How To Rescue Your Time And Get Your Life Back
June 1, 2008
7 Comments
A couple weeks ago I wrote about the time required to become an expert songwriter. That advice could have been just as well for any craft, not just songwriting. And the number of hours that I referenced, 5,000, was arbitrary. There is no magic number. But if you’re not an expert yet, you can be sure that there is a number and it’s probably higher and farther than you wish… assuming you wish you were an expert right now.
While I’m clearing things up, I used the word “expert.” The research supports the correlation between practice and expertise. Just saying.
If you “get” that spending lots of time practicing your craft is a good thing, then good for you. You’ll be happy with what I have to show you. If you don’t get it, then it can only be for three reasons that I can think of right now…
- You’re resistant to, or afraid of, committing to your craft. If so, that’s a valid feeling and you’re not alone.
- You’re lazy — unwilling to work or use energy — and have deluded yourself into believing that you don’t need to work at developing and mastering your chosen craft. This too is totally common and nothing to be ashamed of.
- You just don’t want to be told what to do. If this is the case, maybe the timing just isn’t right for you. Maybe you shouldn’t commit just yet. I’m sure you have your reasons.
If any of those points describe you, heck, even if they don’t, read The War of Art. Maybe that will inspire you to break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles.
Enough said. Moving on.
Rescue Time is a free application (Mac,Win,Linux) that has become very important to my weekly GTD review. It’s helping me put some metrics to my writing goals.
Rescue Time tracks your activity at your computer. If you’re working, it logs it. If you’re slacking off, it logs it.
It uses application, category, and tag based tracking. This means you can track how you’re spending your time by the application, the tag you give to your applications and websites you visit, and by category.
You really start to understand your computer habits fast when you see the results of your time in a pretty bar graph. It can feel intimate. This is your life you’re looking at!
Here’s an example. Logic Pro is my main compositional tool. Within Rescue Time’s interface, it’s listed under the Audio/Video Tools category. I’ve also tagged Logic Pro with the keywords, composing, audio, work, mixing, music, recording, and creative.
When I look at Rescue Time’s data, I can see how much time I’ve spent using Logic Pro, or how much time I’ve spent in the Audio/Video Tools category, or how much time I’ve spent composing.
When you see how much time you’ve spent at something relative to something else — like composing vs. surfing the internet — you really get much needed perspective on how your actions line up with your goals.
So I’ve set up a goal to compose at least one hour a day. Every time I reach my goal, that is, when I’ve used Logic Pro an hour or more, Rescue Time sends me an alert.
I’ve even set up some negative goals. I’d like to spend less than an hour on Twitter each day. (a goal I’ve met ever since I started it, knock on wood.) If I were to go over my alloted time, Rescue Time would either email me or text message me, depending on how I set it up.
As you can see, if you would like to reach an hourly songwriting goal, tag the applications that you use to write songs and set it up in Rescue Time. It’s simple.
Back to the expert practice advice.
To reach 5,000 logged hours of songwriting, starting now (June 2, 2008) at 10 hours a week, you’ll get there on Thursday, December 28, 2017.
Looks like I’d better get back to writing now.
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(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...The concept is this:
To be a good, competent songwriter, it will take 1,000 hours of practice. If you want to be a great songwriter, it will take 5,000 hours.
Winners are made, not born. So forget about talent. Talent is a gift for concentration, dedication, and a simple desire to keep getting better.
Become a peak performer, an expert, through hours and hours of deliberate practice.
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...It’s February Album Writing Month!
February 1, 2008
9 CommentsIt’s the 5th annual February Album Writing Month. The challenge? Write an entire album in just 29 days.
FAWM.org has a bunch of resources to get you started. So does RPM ‘08. As for me, you might like to check out my songwriting tips tag archive.
I’m participating in my own songwriting challenge that lasts the entire year. My goal is to write a song a week or at least 50 songs this year. I’m only a little behind schedule and that will be remedied this weekend. As for the recordings, they’ll be coming shortly. I just purchased some new gear and I’m trying to integrate it into my workflow. Stay tuned.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Cool And Recent Podcasts From Around The Web
January 11, 2008
0 Comments
Here’s some recent podcasts from around the web that I’ve been inspired by musically.
It might seem hyperbole to claim, as many Wagnerites do, that The Ring Cycle is “The Greatest Work of Art Ever.” But the grandeur and power of this monumental work have permeated our culture from Star Wars to Bugs Bunny to J.R.R. Tolkien.
What is music? How does it work? Why does it move us? Why are some people better at it than others? In this hour, we examine the line between language and music, how the brain processes sound, and we meet a composer who uses computers to capture the musical DNA of dead composers in order to create new work. We also re-imagine the disastrous 1913 debut of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring…through the lens of modern neurology.
Songs can have an effect like no other art form. Great lyricists put in the heart and soul, and master interpreters add the flesh and blood, forging the combination of words and music that makes up the magic of songcraft.
MPR Grammar Grater Episode 20: Unfinished Business
Legend has it that Constanza Mozart, in an attempt to rouse her husband from bed during the late morning hours, would sit at the piano and play a C major scale. She’d get all the way up to the B natural. And stop.
Wolfgang couldn’t stand it. His ear was begging for some kind of fulfillment, so he’d leap out of bed, rush to the piano and bang out the final note, much to his relief.
(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5) Loading ...Samurai Songwriting Special Bundle Offer
December 28, 2007
Closed
Make 2008 the year you master songwriting like a Samurai masters his sword!
Download Samurai Songwriting issues 1 and 2 PLUS the John Lennon Hit Songwriting two-part telesminar for one super low price. Read on…
Here’s what we cover in Samurai Songwriting:
- The inner game of songwriting. Five common songwriting problems — which ones do you want to overcome?
- The Samurai Songwriter Code. How you could be breaking trust among your fellow musicians and what to do about it. And how to attract musicians that want to work with you.
- Four essential songwriting tools. These are tools that can drastically improve your songwriting workflow and productivity, as well as generate tons of ideas.
- You’ll learn some practical songwriting techniques. These are strategies that you can use to improve your songwriting immediately.
- The songwriting tool sheet. It’s purpose is to find out how the greatest songwriters do what they do and show you how to do the same. Extremely powerful.
- A real-time analysis of some hit songs. We study the melody, chord progression, lyrics, rhythm, and song form of some classic songs so you can learn how the pros do what they do.
- Learn where you should put your songwriting priorities and why.
- Discover common rhyme mistakes, ways to give your chorus a lift, and the best ways to create contrast between your verse and chorus.
- How to get your creative juices flowing and instantly find unique and interesting details to put into your lyrics.
- How to use tension and release in your melodies to keep your listeners interested and make your melodies more memorable.
- An exclusive interview with Molly-Ann Leikin, an Academy award winning songwriter and songwriting consultant to over 4,000 successful songwriters! She’s helped songwriters get Grammy nominations, win Emmys, and place songs in movies, TV, and CDs all over the world!
- Writing techniques that bring your lyrics to life and help you stop writer’s block dead in its tracks.
- And so much more!
Each issue was originally priced at $27 each.
You also get to download the John Lennon Hit Songwriting teleseminar. Originally recorded live, this two-part teleseminar covers…
- Analysis of a number of John Lennon’s hit songs: You’ll receive a detailed analysis of the lyrics, melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and song forms of the legendary John Lennon.
- Four hit chord progressions to write a song over and four hit song titles to get you started.
- Learn how to use the “Chorus Cheat Sheet” to write dozens of choruses.
- Learn how to create a songwriting flow so you can generate more ideas faster.
- Learn rewriting and editing techniques to help you improve your work based on what you’ve learned.
- Plus this FREE $97 BONUS “Songwriting Video Tutorial - From Start to Completion Using Today’s Technology.”
- Original price of this teleseminar was $99!
And you get these bonuses:
- The Hit Song Model: A powerful guide to writing hit songs.
- Chorus Cheat Sheet: 7 types of choruses and how to write them.
- Lyric Writing Checklist: A step-by-step guide to writing lyrics to music.
- 8 techniques to develop new and interesting chord progressions.
- Guide to Hit Song Forms: Tips, techniques and tools for writing hit songs - Complete with examples.
As I said, the cost for a single issue of Samurai Songwriting is $27 and the cost for the John Lennon teleseminar was $99. All of this you can have for only $27! That’s a savings of $126!
Once you’ve purchased, you’ll immediately receive an email with the download details.
Here’s what people say…
I am a total amateur when it comes to songwriting, but after Samurai Songwriting issue 1 and the recent John Lennon teleseminar, I’m already quickly developing song ideas. The Samurai Songwriting ‘Songwriting Tool Table’ is such a valuable tool for breaking down the structure of songs and giving you insight as to how the masters came up with such great hits that stand the test of time.
- Rich
I have received lessons 1 and 2 and am quite happy with the contents; the audio, the pdfs and the spreadsheet file. One of the things that aspiring songwriters hear all of the time is to analyze other well written songs, but there is no instruction on how to do that. The Songwriting Tool Table provides the means to do that, and the example given with the lesson shows exactly how to use it to get the most benefit. I also like that there is no long term commitment, so, although I am quite satisfied with the program now, I am free to stop if my situation changes or I feel that I am not getting value from the program. Thanks, and keep ‘em coming.
- “Famous” Patrick
Dear Graham,
I have to tell you I really do like the song writing bundle I just purchased from you! It has opened my eyes to a whole different arena regarding song writing! The whole package is well worth the price and the John Lennon teleseminar is simply fantastic! I would highly recommend this bundle to anyone wanting to learn songwriting! It is a eye opener!!
Thanks!
Larry B.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
(18 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...