Jan 28th 1-2-3: Isolate The Problem
1: Isolate The Problem ( 2 minute read )
Have you ever worked tirelessly on a piece of work, only to find that it ultimately still doesn’t ‘feel’ right?
Pouring all your blood, sweat, tears, and inspiration into a piece only for it to feel ‘off’? Leading your heart to sink down into that dark abyss of self deprecation that we as artists commonly find ourselves in? Well, I sure as hell know that I find myself there very often.
I work practicing my musical phrasings and dynamics to sound a certain way only to hear some other, much more experienced musician, effortlessly blow my playing out of the water.
In these moments I’ve found that if I let my emotions get the better of me, it can be very difficult to see the forest from the trees with my playing.
In other words, it can be very difficult to hear exactly what is ‘wrong’ with my playing.
My approach to dealing with these ‘problems’ in my playing is to record my playing, and then listen carefully for what particular aspect of my playing is off. Sometimes it can be a musical literacy problem, e.g. an issue of phrasing or overplaying.
Other times it can be a more technical problem, e.g. my right hand picking pattern is messy and I’m getting lost in a pattern, or sometimes it can be that my left hand is unintentionally muting/fretting at the wrong spot on the neck of the guitar.
Whatever the issue may be.
Once I find it, I isolate the problem, and then I make sure to familiarize myself with it in various settings.
This approach to ‘plugging up the holes’ in my own understandings or abilities as an artist are very useful, and has proven itself to be a very potent tool for me. I’ve even been able to apply this approach to other aspects of my life such as writing, scheduling, and even learning certain technical skills in video games.
So I pass this on to you.
Think in the broad brush strokes of this approach, and think about how those broad brush strokes can be applied to your particular art form.
Record your work, Analyze for weak-points, and Isolate the problem area for practice.
Now go refine your work, and make something uniquely YOU.
2: Creative Prompts From Us (ex. Write a short story, a poem, a song, or draw a quick illustration of these! Let your imagination run free.)
I. Look back at your past works that just ‘don’t feel right’, or ‘didn’t come out as intended’. Pick one and analyze it for a weak-point. (be specific with the weak-points you see, think about what fundamental skill/artistic sense is either missing or being improperly applied, causing your art to lack its intended impact)
II. Now get that weak-point, and begin practicing it. Focus and making it an intuitive second nature that you have full command over. Work on applying it in various different ways. Always think how you can most creatively apply these skills in interesting and compelling ways.
3: Inspirational Quotes From Others
I. “Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work… we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good… It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste—the thing that got you into the game—is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you.”
-Ira Glass, American Radio Personality
II. “To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.”
-Ludwig Van Beethoven, German Composer and Pianist
III. “The first draft of anything is shit.”
-Ernest Hemingway, American Novelist and Short Story Writer
Thank you so much for reading!