Being Deliberate

[rayzer]

ArkJack,Compared to the last two months, it looks to me like you’ve come a long way back to music. A few months ago, you couldn’t think about anything related to music, but now it’s back on your mind. Take it one step at a time. When relationships are neglected for a period of time, they usually don’t pick up where they left off—whether those relationships are interpersonal or musical. Reconnect, but don’t rush it. Let it develop slowly and rekindle the love. Just enjoy playing with no agenda right now.You’ve got a lot going on with your business. If certifications and credentials are what you want/need to do right now, do it and let music take a smaller role for a while. If music’s important to you, it won’t let you forget about it, and you can pick it back up then.With all those critiques, I bet you have a lot of ammunition for starting again when you’re ready. And it won’t be from scratch, either. You’ll be starting a lot further down the road the next time.I’m not well-versed in stuff like this, but you could try a ginseng supplement to replace coffee. What about some ginseng tea to sip like coffee? It’s worth a shot.Take any of the above FWIW. Just know that I’m pulling for you.Rayzer

[linziellen]

Just a quicky, I never posted under this heading so this is a first for me.Woke up at 5am, like "PING" eyes wide open! First idea - Get in touch with friend who designs websites and make one...DONE. Second - Contact sisters Godfather who lives 20 minutes from here and has a home recording studio and his own orchestra. I suspect he knows what he's doing and has already offered to help...TO DO.Third - Get "Love is a Black Hole" recorded and post it here - no more messing, simple as that...THIS WEEKEND.Fourth - STOP NOW with the negative thoughts, get over the idea that I'm nobody, it's NOT TRUE!!!That's where I'm at.Thank you and all the best to everybody above Linzi

[tedsingingfox]

Hey, y'all. I SURE am glad to see this thread again.Well, I can admit I was only barely successful at keeping my goals in focus this past month. The teeth (and my sudden lack, thereof, have taken over my life. (self-portrait...)But I DID: stay on top of my plans for (and time frame for) pulling this next songwriter's workshop together. And, I'm thrilled to say, this will be TONS easier than the first time around.BTW, any of you in the Colorado/NM/Western Texas areas... Pat Pattison will be here in Taos for a two-day workshop focused on "Writing Lyrics to a Melody"...Aug. 16-17. PM me if you want details.I DID: follow through on all my dental plans and obligations, including the surgery (which I'm still recovering from...it's weird to me that the SERIOUS pain didn't even show up until nearly three days after the work was done).I DID: get serious about looking through the new listings each time they came out to find some genres I think Anne and I could have fun trying to approach/tackle. I know I can't speak for Anne, but me?... I can hardly WAIT to get down there and into her studio and get busy. No matter what, I know we'll have a blast.So, for July 15th:1) continue to move past my dentist-phobia and get this painful work ahead of me started (mostly just so it will be over sooner)...easy. Scary, but easy.2) Come up with at least 2 more brand new melodies to run past Anne IN ADVANCE of our going into the studio (on July 11th). Not so easy, but fun to try.3) emerge from Anne's studio with at least 3 pieces --no matter their stages of "completion"-- that she and I can post up here for y'all to shred. Frankly, I think that will also be easy.4) continue to live without tobacco AND continue this trend of cutting back on the beer & wine, by choice, to save my body AND to save more money for the Rally. Hmmm... the tobacco part...fairly easy. The beer & wine part is tough, but do-able. Just because I sit in a bar during happy hour to use their wireless signal does NOT mean I have to order a drink. It helps me feel less guilty, but it is NOT required.Thanks, y'all. Keep checking in.And BTW, Rayzer, good to see you back on the boards. Was getting a little concerned, but I felt pretty sure this thread would bring you home. Ted

[anne]

Ted you slacker - I was planning on at least FIVE songs being written by the time our session is done!!Arkjack - I just quit a serious caffeine habit - let me give you an example of how serious it was - I would drink regular coffee during massage appointments. I have been drinking coffee since I was 12, at breakfast and at dinner. Then all day once I was about 16. I'm 42. It never even crossed my mind that I should drink less coffee, ever. Without exaggeration I would go through 2.5 full pots and 1 pot of decaf per day by myself. Then one day I just stopped when I realized how much we spend on coffee. The headaches were terrible. A horrible migraine that lasted for about 5 days. Don't "wean" off of it. Stop on after your Thurs morning fix and drink TONS of water and you'll be good before Monday. Drink Mata or buy some Morning Thunder. Yes, there is caffeine in Mata, but it isn't the same. I mean its very subtle, and you also sip mata over the course of the day, not drink a cup at once. Kinda like using a nicotene patch...Anyway, if I can quit - you can do it!! I found my ever present mild depression lifted greatly when I cleared out the coffee as well. HTH -

[rayzer]

Welcome Linzi!Wow, you sure hit the ground running!Keep that up and there will be no stopping you!Nobody who is a deliberate Taxi dot member can be a nobody. It's a fact. So glad you're here.Rayzer

[rayzer]

Hey Ted,Circumstances haven't allowed me to participate on these boards as much as I would like, but I'm committed to checking in every month. Just keep a light on for me and I'll always find my way back.Glad to hear you're facing your dental issues. I hope your move from to is an uneventful, painless one.Ted and Anne--I hope you guys have a fun, productive time together that produces 3-5 hits. Rayzer

[rayzer]

It was so good to step back and take a break from everything for a while.My family and I had a great time together exploring new parts of the country during our time away.I completed all my actions for the month (1 new song, 2 submissions, refreshed and ready) and am energized to cover a lot of ground between now and the Rally, which I am now officially committed to attending because I booked the plane tickets. I decided that airfare will only go up between now and November, so I locked-in a price only a little higher than last year’s tickets.No call from CBS. I’m glad I did it, though. It was a fun learning experience that has only added to my repertoire. The first show is July 27. Should be interesting.By August 15:1. Create two new songs and submit at least one of them.2. Create a new instrumental track and submit it.3. If the new PLAY upgrade of EWQLSO gets delivered soon, install it and play with PLAY.The following quote doesn’t totally apply to the rest of my post, but I just made it up and liked the imagery, so I included it. I hope you like it.“Sometimes you need to take a step back from the wall you’re banging on to see the open door 20 feet away.” –RayzerI’m looking forward to hearing from you all. Rayzer

[arkjack]

I don't know if I would call my present condition a 'slump'. Its been a weird and stressful time. I guess a while back I ran into that stone wall at full force and I'm just still coming to my senses. I haven't done squat with music for the past month. No time in the studio, very little songwriting, and just a few studies on orchestration techniques in certain styles of music. I guess rather than calling it a slump, its more like taking a break from all of it for a while. I think doing this is actually helpful rather than harmful. I have noticed that I can keep my chops together with light practice, and all the knowledge is cumulative, so when I do get back to it, its not necessarily starting over.So my goal, is to keep taking a rest. It doesn't make sense in terms of ML's model for building a catalog, but I think I need the time out to get out of the mud and back on the road.ArkJack

[squids]

AJ, I agree. Sometimes a hibernation period is helpful. We can use up a lotta energy writing, it's always good to gain that back again. My goal? Sleep. I spend another 24 hours up again and I'm gonna wrap my car around a tree. Cripes. So everybody whisper "sleep, squids.......go to sleeeeeeeeeeeeep"

[milfus]

I didn't set too many goals, I have actually built up some songs (they still need editing and mixing, but I am gettin them to like 80% done as opposed to 25), I have to sing for my assignments this semester, which I have done, horribly, but unflinchingly, so I would say that is coming along. when I finishin mixing and editing these songs I will put them up on a demo page and take me a scholarship, although depending on where I land internship wise (I am talking to a few studios) I may not have time until I am working again, however I am planning on taking classes while I work.