I found this pretty amazing analogy in Derek Sivers’s summary of The Art of Learning.

The Hermit Crab grows inside until its shell is no longer able to accomodate it, when it leaves and goes on to find a new shell. It is at the most vulnerable state in that period of transfer, prone to predators.

Entity theorists think “I am smart at this” and attribute success or failure to ingrained and unalterable level of ability. They see it as a fixed entity that cannot evolve. Someone stuck in an entity mindset is like an anorexic hermit crab, starving itself so it doesn’t grow to have to find a new shell

I’d like to draw a parallel here. It is that state of vulnerability that one fears, when one must take up new challenges and or responsibility, or even embrace change. People forget that the end result is always growth, the crab only leaves when it has outgrown its shell.

And in the even bigger picture: In order to achieve complete excellence, you must be vulnerable at some point or the other.

What is Art? Art is you.

As a listener, the power you surrender and give to a piece of sonic expression is what elucidates and accents the intention behind every note.

The power you give to a palette of colors is what makes the painting come alive, and tingle intimate emotion.

The power you give to a dancer in invoking personal thought & memory, is what conditions your mind into a state of awe.

Ever wondered why art is a matter of deep personal taste?

I’ll admit it – I am not a very effective time manager. Example – I spend hours on a creative endeavour, while barely spending time on excersise, sleep, friends and all that important stuff. However, meaning is at the root of everyone’s existence and I like to take small steps – here’s something that works fabulously for me in moments of meaninglessness. Now, wait for 3 minutes from the moment you read this -  go do something else and come back.

OK. You’re back? Sure it’s been 3 minutes? If yes, great! Now, in those 3 minutes, did you:

• Learn something new?
• Help someone out?
• Laugh?
• Calm your mind?
• Start creating something useful? Like a song, an email, a plan for your career?
• Listen to an amazing piece of music, or get inspired by another person’s art?
• Drool on something that you intend to buy? Imagine you already own it?

What did I do? I wrote this post, in the hope of helping another person plan out his/her’s 3 minutes.

PS – I’ve possibly missed out on a hundred other things that could be a meaningful 3 minute endeavour, leave a comment if you have more ideas

- Sridhar

Taken from this nice interview of Bill, I found some nuggets worth their weight in gold.

“There would be motions and movement, and there would be notes, and things would be established, but I think without that personal background, there is no real foundation to your musical voice, or what you express through sound and music. It’s all connected whether people want to admit that or not”

To put things into perspective – let’s assume everyday, about 500,000 people pick up the guitar. About 100,000 of them go out and start bands. About 50,000 of them start writing their own music. Assuming, they all write atleast one song each – that’s 50,000 songs coming from a daily seed of new guitar players.

That’s a LOT of songs.

Yet, among those 50,000 songs – how many really mean something to you? How many songs made you feel, wow – there’s something about that song that just tells you so much, and invoked vivid imagery?

Music is a complex sensory experience, and for an artist to be able to ‘paint’ that experience to an audience, a philosophical grounding is what’s needed.

Behind every note is intent, something more important than the note itself, which is why a true virtuoso will show you how to make one note scream out in agonizing anger, or sing a most beautiful lullaby.

I wrote about a similar idea earlier, in Stuck writing a song?

As long as I’ve been able to process information, I’ve noticed people maintain either of these two standards. I was able to chalk out an unbiased definition based on these observations.

Self-esteem: A sense of worthiness, a sense of belonging and purpose. Hard to break. Often accompanied by modesty, and an eager intent to listen more than to speak.

Ego: A developed feeling of self-importance and superiority over other people, often due to external leverage and to make up for incompetence. Easily shattered by confrontations where the receiver goes overboard protecting his/her ego.

Success S = X + Y + Z, where:

X = work

Y = play

Z = shut up.

Wow. The last mix on Stellar barely took anytime, yet I’ve gotten the most positive feedback on the mix. I’m almost satisfied too.

Funny but important fact – I barely spent anytime on it. I mean, compared to any other Melakartha mix which would take 4-5 hour sessions spanning multiple days, the time spent on this pales in comparison. Just enough to get the song talking for itself.

I didnt:

• Go overboard with Effects
• Get anal trying to find the right master bus compressor
• Spend time on small details that didn’t matter

Look what we have here ladies and gentlemen, a new learning!

People don’t buy plastic and paper, they buy emotions. 

When you’re writing a song,  feel that note. Become one with your instrument and your music. Get into your own head and listen to what your ears are really telling you. You’ll find it a lot easier to navigate through, and possibly open your mind up to new ideas.

is way harder than it sounds. You only sell-out if you’re any good.

The next time you try to write a song – try picturing your audience, and how they would react to song passage A, as opposed to song passage B, or lyric line A as opposed to B.

Personally, I conquer a lot of musical indecision by simply putting myself in the shoes of the audience. It’s hard to do, and harder to master, but once you get it right – you’re on your way.

Sometimes I tend to think hard, rather too hard on writing a ‘great’ song. Funny thing, results are almost always the opposite of what is desired. I find that the most beautiful music flows through me when I’m approaching it with an open mind. A defenselessly vulnerable state of mind.

During such moments I feel the music, and I know it’s not coming from me.