What's REALLY holding you (and me) back in your music?

Why can finishing music be so difficult?

Yes, believe it or not, you COULD. And when you believe you could? That's when you start solving problems!

You don't have to believe in yourself when you believe in growth...

Today, we will have a conversation about the downside of quantity - which is also an upside.This is the reason why (while it's frustrating at the time) I'm HAPPY to create an avalanche of crap songs...

I've not recorded a PodWalk for four months! Let me explain the (very good) reasons why...

This season I'm podwalking about 3 Role Theory. This is a model I've developed to quickly diagnose where a client might have a problem in their creative process. Today I'll introduce you to "The Connector" who's got a bad rap that I don't believe is warranted...

This season I'm podwalking about 3 Role Theory. This is a model I've developed to quickly diagnose where a client might have a problem in their creative process. Today I'll introduce you to "The Constructor"...

This season I'm podwalking about 3 Role Theory. This is a model I've developed to quickly diagnose where a client might have a problem in their creative process. Today I'll introduce you to "The Conjuror. Get your wands out...

This season I'm podwalking about 3 Role Theory which is a model I've developed which allows me to quickly diagnose where a client might have a problem in their creative process. But to understand what the different roles are within this model, we need to understand how we make ideas real and where they come from...

As I suspected, what was a "brief" hiatus became an extended one. Find out why and what you can expect from my various podcasts moving forward...

I'm making a slight change of plan... (Don't worry normal PodWalk service will resume very shortly.) To listen to my "Final Countdown Problems and Insights" series over on The Album podcast... Here's a playlist of all the episodes where I share the avalanche of problems and resulting insights I'm getting slapped with over the final week: ⏱️Final Countdown Problems and Insights

3 Role Theory is a model which helps you understand yourself within the creative process. As a model it's useful because it's much simpler than reality...

Because of album finishing things (😱) AND a secret project I'm working on (🤩), just a short little PodWalk today about the coming Season 5...

This is the final PodWalk of Season 4 where I've been talking about (supposedly) irrelevant subjects. So let's have a conversation about WHY I call siloing of information and expertise "one of the great evils of the world. Because "evil" is a strong word - but I do use it on purpose...

Yesterday I had an experience which changed my entire world. I've been using ChatGPT3 for a while for various (fairly menial) tasks, but decided to try out ChatGPT4 to see how much it had improved... IT BLEW MY MIND. That doesn't mean it's all good news of course. There's a lot that's problematic and downright scary about what AI could mean for creators and our culture. But with the massive improvement of GPT4 - I've already found a couple of creative ways to use it to make a much better business, much better music and a much better creator... And here's The Album podcast where I go much deeper into specifically how ChatGPT4 helped me uncover a big problem with my album: The Album podcast: My Jarvis for Music 🦾

Continuing our "Destroy the Silo" season let's talk about how stories permeate everything we do. And how the structure of many stories is a reflection of a fundamental pattern you can notice EVERYWHERE... Here's the specific "The Album" episode I mention: How could a single note MEAN something?

Continuing our journey through (supposedly) irrelevant subjects to the creative process we're going to talk about an area which is either ignored or desperately held onto by creators of all kinds.

Today we're talking about a book which has changed my perspective on almost everything (probably) more than any other. The change has been startling, and for the better. It's responsible for much of the Music Machine, how Make Music Your Life works, how I make music, how I parent and much more...

Even though I'm extremely passionate about the subject of Season 4, I've struggled making these PodWalks. But now I've figured out why and what I'm going to do about it... (In Season 4 I'm PodWalking about supposedly "irrelevant subjects"...because siloing in it's many forms is an anti-creative force.)

A very different PodWalk today as I share a story from my past (pretty much my first clear memory) which I believe has shaped my approach to almost everything... And definitely my strong aversion to the siloing of information, learning and knowledge. (In Season 4 I'm PodWalking about supposedly "irrelevant subjects"...because siloing in it's many forms is an anti-creative force.)

A very music based PodWalk today, as I'm talking about how I've used the Gestalk Principles of visual perception to help me (and others) make music. (In Season 4 I'm PodWalking about supposedly "irrelevant subjects"...because siloing in it's many forms is an anti-creative force.)

In Season 4 I'll be PodWalking about supposedly "irrelevant subjects"...because siloing in it's many forms is an anti-creative force. So let's talk about how the creative process (as commonly practised) ensures we're creating unnecessary frustration. When we take into account how our minds work - we can make making WAY simpler, quicker and less painful...

In Season 4 I'll be PodWalking about supposedly "irrelevant subjects"...because I believe that siloing in it's many forms is a terrible waste of human creativity. And in this PodWalk I'll fill you in on an area of learning which has had the most profund effect on my ability to do almost anything. It's the bedrock upon which all other learning has happened... The first book that got me into meditation I mention was "The Relaxation Response" by Herbert Benson. It's not the best book on the subject (I've read many), but it is short, simple and practical.

If you're struggling to get started again after a break...listen to this. You'll be just fine. :) You'll also find out what Season 4 PodWalks will be about.