For the next small set of pieces I worked with the theme vista. To help the difficulties I've been having motivating myself to write I decided to implement some rigour to my process. I adopted the pomodoro technique, and chunked my work into 25 minute blocks, both songwriting and all the other tasks I have on my plate at the moment. I have literally been carrying a kitchen timer around the house with me so that I can set it when I get started on something. This has made the last few days fairly manageable, and I have been able to maintain my focus for the short blocks of time.
Read MoreI have two younger sisters, and we are close in age and in friendship. My middle sister moved to New York last year, and although the internet makes it easy for us to send little messages back and forth throughout our respective days, it's not the same as having her here in Melbourne. I worked with the theme of distance from yesterday's piece, and wrote this for her. Recording it made me a little emotional, because I miss her, and reminds me of the power music has to move and change us, and make us think. Songwriting, for me it seems, is a balancing act between keeping unhelpful emotions out of the process, while allowing helpful emotions to flow freely through the composition and the performance.
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