you’re in questioning mode to get your creative juices flowing you don’t need to critique right out of the gate. Just ask – there really are no stupid questions.

3. Ask questions that lead to more questions. What will clarify your thinking and build your creative flow? You don’t want to know if it’s good, you want to know what it’s missing, where might this lead, or how it might fly higher. Don’t stop with the first question you think of, keep going, there’s gold in there.

4. Focus on your thoughts, not the tune. Eventually you’ll need to polish up your ideas, but when you’re asking questions, your focus is on discovery not performance. You can worry about how to make your ideas come out of your harp later. For now, the questions are focused on what might be, could be.

5. Challenge everything. Sometimes the best, most creative ideas get cut because implementation is intimidating (“I won’t ever be able to do 3-on-2”, “My four note arpeggios aren’t good enough”, “I can’t play that fast”, blahblahblah). Just because you don’t think you can do something right now doesn’t mean that you should abandon the questions. Questions lead to creative ideas. Implementation is improved through practice – totally different animals. Grab your ideas – worry about pushing your limits later!

6. What-if is your best friend. What-if has a million possible answers. What-if opens doors, windows, dog flaps, and other entrances! What-if leads to other questions, other opportunities, other ideas, other chances to be brave.

You might have noticed that being brave is a central element here – and you’re right. But let’s leave this here with creativity this week. We can talk about being brave later. As for now – what other questions would you want to ask you as you continue to create your music? If you’re more timid, what questions would you ask yourself this week to push your creativity just a little farther from the shore? Let me know in the comments!

* This is also a continuum – we’re all over the map, there’s no defined categories.

**Source: Eileen Gray: Her Work and Her World

Quiet

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Quiet

We all have a lot going on. And inside our heads it can be even busier and more crowded! While all that hustle and bustle might make you feel like you’re accomplishing tons, it can also actively prevent you from accomplishing even more.

We are artists. Yes, we are. If you’re a new musician, you are an artist. If you have been playing a long time, you are an artist. Don’t ever leave your living room or quail at the thought of someone else hearing you? Still an artist!

As artists, we get to create! That is one of the things other people envy us for. Creating is an activity that takes time – and we need to pursue it. But…

If you are never quiet, you won’t have time to be creative.

You need:

Quiet time to have Creative time.

Quiet space to have Creative space.

And perhaps more importantly Quiet your thoughts, so you have time and space to have Creative thoughts.

This is more than practicing. You do need to have a solid base to create but loads of creative time can happen away from the harp. And although you need to have part of your practice time set aside to work on creative ideas, you can have those ideas anywhere. But you’ll be more able to focus if you have quiet.

I won’t lie, identifying – and then honoring – the time you need to create can be a challenge. It’s easy to give that time away to other “important” things.  But this is important – for you, your art, and your life as an artist. But it is a necessity not a nicety.

So, I challenge you to identify specific time that you will be quiet and allow yourself to be creative. It should probably be longer than a shower! (but if that’s the time you have, make use of it!). Make sure you have a way to capture your thoughts (dry erase marker or grease pencil for the shower, don’t ask me how I know this). That way, when you get to the harp you can remember what you had come up with. I have a plenty of short voice memos on my phone for time in the car when things pop into my head – I sing them (badly) into the phone so that I can remember when I hit the bench.

When will you schedule your quiet time? How will you ensure you honor that time? I’m looking forward to your ideas!  Let me know in the comments!

Summer Doldrums…. I’m Bored!

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Summer Doldrums…. I’m bored!

It’s the middle of the summer.  Where I live the summer took forever to start.  But once it did start, it came with a vengeance.  So, we were suckered into thinking we would have the kind of summer that was pleasant and easy.  But it’s not.  And that leads to hanging around inside, in the air conditioning, avoiding the 3H weather (hazy, hot, and humid) that comes with living in a reformed swamp. 

When this happens, it’s easy to start to feel stifled and bored. So what should we musicians, artists that we are, be doing about being bored? 

Here are a few ideas.

  • Acknowledge that the weather (and our desire for creature comfort) are stifling and making us a tad cranky.
  • Identify some tasks or activities you’d like to do.
  • Note that these tasks and activities will pull us away from the harp.
  • Be ok with that.  After all, the doldrums don’t actually last that long and shortly you’ll be back to it, preparing for the autumn.

What would those tasks look like?

     1. Do some “meaningful tasks”.  This is a good time to make a list of the holiday music you’d like to start when the autumn comes.  You can make sure you have good sources so that when you’re ready, you’ll be ready.

    2. Do some harp maintenance.  Does your harp need regulation? You could do that now (or cause it to be done).  Sort through your strings and make sure you have a full set of spares.  Update your string chart.  Clear out the pocket of your case. You know, house keeping-y stuff that needs done but is easy to put off.

     3. Play some music games.  Whether it’s Rhythm Bingo or Crazy 8ths, have a little silly fun that is still edifying.  Don’t have those on hand?  Look online for fun music activity games.  Try Eurythmics in your pajamas. Laugh a little.

     4.  Go do a good deed. Go to a local care home and put on a performance.  Everyone descends on them at the holidays, but are less likely to go during summer, so they might enjoy some entertainment in the boring part of their own summer doldrums.

     5. Do a different art. Make a craft, paint, draw, make a video, write poetry.  It doesn’t matter.  What does matter is that a little creativity will go a long way to supporting your harp playing!

There are so many things you can do to weather the summer weather!  Give yourself permission to do something different.  Give yourself a break and come back to your harp refreshed and ready to go!  What will you be doing during the doldrums?  Let me know in the comments!

 

Composition Competition!

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You know how I’m always encouraging you to improvise and to try composing? I know some of you are reluctant to agree with me.  And believe me, I get it!  I spent a great deal of time telling myself all kinds of stuff:

I can’t do this

Even if I did do it, it would be garbage

No one will like it, not even my mother

But eventually I did start up and keep at it.  And I’m still bashing away at making music for myself and for others.  Do I suffer from comparisons?  Of course!  Do I still find every flaw? Obviously!  And do I do it anyway? Darn tootin’!

So, I’m excited to pass along that the Scottish Harp Society of America just announced a tune writing competition to celebrate it’s 40th Anniversary!  It’s hard to believe that since 1982 SHSA has been around, encouraging people to play Scottish music on the harp.  So, what an excellent way to celebrate than by adding to the music and sharing it with others?

The theme for the tune writing competition entry is “Celebrate SHSA!”  The judges are all noted composers, arrangers and performers including Corrina Hewat, Jo Morrison, and Martha Hill.  Entries should be a piece for solo harp (of course!).  There are some rules and guidelines you should follow and you can find them on the SHSA Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/ScottishHarpSocietyofAmerica

Entries are due 1 November so there’s plenty of time to create something wonderful and perfect for the harp.  And there’s a prize – $500 for the winning entry.  So it’s worth reading the rules and getting started!

If you’ve not composed before (or if you’re feeling a little faint at the idea of writing a tune) here are some tips to help you get going:

1. Give yourself some quiet time – it’s hard to hear the music inside you if all around the outside you is noisy!

2. Give yourself some more quiet time – it’s hard to hear the music inside you if inside you is noisy!

3. Use your trusty recorder – just sit behind your harp and play the strings.  Let your hands wander.  If you hit on an idea you like, explore it.  Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – there’s nothing there yet, so it can’t be wrong and it’s a “throw away” recording to be used only to capture ideas and then pitch out.

4. Be your own safe space – tell your inner critic/harridan to take five and give you a minute.  Of course it’s not great yet – you’re just getting started!  It will shape up as you develop it.  And you don’t need that kind of negativity anyway!

5. Change things up – if you only come up with stuff you don’t like, change it.  Change the key you’re in.  Or change the mode.  Or randomly set levers and see what you get.

6. Don’t forget to laugh – you’re meant to be having fun, so have some laughs (probably at your own expense, but so what).

7. Start over and over again.  I can’t tell you how many ideas I have come up with that were just pointless.  Or variations of the same great idea I had before.  No worries, you’re endlessly creative, you just might not know it yet.  Just start!

8.  Be like a “real” writer (or composer).  You’ve probably heard it said that everyone has a novel in them, but a real writer actually does the work to put it on paper!  Don’t just think about it. Allocate some of your practice time each day to generating ideas (and capture them). Once you’ve got a little traction, you can put the ideas together to make a tune.

You have it in you! You can do it!  And it’s wonderful to celebrate a momentous event like 40 years of shared love of Scottish harp music.

Are you going to give it a go?  I’d love to hear about it – whether you enter the competition or not.  Let me know – compose a comment!

 

 

Be Creative (Be Quiet)

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As musicians, we are artists. What does that mean?

When I asked Dr. DuckDuck what an artist is.  The reply?

One … who is able by virtue of imagination and talent or skill to create works of aesthetic value, especially in the fine arts.*

Yup, right there in black and white (ok, right there in pixels really) – TO CREATE – we are meant to be creating!

Don’t look at me like that – yes, we are meant to be creating so that our creativity is reflected in what we create.

SO, yes, we need to add being creative to our daily practice lives.

“Oh great”, you’re thinking, “now she expects me to be creative on top of all the other stuff she’s always telling me I need to be doing, practicing, learning. HOW am I supposed to do that?!”

I don’t blame you – there is a lot of stuff to do to be an artist! But like everything else we do, doing a little bit of creative work consistently will help you to be creative – more! 

Why do you need to be creative? Well, I hope you’re not asking that, but if you are – you can be creative about what you play, how you play, what you decide to work on – there’s no aspect of your harping that can’t stand an application of (even just a little) creativity!

Uncharacteristically, this time I’m only going to suggest one thing to do.  Just one thing to add to your day to help you be creative.  This one thing doesn’t require a lot of resources or time.  You might want to build it into your practice every day, but I think you can do it.

You ready for me to share this one magic solution?

Are you sitting down?

Got your pencil so you can take notes?

Drum roll please:

To be creative –

be quiet.

That’s it – BE QUIET

Told you it was a simple step.   I didn’t say it would be easy.

Being quiet can be a challenge (don’t ask me how I know). Here are some ways to get to quiet:

1. Give yourself time to be quiet – this can be part of your practice time or just a part of your day.

2. Breathe! There are plenty of reasons to breathe but here, breathing helps clear your head so you can enjoy the silence.

3. Go for a walk – Remember you’re wanting to be quiet so this is more of a ramble than a fitness walk – so that you can quiet your mind.

4. Focus – on being present and only on that.

A few don’ts –

1. Don’t check email, face-tok-gram, or anything that streams.

2. Don’t use this time to make your list of things to do.

3. Don’t focus on making anything or on being creative – just be.

The hard part is doing this every day – just a little bit.  The point is not to use this quiet time to create anything, but rather to give your brain an opportunity to unbend.  It’s this unbending that will help you be more creative so that when you want to be creative you can Be Creative.

Have you tried being quiet?  If not, give it a try this week.  Either way, let me know in the comments!

* unceremoniously lifted from:  https://www.wordnik.com/words/artist

Are we there yet?

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Remember asking that? “Are we there yet?  …How ‘bout now?  …yet?  I’m bored!”

Amazing some of us survived to adulthood!

But why did we always ask that question?

You already know – when you don’t know what the end looks like, it feels like you’ll n-e-v-e-r get there.  And that is a terrible feeling!

So, when we’re at the beginning of a tune, that road stretches ahead, uninterrupted – and you might feel like you’ll never get it.

What about when you have been working on the tune for a while?  Then you might ask yourself again, “Are we there yet?”

How do you know when you get there? How do you know you’re done? When is a tune “finished”?

The long answer is that you have to decide what you mean by finished. Is it finished when you’ve learned the tune?  Or is it finished when it’s perfect?  Or performance ready?  Competition ready?  Moved unceremoniously into the Bored with/Don’t want to play any more pile?  What is your definition of done?

I don’t have a definitive answer for your definition. It really depends on you, your level of development, the time you have available, your goals, your personality, and loads of other things that only you can answer for you.

There is also a short answer (but you might not like it).

Short answer – you’re never finished! WAIT – what?!?

Of course you’re never finished – the tune will never be done.  What? (I did say that you might not like the short answer)

After all, making music is a creative activity – you will have to decide for yourself what done will look/sound like.  Yup, it’s entirely up to you (and yes, I’m v-e-r-y aware just how uncomfortable that can be!).

If you stop working on a tune, it’s definitely done, but is that what you wanted for that tune when you started?  If you “finish” it and never let it be a living element of your playing, it will stultify and die (which isn’t really what most of us want from our music).

If a tune is “finished” then it’s done.  But why do you play and perform (even for the cat and the curtains)?  What keeps you coming back to your harp?  I’m guessing it isn’t because you want to be stagnant.

So how do you know when you are done enough? Here are some ideas:

  • You got where you were going (that is – you met your goal).
  • You have run out of ideas to continue to add to the playing – your arrangement is fairly stable.  But keep an open mind so you can continue to create as you go – forever!
  • A trusted mentor has suggested that the work is good.
  • You are comfortable when playing the tune for your audience (whoever that might be).
  • You’ve “got” the tune but you’re not enjoying playing it.
  • You feel “bored” playing a tune.
  • The holiday you learned the tune for has arrived(!).
  • Now that you’ve learned the tune, you just don’t enjoy it.
  • As much as you’ve worked on it, the tune is just not coming together (this is likely because it was a stretch for you in which case you should set it aside and pick it up later).

Think of tunes as being somewhere on a continuum from performance-ready or shelf-bound.  Either they’re good for sharing with others (performance ready) or they’re not going to see the light of day (shelf-bound).  There are, of course, various stages in between, but what that continuum looks like is up to you. 

Do you have any tunes that are finished?  How did you decide?  If you don’t, how would you define done?  I’m curious to hear your thoughts – let me know in the comments!

Be Curious

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Curious, this topic, is it not?  Exactly!

There are many ways to be creative, but it is easy to believe all these ways require loads of time and resources.  And honestly, many do – retreats, journals, art supplies, new instruments, group activities, etc. can all be time and money expensive.

But curiosity is a surefire way to enhance your creativity and you don’t need a lot of time or money to implement it!

People think curiosity is a talent, but instead, think of it as a skill.  As a skill, you can work on develop it – developing it as your own curiosity. 

How?  Well, I’m glad you were curious enough to ask!  I listed a few things to try.  Even if you are already fairly curious, you might learn some ways to grow that –

  1. Unleash your inner two-year-old and ask Why – two-year-olds do it relentlessly, so why don’t you? (see what I did! 😉).  Don’t just question authority – question everything.  Really push on your assumptions, boundaries, and knowledge.
  2. Unleash your inner ‘tween and ask Why Not – they too ask this relentlessly and with good reason – why not, after all?  What’s stopping you?
  3. Be brave – when you’re alone.  This should be the easiest time to be brave – but sometimes it’s the most difficult because it’s when you’re face to face with your biggest nay-sayer and critic.  There’s no escape.  But still, it is the best place to try being brave – who’s going to tell you no?  Only you.  But this can be your time to:
    1. Explore – ask the questions you might have been suppressing – why can’t you play a Qmin7dimsus chord there?  What happens if you put a jazz chord progression into your trad tune?  What happens if you shift the time signature?  How would this sound in another key or another mode? Or a different register?  There’s no road map, that’s why it’s called exploring!
    2. Record and play back – after all, you’re probably not going to like all the answers you come up with your your questions, but every answer deserves to be heard and decided on its merits (and if like me you make noises but can’t remember them – or if you liked them, or if they even were an answer to your question – recording will help!).
    3. Play like no one is listening – because they’re not!  You can make all the noises you want!  And the great thing about sound?  It dissipates and is gone in an instant!  Yea music!
  4. Be exceptional.  Be the 2% who ask.  It really won’t kill you to ask someone else a question.  And if you think you should never ask a star or harp hero your question – well, they likely will surprise you (if only because they too are curious people…and usually very nice).  They may have a ready answer (if they’ve run into curious people before) or they may not (if you’ve asked a very different question).  But just you asking may incline them to become curious about your question too.
  5. Hang out with other curious people – misery isn’t the only thing that loves company – curious people love to hang out with other curious people, if only to hear what you’ll ask next!  Bonus, you’ll spur one another onto to new topics of interest, new questions, and possibly new discoveries.

Remember, the purpose of being curious and asking questions is not to get answers.  The real purpose is to see what questions arise from the answers you get.  To remain curious, you have to keep questioning – and those pearls you garner will feed your creativity!

But maybe this is a bridge too far for you?  After all, it is easy for me. *  If you want to ask the questions but are timid (even (or especially) with yourself), just start by positing questions on paper.  Just write it down.  Throw it away if the questions make you uncomfortable.

What?

Because it’s not the questions that matter – it’s the questioning that’s so important.  Curiosity grows from questions, not from answers.  And as you become more comfortable with asking questions, you’ll be more comfortable with flexibility and being innovative…. which will lead you to more questions – and a really fun, unending cycle of curiosity and creativity!

Because curiosity didn’t kill the cat – it kept it a kitten!

Like developing any skill, you will have to work at this.  You will need to practice asking questions, especially if it’s new to you.  Try starting out by asking just three questions a day.  Why is a great question starter!  (e.g., Why are my scales sloppy?  Why do you play a D chord there?) but what or how will are also interesting (What would happen if I played this in 3/4 rather than 6/8? How does that melody develop?)  Of course, when you start you might falter.  If that happens – ask yourself why? 😉  It does get easier with practice.  And your questions will get better too.

What are you curious about?  Ask me anything (in the comments below)! 

 

 

* No, it’s not, nothing is easy for me, but I fake it…and frankly, I’m curious if I’ll ever find something that is easy!  

Composition Challenge – Whew!

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You always amaze me!

Here we are at the end of the Composition Challenge – and WOW.  Just WOW!

First, THANK YOU for all of you who sent compositions, a noodle, an idea.  I am so gratified to be entrusted with your art.

For those that sent something but were not ready to share with the world, I encourage you to keep going!  And eventually I’d further encourage you to share, share, share!  It always amazes me how receptive people are to new music – but you won’t know if you don’t share and ask the question!

And, believe me — I know, that sometimes the deadline sneaks up on us and we are a little bit flat-footed.  So if you’re not quite ready to share, but you will be in future – you keep working on it and let me know when you’re ready.  I’ll be happy to share my platform with you!

Share your compositions!

I’d also like to remind you of one really important thing.  Like playing, composing requires p-r-a-c-t-i-c-e!  We have talked before about ways to get that practice in – improv, noodling, brute force.  I guarantee that it gets easier with practice.  It does.  With practice it will feel less like you’re forcing it.  Less like pulling teeth.  Less like work.  And with time and practice, it will feel more like joy.  More like expression.  More like breathing.  Why yes, it might even begin to feel like music is literally oozing from your pores!  But you have to let it.

Here are some of the amazing things some of you were willing to share.  Some carefully composed (or carelessly composed!) and some noodling.  Some a combination of the two.

The first is titled Noodling BADGE from Barb Costello –

Then we have Sue Richards Herself, using the technique Sue shared and I posted last week –

Sue Richards HerselfThen we have Ca’ the Meows – a playful take on a classic –

and our last share this week is from me, Dimitri’s Revenge, from my deep and abiding love of Shostakovitch but in a mock Celtoid style –

Be sure to give these pieces a listen and a play through.  And PLEASE – leave comments – be lavish with your praise for the music and the sharing (and frankly the bravery!) of the people who contributed.  I know all who shared will enjoy your feedback and encouragement.   And remember, if you do take these pieces on and begin to play them for others – attribute the work.  A little acknowledgement is nice to receive and a little respect is well deserved!

*All rights held by the composers and shared with permission.  Please give credit where it is due!

** If you particularly like one of these and have a hard time getting it downloaded, let me know and I’ll think of a solution!

Composition Seeds

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Next week we’ll be sharing our compositions – so exciting! 

How’s yours coming along?  Some of you have sent me delightful peeks at what you’re working on.  Some of you are already done.

What’s that?  You haven’t started?  You don’t think you can do this? You have no idea how to get started?

!!!

No worries!  You CAN do this.  Please, please, please do not talk yourself out of giving this a try! 

I realize this can be daunting.  It can be intimidating.  You may sit on your bench repeating over and over in your head a low moan: Ican’tdothisI’mnotacomposerI’mnotabrilliantartistIhavenogreat ideaswhydidIevenconsiderthis! *

Composition SeedHere’s the thing, it might be intimidating because, unlike a writer or a painter, you have few constraints.  A writer has only the single sheet of white paper.  The painter has only to consider the single canvas.**

But we musicians? We have time and space, pitch and rhythm, tempo and time signature, timbre and technique.  We have oodles of variables and we haven’t even started thinking about what shape we might be headed toward!

So, to help you along, I’m going to help you narrow your scope.   Remember, you don’t have to write a masterpiece!  Just compose something.  You’re not Mozart or Shubert or J.S. Skinner!    And remember, those guys may be known for their masterpieces, but they all started somewhere!  We are all beginners at some point (side note – avoid people who forget this important fact!  They are toxic – you can do this!).

Remember the major parts of a tune – you need rhythm and pitch.  Find that overwhelming?  Start with one and then overlay the other on top of it. 

I brought you some rhythm seeds that you could start with if you don’t know where to look – to get your creative juices flowing!  Use whichever ones you like or add more – there are literally loads of options!  They look like one composition (maybe they are?) but feel free to cut/paste as you like – or throw them all away or pick and mix!  It’s your composition!

rhythm ideas

  • Keep it simple – there are only seven notes in a scale (in modern western music) so that’s fairly limiting in and of itself!
  • While we’re keeping it simple, stick to a single scale.  Like light and happy?  Use a major.  Feeling dark and moody?  Use a minor scale.  Feeling stressed? Use a pentatonic scale!
  • If you’re stuck, use a simple time signature that you’re used to playing in.  Like 4/4?  Then use that.  Always seem to be thinking in 6/8?  Then use that.
  • No source is too good for you!  In the comments last week Sue Richards shared a great starter idea.  If you missed it, she said,

” Recently on the Nordic FB group, we learned from Mark Harmer how to write tunes based on your name. Here’s the thing:

Name Letters matrixSo my name, Sue, is EGE. Richards is DBCAADDE. So I made a tune out of that. You choose the time signature and key, and develop a LH. It’s pretty cool! I’ll try to post the tune I wrote. I also added my husband Bill: BBDD for the second half of the tune.  Good luck, be creative!”

  • Another way to get rhythm and pitch is to listen to yourself saying something (which might become your lyrics?).  You can use the rhythm of your words and the pitch of your voice as a guide to what you tune might shape up to be.  Use a favorite poem or saying as a starting point.
  • Finally, please do not compare your output to anyone else’s.  This is not a competition!  It is a challenge to each of us to get out of our own way, to try something different and a little bit stimulating!  In no way should anything about this make you feel bad (well, unless you told me (and yourself) that you were going to do it but you’re letting yourself slide because it’s a little uncomfortable!). 

If you find you are still getting in your own way, sit down on your bench, BREATHE, turn on your phone recorder (the one with the really big red “DELETE” button which is ever so useful!), and tickle your harp.    And when it starts to giggle – you can giggle too.  Then you’re having a fun time and you’ll probably enjoy the whole thing (just a little…even if you won’t admit it out loud!).

How’s your composition coming?  Remember you can send a video, an audio file, sheet music, a photo of the napkin you wrote it on.  Still stuck and want other suggestions?  Let me know in the comments below!  When you’re ready to send me your composition (which can totally be in draft form, it’s not a race after all!) – let me know in the comments and we’ll get these collected for next week!

Happy Composing!

*I realize this is hard to read (it was a little bit hard to type) but it says, “I can’t do this.  I’m not a composer.  I’m not a brilliant artist.  I have no great ideas.  Why did I even consider this!”  – All TOSH!

**Yes, gross oversimplification, but the idea isn’t to turn you into a writer or a painter!