Crooked phrases. Deceptive cadences. Internal rhymes. Uneven meters.

Have you ever experienced a song that subverts your sense of “how it’s supposed to go” and yet simultaneously feels totally right?

Music is full of opportunities to throw off expectation and surprise, awaken, and even enlighten listeners. Despite the fact that nursery rhymes and metronomes have trained many of us to expect our music to be even and predictable, most folk traditions have always been (and continue to be) full of asymmetrical elements. Songs can defy our expectations using everything from from uneven measures to sudden shifts of tempo…from spring loaded phrasing to complete changes of groove.

Join this SOS episode as JP shares the delight of songwriting that falls outside the narrow confines of symmetrical composition and ventures into the realm where music and lyrics stay off-balance while remaining on-target.

 

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Have you ever shared your music with the wrong person at the wrong time? Can you recall the feeling of deflation that accompanied the experience? How about the surge of positive energy you may get when you share your art with someone who really understands and appreciates it?

The more aware you are of the role of positive, supportive feedback in your creative life, the more you can direct the flow of the process and attract the perfect support system. The exposure can bring you specific musical guidance, general heartfelt encouragement, or honest criticism (or some combination of all three).  Conversely, keeping your music too sheltered may inhibit its growth as much as premature criticism. No matter what the circumstances are, the act of opening up your works-in-progress to a variety of viewpoints (within a context of respect and safety) is essential in allowing your music to grow and mature.

Listen to this SOS episode as the subtleties and nuances involved in artistic incubation and conscious sharing are explored and explained. 

 

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What’s your story and how do you tell it?

Are you a provocateur? An abstract, evocative storyteller? A painter of fables? An abstract teller of tales? All (or none) of the above?

When music and lyrics are understood in dramatic terms, rather than in purely musical terms, the process of songwriting becomes less about verses, choruses, lines, or hooks and more about characters, actions, scenes, and narration. A switch of context like this can help you bring some fresh material to the table and enliven your music in some interesting ways.

Listen to this special SOS episode (recorded on the road in rural Massachusetts) for a glimpse into JP’s understanding of the relationship between music and drama. Apply the concepts to your own writing and the results might surprise and delight you!

 

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Think about DOING.

What do you do? How do you do? Do you do that voodoo that you do so well?

Actions of all kinds can be opportunities to develop your musicianship. By employing your sense of rhythm, pitch, phrasing, melody, harmony, and composition (as well as the many other innate musical sensibilities that you already use to make your music), you can live a more musical life and bridge the gap between the inspired and the ordinary.

When you allow your music to infuse the rest of your life, even mundane tasks such as tying your shoes or brushing your teeth can become musical (See Mel Brooks in High Anxiety for the most musical tooth brushing scene to ever grace the silver screen.).

Join this SOS episode and explore ways to bring more music into your life (and more life into your music).

This is part four of a four-part series of “Musical Lifestyle” podcasts.

 

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Timing Is Everything.

As a musician, you have the advantage of applying what you already know about rhythm in music to the rest of your life. Establishing a good tempo, getting into a groove, working with meter, and aligning with your natural sense of rhythm are pieces of musical knowledge that can be translated into how you manage your career, what your daily habits and routines look like, and how much time you have to put into your creative work.

Although many great musicians have suffered in their personal or professional lives, a Whole Musician approach maintains that being a prolific artist, cultivating effective time and energy-management habits, and designing a creative and meaningful career are three interdependent aspects of living a fulfilling musical life.

Join JP as he discusses seven distinct time orientations and explores some innovative ways to make more time so that you can create more music. 

This is the third of four in the Musical Lifestyle Series of SOS podcasts.

 

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With whom do you share your music? Do you have reliable people who will support your creative process by giving you honest feedback while also understanding and respecting where you are coming from?

Who you are is inseparable from who you relate to. As social beings, we are constantly influencing and being influenced by others. By discerning who you share your art with you can more effectively direct the flow of your musical focus and learn to make the connection between the people in your life and the music that comes out of you. Your community, friends, collaborators, audience, and family members all have an influence on your music, so you might as well choose to be around people whose influence is positive and welcome.

Listen in on this episode as the link between music and relationships is explored from four distinct angles: friendship, competition, intimacy, and fantasy.

This is the second of four in the Musical Lifestyle Series of SOS podcasts.

 

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Where are you right now? Are you at peace with your environment? How does your music express and reflect the places you go and where you live?

If you’re a songwriter, recording artist, or performing musician, you know what it’s like to clue in to the vibrations in your music–to feel your way into the sound. You can use the same sensitivity to find your spot, one moment at a time. As you become more aware of the subtleties of your environment, you can either fine tune yourself so that you deepen your groove with your location or adjust your location so that it gets into a more of a groove with you.

Join this episode of SOS as we explore the power spots, rooms, neighborhoods, towns, and regions that make you feel most at home with yourself and your music.

This is the first of four in the Musical Lifestyle Series of SOS podcasts.

 

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Is songwriting more than just something you do? Is music a way of life? How does your music influence your lifestyle? How does your lifestyle influence your music? Do you experience the same sense of creativity and adventure offstage as you do onstage?

Artists are often associated with certain lifestyles and they are not necessarily expected to be in sync with the rhythms and habits of mainstream society.  But what exactly makes up an artistic lifestyle? Is it the hours you keep? The friends you hang out with? The clothes you wear? The town you live in? If you look closely, you will probably find that the lifestyle and the music of the artist are intimately connected and that there are as many lifestyles as there are lives (just as there are as many musics as there are musicians).  So why is so little attention given to Conscious Lifestyle Design?

Join this SOS podcast as we begin to explore four foundational aspects of crafting a sustainable artistic lifestyle. 

This episode is an overview of the upcoming “Musical Lifestyle” series of podcasts. 

 

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Fame. Celebrity. Star. Superstar. What do these words bring to your mind?

Are you famous? Do you want to be? Are you hoping to be famous someday? Have you given up on your chances at fame? Has fame never been important to you in the first place? Are you secretly jealous of those who have achieved notoriety?

Though fame may be a powerful resource, the quest to achieve or sustain it can be a grand illusion and costly distraction–one that that holds many artists back. The quest for connection, on the other hand, brings with it the promise of deeper relationship–to the music, the audience, and to oneself.

Join the SOS conversation as the last of seven common myths of musicianship and the creative process–fame–is explored from a broader perspective than usually addressed in most music and entertainment circles.

 

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By what age does a musical artist need to become established in order to be successful? 18? 29? 35? Does it matter? Should it matter? Does it matter to you?  

While large segments of society may worship youth, artists worship truth. Rather than racing against time, they find their groove at each stage of life and let themselves express and reflect all of the phases, not just the early ones.  Of course, youth sells and most popular music is developed to be sold to 18-25 year olds, but none of that means that a songwriter or performer needs to stop growing or letting their music change to reflect their evolving point of view.  After all, one of the gifts of musicianship is that you get to play at any age and there is no real limit on how long you can continue to develop your musical expression. With age comes experience and with experience comes the potential for wisdom. With wisdom comes the opportunity to make music that is built to last and to cultivate creative habits that are sustainable.  

So sing your song, find your groove and listen to this SOS episode in which new models of artistic and musical sustainability are explored. You might find a way to stay Young At Heart without needing to stay Forever Young. 

 

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Performing artists, songwriters, and aspiring musicians are usually given the same piece of sage advice: to get yourself or put your work “out there” where it can be discovered. This often implies pounding pavement–moving to a big city, booking a lot of rough gigs, networking like a monster, or knocking on the proverbial door of opportunity until someone–an agent, an executive, or a “talent scout” (do those still exist?)–discovers you.

The familiar story always ends the same way: Once you get discovered–once some powerful, visionary manager or mogul is exposed to your talent*, they will make you a big star and the rest will be history…the only problem is that the eternal hope at the root of this “discovery myth” is built on rumor, not fact. How many success stories are really that simple?

Even more importantly, expecting to be discovered may lead to another unintentional problem–the common trap of leaving your center in hope of attracting someone else’s attention and admiration. Once an artist gets hooked on the dream of getting discovered, they become vulnerable to superficial flattery, neediness, and a host of manipulations. This desperate need for external recognition is so common in some industry circles that it seems completely natural–an industry standard.

However, there are alternatives: instead of perpetually seeking to be discovered, you can invest your energy into a lifelong pursuit of Self-discovery. Living with a deep curiosity about who you are and who you are becoming is a joyous journey that strengthens an artist’s resolve, deepens self-expression, and, paradoxically, attracts more attention from potential business contacts and musical collaborators.

Tune in to this Soul of Songwriting episode to learn from some of the hard lessons and foibles that have taken many a musician (including our host) down many a wrong path. Discover what treasures lie calmly in waiting once the need to be discovered is redirected into a search for Self-discovery. This is part five of the “Seven Common Myths of Musicianship and the Creative Process” series.

*For more thoughts on talent, listen to SOS Episode # 21: “Just The Way You Are: Debunking The Myth Of Talent.”

 

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Are you inspired? If so, how did you get that way? If not, what do you imagine would inspire you? The word inspiration, like the word spirit and respiration, has its origins in the Latin word for breath. But the concept of inspiration has come to suggest much more than simply breathing.

Feeling inspired often implies some kind of altered state of consciousness in which all the clouds part and the heavens open up.Artists have used countless methods to get themselves inspired (and many have worked), but the promise of inspiration often comes with a catch. What might inspire at one point –a place, a person, an experience, a journey–might eventually lose its luster and lead to less than inspiring results. Increasing your ability to observe, on the other hand, never ceases to deliver valuable experiences. Observation, unlike inspiration, is available in every moment, regardless of mood, circumstances, or state of mind.While many artists have moments of intense inspiration, artists who sustain their creative edge usually end up relying on the power of perception to deliver new insights and material, rather than emotion or imagination.

So don’t get high, don’t get low, don’t go up and don’t get down, just be where you are and listen, look around, and let the moment bring your next song. Listen to this Soul of Songwriting episode to hear about various ways that you can use your gifts of observation to bring forth an abundant stream of good material and relinquish any unconscious expectations for finding inspiration somewhere or sometime other than “hear and now.”

 

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Do you have an ultimate musical goal? How will you know if you have arrived at it? Do you think that once you reach that goal, you will be artistically fulfilled for the rest of your life?

The concepts of artistic mastery, expertise, greatness, and virtuosity are common, but not necessarily true. Musical experience, at its freest, is a journey–not a destination. Once you “arrive” at a commitment to the process of following your vision, rather than satisfying or living up to an impossible standard of excellence, you can more fully appreciate each step of the path. From this perspective, you can enjoy the adventure of your Musical Vision Quest and lay down the burden of perfectionism. 

Join this SOS episode as the belief in expertise is questioned and the practice of cultivating a beginner’s mind is celebrated. 

 

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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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Have you ever experienced tension between your physical experience and your mental state? How about your ideas and your reality?   

If you stop to think about it, music can be understood as an interplay between opposing, yet complimentary energies: the electrical charge that comes from the ether and the grounding support that comes from the material world. If you have ever experienced the challenges that come from trying to manage these poles of the human experience, join this SOS podcast as JP explores ways to balance the artistic with the practical, the intangible with the material, and the emotional with the physical in the arts of songwriting and performance. 

 

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Do you have something to say? Are you able to say it effectively? 

If you are a songwriter or recording artist with a unique vision or message and you want to be able to get it across more reliably and deeply, you will want to get clear on your specific message and find your distinct WAY of putting it into musical form.

Understanding the variety of options available to you in crafting your musical expression and the predictable stages that your creative work must go through can help you immensely. Integrating this information can help you to follow your calling with greater ease, align with your music more fully, and become much more prolific in the process. 

Join JP as he tackles the topic of creative callings and offers some suggestions to help you clarify your unique path.

 

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Which side of the Great Divide do you make music on? Are you a messenger or an entertainer? A timeless teller of tales or a cutting-edge groundbreaker? What can we learn from the songsmiths of the first half of the twentieth century that might be missing from the provocative musical pioneers of the second half?  

In these complex times, the need for songwriters and performers to function as messengers, as opposed to pure entertainers, is greater than ever. While a pure entertainer works to divert an audience’s attention from “everyday life” and worldly matters, a messenger works to shine a spotlight on issues of personal and social purpose and relevance. But without delivering a message through an entertaining, user-friendly format, a song’s deeper meanings may be lost. Ideally, an artist functions as both an entertaining storyteller AND a provocative truth-teller.  

Join in part two of this conversation where JP addresses the gifts and the hazards of following the traditions and trends in pre- and post-rock-and-roll popular music.

 

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Something really big and really important happened to popular songwriting between the years of 1950 and 1969. Many things, actually. And we are still reeling–socially, creatively, psychologically, and politically. Come take a journey back in time and then forward and back again as we mine the fields of recent history looking for musical gems and touchstones that can be put into immediate use in our songs, performances, and understanding of what we hear. This is part one of a two part conversation.

 

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All music carries with it the emotional purity and/or baggage of its creators. So how can you tell where a piece of music is “coming from”-what its hidden intentions and messages might be, apart from what it sounds like on the surface?  How do you listen for that?  No matter what style or form you may work in, music and art can be highly subjective. In fact, at certain stages in the creative process, plugging in to the heart of your own subjectivity can serve to ground your listening ability, deepen your expression, and awaken your musical conscience.  Encapsulated within the subtle emotional spirit of the music (underneath the surface of the sounds) lies essential information for the creative artist, whether they are listening to their own works-in-progress or learning from the music of others.  This podcast explores four specific qualities of sound that can provide clues about where the music is coming from.

 

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At a certain level, all creative endeavors share a common root structure–a well of creativity from which all are free to draw inspiration. By looking outside the language of your particular field, you may find hidden solutions to your artistic challenges and surprising breakthroughs in your ability to express yourself. Join JP as he explores how you can bring more music into your life and more life into your music by borrowing principles and practices from six other art forms, including cooking and sex, and applying them to your musical creativity.

 

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Art and self-expression, whether you are a songwriter, composer, recording artist, or performer, can be full of dark, mysterious pathways and corners. How do you know when you are headed in the right direction? How do you keep yourself “on the path.”

To start with, your destination must be clear. But unless your music is purely utilitarian, there is no map, no formula, and no single road. In fact, in some ways, you make up the road along the way.

Still, it’s good to have a compass–something that tells you when you are veering off-course and guides you to make adjustments both subtle and radical.

Listen to this podcast as JP discusses three basic paths (vision, faith, and intuition) and nine artistic tools for creating and strengthening your musical compass.

 

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Good songwriting may be based on considerations about key, tempo, harmonic progression, lyric form and structure, but somewhere along the line, you have to lay down your weapons and surrender to the unknown–the mystery of music. But does that mean it’s all up for grabs? Can you know exactly when and how to give up control and in what proportion? There are some tried and true techniques for subverting the rational mind in order to allow the pure spirit of the music to come through. Listen in as JP takes you on a brief journey into the non-rational spaces of musical creativity.

 

 SOS Episode #11: Getting Out Of Your Head: The limits Of Rationality In Songwriting and In Living (or “When To Stop Making Sense”): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Many musicians and songwriters have two competing dreams: the dream of connecting with others by making a positive impact on their lives and the dream of hitting the big time, rising to the heights and living happily ever after in the realm of the rich and famous. To further complicate matters, we are given mixed messages about the importance of fame, being taught that it shouldn’t matter to us as artists (it should be “all about the music”) and simultaneously being told that celebrity is THE goal and that everyone deserves their chance at super-stardom (think American idol). Join JP as he shares some hard earned lessons and practical perspectives on artistic survival and alternatives to the cult of personality we call show business.

 

 SOS Episode #10: Star Struck: Spiritual Casualties On The Illusionary Path To Rock-Stardom: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Whether or not you are aware of it, you have a mode of expression that is totally unique to you. In order to find lasting musical fulfillment, an expressive artist has to go beyond identifying with traditional labels and categories into a more personal search for their unique, authentic musical expression-their musical fingerprint. This search is comprised of two, interdependent aspects: what you need to express and how you are naturally designed to express it. Join the conversation about how you can grow more deeply into your authentic musical Voice and the variety of gifts that await you as you get closer and closer to the heart of your own music.

 

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The dream of many songwriters and performers is to be able to continuously get their music “out there.” But to what end? If your songs have been written to not only be heard or get sold, but to also positively impact and touch the lives of your audience, consider the many ways and levels at which connection takes place between musician, song, and audience. From the superficial level of grabbing someone’s attention to the deeper purpose of generating inspiration and intimacy, music’s journey between artist and listener provides an ideal opportunity to not only get one’s music heard, but facilitate meaningful conversations and relationships. Listen in to hear JP’s comments on how far your artistry can touch the soul of your listener.

 

 SOS Episode #8: Soul to Soul: Connecting Through Your Music: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When a show is filled to capacity, the marquis reads “Sold Out.” When an artist loses their authenticity in order to please a supposed market’s taste, we say that they’ve “sold out.” How can you “Sell Out” without “selling out?” Do we ever have to compromise our authenticity to achieve commercial success? How about achieving both? Listen in and discover your own answer to the important question: “Who am I making my music for?”

 

 SOS Episode #7: The Artist's Dilemma: Being Sold Out With Out Selling Out: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download