Learn to be ready to write music at any time
Fight resistance means to be ready to write music at all times or, at least, at most of the times. If you have not yet read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, it is a phenomenal book that taught me about resistance. I discovered that there were a lot of temptations and things on my way to get to my art. This is why I’ve included some examples that you might find helpful to understand why being ready help you explore your art.
Be ready to fight resistance to lose weight
If you have gone through a diet, like most of us, you have probably heard of meal prep. I strongly believe that if we apply the same technique on our composing life, we will gain some measures of great music (see what I did there? Terrible, I know!)
In meal prep, you previously have all your healthy food ready to pick up and eat at any time. You avoid the easy and unhealthy food because you’ve already made a commitment to stay healthy and prepared the food you needed to help you stay on track.
In composition, this means to have the laptop, pencil, books, keyboard, etc. (aka, anything that I need to create this piece) ready in the desk.
What I use to write music changes with time but, wherever it is, I need it to be ready so I don’t feel it is a burden to sit and write down thoughts
Side Fact: I don’t always sit but sometimes I write music standing! It is different and fun.
It’s like going to the gym. You must be prepared!
Most of the people I know don’t enjoy going to the gym that much. I do but, like any other person, I have those moments where I don’t want to sweat for one hour. Suddenly, doing the dishes looks more tempting (crazy, right?)
I am lucky to go to the gym with Ryan (my husband now!). But he is not around all the time and when he is not, I need to have all my stuff ready to go or I might bail on my health path that day.
The clothes, bag with all the equipment, and even the water bottle are ready to go for the next day. All I have to do is get dressed, fill the bottle, and go.
The same with writing music: I wake up, get dressed, and sit on the desk to keep working on wherever piece I was working the previous day.
I read once that artists should leave their software open (Finale, Word, Photoshop, or anything they use for their art) so when they open their computer they don’t have any distraction (Facebook or any other social media).
Don’t let my blog to keep you from composing. After you finish your writing session, come back and share with me! Make it as easy as possible for you to get into work so there is no chance for distractions from an exciting session of writing your music!
