Wednesday, November 30, 2011

For the Rest of Your Life...

As songwriters, we never know exactly which song will become known as the song that people expect you to play. I've been taking that into consideration during co-writes, being sure to only write songs I wouldn't be ashamed of or get tired of playing every Bluebird Cafe show I play for the rest of my life.

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

No Fear in the Mirror

There are two ways we can miss the songwriting target.

First, we can think too highly of our abilities. Consequences of this kind of thinking are:
  • Feeling discouraged because you aren't writing with any big-name, hit writers
  • Feeling angry because other people (less-qualified songwriters) are having success that you deserve
  • Feeling desperation because you don't have enough irons in the fire
Second, we can think too lowly of our abilities. Consequences of this kind of thinking are:
  • Avoiding opportunities to write with people we look up to
  • Not enjoying the fruit of our labor because of a focus on what was done wrong or could have been done better
  • Not taking creative chances, risking that what we do could be seen as silly or irrelevant
Having an honest community of people (not just songwriters) will give you a healthy and honest understanding of where you stand.

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Monday, November 28, 2011

The Knife Maker

Pardon the language...

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Gratefulness


I hope you all are having a restful day after Thanksgiving.

Just a simple observation:

I've realized lately that when I choose to be grateful for something, I have a much harder time giving any complaint the time of day. There's just no comparison. When my car's got something wrong with it, gratefulness undercuts any frustration.

Being grateful for the gift of creating music and art undercuts any frustration of unmet expectations.

Keep writing (and being grateful),

Ben
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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

Each year one of my cousins would stay overnight and help our grandma cook the big Thanksgiving meal. When I was old enough to know better, I was told to put the turkey in the refrigerator, which my mind interpreted as the freezer. Needless to say, we had Thanksgiving lunch around 4pm that next day.

One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories was watching football with family. Of course, you can't have a Madden Thanksgiving without turducken!



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Quote of the Day - Longfellow

"Music is the universal language of mankind"

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Songbird Camp - In the Round

Here's a shot from the recent Songbird Camp. What a great weekend it was!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Hot or Cold


I recently had a conversation with my song plugger about my performance over the previous weeks. He said something to the effect of this:
"You've been really consistent, which is good (moving his hand left to right, as if a line on an X-Y graph). But we'd rather you actually do this (moving his hand left to right but including ups and downs). When you're consistent, we don't get the peaks (great songs)."
Deep down I knew he was right. It was easy to see that I'd been writing too much each week. When pursuing quantity over quality, it's easy to convince ourselves that "good" is good enough.

Along the "good" path I believe we will find that, while the road is clear and level, most of the fruit has been picked. Only on the road less taken will we experience the new and unknown. We will look out from unseen views, taste rare fruit (both sweet and sour), and most likely get cut by thorns along the way. But discovering greatness will always be worth that less-traveled journey.

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Murmeration - A Symphony of Birds



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

What Is Not vs. What Should Be

While driving home from writing and recording yesterday afternoon, I heard a story on NPR about author Ann Patchett opening a new bookstore in Nashville called Parnassus. During the interview, she said:
"I think of this as my gift to the city: This is what I want to see in Nashville, and if I want to live in a city with a bookstore, then I'm willing to pay for it."
This embodies the entrepreneurial spirit. It may be easier to just complain about there not being a great bookstore in town, but it's far more rewarding to create one. I believe this is true for any artistic endeavor. Rather than criticizing what is not, let's create what should be. One piece of art is worth one thousand critiques.

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Heinz Maier's Droplets

water + food coloring + good timing =

The New Way
"The New Way" by Heinz Maier

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Extra 10%

For most people, the eight hours between 9am and 5pm doesn't necessarily feel creative. I'm continually reminded of all the daily encounters with tasks I am obligated to complete -- the car needs an emissions test; the lawn needs mowing; the basement needs cleaning. And to be honest, it's easy to spend all of my mental energy on completing those things.

We've all heard the "give 110%" speech a hundred and ten times, so that's not what this is. What I am encouraging you to consider is that, speaking from experience, creativity often comes to life or dies after the 90% mark. You've completed all the things that need to be done that day, and you'd like to do nothing but just hunker down on the couch. I believe those who use the last 10% of their energy on creating are the ones who will have the greatest number of opportunities for their art. When you're at the crossroads of calling it a day or checking the creative mailbox for inspiration, always get the mail.

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Monday, November 14, 2011



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Sounds From a Dry Cleaner



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Life in a Snapshot

But instead of a picture, I'll give you the thousand words. Read this.

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Steve Jobs' Mindset

One of the more important things I've learned lately has been the importance of seeing your vision through in the creation of art. In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Andy Kessler commented that Jobs was successful because he focused on "figuring out what he wanted and controlling the process until he got it."

On a similar note, the documentary about Pixar on Netflix echoes this mindset. Producers at Pixar said that they were able to have such a successful track record due to the fact that they simply made movies that they themselves would want to watch. This seems like an obvious question, but do you write the kind of songs that you would want to listen to? In the publishing world, it can get pretty confusing whose taste you are trying to appeal to--your own, your publisher's or the listener.

Keep writing (songs you would want to hear),

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The King of Queen



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Monday, November 7, 2011

With A Little Help From My Friends

Thanks to the work of NSAI, there is hope for a brighter tomorrow in the world of publishing. If this act gets passed through Congress, we would be looking at a greater revenue stream and ultimately more publishing deals. Please take a couple minutes to:

1. Find your local representative by clicking HERE.

2. Send them this letter:

Dear (Insert your Congressman's name here):

I am a songwriter/composer writing to encourage you to sponsor and support The Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261).

Over the past decade, Internet music piracy has decimated the American music industry and wrought particular devastation on the profession of songwriter/composer.  As many as 90% of our country’s professional songwriters and composers are no longer able to earn a full-time royalty income for one simple reason – Internet music piracy.  Royalties have shrunk dramatically and so have the creative opportunities for songwriters and composers.

The legislation will allow removal of rogue websites whose primary activity is based on piracy.  Many of the sites are located in the former Soviet Union and distribute copyrighted material with no compensation whatsoever.  In many instances the sites are simply criminal enterprises which operate with no fear of reprisal.

America is losing tens of billions of dollars each year due to Internet piracy of movies, music and other copyrighted American creations.  This legislation will help reverse a trend that sees billions of copyrighted files (music, movies, television shows and other copyrighted works) being illegally distributed each month.

The bill also increases criminal penalties for individuals who traffic in counterfeit medicine and military goods, which put innocent civilians and American soldiers at risk. And it improves coordination between IP enforcement agencies in the U.S.

(Insert a personal message or example about how piracy has impacted your career or opportunities if you wish.)

We need your help and support.
Sincerely,


NAME
ADDRESS

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Friday, November 4, 2011

Melodic Ammo

In a recent issue of Time Magazine, I came across this remarkable photo:




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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

7,000,000,000

This is a beautifully made short video about how the human population has grown to 7,000,000,000 people. What amazes me is that only about 200 years ago there were only 1,000,000,000 people in the world.



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The Robot

This one is worth watching all the way through:



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Aiming at the Right Target

I've had a lot of conversations with other songwriters lately about how exactly one should approach writing songs. In general, one of the best ways I've found to think about it is through the concept of archery.

Only by having a clear understanding of my own abilities and weaknesses will I know at which target I should aim. Instead of only taking into account distance, consider the different directions you can aim. Sometimes your appropriate target is not what you first think.

My wife and I are currently working on an album of kids songs. Six months ago, I would have told you there wasn't a possibility of us doing such a thing, but here we are. If I had been only aiming at the conventional targets in front of me, I would have missed out on one of the most creatively fulfilling projects I've ever worked on.

There are so many more ways to exercise the gift of writing songs than just trying to get music onto the radio. Where else are you able to use your music to impact people?

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!