How many hours a day do you practice your craft? How many years of your life have you devoted to developing your music? Do you ever find yourself thinking “I should practice more…?” 

It is said that practice makes perfect and that there is no gain without pain. Still, there are plenty of examples of artists who slave away and never live up to their potential and others who seem to flourish despite the lack of any conventional work ethic.  The difference lies in how much purpose is behind the practice and how much passion is behind the action. Couple these concepts with a broader definition of what constitutes effective artistic practice and you might be able to replace the “I should practice more” with conscious, creative, living practices that take you where you want to go musically, artistically, and personally. 

So don’t just do something, sit there…and listen in as The Soul of Songwriting podcast takes on a sacred cow and explores how to train without strain.

 

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What is talent, exactly? Do some people “have it” while others lack it? Do you consider yourself talented?

While the belief in talent is common, the price an artist pays for placing importance on the size of their talent is steep. If you attach too much meaning onto the concept of talent, you are likely to fall in to one of two traps. You might either believe that your value lies in your talent and develop an inflated sense of importance, or, you might end up feeling like you are deficient for lack of enough talent and see yourself as “less than” for no substantial reason. Seen from a broader view, talent is irrelevant, especially when compared to what you actually do with whatever you’ve actually got. Join JP for a look at some alternative definitions of talent and some powerful examples of how musicians can determine their value as an artist.

This is the first of seven podcasts that debunk some common myths of musicianship.

 

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What makes an artist prolific? Is it talent? Deadlines? A steady gig? A demanding audience? Inspiration?

Join JP as he takes a systematic look at why some artists are just creative while others are endlessly prolific. This podcast focuses on the roles of change and regularity as complementary poles of the artist’s experience and draws conclusions based on five distinct driving forces behind many prolific artists’ work.

If you want to create more or more steadily, episode #21 may give you a surprising lift.

 

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Are there any areas in your life where you experience an abundance of frustration? 

If not, you might want to skip this podcast. If so, go ahead, take a listen, and get ready to tap into your frustration as fertile source of good material for your next song or composition. Six distinct strategies for turning your difficult emotions into sweet musical ideas are explored and analysed. 

JP not only discusses, but also sits in on the piano to play around with some examples that range from Beethoven to Americana.

 

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Do you ever find yourself spontaneously creating something and having no idea whether it is any good? What do you do? Do you ignore the impulse? Do you follow your original thought? Do you try to transform an imperfect seed into a viable work? Do you stop the flow of ideas, waiting for something “good” to come along? 

In this unique SOS episode, the discussion about how the process of improvisation can turn into a composition takes a sudden turn when JP stops talking and starts playing…taking the closest instrument to where he is sitting (in this case, a ukulele) and exemplifying in-the-moment the very process he addresses in words. The result is both raw and revealing. 

 

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