Graham English

Posts Tagged ‘strategies’

Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies For Your iPhone

In an attempt to hack their creativity and artistic output, Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt created a deck of cards they called the Oblique Strategies. Whenever they came up against a creative dilemma–and especially while under a moment of pressure or deadline–they would pull a card and follow the directions.
I’ve used this technique constantly in [...]

Songwriting Challenges – Where Do I Begin?

One of the most common challenges I hear about songwriting is not knowing where to begin. With the lyrics? With the music? Or something completely different? It’s a rather simple challenge to find a solution to, really.
Start with a single note or single word
Play a single random note and just listen to your imagination. Does [...]

Hacking Your Musical Strategies Day 5: Composing Strategies

Find another musician or composer — and with their permission — elicit the strategy they use to choose what to compose or the strategy they are using to compose a current piece of music. Use their strategy to decide what you are going to compose or to help you with the music you are currently [...]

Hacking Your Musical Strategies Day 4: Comparing Strategies

Elicit from another musician their strategy for choosing what to practice each day. Make sure that you have a detailed sequence and make sure that it is a very different strategy from yours (if it isn’t, choose someone else). Use their strategy for choosing what you will practice tomorrow, knowing that this is only an [...]

Hacking Your Musical Strategies Day 3: Learning Strategies

Access a learning state fully. Remember a specific time when you were a virtual learning machine. What can you tell about your learning strategy? How do you know when it is time to learn something new? What internal steps do you take to ensure that you are learning the material or task? How specifically do [...]

Hacking Your Musical Strategies Day 2: Motivation Strategies

Elicit your motivational strategy for dong something that’s not necessarily fun, like practicing scales. Next, elicit your motivational strategy for doing something you love, like jamming with your friends. Are these strategies the same or different? What are the most significant components in these two strategies? Are these components the same or different? What did [...]

Hacking Your Musical Strategies Day 1: Decision Strategies

While practicing your instrument today, notice your decision strategy for choosing what you are going to practice. Slow the decision process way down and write down each step of your strategy. Identify the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic components of your strategy. What do you see in your mind’s eye? What do you hear or say [...]