How to Be Creative

Off Book is a bi-weekly video series by PBS Digital Studios. Subjects range from technology to art to pop culture. While it isn't specifically about music, this video, "How to Be Creative," has some great insights to the creative process.

Creativity has always been essential for our cultural growth, but there are still many misconceptions about this elusive process. Not the left-brain/right-brain binary that we've come to believe, being creative is considerably more complex, and requires a nuanced understanding of ourself and others. Being a powerful creative person involves letting go of preconceived notions of what an artist is, and discovering and inventing new processes that yield great ideas. Most importantly, creators must push forward, whether the light bulb illuminates or not.

via PBS Arts

Sunset Piano Opus 2

I stumbled upon a neat art installation/performance project this morning called "Sunset Piano Opus 2." Mauro Ffortissimo is the artist behind the project to place twelve pianos along the San Mateo coast in Northern California for public performing. Dean Mermell is filming a documentary about the event that should be finished by December 2013.

From their Kickstarter page:

In early July, Mauro is planning to deploy twelve pianos at select locations along the beautiful San Mateo coastline. Anyone can come and play a piano by the sea, anytime. He's inviting some incredible bay area musicians to join him in bringing attention to the fragile state of the world's oceans, as well as the near extinction of the "personal" piano. Piano manufacturing has dwindled, and the neglect of acoustic pianos has caused thousands of them to end up in landfills. The "Twelve Pianos" project will focus the spotlight on two species with uncertain futures.

It occurred to me that Ffortissimo and Mermell do not directly address the environmental impact that this project may have on the coastline. However, the chosen spots seem to be in places where the public is already welcome and they profess that they are, "committed to doing everything in a totally environmentally responsible manner and to leave no trace." It looks like a neat project - I wish I lived closer so that I could participate.

-via Laughing Squid

What Makes a Great Tenor

This is a great documentary on tenors from the BBC. Roland Villazon is simultaneously charming and insightful. It's interesting for those in the know and informative for those who aren't. If you have 60 minutes to spare, you should watch it. Thanks to my former teacher Dale Morehouse for pointing the way.

Andrew Bird on Performing

Tumblr's Storyboard posted a nice interview with musician Andrew Bird in February. I've loved Bird's music since I first heard it. His music is eclectic, polished, emotional, and unpretentious. My favorite songs include "Cock o' the Walk" from the Bowl of Fire album and "Measuring Cups" from The Mysterious Production of Eggs. Some may know him from the recent movie The Muppet's, where he performed the whistling for Walter's performance. He also performed a sweet and touching version of "It's not easy being green" for the movie album. He plays violin, sings, and dabbles in many other instruments.

In this interview he focuses on why he tries to capture an amateur spirit in his performances. If I understand him correctly, he's talking about when a performance becomes so highly polished that it lacks personality and emotion. I tend to agree with him that many modern performances lack spontaneity and genuine feeling. Instead of treating each performance as a new opportunity, many musicians tend to try to recreate the exact sound from a studio album. On the other hand, I think his training and skill as a professional give him far more choices when communicating with the audience. Without that skill set any mistakes he made would be awkward, and he would not be able to "use the mishap as fuel to bring the whole performance to even greater heights."

For a little more background on the interview, see the original post at Storyboard.

Great Advice from Joyce DiDonato

Joyce DiDonato is one of my favorite singers, and now I see that she is thoughtful and funny and wise. This is from the end of a master class at Julliard where she took time to answer questions from the audience. The video is more than 30 minutes, but if you are interested in pursuing life as a performer (or even if you want to be a successful in a challenging career of any kind) it's well worth watching. She offers excellent advice on how to overcome that nagging inner voice we all have and shares some of her personal experiences.