Being Deliberate

[ciskokidd]

Great Topic!!Rayzer, I think many people are in the same boat. I being one of those.You are right on. I had to make many of the same observations you did to make it through. We have so many outside forces vying for our attention and time.Just to share my favorite ones:1. Commute: I use my commute for melody writing. Lyrics don't usually work for me on the road. I have a small recorder that I use and I just start singing melodies. Most of the time they start off lame, but soon I hit one that catches my attention and off I go. This is where you need the recorder. If you don't get it down you will forget!2. Gym: This is where I sometimes will work out lyrics in my head. I have usually gotten the framework of the song together with my songwriting partner so I am working through our ideas and getting the right words to make that prosody come alive.3. TV or Movie time. If I end up watching some TV or a movie to unwind from work, I always have my pad and pencil at the ready. I notice the music that is being used and take notes especially during commercials! I also never leave a movie without getting at least one good songwriting idea. You would be surprised how many little nuggets you can get from the most inane movies!I hope some of you out there that have been letting these types of music opportunities go unnoticed and think you have no time will take our advice and make it happen.Rayzer - I am with you. Keep coming back to the forum and you will get there buddy.Cisco

[rayzer]

Thank you for your exceedingly kind, honest and inspiring words. I’m overwhelmed by the common bond so many of us share and the varied roads that converged and brought us together. I’m thankful for Michael’s deliberate work and sacrifice that made our convergence possible. I don't have to drive kids around tonight, so I'm rolling up my sleeves, heading down to my studio and making the most of it.

[deankripp]

rayzer,Great post; great realistic evaluation of daily life and where to re-prioritize stuff. I, (3 kids also) did a similar assessment of my time a few years ago, got more deliberate, and it has definitely paid off. Thanks for the inspiring words. I need to keep hearing them over and over again because it is still way too easy to be a little tired in the evening and just want to flip on the tube. dean k

[stevelane]

I was about to say did you put this post together while you were cutting lawn, Then after reading it again it seems you done it at work.I tend to do things in the same sort of pattern as you mentioned above, finding out were you can save the most time and how best to do it, For me its at work as I am in retail were the customer is always rite, and if some things go wrong I am the one called up in the office to take the blame for it, this is like every day as we have so many customer's the odds are stacked against me. At this point I have gained an ability to switch off and think of a song while my head is been bitten off, I just chuck in an odd yea to the boss every now and thento keep him quiet. it works very well for me, although I get caught out now and again, and he's shouting are you listening to me and I am what yea yea sure I am. And I feel like saying talk to my hand please I've got a song to think of.By the way it took me about 20 Min's to read your post and all the replies don't knock me (I'm a slow reader) and I've not been very Deliberate, so now I need to find a further 20 Min's to make up for lost time, it will have to be at work again.I'm on your siderayzer welcome to the TAXI boardSteve

[rayzer]

Well, it’s December 15th already. Welcome to our first Day of Accountability! How did everybody do? The threats of kicks and whips helped me more than I can say. Knowing I would have to face all of you and check-in today was a great motivator. Thanks.One item on my list was cut and another isn’t done yet, but the day is young and I will get it done today.Now, regarding my December 15 goals:1. Clean out my studio.Done2. Buy better virtual instruments and learn how to use them.I bought EZdrummer, EWQLSO Gold bundle, and Vienna Instruments Special Edition and have started to learn how to use them, but I think really learning them will be a perpetual goal for quite a while.3. Do our family Christmas CD.Nope. To preserve everything else on my accountability list, this item was cut. Instead, we took a family picture by the tree, my wife addressed the envelopes and sent them out.4. Write a new song.It’s called ‘You and Me and Maxine’5. Submit the song to a listing.I will submit it to 2 listings by 11:59 p.m. tonight5a. I recorded and submitted three covers to another listingOther taxi-related news--I got a forward from something I sent in October! Okay, now for next monthMy January 15 goals:1. Buy Kontakt and Stylus RMX and start learning them.2. Keep working on EW, Vienna, and EZdrummer3. Get a video card that allows for dual monitors4. Look into selling my PRS 20th anniversary Custom 22 10-top guitar that I thought I had to have (but only played twice), to help pay for all this stuff I’m buying.5. Write a new song my usual way and submit it to at least one listing.6. Write a new song using the new libraries and virtual instruments I’ve been buying and submit that to at least one listing.7. Take my wife on an overnight for our anniversary (January 1). She deserves it for supporting me like she does. Even though it is kind of her fault, because I wouldn’t be anywhere near doing this without her. (okay, this isn’t music related, but if I put it here, it has to happen)Squidlips, Audiorayne, tedsingingfox, ArkJack—how did you guys do on your goals? The boots and whips are waiting...Bombaycharlie, rcase, chrisbee, and anyone else out there—jump in, the lava’s perfect! Put up your goals for January 15. Let’s keep it going!P.S. Squid, how’s your husband doing?

[milfus]

My biggest trick of the trade is I always carry a note book on me, not a full sized one, but like one of those 35 cent mead ones that fits in your back pocket, and whenever you have a good lyric idea or song idea, just open it right then and write a symbol or a breif sentence, just some kind of queue. You'll find even if you have a bad memory, it can be really effective, then when im stuck waiting for someone, or I have a minute or two, i'll pop open my book, and look at a symbol or a sentence, and if I figure anything out, I add a little to the symbol or to the sentence so I'll remember what I did, and keep the idea current, and then when I have time for my own stuff, instead of sitting there waiting for inspiration, I can just pop my book and get my idea as down as I can, but the key is, you sit down in your studio, and get right to work, its 100% productive because you have made a back log so theres no hesitation, and some of your material, espescially if you have been pretty busy, is really thought out, so it can help with quality too, cause I mean when else can you honestly have a 5th re-write before you record your rough vocal, I don't know, it really works well for me and it is in the same vein so I figured I would add my process because I think both would be a really good combination, you use the spare little lost moments away from your studio working on material, and squeeze out extra studio time, hand in hand

[tedsingingfox]

Hey, Rayzer.SO glad to see you bringing this thread back to life. I had actually planned on doing so today, if you hadn't. so it's the Day of Atonement...1) "Cement at least two sponsors..." DONE. Actually have 3-4...a) KTAO Radio, free on-air advertising plus at least ONE on-air interview before the workshop and possibly an on-air interview with Jai the day before...b) the Quality Inn, big discounts on hotel rooms for out-of-towners...c) NPR's "Art of the Song", another interview with Jai that will go out nationally...d) The Taos News, an article in their weekly column called "The Hum"...e) The New Mexico Music Commission, added a link to their website for all the details and have promised to send out an "Email BLAST" the week before the workshop to try and generate more last-minute students(Wow. I didn't realize I'd been so hard at work on this, 'cause I could list 3-4 MORE. wow. )2) "nail down my engineer..." Sort of. My engineer had emergency cancer surgery to have his colon removed back in September, and it's very uncomfortable for me to get pushy with this man, all things considered. BUT, he's thrilled for my recent successes and he's eager to get back to work. SOON.3) "Have at least 3 new song-in-the-works..." DONE. Although most of them are instrumentals, I actually have closer to 15. And with Jai's knowledge of melody and music structure, even the instrumentals will benefit from his feedback.wooHOO!!!!!I'm going to wait and see who else checks back in here before i post my three things for Jan. 15th, but I already have a pretty clear idea of what they will be.WAY TO GO, Rayzer!!!Thanks,Ted

[tedsingingfox]

OK, since I need to get offline, I'll go ahead and post my three for Jan. 15th.1) learn enough about how to use my new 4-track recorder to actually RECORD something, and --no matter HOW awful it is-- post it up here for some feedback2) Get enough studio time to record/produce at least three more tracks to add to my catalog of "submission-worthy" songs.3) OFFICIALLY sign up at least 5 students for Jai's workshop.Time to get deliberate.WAY TO GO, Rayzer.Ted

[milfus]

Oh yeah, totally left my 3 out.1) Find some one to help me with my vocals.2) Find some one to help me with my stage fright, because its bad. (I never used to have it, and then at about 19 I got boo'd off stage before I even got to the mic, and by the time I got there the club owner had cut it (I still kind of hate him for that)) 3) Make a final decision on joining taxi or not. (I asked my main questions in the other thread, and I am leaning towards joining, just cause if im not missing anything, you get what you put in and if you do the work it will pay off, and im that kind of guy)

[rayzer]

Nice going, Ted!You had a really productive month! Jai and the others who will attend because of your hard work are fortunate to have you on the job.Have fun playing with the 4-track. No pressure, just see what you can figure out. Good luck with your songs. I hope your engineer’s up for it. It’s great to have a talented supporter on your team.Thanks for checking in. It’s going to happen for us. The biggest goals are possible if we break them down into lots of smaller goals one month at a time. I feel so empowered.