Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Quote of the Day - Jobs

"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things." 

- Steve Jobs


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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, March 13, 2012

Nashville Day/Night



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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, March 12, 2012

10,000 Hours

10,000 hours. That's how long Malcom Gladwell says in his recent book, Outliers: The Story of Success, it takes for someone to master a craft.

The Beatles did it performing live in Germany before they reached world fame. Bill Gates did it in a computer lab while he was in high school. And you can do it too.

Broken down, 10,000 hours is roughly 2,000 co-writes (considering the traditional co-write time of five hours, about 10:30am to 3:30pm). Let's be honest. It takes years to become an expert co-writer. But the cool thing is, a lesser-experienced co-writer can write a better song on any given day than an expert co-writer. Basically, an amateur can hit the bull's eye on a lucky shot, but an expert will have better aim and more control over where their arrow lands. And the more control over where the arrow goes, the more fun the creative process becomes.

Keep writing (and aiming at the bull's eye),

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, March 9, 2012

A Little Magic

This is how to engage an audience. A great performance should leave the audience in amazement...




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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, March 8, 2012

The Life & Work of Robert Sherman

The songwriting world lost one of the greats a couple days ago. Robert Sherman, along with his brother Richard, penned some of the most memorable songs of all time.

If you have ten minutes, I highly encourage you to listen to NPR's recent story at their website.

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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, March 7, 2012

Jonsi - "Go"

One of my favorite artists as of late:




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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, March 6, 2012

Interview with Luke Laird

In a recent interview, songwriter Luke Laird shared insights into his journey from Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania to the top of the country charts.


Read the full article here.

Brittany, Barry Dean, Luke Laird and me at October's Songbird Camp


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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, March 5, 2012

The Disappearing Car Door

Here is another example of re-imagining an everyday object:




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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, March 2, 2012

Quote of the Day - Einstein

"To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science."

- Albert Einstein


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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, March 1, 2012

Seminar @ Belmont

Last week Gordon Kennedy and I spent an hour with Belmont students, singing songs and telling stories. Basically, we had a mini Songbird Camp experience!


02.22.2012 Ben Cooper & Gordon Kennedy-1 

 Check out more photos from the seminar here.

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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!