Igudesman And Joo: 'I Will Survive'

Here's a great example of having fun with music. In addition to watching the video, listen to the original story that aired on NPR a couple weeks back.



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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!

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!

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!

Thomas Dolby on Science Friday

Thomas Dolby is a technological pioneer. Dolby developed the speaker system in over 3,000,000,000 cell phones, along with these famous ringtones:



In an interview with Ira Flatow, from NPR's Science Friday, Dolby had this to say:

"I see toys and devices as a means to an end, really. It's all about the music at the end of the day...There are geeks who care a lot about how music is made, but at the end of the day when you hear a great piece of music or a lovely melody or a lovely voice, it communicates with you on an emotional level and it transcends the technology that was used to create it."

Listen to the interview here.

Keep writing,

Ben

PS - By the way, I attended an extremely informative luncheon at NSAI yesterday. There are some exciting things coming in the form of new legislation that will allow more songwriters to get publishing deals. Stay tuned...

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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!

Finding Her Voice

A few days ago I flipped on NPR while driving home from writing. As I pulled into my driveway, I just sat in my car as I listened to a woman named Jan Christian struggle to get words over the airwaves. Christian was in a bad car accident as a teenager that left her voice box so damaged that it no longer produced any tones. Her husband, whom she met after the accident, had only ever heard her whisper.

As she talked about her longing to express emotions, I realized how often I take for granted the fact that I am able to do something as basic as talk or sing. Even our basic abilities are gifts, and that is humbling.

Thanks to some medical advancements, Christian is now retraining her vocal chords to produce tones. Listen to the NPR story here. I've also attached a local Kentucky news interview below.



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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!

NPR Gives Packers Minor Edge in Super Bowl

Who's going to win the Super Bowl on Sunday? According to NPR, it's whoever has put in the most time practicing (their scales, that is). They've analyzed the musical skills Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it sounds like the Pack has the advantage.

I was surprised to hear that Aaron Rogers actually owns his own record label (read an article about it on USA Today's website here). Also, read this morning's NPR article, or listen to the radio segment here.

Keep writing, and enjoy the game!

Ben

The Four Seasons - Winter

Like a lot of days, yesterday I found myself listening to NPR's Tom Ashbrook as I drove to my co-write (catch the audio from the On Point show here). The conversation was about how our emotions are affected by the changing of seasons. Being winter, I began to consider the things that pop into my head when thinking about this season:

Snowy.
Cold.
Grey.
White.
New Year.
Resolutions.
Lack of green plant life.
Fireplace.
Cozy.
Book.
Cancellations.
Home.

To me, winter is an opportunity to begin a new rhythm in life. Gained a few pounds over the holidays? Get a Y membership. Been wanting to read more? Go to the library. Hoping to wake up earlier? Get out of bed without hitting the snooze button.

New rhythm begins with the excitement of a fresh start, and is sustained by the fruit of the rhythm itself. We continue going to the Y if we are diligent and work out enough to see a change in physique. We can't help but discover a new favorite author, and we read the rest of their work. We make waking up on time easier by going to bed at a decent hour.

So I encourage you, when looking for a new rhythm, to trust in the process. Sometimes progress isn't seen immediately, but one day you can look back and see something beautiful: growth.

Keep writing (and finding rhythm),

Ben

Australians Discover 14 New Notes on Piano

I heard this on NPR this morning, and I was glad to hear that even something as standard as the grand piano still has room to grow.

Apparently there is a piano maker in Australia (Stuart Pianos) who decided that the 88 key piano as we know it is insufficient. Instead of only going lower by adding nine additional notes beneath the low A key, they also tacked on five

It sounds like the main benefit to the overall sound is that the notes' harmonics have more room to play. Result: a potentially fuller and crisper sound. I'm just curious what Rachmaninoff could have done with the extra notes.

Listen to the story, or read the transcript here.

Keep writing,

Ben