Tag Archives: Creativity

The March to Autumn – Composition Challenge

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Think back.  Way back.  Think back to February when everything was “normal” (whatever that might mean).  We were starting a Composition Challenge. Remember that?  And then, in the middle of that came the beginning of where we are now.  And we were focused on other things – like staying healthy and safe and helping each other get through the beginning of a hard time we are still working our way through.

Earlier in the year we talked about theory and technique and practice and ways to work up our own compositions and I challenged you to develop a composition of your own and I hoped you’d share them.  We talked about noodling (here) and ostinato (here).  We crossed into March (little did we know what was coming) and talked about the theory that would help you cultivate noodling into a composition (here).   Then we endured a time change and we talked about the utility of noodling when you’re tired (here).

But then we were all consumed with trying to care for ourselves and others and the composition challenge seemed to be a little naff in light of people sickening and dying.

Nevertheless time keeps passing and it occurs to me that we should not have abandoned the challenge.  After all, making music is helping us hang on to our sanity.  Making music gives us succor and allows us to share with others to make their lives just a little bit better.

So, let’s rejoin our game!

Your composition does not need to be complex or complicated.  Instead we want to celebrate the process of becoming comfortable with generating musical ideas and putting them together.  You can perhaps put together completed ideas, or possibly just fragments.  Give ostinato a try (keep in mind that this can be humbling).  Poke around the modes and roll them around in your (figurative) mouth, keeping the tasty ones and building from there.

Let’s spend the rest of September working on this.  That’s two weeks – plenty of time.  It has been my experience that, if you don’t spend all your time telling yourself that this is hard and you can’t do it, you will put out loads of ideas.  Some will be keepers.  Some will be dreck.  And that’s ok!  I’d suggest you just set your voice recorder to go (I prop mine up on a music stand) and let your fingers do the walking!  Don’t have a voice recorder?  Just download a free app and you’re good to go.

But don’t be timid – give it a go.  You won’t know what you’re capable of until you try!  I’d also like to encourage you to share – this is a warm and generous group and you probably will never find a more welcoming and accepting audience.  Perhaps you generate some fragments but don’t feel like you’re successful…but you might find that someone else has also made some fragments – and wouldn’t it be exciting if those fit together to make a tune?!

We’ll finish up Sunday 4th October – send an audio, a video or a score (fancy-schmancy or handwritten!) and we’ll share them soon after – just in time to enjoy for autumn!  If you have questions or need some help let me know.   Looking forward to what we come up with!

Welcome June

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In the long sad time, when the sky was grey

And the keen blast blew through the city drear

When delight had fled from the night and the day

My chill heart whispered, “June will be here”

A June Tide Echo, Amy Levy

I find that I’m a little mournful just now.  In my original plan, by now I’d be already in Edinburgh, joining friends, seeing sites, sharing tunes (writing on originally scheduled blog post topics!).  I’d be helping students prepare for competitions and performances and recitals.  I’d be trying to decide what, from my “OSAS at Oberlin” stash would be appropriate for “OSAS at the blissfully air conditioned Baldwin-Wallace”.  I’d be organizing my calendar to practice teaching, practice weddings, practice performances, composing, arranging.

[I refuse to think of life before all the sickness of this year-to-date as “normal” because there is no normal.  There is only change we do not see.   And normal = mundane and who wants to be mundane?!]

But as for right here, right now, it is easy to be suckered in by things around us (like social media mostly, although regular media isn’t really helping any either) and its unending stream of “content” (some good, some pathetic).  And for good or bad, I found that I was being sucked in and becoming envious of the people who were posting clever, or at least amusing, videos of their funny children, hilarious pets, perfectly executed, while distributed, performance art, or oops-filled online meetings.  Increasingly, I was feeling particularly peeved that I, a creative and artistic person, was not also generating huge vats of content…like so many artists posting (highly edited) stuff.

But maybe, with a little shift in focus, I can see that this is not the truth of it.  I am doing inventive things (but maybe not subjecting everyone else with the outputs).   And then I remembered one of my favorite quotes. 

Never compare your blooper reel with everyone else’s highlight reel.

This quote should probably be updated to include the words “tightly curated and heavily edited” highlight reels.

I remain excited for this summer and I’m trying to embrace all the changes (yes, I’m mournful and still remain excited…I’m complex like that).  I’m also trying to appreciate that those changes represent potential.  I still look forward to next summer when I might have even more time with friends in Scotland – and the extended absence will definitely make the hearts grow fonder.  I’ll have more tunes to share and a whetted appetite for sites, sounds, smells and tastes.  My students will outgrow the music we started to ready for performance this year and will move on to other pieces to ready for next year’s events and venues.  Pieces we might not have even thought about if “everything was normal”!  I’ll have time to consider the joyful memories of the items in the “OSAS Oberlin” bin while dreaming up what excitement we will find in our new OSAS location in Barea, OH.  And hopefully I’ll be scrambling to get from competition to wedding to workshop – happily busy and working.

Be careful of the perfectness of what you see.  Spend time with your harp – Imperfect time. Try new things.  Play new stuff.  Play old stuff…in new ways.  Share what you feel like sharing.  What are you doing?  What are you planning for next June?  What imperfectly perfect thing are you working on?  Let me know in the comments!

Push a boundary

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Being creative seems like it should be easy.  But, sometimes you want to be creative…and nothing comes. And it seems that the harder you think the less anything good happens!

Maybe you just need some inspiration. You could do the usual thing – sit there and try to come up with something you will deem creative. But if that had worked, you wouldn’t need to read this.

Picture1

What are some other ways you might spur your creativity? Here are 5 ways to move forward:

  1. Read poetry – develop motifs that reflect your reading of the imagery in the reading.
  2. Take a walk – listen to nature (or the city) as you walk and bring forth those elements in your music.
  3. Look at photographs – can’t get out? Don’t want to read poetry? Use a collection of photographs to inspire you to tell the musical story of the photo.
  4. Exercise – or more appropriately, do some exercises – but not etudes – play scales, chords, arpeggios. They do sound different if you are seeking inspiration.
  5. Noodle – just play with your harp. Don’t think about playing the harp – rather, just be and listen to what the harp might tell you.

Don’t sweat it. Some days, nothing will come of it, but other times you’ll generate all sorts of great tune ideas!  Be sure to capture what you do come up with (even if you are not happy with it) – build a collection of ideas that you can review later.  Continue to work those and see where you go – you never know where you’ll end up!

 

What do you do to spur your own creativity? Share your methods in the comments!

Theory Moment – Noodling Support

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So, we’re beginning week three of our composition challenge. How’s it coming along?

Hopefully you’ve found some stuff you like in your noodling and have begun to string some of those ideas together. And hopefully you’re enjoying the creating and not pooh-pooh-ing every idea you have generated!

Some of you may be ready to keep going in your compositions and to add some harmonies. There are lots of ways to do this. You could generate countermelodies or simple harmonies. Or you might want to stick in some chords to build harmonization. Here’s where being familiar with music theory could help you along.

Come out from under the bed. Music theory isn’t scary! It sounds scary, but it really is just a way to talk about what we already know (yes, of course, we could make it scary – but why?!).

What might help you with your noodling composition? Maybe knowing what scale you’re using?  Is it one of the frequently used scales (major or minor or one of the other modes)? Or have you used (or made) a different scale? Once you know that, you can begin to fit some chords that will enhance your melody*.

Scales are defined by the relationships of the notes in them.

Whaaa?

The intervals (whole and half) are the way scales are “measured”.  Intervals are the distance between notes (if that doesn’t mean anything to you, no worries, it will eventually – you just keep noodling…and reading!).  So, a Major scale is Whole, Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Whole, Half. The Major scale is also called the Ionian mode. Meanwhile, a (natural) Minor scale (or Aeolian mode) is defined as Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Half, Whole, Whole. The Dorian mode is another popular scale which starts on the second with the intervals Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Whole, Half, Whole. A number of traditional tunes from Scotland, Ireland, England (and others) are Dorian. We’ll stop (for now) with the Mixolydian mode which starts on the fifth and is defined as Whole, Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Half, Whole (note it’s very close to the major scale). This is the bagpipe scale so loads of Scottish (and Irish) tunes are in this scale.

What about the chords? Well, that’s sort of up to you, but if you were looking for a “rule of thumb” you might consider that for the Major (Ionian) scale, you might like using the I (root/tonic), IV (the fourth), and the V (the fifth). You could actually use this for everything, and it’ll probably work.  But if you’re clearly in the Minor (Aeolian) scale, you might try the I, the VII, and the vi. And if you’re in Mixolydian, maybe the I and the VII.

Of course, there is no wrong. There might be jarring or sweet or “interesting” or perfect or harsh. This is when it’s time for your trusty recorder. Get your ideas down and listen to them over and over and over. Do they actually sound like you thought they did? You might find that what started as jarring becomes less harsh and more interesting as you listen to it more – all because you’ve become accustomed to it.  And you might find that what seemed perfect is actually a little uninteresting…

So don’t throw out ideas. Capture them. Nurture them. Let them marinate in your ear and in your mind before you decide what to do with them.

What have you heard? What did you do? Did you modify your growing melody or it’s developing harmony? Let me know in the comments.

* this post is not meant to be a comprehensive theory lesson. There are many theory resources available in bookshops and online. But this isn’t meant to be an excuse to hide in a book – go forth, be bold, make mistakes, make memories, have fun, just enjoy…the theory words can be fitted later – just make some music!

7th Inning Stretch

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The start of August is sort of the “7th Inning Stretch” of Summer. 

Most of the Summer is gone, but there’s easily another six (or more!) weeks to go, so it is the metaphorical 7th Inning.  For those of you unaccustomed to baseball, there are nine innings (in a regular game) so the 7th is about ¾ of the way.  Onlookers are encouraged to stand up and stretch before the end of the game commences.  It is a time of frivolity, merriment, and getting the last snacks before the vendors shut down.

In our case, it’s not the inning that matters – it’s more about the stretch.  So, for August, we’ll talk about stretching.

We actually started stretching ourselves in July by giving ourselves permission to cross into making art in other media.  This challenge to ourselves is a type of stretching –

  • Stretching our creative muscles
  • Stretching how we think about our arts
  • Stretching our comfort zone to share pieces in various phases of done-ness
  • Stretching our world of sharing.

So many of you graciously shared your work in other media (and continue to do so – don’t stop!).  This is a relatively easy way to stretch yourself.

Why is stretching so important? There are loads of reasons you should stretch yourself, but here are 7 (one for each Inning up to the stretch? Maybe 😊):

  1. Stretching is the opposite of static!  Being static is stultifying.  It is not making progress of any type.  It is status quo.  What it isn’t is electrifying!  Or creative.  Or enriching.  So we want to avoid being static.
  2. Stretching makes you more flexible.  The more you stretch, the more all of you can be brought to everything! Practice. Creating. Lunch with friends. Everything!
  3. Stretching helps defeat stress.  The more you stretch, the more comfortable you become with being stretched.  Because you are comfortable with stretching and being flexible, you can be more relaxed in the face of stressors and this comfort allows you face every stressor more easily.  And the more you create, the more flexible you will be as you create – anything.
  4. Stretching reduces pain and discomfort.  When you first start stretching you will feel self-conscious, uncoordinated, ignorant, and you might feel discomfort or pain from the activities that stretch you.  But if you go gently and keep at it daily, you will soon (sooner than you think) adapt and become more flexible.  So, by adding some time for creativity in each day you will be able to do so with less stiffness (e.g. “I don’t know what to draw!” or “I can’t paint!”)
  5. Stretching helps you focus.  You can be mindful when you are stretching, and your enhanced presence means you can focus on where you are rather than being focused on any pain or discomfort. By creating more in all domains, you will be able to focus on the act of creating at your harp when you are there (or your easel, your notebook, your kitchen counter – wherever you are focused and being creative).
  6. Stretching improves your range of motion.  As you might have seen by the challenge, your “range of motion” in other media might be limited – by self-critique, by lack of experience, by lack of training.  Stretching will allow you to side step these things and create anyway.
  7. Stretching stretches you.  What?  That might sound silly, but by stretching you are always challenging yourself to try more, new, different – and it feels good!

So, we’ve sort of gone backwards starting with stretching your creativity but that’s ok – we’re nothing if not flexible, right?  As we progress through August, we’ll look at other, more conventional views of stretching.  But as you’re creating, remember to stretch and be flexible.  What do you do to be creatively flexible?  Share in the comments – I can’t wait to hear!

PS – as I mentioned last week – if you’ve got a piece of art from another medium that you’d like to share – I will add it to the post.  Haven’t finished your piece?  Haven’t finished convincing yourself?  Still on the fence about sharing? Just do it for yourself!  When you send it to share, I will put it up.  If you missed last week’s post where people shared their amazing art from other media, prepare to be amazed and check it out here:

Challenge Accepted! Updated

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You are amazing!!  All I can say is “WOW!!”  and “Thank you!” 

So many of you were willing to make art and share it with the rest of us.  You were artistic, creative, and definitely away from the harp.  And you made such wonderful stuff!

I know some of you are away on vacation.

I know others of you were in “watch and wait” mode – you may have made something but maybe not been willing to share it.  And that’s ok – the real point of this was to make something.  The willingness to share can come later.

And I know some of you are in that place of “can’t” – that’s ok, but I think we might be having a little bit more fun over here. I hope you know there’s always room on our blanket (and there’s always an extra cookie) when you’re ready to come over here.

Here are a sample of the wonderful things people sent.  We have art made from pastels, markers, textiles, pencil, and clay!  Some of these pieces have been in the making for a bit and others were dashed off to participate – either way, all are welcome.  I hope you find this encouraging and go off to try something new!  And if you didn’t finish in time, you were full of trepidation (but now you see that really, they won’t take away your birthday!), or you just forgot but now you’re willing to share, I’m still willing to post – just send it to jeniuscreationschallenge@gmail.com and we can keep this up for a while! 

New pieces added to end as they come it – thank you!

   

 

Give yourself permission – be a mixed media artist

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I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty comfortable being a musician.  And that’s good.  I don’t avoid the topic – I tell people that’s what I am and it’s what I do.  And I guess now I can say I’m a recording artist too*.  But then I become less comfortable.  I have a hard time seeing myself as an artist of any kind!

That word conjures up visions of “real” artists like DaVinci, Rafael, Van Dyke, Mondrian, or Basquiat (don’t like my list?  I’d love to know how you like better! Tell me in the comments.).  And then I become full of “can’t”.  I can’t draw, I can’t paint.  I can’t sketch.  Heck I can’t even doodle (no seriously, check any of my margins.  They are all starkly blank!).

And that pile of “can’t” starts to weigh me down.  If I can’t be an artist how can I call myself one?

How you look at something defines what you’ll see.  Reframing is simply actively deciding to look at something differently.  For instance, if I need to find a particular word on a page of text, I turn the book upside-down.  Because it is now harder to read, it becomes easier to search.  By reframing the problem, I have changed my perspective and thereby made finding the answer just a little bit easier.

And so, to become comfortable calling myself and artist, I have to think about reframing how I see – myself, art, as well as the various media within which I can work.  Sometimes we need to push ourselves and allow ourselves to grow as artists.  And that push is not just at the harp – we need to push ourselves to do what we don’t think we can…in another medium.  We have to give ourselves permission to work in multiple media and possibly we’ll see growth across media!

Remember when you started playing the harp?  It certainly is a forgiving instrument, but even so, there were probably times when you were sure you’d never learn to (Gliss accurately? Play harmonics? Get faster?).  You were a beginner.  When you’re a beginner, everything is a challenge, but you’re excited and curious and while you hope it will come easily, you sort of expect to not do it right immediately. As adults we have a much more difficult time adapting this beginner mindset and we stop allowing ourselves to be beginners – we expect a perfect try straight from the box.  Which is ridiculous – we’d never expect other people to do that well on the first try, but we maintain ridiculous expectations of ourselves!

Being creative away from the harp will allow you to have room to grow.  Working in another medium also means learning new things, practicing different things that you need at the harp and having to think differently – even if only briefly.  Being creative in any medium will help you be more confident in your capacity to be creative.  And while the skills you master may (or may not) transfer – the freedom certainly will.

I have a number of creative, artistic, free friends who make amazing art.  They create knitwear that actually looks like clothing, paint pictures that look like actual scenes, take breathtaking photographs, write captivating poetry.  They freely make and create and generate.  They are all harpers.  They create all the time.

I have learned a lot from them.  OK, I’m still learning!  What have I learned?

  1. Be Creative.  As the shoes say, just do it.  Stop talking (inside your head) and make!
  2. Don’t judge! No really.
  3. Be Flexible.  It didn’t turn out the way you imagined?  Is it still kind of cool or do you need to learn some more and try again?  Either way…ok.
  4. Try things.  Just try it – you might like it!  Don’t know how to draw?  Ok, well, pick up your pen and do something and keep working on it.  And try again.  You’re learning!  (A friend also exasperatedly reminds me to go find a YouTube video to learn how to do something – she’s right, there’s videos for just about everything).
  5. Identify your hang-ups. What’s stopping you?  I usually know I can’t do what they’re doing so I’m tempted to not try, because it won’t be good enough (reference TWO and FOUR above).  Be tough here – what is r-e-a-l-l-y stopping you?  Name it!
  6. And defeat it!  Now that you have named what your hang-ups are – defeat them.  Look into their metaphorically beady little eyes and tell them to pound sand!
  7. Be Brave.  What’s the worst that can happen?  Your drawing of your dog looks like a firetruck? Your photo looks less like Loch Ness and more like Loch Mess? So what? It’s not like they’re going to take away your birthday!  Sneer at your inner doubter and be brave!

Being creative away from the harp in another medium will allow you to have room to grow.  Being creative in any medium will help you be more confident in your capacity to be creative.  And while the skills may (or may not) transfer – the freedom certainly will.

I talk a big game.  I am always starting to make art in other media and get caught up in “can’t”.  So, let’s set ourselves a challenge.  Within the next week, make some art.  It doesn’t have to be large, complicated, complex, or tortured – it just has to be yours.  Take a picture of it and post it in the comments and we’ll share them next week.  I say this with trepidation – because, you know, I can’t draw.  But I’ll be doing it too.  A doodle? A sketch? Photo from your phone that you crafted? An ashtray (are these still made in art?) Whatever you want – make it, photograph it and post it and I’ll make a gallery of our work next week.  We’ll all be in this together.

UPDATE: PLEASE EMAIL YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO JENIUSCREATIONSCHALLENGE@GMAIL.COM (YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO LOAD IT INTO THE COMMENTS!).

* why yes, my cd, This Moment, is available in ShamelessSelfPromotionLand.