What to do...

Good morning!

I'm sitting here, slumped over my keyboard, groggy and cold. My inner author is complaining that there's nothing to say. But actually, that's a very good point.

How many times have you been jamming with friends, or on stage, and you run out of musical ideas? You might be scared, or maybe just uninspired. What do you usually do?

I almost always end up doing the same thing I do when I run out of things to say in English. I say "ummmm......uh....well."

And that sounds bad.

Sometimes, I'll have too much to say. (In both languages!) I'll start off with one musical idea, toss it aside in a hurry, and blaze through an incoherent stew of half-formed riffs.

That doesn't sound very good, either.

I think following the advice of one of my old guitar teachers is a great idea. He told me once "Don't play every lick you know in every solo."

Wise advice, indeed. If we take one simple idea, and then follow it to listen to where it goes, magic can happen.

If we were going to embark on a journey, and we ran down one road, only to switch directions suddenly, scorning the eastern path for the northern road, and just as suddenly "look to the west" (as Zepplin would say...) How far do you think we'll get?

Letting one idea unfold can also help us when we don't have anything to say. Start with a theme, and follow it. You might be just as surprised as the audience when you find the end of that unplanned and unpaved musical road.

Shhh! Listen....