I started this week with a bit of head cold. So sleeping and soup-eating kept me from moving forward on this project. On Tuesday I started a new tune. It’s kind of like a fiddle tune for solo guitar. I feel like this one has promise. I started writing it by going for a walk to stir my creativity. I ended up humming the main riff of the A section plus a superimposed melody. I can’t remember the melody now, but I have the riff written down. It just may end up being the riff anyway.

I’ve been trying to work on distancing myself from my tunes. I’m trying to look at them from someone else’s perspective. It helps me stay open to change and development. Just because I want a tune to go in a certain direction does not always mean that’s the direction it should go. Just because I love the first line written doesn’t mean that it has to stay.
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This Walbum project has caused me great stress and great satisfaction. Every once in a while I get really stressed out that I won’t have enough tunes or that I’ve squandered all the time I had to write and record tunes. I get stressed that I won’t be able to finish the project, or that the 10 tunes I write will be piles of poo. But then other times, I really get into the groove and write some tunes that I didn’t know I could write, let alone play. When things hit just right, this ends up being a really great creative challenge for me.
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Tim was a big help again this week. He showed me some modal improv ideas (something I’m little weak in) and gave me a great suggestion on how to break through some of my creative blocks.
He suggested I use a tape recorder to brainstorm melodies and document chord progressions or chord voicings. It’s something I’ve done before, but my ears and voice are getting stronger so I have a little more to play around with than before.
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TAG: In the spirit of documenting the creative process, here’s a blog entry from 38one about John Langdon’s logo design. It’s a great article showcasing creative development and some “clever” logos. Visual art & Music have a lot in common. I feel like I’m working the same way with my tunes.