Studio Blog (October, 2010)

Recent visits to Whipps Ledges in Hinckley, Ohio and Virginia Kendall Ledges in Peninsula played a role in inspiring this brand new world/jazz piece.

Just pause the background music (or wait for the sample to end), then press play below and enjoy some photos from both places.

You can download the MP3 by clicking here

One of the places we visited on our national parks RV trip was Glacier National Park. Out of all the trails available to us from the Going to the Sun Road, we randomly chose the St. Mary waterfall hike. We were treated to 3 hours of incredible colors, delicate forest streams, unique waterfalls that varied in intensity and bobbing birds.

This Water Film features the signature waterfall of that hike — St. Mary Falls.

The idea behind Water Films is to give people an opportunity to take a break in their day to relax and become inspired by nature. One of the most effective ways to sustain focus during a work day or when working on a project is to take occasional breaks which allow you to refresh your mental energy. As musicians, we find that taking breaks is the key to consistency and creative inspiration in our craft.

One of the tools we use when teaching people how to improvise on the piano is to have them “solo” for a prescribed amount of time (maybe one or two measures of music) and then take a planned “rest” for that same period of time. During the rest, new ideas are allowed to arise within the creative imagination. The same idea applies to almost any task that requires sustained concentration.

These short films are also great to watch right before going to bed as they relax your mind and body.

We will soon be releasing a DVD of these Water Films so people can take them wherever they like and watch in full HD.

The soundtrack of this film is called “Hiking St. Mary,” a brand new ambient electronica tune that can be downloaded at here.

Press play and refresh yourself creatively.

You can also watch it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6gMm-a2LI4

We got up to watch the sunrise today at Horseshoe Lake. What a great way to start a day!

There are so many great natural places to discover! We visited the overlook at Virginia Kendall Ledges in the Cuyahoga Valley just in time to catch a beautiful sunset.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

That quote is all you need in order to understand the power of establishing a habit of practice in any creative discipline. This concept is also true in sports and business.

As teachers, we see that music students who enjoy playing the most are those who manage to turn their daily practice into a habit. I’m sure that’s no surprise to you.

Getting started is the hardest part for most people.

If you wish to be more creative, have more fun and experience greater focus, choose a time each day to commit to practicing and stick with it for 21 days. For a more powerful intention, write down your plan for practice and note the time of day in which you will install this new routine.

Once you hit that significant 21st day (without missing a single day), your habit will be in place. Distractions will be less likely to throw you off track and your subconscious mind will accept this activity as “normal.” Resistance will disappear and you will be more creative.

Think about it this way.

Many students put off starting to practice until a few days before the lesson. Sound familiar?

They try to “cram” their assignment into those few days, like many students who study for tests in school.

But, here’s the deal.

The information (or the music), doesn’t stick that well when you force it in quickly. How much do you chew your food when you eat? I chew my food 30 times for each bite because it helps me to digest my food and my body rewards me with great energy and health. That simple step can work miracles for your body.

Even if you practice 7 hours in one day, it isn’t nearly as effective as practicing one hour, every day for 7 days. You need to give your mind the time to absorb and process. It does its job beautifully when given the opportunity. Plus, everything feels easier.

Why?

Because your personal assistant, the subconscious mind, becomes a very effective ally when you feed it ideas regularly. In fact, if you feed it the idea that “cramming” is practicing, it becomes difficult not to cram!

I leave you with this…

Let’s say that you walk your dog 3 times each day and all three walks add up to one mile. If you do the math, the dog will get walked 7 miles in a week, 28 miles in a month and 336 miles per year. In an effort to save time and effort, you decide to walk him 336 miles in one day.

You might get far, but Fido’s health will suffer, you’ll miss the changing details of the outdoors with each day, you won’t bond in the same way with your best friend and you won’t have the chance to be creative with your routes.

If there’s something you want to improve and it’s important to you, start making your plan today by writing it down and committing to it for 21 days.

Fido will thank you!