Working with singers who are also songwriters, I am frequently asked what I think about song critiques. Here is what I tell them: Critiques of songs can either help the writer turn a mediocre tune into hit song… or they can absolutely kill the song, derail and shut down the voice of the writer. Where… Read More » about Song Critiques: Can Too Many Cooks Spoil Song?
Creativity
Authenticity: Lesson from the Hummingbird
I was watching my hummingbirds today and thought about how much they are like an audience. They may investigate you to see what you are about. If you have a red shirt on they may look for a flower opening for a few moments (which can startle you!). But since you don’t have one they… Read More » about Authenticity: Lesson from the Hummingbird
Music As Mentor
I’ve been reading a great book a dear friend gave me called “Athena’s Disguises” (thanks, Kim! finally getting to it!) Author Susan Ford Wiltshire, a professor of Classics at Vanderbilt University, published it in 1998. The book uses the multiple disguises of the Greek goddess Athena in Homer’s classic epic “Odyssey”, to show us where… Read More » about Music As Mentor
Once A Musician, Always…
It has become my firm belief that being creative is not really an option if a human being is to fully thrive. For a musician to stop making music can be dangerous ground, unless the creativity is expressed differently, say, through painting, poetry, sculpture or other art form. And even then… there’s something about sound…. Read More » about Once A Musician, Always…