Creative Pause

For the last six months, I have been writing a lot of music. I wrote a Bassoon Concerto scored for bassoon and piano that incorporated pre-existing music from A Light in the Attic Suite and the The Day After Halloween Suite with some originally composed material (hopefully to be scored for chamber orchestra later). I updated and edited my Bella Suite that I wrote in 2009 so it would be performance ready. And finally, I completed my Sanguine Symphony, a work that took well over a year to compose. With all of this music flying around in my head, I remembered that every once in while, I need a creative pause.

For me, a creative pause is a break from writing and specifically, writing music. I need to do this because if I keep on writing and transition from one music project to the next, each work will sound too similar to the previous one. This is not always bad. Every composer has a specific style; different harmonies favored, chord progressions commonly used, favorite melodic shapes, et cetera. The problem that I encounter my own writing is that without a creative pause, each subsequent work is a little less original than the previous and my confidence in my own originality falters.

So I pause. My most recent creative pause was when I participated in NaNoWriMo. During the month of November I did not compose a note and I focused on the written word. For me, writing words is extremely difficult. I have been writing music for around 26 years and am comfortable expressing myself through sound. But words are different. A story is just a collection words that everyone can read, but to be able to communicate clearly and creatively with those words is extremely difficult. I have writing all my life, but only recently do I feel I have a basic grasp of how to communicate using words.

Looking over the next few months I plan on having another creative pause as I record my Inspired by Silliness Suite, A Tiny Symphony, and rerecord A Light in the Attic Suite. The act of performing music is completely different than composing music or writing words. Performing music requires a great deal of practice, concentration, physical memory, and precision. The only way to become a better performer is to practice for weeks and months on end and to truly get a grasp of your instrument, for years! Then, when you are decent at your chosen instrument, which can include singing, you have to somehow add your own musicality and originality to a performance which is the real challenge of performance.

At the end of the day, you need to do what works for your creativity and your ability to rest and recharge your mind. For me, a creative pause allows my mind to focus on something else other than just music. For others, a creative pause might be reading instead of writing, it might be training for a marathon, writing a journal article, or purusing some other hobby. We all strive to be creative but every once in awhile, we must also let our creativity rest.

My View of Storytelling

I have been writing since I was 14. At that age I tried to write on a grand scale; symphonies, operas, novels, epic poems, and like. At that time my writing was truly youthful because my skills and artistic self-awareness were not fully developed. It took another 15 years for me to finally find my voice and now 25 years later I feel comfortable writing and this has led to me to reflect on my journey from a teenager to adult writer. Previously, I have written about my own development as a writer in my articles My Compositional Focus and All Music is Original. No Music is Original, but in this article I will collect my thoughts on my personal view of storytelling.

For me, storytelling, whether it is through words or music, is simple. You should, in no particular order:

• Be honest and be yourself;

• Have confidence in your artistic direction;

• Write what you know;
• Edit and revise within reason;
• Accept that what you write might never go beyond your friends and family;

• Write because you have a story to tell.

Be honest and be yourself.

Why do you need to be honest and be yourself? The words and notes you choose are a reflection of who you are inside. This might sound dramatic and overly artsy, but for most people, writing is about self-expression and the best way to effectively communicate with others is to be honest and be yourself.

Have confidence in your artistic direction.

Having confidence in your artistic direction is one of the most difficult concepts writers must face. Some writers have a loud and often times distracting internal voice that is overly critical and detrimental. This is understandable because when you put a work out to the public, 33% of the people will love it, 33% of the people will be polite, and 33% of the people will not like it (my own stats). This all comes down to personal taste in art. As a writer, you must have a strong internal compass that allows you overcome the criticisms of others and helps you focus on your artistic direction.

Write what you know.

Next, write what you know. This does not mean you cannot write Star Trek fan fiction on some distant planet or write about a Medieval mystic. This just means that your stories need to be driven by characters that are relatable and real. If you create characters that are caricatures, do not have any substance, or are not believable, then the reader will not be interested. Often, the people in our own lives are more interesting than anything you will find in-print and being able to translate your own relationships into interesting characters, without angering your friends and family members, is a great challenge.

Edit and revise within reason.

For years I had numerous folders on my computer of half finished works that I never was able to complete. This was because I would constantly edit and revise these works and never just sit down and finish them. I have learned that when writing a piece you need to finish it, edit it within reason, and move on to your next project. This is important because as a writer, you can get bogged down in editing; constantly revising a work to make it better or perfect can quickly stifle your creativity.

Accept that what you write might never go beyond your friends and family.

By stating this I do not mean to be depressing or defeatist, but real. What happens if what you write never goes beyond your front door? What happens if your stories are never published on the big time and do not make a mi$$ion dollars? Elizabeth Gilbert commented on this possibility and is the best advice I have ever heard when it comes to writing and money.

Write because you have a story to tell.

Finally, everyone has a novel, a symphony, or an opera in their head. Each person has a story to tell that is worthy of being told. Some writers have just one story to tell during their lifetime while others have countless. The most important thing is that you tell your story because you have a story to tell and that your story is a means of self-expression.

Song/Week: The Day After Halloween Suite by Bjorn Mercer

The Day After Halloween Suite is second part of the work A Light in the Attic Suite. Both suites take their inspiration from Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic but The Day After Halloween Suite movements are the spooky, icky, and ghoulish poems.

Most of the movements will have a main melody with a counter melody but some have a main melody, secondary melody, and a counter melody (played by the Gretch and/or the Godin). Along with the main melodic content there will always be the harmony (Godin) and the bass line (Ibanez).

As far as the overall product, I am 100% happy with the composition (the actual music), I am 60% happy with the performance (guitar and bass playing), and I am 51% happy with the mixing (Cubase). That gives me an average of  73% which is passing but I still have a lot to learn.

Dedication:

I dedicate this to my one and only, my #trueheartsduet, my wife. Without her love and support I would not be where I am today and I would not be able to focus on my hobby with such dedication and clarity.

I would also like the continue to thank Ryan for letting me borrow his Ibanez bass and Paul for the Godin classical guitar.

Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/bjorn-mercer/sets/the-day-after-halloween-suite

Song/Week: Live from Lincoln Theater, The Milk Carton Kids

I am blown away.

Rarely, when it comes to popular music, am I blown away but these guys are amazing! When you read comments about The Milk Carton Kids people will compare them to a cadre of great musicians over the last 50 years but they do not need to be compared to anyone; all we need to do is listen to their harmonious voices of Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan, listen to their wonderful guitar playing, and try to decipher the shimmering lyrics.

Song/Week: Passacaglia by Bjorn Mercer

Why a passacaglia? I think the short answer is that I have always wanted to write one. After hearing the grand and majestic Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor by J.S. Bach I have always wanted to write one.

A passacaglia is a musical form from the baroque era that is a variation form over a repeated bass line. In my piece you can hear the bass line for the first 13 measures and it is then repeated over and over again changing slightly from time to time. Above the bass I develope the melodic line using a simple ABA’ form. The work is mostly ‘modal’ going from C Major to a natural minor back to C.

The inspiration for this Passacaglia is my son Maxwell. When I started writing it in August 2014 my wife was four-months pregnant and I finished it a month after she had given birth.

I would like to thank Paul for letting me borrow his Goudin, it add such a sweet sound to this work and to Ryan for letting me borrow his bass.

Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

I love this book. The first time I read it was a year ago when I was reading it to my son and I was amazed; what wonderful advice for young and old alike. The colors are bright, the words delightful, and the message is realistic yet optimistic. Instantly I wanted to write an article about it but with the business of life and the birth of my second son, I kept pushing it back.

Then I ran across a HuffPost article about an adult’s perspective of this classic Seuss book. The message of this brief HuffPost article is really about stress while the message of the adult version of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! seems to be that work will kill you and there is little personal fulfillment in life...yikes!

First, stress can be costly and being dramatic, kill you. Managing your stress at work is a difficult endeavor and relies on many different factors; your ability to handle stress, the culture of your place of work, your boss, the direction of your company/institution, you personal situation, et cetera. Stress is a balancing act that requires you as an adult to: 1) recognize stress and 2) take some course of action to remediate it.

One of the best quotes from the HuffPost article states, "the truth is, taking space from the workplace is actually beneficial for our health because it helps our brains unwind...planning a vacation may increase our happiness levels."

As someone who supervises others I 100% agree. Work should not be overly stressful unless you are saving people’s lives, transporting liquid fuel or explosives, counseling people who need help, are in a war zone, or work as a cop (these professions force you to deal with stress or else...). For everyone else we need to figure out how to dial down the stress, care about what we have influence over, and have positive work relationships with the people around us.

Is this easy? Not always. But when you take vacations it helps you recharge, see the world, share precious time with family and friends, and helps you be focused and motivated when you return to work. Does work pile-up when you are gone, maybe, but that is what teams are for; we all work together for the betterment of all.   

The other notable quote from the article states that the adult version of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! “paints a different picture of adulthood than Seuss' rainbow-colored paths leading the way to goals and dreams. Think more work, less, well, anything else.”

Of the vignettes in the Seuss version of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! roughly 40% of them are realistic. They describe how sometimes you will not come in first place, you’ll get bangged-up, you’ll be in a slump, the streets will be unmarked and scary, you’ll inhabit the ‘Waiting Place’, there are games you cannot win, you’ll be alone, there are enemies on the prowl, and there are many distracting strange birds around. Although the book is delightfully rainbow-colored, I feel that it is realistic yet optimistic in a very healthy way.

Runonsentence, the anonymous person who posted the adult version of the classic Seuss story by the end states “your life is pretty much set out for you in every single way! So enjoy your brief periods of personal fulfillment! Being an adult starts today!”

Sad but I get it. When I was younger I looked at life much the same way; you live, you work, you might have some kids (or not), and you die. This outlook was terribly bleak and the weight of the world was on my shoulders until I was able to refocus how I lived, loved, and worked.

You have to find personal fulfillment in life by having hobbies, positive relationships, and healthy habits. Work for some is amazing and we average people are often voyeurs to those few fantastic and dynamic lives on Instagram that travel the world, have perfect bodies, are constantly smiling, and write books, travel blogs, or take pictures for a living. But these are the lives of others; we need not envy or feel bad about ourselves because of them.

Our lives and our work can be fulfilling if you have the right attitude and the right job. There are 1,000 self-help books out there about having a positive attitude because when you work in a cube, or something equivalent, it is up to you to be happy. If the person next to you is annoying only you can only control how you react. If others are stressing out because of a tight deadline you can only focus on your portion of the project and help the team collaborate. If you have had the same job for a while it is up to you, and hopefully with some help from your boss, to develop your skills professionally.

Then there is having the right job. Not all jobs are amazing but there are many jobs that allow for a decent, honest living. And then there are some jobs that are toxic and no matter how positive you try to be will be a challenge. Everyone has to find a job that works with their personality, their skills, their stage in life, and their ability to deal with stress.

Oh, the Places You’ll Go! is brilliant. It is a guide book for life that uses rainbow-colored pictures and cute verse to show that everyone struggles, yet is optimistic and shows that things will be okay and everything will work out.

Song/Week: 3 Simple Minuets by Bjorn Mercer

I was trying to figure out what to call this piece and I went back and forth between attempting something clever and something straightforward. In the end I decided to call it what the movements are; three short, simple minuets.

For those who are not familiar with minuets, the minuet is a European dance form in ¾ that eventually led to the scherzo and the waltz. During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, pretty much everyone wrote minuets in one form or the other with countless contemporary composers looking into the past for musical inspiration.

As I was describing these pieces to one of my colleagues the other day, she asked me what my inspiration for these three movements were. Unlike A Light in the Attic that was directly inspired by the poems of Shel Silverstein, 3 Simple Minuets was inspired by my #trueheartsduet, my wife and partner. Although these pieces are not swelling with passion like Mahler or sublimely beautiful like art songs by Faure they are inspired by the woman who holds my heart, takes care of my children, who makes me laugh harder than anyone else, and is the one I hold as I fall asleep.

I would like to thank Paul Nersesian for letting me borrow his Godin; it is a great instrument and fun to play.

Part One: How to Win Friends and Influence People

In my previous post I included all of my favorite quotes from part one of How to Win Friends and Influence People. The quotes I chose were either particularly wise bits of advice by Dale Carnegie or excellent quotes from great leaders and everyday people.

The advice that Carnegie shares in part one, chapters one through three, is probably the best advice I have ever read in relation to dealing with people. His advice is sound, brief, and to the point. The first three chapters are boiled down into three principles:

• Principle 1: Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain;

• Principle 2: Give honest and sincere appreciation;
• Principle 3: Arouse in the other person an eager want.  

I could stop the article right here after reading these principles but it is not that easy. To be able to interact with people, and especially when you are their supervisor is challenging. One word, one turn of phrase, one misstep can destroy a person who looks to you for leadership and direction. To live these principles it takes constant focus, careful choice of words, and an honest interest in others to truly be effective.

Principle One

When people skim over Principle one they downplay it as simplistic and childish. Real people, smart people who are worldly and educated are critical and hard hitting. I agree that when presented with facts that need bold action one must be critical and hard hitting, but it is all how you do it.

Will you tear someone down for doing an honest day’s work by criticizing their work, condemning their product, and complaining about the outcome? Or will you will acknowledge the countless hours of grueling work they have done and collaborate with them to improve and move forward?

Principle Two

Principle two seems easy; appreciate the people around you. What makes this complicated? We do. As humans, we are sometimes controlled by our emotions and at times we are inconsistent. From one day to the next we might present a different face to the people we work with and this inconsistency affects them.

Why would you appreciate someone who is moody and inconsistent? Why would you appreciate someone who is constantly opposing your work and denying your proposals?

You give appreciation to the people around you because we all desire and crave appreciation. We want our and successes to be acknowledged and we want our hard work to be complimented. As a supervisor it is better to communicate with a smile, and give honest and sincere appreciation, than communicate with a frown and be apathetic to the person in front of you.

Principle Three

Finally Principle three, the most difficult. When working with people, especially when you are their supervisor, how do you arouse an eager want? How do you get them want to do what you want them to do?

Well, you can say, “do your job.” True, we all have to do our jobs and perform the tasks assigned but that is not leading, that is not motivating, that is not creating any lasting loyalty or dedication. The best way to ‘get’ people to do their jobs is to look them in the eyes and say ‘thank you for doing a great job.’

By talking to people, by looking them in the eyes, and by listening to the words they say you lay a foundation of trust and through that trust you will get an eager want.

Now that I have gone over part one of How to Win Friends and Influence People I will restate the question I posed from my Forward: If this book is so simple, why doesn’t everyone follow its principles?

Part One: How to Win Friends and Influence People (Quotes)

The first part of How to Win Friends and Influence People is called, Part One: Fundamental Technique in Handling People. Below are my favorite quotes from part one of How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Principle 1: Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.

“Criticism is futile because it puts a person on the defensive and usually makes him strive to justify himself. Criticism is dangerous, because it wounds a person’s precious pride, hurts his sense of importance, and arouses resentment (p. 5).

“It taught him [Lincoln] an invaluable lesson in the art of dealing with people. Never again will he write an insulting letter. Never again did he ridicule anyone. And from time on, he almost never criticized anybody for anything (p. 9).

“If you and I want to stir up a resentment tomorrow that may rankle across decades and endure until death, just let us indulge in a little stinging criticism--no matter how certain we are that it is justified” (p. 12-13).

“When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity” (p. 13).

“Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain--and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving” (p. 13).

Father Forgets by W. Livingston Larned

“Instead of condemning people, let’s try to understand them. let’s try to figure out why they do what they do. That’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism: and it breeds sympathy, tolerance, and kindness” (p. 16).

Principle 2: Give honest and sincere appreciation.

“There is only one way...to get anybody to do anything...And that is by making the other person want to do it” (p. 17).

“William James said: ‘The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated’...Here is a gnawing and unfaltering human hunger” (p. 18).

“If you tell me how you get your feeling of importance, I’ll tell you what you are. That determines your character. That is the most significant thing about you” (p. 19).

“If some people are so hungry for a feeling of importance that they actually go insane to get it, imagine what miracle you and I can achieve by giving people honest appreciation this side of insanity” (p. 22).

“We nourish the bodies of our children and friends and employees, but how seldom do we nourish their self-esteem...but we neglect to give them kind words or appreciation that would sing in their memories for years like music of the morning stars” (p. 25).

“Of course flattery seldom works with discerning people. It is shallow, selfish, and insincere. It out to fail and it usually does” (p. 26).

“The difference between appreciation and flattery? That is simple. One is sincere and the other insincere” (p. 27).

“Let’s cease thinking of our accomplishments, our wants. Let’s try to figure out the other person’s good points. Then forget flattery. Give honest, sincere appreciation” (p. 29).

Principle 3: Arouse in the other person an eager want.  

“So the only way on earth to influence other people is to talk about what they want and show them how to get it. Remember that tomorrow, when you are trying to get someone to do something” (p. 31).

Harry A. Overstreet...“‘First, arouse in the other person an eager want. He who can do this has the whole world with him. He who cannot walks a lonely way” (p. 32).

“Tomorrow you may want to persuade someone to do something. Before you speak, pause and ask yourself: ‘How can I make this person want to do it?’” (p. 33).

Henry Ford...“‘If there is any one secret to success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as your own” (p. 35).

“Looking at the other person’s point of view and arousing in him an eager want for something is not to be construed as manipulating that person so that he will do something that is only for your benefit and his detriment. Each party should gain from the negotiation” (p. 42).

“Most people go through college and learn to read Virgil and master the mysteries of calculus without ever discovering how their own mind functions” (p. 43).

Reference:

Carnegie, D. (1936). How to Win Friends & Influence People. New York, NY: Gallery Books.

All Music is Original. No Music is Original

All music is original. No music is original.

In my previous article about my music, I went over my compositional focus and my history as a composer from the time I was 14 until present day. Today I truly believe in the duality of music; while all music is original, no music is original.

What do I mean by all music is original? Well, every piece of music that is composed and performed is original in some way. Whatever you write is original to the time and place it it composed. Whatever you write is original to you and your compositional approach. When you perform music your performance is original; it is original to the time and place you perform it.

My view of originality might seem a little touchy-feely and everyone gets a gold star because it is. Music, and art in general, is just that, art. The art of creation is such a unique and individual experience that no matter what you create it is special and precious to you. If you write a children’s song that is simple, fun, and only uses one chord it is original in its own right. If you write a symphony that needs 1,000 performers and takes an hour to perform, it is original in its own right..

Music is unique in that it connects people in a way that other art forms do not. It emotionally connects people via sounds for a limited duration of time. Because of this music is limited and is essentially scarce (most do not think of it that way since music is everywhere you go). When we listen to music we connect to it, we love it because it has our full attention and when it is gone we miss and desire it.

Now the other side, what do I mean that no music is original? Just that; no matter what you write or perform it is a rare occasion that anything you might write or perform, according to the definition, is actually original.

When the Beatles burst upon the US scene in 1964 was their music original? No. If you analyze “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “Blackbird”, or “I am the Walrus” are these songs original? No. They use standard melodies, use mostly standard harmonies, sometimes have creative lyrics, and use some interesting instrumentation. Is four good looking guys performing on stage original even if they have awesome hair? No. Let’s move back in time; was Johann Sebastian Bach considered original during his lifetime? Actually no. The style of music that he wrote in was old fashioned and amazingly the elder Bach he was not as popular as Handel, Telemann, or even his sons during the latter part of his life.

I could go on and on with examples of how composers and performers were not original during their time but it does not matter. Do you think the Beatles cared that their music was viewed as not original? Yes and no but did it stop them? No. They were hugely popular and as the 60s progressed they developed their own style that went from simple to extremely creative (there are countless books written about this). Do you think Bach in his latter years cared that he was writing in a style that was not current to the 1720-1740s? No. He was writing the music he loved and perfected the style that was natural to him and his sense of artistry.

Discussing that all music is original and no music is original is really about two things; artistic confidence and not caring.

When you write music you have to have to confidence to continue writing and know what you are creating is worthwhile. You also have to have the self-realization that everything you write is original at the same time nothing you write is original. It is only when you stop trying to be brilliant and focus on your craft, your art, and your self-expression, that is when you begin to discovering your own individual artistic originality.

You also have to not care within reason how people react to your art. People are notorious for criticising artistic endeavors. Experts and amateurs alike will give unsolicited, highly critical opinions without thinking twice about how it effects you. This is where you have to not care within reason. You have to have the confidence to know you are on the correct artistic path and know that some people will never like your music for some reason or the other. With that said, you do need others to help you sculpt your music because when you live it you are often too close to have a holistic perspective. Have someone who can give you honest and constructive criticism that will allow you to improve and make your music better.

Da capo. Just write and enjoy your music. Express yourself. Have confidence and do not worry about the naysayers.