Goosing Your Muse

Yes, I know, I’ve been gone from writing this blog for a while. However, I’m back now!

Some of you have asked, "Where, JoAnn, oh, where have you been?" Wellll…

John Braheny and I took a road trip for 30 days, across the USA this summer, 2005 , and we may have even met YOU along the way …

Here’s a little recap:

Starting out in July, we headed east (from Los Angeles) and stopped to visit our good buddy, Brian Austin Whitney in INDIANAPOLIS . He’s the one who created and runs a terrific FREE online songwriters site and community called
Just Plain Folks.

If you’re a songwriter and/or performer, you should check it out. There are several chapters in various cities, where songwriters gather and listen to each other’s songs, also hear guest speakers, plus he has a whopper annual FREE songwriting contest.

Then we went to PITTSBURGH to hear my brother, Monte Jaffe, perform (singing) in part of the Wagner opera-series, "Die Valkyries." He lives in Germany, you see, and if we don’t visit him when he comes to the States, we rarely get to see him at all. It was wonderful…gave us a renewed respect for the amount of physical energy and stamina that opera singers must possess to do their jobs well. And for the record, I am not what you would call an "opera fan" but it IS lovely when it’s well done.

While there, John did several one-on-one songwriter consultations at our hotel, thanks to Van Stragand, president of the Pittsburgh Songwriters Association who set them up for us. What a gentle soul and terrific resource Van is for songwriters. If you’re in that area, you may write to him at: vstragand@aol.com. Or check out:
www.pittsburghsongwritersassociation.com.

Then we visited Writer’s Digest Books … in CINCINNATI, Ohio … to visit with John’s book publishers there. They are part of F&W Publications — a company you might already know, especially if you’re a writer of any kind. You can see John’s book: The Craft and Business of Songwriting.

Afterwards, we drove down South to NASHVILLE , to teach at the first-ever 4-day SONGPOSIUM, sponsored by the Nashville Songwriters Association International. The event featured 140 classes, with teachers from Berklee College in Boston, and Los Angeles, Austin, Nashville, and well, everywhere. It was well attended … especially enjoyed that the classes were held around Music Row, in the conference rooms of ASCAP, BMI, the Musicians Union and so on. If you’re in Nashville, you must visit the lovely new NSAI offices on Roy Acuff Drive. They’re already planning the next SONGPOSIUM for the Autumn of 2006.

Then we headed down to NEW ORLEANS … just 3 weeks before Hurricane Katrina hit. We are lucky to have friends there (evacuated safely, thank goodness), who took us on a memorable tour of the whole city. We realize it will never be quite the same again … Our hearts go out to all those on the Gulf Coast and Florida where they’ve had so much trouble this year…

We headed back to Los Angeles through AUSTIN , Texas, where we visited good friends and also did some more songwriter consultations. We drifted through some smaller towns, like Fredericksburg, and Marfa (didn’t have time to see the mysterious lights, however, but did visit the hotel where James Dean and others stayed when they filmed "Giant.")

Spent an afternoon in the Saguaro National Park just outside of Tucson … in between the heavy rainstorms — which they call the Monsoons — and stopped over in PHOENIX to visit with the Jon Iger, illustrious president of the Arizona Songwriters Association. Jon is not only a songwriter but has provided superb programs for songwriters in the Arizona area…for many years.

It’s always so good to reconnect with friends along the way. And we especially enjoy meeting songwriters as we travel … listening to your new material and sharing resources and networking with you. We hear how you are utilizing the Web, creating your own web sites, and email lists of your fans, creating your own CDs of your own songs, and selling them on your sites, or through CD Baby … and how things are working out for you. Some of you are getting your songs played on online radio stations, like Whole Wheat Radio, and that’s fabulous!

Thanks to you all for making our trips so comfortable and enjoyable. You make it all worthwhile!

We must admit that you are doing better and better …

More trips … continued in the near future.

Like you, we have been relatively glued either to the radio or TV (and some blogs) trying to get our “feet back under us” from the news of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

After making donations to friends in need, and doing what we can to help from across the country, I still find that putting my focus on creative projects is what is most healing for me now.

Beyond that, the only thing I can think to do is to keep in touch with friends and let them know we care. That seems to do some good for them … and for us.

In the meanwhile, here’s a wonderful kick-start for some of us who have stalled out during these tough days …

I got this from Life Hacker.com, who got it from Creativity Portal…

The Imagination Prompt Generator:

Creativity can be tough at times and I know exactly how hard writer’s block can be. Sometimes you’ll try anything to get yourself an idea.

The Imagination Prompt Generator, from Creativity Portal, is a nice little Web application that will prompt you with brain teasers to get you thinking, and hopefully writing. A few examples:

Why is creativity important?
Make up a new word and then give it a definition.
Is the media manipulative?
My favorite movie was about…

As you can see, some are better than others and some might be more relevant to you and your writing. However, a new one is just a click away and anything to get you thinking is a good thing.

Hope this helps you out a bit…

Dates: September 10-11, 2005
25th Annual West Coast Songwriters Conference
Foothill College
12345 El Monte Road
Los Altos Hills, California (near Palo Alto, just South of San Francisco)
Contact: WCS Executive Director, Ian Crombie: ian@ncsasong.org.
Phone: (650) 654-3966 or (800) for-song.

Both John Braheny and JoAnn Braheny will be teaching THIS weekend along with guest speakers, teachers and music business professionals from the San Francisco Bay area, Los Angeles, Nashville, Boston and beyond. Conference schedule.

Traditionally, the conference draws about 300 songwriters, mostly from California and environs … writing and performing all styles of music, some more seasoned than others. It’s definitely one of our favorite events, because there are plenty of opportunities to hear new songs (yours!) and meet new songwriters, as well as visit with annual returnees.

Unique to this conference are private “listening sessions” where you can perform your songs (live!) for just one or two music industry pros at a time, who will critique your performance, as well as the quality of the songs. A most valuable experience…

Also, you can pitch songs to the participating music publishers and producers, so don’t forget to bring your cassettes, CDs, and lyrics sheets. Check the schedule to see who is looking for what kind of music (all genres).

Marcus Barone will present his superb class (also looking for music) for TV and Film. And if you’re into children’s music, you’ll want to go to Michael and Patty Silversher’s class. (By the way, they are the esteemed founders of the organization.) Steven Memel is a not-to-be-missed vocal coach, if you’re looking to improve your singing chops. And Pat Pattison is one of the nation’s best lyric-writing teachers (and author), coming from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. If you’re looking to improve your networking techniques, you’ll love Dan Kimpel (Music Connection magazine) who has “done it all” and is happy to share. Yes, there will be information about how to market your songs (and make money) and how to be your own publisher, etc. Actually, there’s not a class that I can’t highly recommend.

John Braheny will present Basic Songcraft, to get you past what you already know instinctively about songwriting, to provide the tools which separate the amateurs from the pros.

JoAnn Braheny (that’s me!) will present a Goosing Your Muse class, with insights on how to tame your Inner Critic, design a workable career path for yourself, and learn tips for smoothing feathers between you and your collaborators.

It’s a very special event (and we’ve been to most around the country), so I hope to see you there. Wear comfortable shoes!

We are finally back from our one-month-long, cross-country songwriters seminar tour. That’s why I haven’t been posting much lately. Too much to do on the road. But now I’m glad to be back and to write to you again. (I’ll post about about tour at a later date.)

And now … with all the horrible news about Hurricane Katrina, our wish is to help others through these difficult times. John’s brother, Kevin Braheny, brought this beautiful article to my attention, written by noted author, Rachel Remen. It helped me to re-read it…as I hope it will do for you too.

Rachel Naomi Remen

Noetic Sciences Review
Spring 1996

IN THE SERVICE OF LIFE

In recent years the question, “how can I help?” has become meaningful to many
people. But perhaps there is a deeper question we might consider. Perhaps the
real question is not, “how can I help?” but “how can I serve?”

Serving is different from helping. Helping is based on inequality; it is not
a relationship between equals. When you help you use your own strength to help
those of lesser strength. If I’m attentive to what’s going on inside of me
when I’m helping, I find that I’m always helping someone who’s not as strong as
I am, who is needier than I am. People feel this inequality. When we help we
may inadvertently take away from people more than we could ever give them; we
may diminish their self-esteem, their sense of worth, integrity and wholeness.
When I help I am very aware of my own strength. But we don’t serve with our
strength, we serve with ourselves. We draw from all of our experiences. Our
limitations serve, our wounds serve, even our darkness can serve. The wholeness in
us serves the wholeness in others and the wholeness in life. The wholeness in
you is the same as the wholeness in me. Service is a relationship between
equals.

Helping incurs debt. When you help someone they owe you one. But serving,
like healing, is mutual. There is no debt. I am as served as the person I am
serving. When I help I have a feeling of satisfaction. When I serve I have a
feeling of gratitude. These are very different things.

Serving is also different from fixing. When I fix a person I perceive them as
broken, and their brokenness requires me to act. When I fix I do not see the
wholeness in the other person or trust the integrity of the life in them. When
I serve I see and trust that wholeness. It is what I am responding to and
collaborating with.

There is distance between ourselves and whatever or whomever we are fixing.
Fixing is a form of judgment. All judgment creates distance, a disconnection,
an experience of difference. In fixing there is an inequality of expertise that
can easily become a moral distance. We cannot serve at a distance. We can
only serve that to which we are profoundly connected, that which we are willing
to touch. This is Mother Teresa’s basic message. We serve life not because it
is broken but because it is holy.

If helping is an experience of strength, fixing is an experience of mastery
and expertise. Service, on the other hand, is an experience of mystery,
surrender and awe. A fixer has the illusion of being causal. A server knows that he
or she is being used and has a willingness to be used in the service of
something greater, something essentially unknown. Fixing and helping are very
personal; they are very particular, concrete and specific. We fix and help many
different things in our lifetimes, but when we serve we are always serving the same
thing. Everyone who has ever served through the history of time serves the
same thing. We are servers of the wholeness and mystery in life.

The bottom line, of course, is that we can fix without serving. And we can
help without serving. And we can serve without fixing or helping. I think I
would go so far as to say that fixing and helping may often be the work of the
ego, and service the work of the soul. They may look similar if you’re watching
from the outside, but the inner experience is different. The outcome is often
different, too.

Our service serves us as well as others. That which uses us strengthens us.
Over time, fixing and helping are draining, depleting. Over time we burn out.
Service is renewing. When we serve, our work itself will sustain us.

Service rests on the basic premise that the nature of life is sacred, that
life is a holy mystery which has an unknown purpose. When we serve, we know that
we belong to life and to that purpose. Fundamentally, helping, fixing and
service are ways of seeing life. When you help you see life as weak, when you
fix, you see life as broken. When you serve, you see life as whole. From the
perspective of service, we are all connected: All suffering is like my suffering
and all joy is like my joy. The impulse to serve emerges naturally and
inevitably from this way of seeing.

Lastly, fixing and helping are the basis of curing, but not of healing. In 40
years of chronic illness I have been helped by many people and fixed by a great
many others who did not recognize my wholeness. All that fixing and helping
left me wounded in some important and fundamental ways. Only service heals.

Reprinted from Noetic Sciences Review, Spring 1996

We’re still on the road (hence the infrequent posts).

We hope to post (in the near future) some photos of our songwriters’ events & travels … but in the meanwhile, I came across this excellent resource for those of us who enjoy good writing…

Narrative is an online magazine offering fiction and nonfiction pieces by
the likes of Rick Bass, Joyce Carol Oates, Jane Smiley and Tobias Wolff.
An archive goes back to 2003.

Enjoy!
_______________________________________

Inquiring minds are asking, “What kinds of classes will be available at the Nashville SONGPOSIUM event, July 25-28, 2005?” …

Click that link to see the full schedule, who’s coming to teach which classes on topics from networking in the music business to voice teachers, to songwriting (lyrics and music), marketing your songs, collaborating, and of course, the creative process, all sponsored by the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI).

As for us, below are the write-ups for our classes at the event:

Career Path Patterns and Team Tools
Instructor: JoAnn Braheny
Dates/Times: Tuesday (July 26) / 9:00 AM
Four basic career paths are explored, identifying what motivates and rewards you. If your path doesn’t feel comfortable, or what you really want to do isn’t fitting what others want you to do, you’ll find this class a liberating experience. JoAnn uses practical tools to assess your individual work-styles to help you find your most productive work environment and workmates. You won’t get this anywhere else!

How To Play Well With Others (Collaboration Tips)
Instructor: JoAnn Braheny
Dates/Times: Wednesday (July 27) / 9:00 AM
Is your writing more abstract or concrete? Are you an introvert or extrovert? Do you like to keep your options open or want to nail things down and finish quickly? A quick quiz (no grades!) will reveal your individual preferences. We’ll discuss how to apply these to working better with others.

Meet The Monsters (And Helpers) In Your Head
Instructor: JoAnn Braheny
Dates/Times: Thursday (July 28) / 4:00 PM
Four basic career paths are explored, identifying what motivates and rewards you. If your path doesn’t feel comfortable, or what you really want to do isn’t fitting what others want you to do, you’ll find this class a liberating experience. JoAnn uses practical tools to assess your individual work-styles to help you find your most productive work environment and workmates

Principles Of Writing (Songs) For Radio
Instructor: John Braheny
Dates/Times: Tuesday (July 26) / 4:00 PM
These principles (not rules, by the way) and techniques of song structure and dynamics have characterized radio hits and just plain great songs throughout the history of popular music. Particularly valuable to writers who are pitching songs for others to record. Don’t allow your songs to get rejected because you don’t understand these basics..

Pitching Your Song to Film, TV And Other Visual Media
Instructor: John Braheny
Dates/Times: Wednesday (July 27) / 4:00 PM
Realities of pitching music/songs for film and TV production. Resources for connecting with the projects. What do they need? How much can you make? How do you get paid? Production music libraries.

Taking Care Of Business
Instructor: John Braheny
Dates/Times: Wednesday (July 27) / 9:00 AM
Protect your music. The four main sources of royalties. How royalties are collected and divided. Publishing, co-publishing and administration deals. Co-writer splits and the business of collaboration. Never too soon to learn to TCB. Don’t wait to learn the hard way.

And of course, there will be one-on-one consultations available between classes! To make your appointments, email: John@JohnBraheny.com.

Enjoy!

JoAnn and John Braheny are traveling again. We’ll be in Pittsburgh, doing a day there of one-on-one song critiques and consultations on July 17th.

We’ll also pass through Cincinnati, Ohio, to meet with the good folks at Writer’s Digest Books — they’ve been publishing The Craft and Business of Songwriting (by John Braheny), over 60,000 copies sold!

<br>

And then we’ll be in Nashville, Tennessee, July 25-28, 2005, for the NSAI Songposium, 4 full days of classes and workshops taught by songwriting teachers and music business pros, from all over the country.

And we’ll pass through Austin, Texas, also doing consultations around August 6-7.

Check out the event schedule on JohnBraheny.com.
To set up an appointment, email John@JohnBraheny.com.

See ya there!
JoAnn

Yeah, I know … there are a zillion of these … but when I saw these easy reminders posted by Naina Redhu on ideas@aside, I just had to pass them along. [I must admit that, when reading this list, I was reminded of how family members scoffed when I did any one of these. It’s nice to have a little affirmation here.]

1. Associate with diverse individuals
2. Spend time with children under the age of 6
3. Eat and drink different foods and beverages
4. Try a new hobby
5. Fly a kite
6. Exercise stimulate endorphins)
7. Relax (blow bubbles, review momentos from last vacation)
8. Meditate (beta state of brain)
9. Go to a cultural celebration
10. Visit a museum
11. Walk in the woods
12. Visit a foreign country or watch a foreign film
13. Practice saying “Yes” and “why not” to something new
14. Listen to music or an opera
15. Encourage creativity in yourself and others

Enjoy!

I’m not too sure I agree with #3 as I have found a few programs that are truly inspiring. Let’s just say we might be more selective in what we watch … and let it go at that.

10 CREATVITY BOOSTERS
© 2004 by James Corless

We are all naturally creative but there are ways of making the most of our gifts. Here are ten ways to boost your creativity.

1. Exercise your brain.
“Use it – or lose it!” applies as much to your brain as it does to your body. Brains need exercise to stay fit. Read a lot – challenging material, talk to smart people, have debates/discussions, do crosswords, learn something new, but do things to give your brain a regular workout.

2. Don’t do drugs or get drunk.
Creativity requires a clear head. You may think you’re creative when you’re smashed or stoned but next day your ideas don’t look so brilliant. That’s if you can read your writing.

3. Don’t watch TV.
It’s not called the Idiot Box for nothing. Feed your mind a more nutritional diet than the dumbed-down time-killers they serve up on TV.

4. Feed your mind.
Read as much as you can about all manner of things. Read books, magazines, web pages, newspapers, notices and the back of the corn-flakes package. Read to find information about your area of interest. Read to discover new things. Read to be informed, entertained, challenged and stimulated. Reading exercises your brain, provides you with new information – the basic material that fuels inspiration.

5. Eat right to think good.
Eat a balanced diet (there’s plenty of information on the Internet) that sustains you. Poor nutrition affects your mind as well as your body. Vitamin B is essential for brain function. Common sources include chicken and eggs, organ meats and legumes. Minerals are also essential for correct physical and mental function. Take a multi-vitamin supplement, if necessary.

6. Ask questions.
Curiosity didn’t kill the cat. Curiosity kept her young and interested. And interesting, too. An enquiring mind is never bored. Children at school ask up to 65 questions a day. By the time we get to retiring age we’re down to asking only six (“Where can I sit down? What is the world coming to? etc)

7. Laugh.
Sadly, our laughter patterns follow the same downward curve as our question-asking – from 113 times a day as children to 11 as mature adults. Laughter is the best medicine. Thomas Edison started every day at work with a joke-telling session. The ability to laugh is a vital skill to creativity.

8. Play.
All work and no play makes anyone dull. Playing changes the mental gears, engages the right brain and lets the serious left-brain coast for a while.

9. Listen to music.
Play Bach. Or Mozart. When they played classical music to plants – they grew faster. When they played it to chickens, they laid more eggs. If you’re not more creative with Bach in the background, there could be something wrong with you. Or you’re not a chicken. Or a plant.

10. Enjoy silence.
Most of us live and work surrounded by distractions. Take time out for some peace, whether it means turning off the radio, going for a walk in the park or learning to meditate. Silence allows the mind to function more freely.

————————————————————
James Corless is an artist, writer and creativity coach.
[Sadly, when I tried to open Corless’ site, I couldn’t, however this list still contains some helpful reminders, so I’m glad to include it … maybe he will come back online with another URL.]
For more articles and creativity resources and free coaching visit
http://creativity101.com or email him at james@creativity101.com.

The Poetry Foundation commissioned NORC [National Organization for Research – at the University of Chicago] to design and conduct Poetry in America, the first national survey of people’s attitudes toward and experiences with poetry.

This unprecedented study explores people’s reading habits in general, their formative and current experiences with poetry, their perceptions of poetry, poets and poetry readers, as well as the barriers that prevent people from reading poetry.

This ground-breaking national study is underway and will interview roughly equal numbers of users and non-users of poetry.

The Poetry Foundation plans to use results from this study as a baseline against which to measure the effectiveness of programs to reinvigorate poetry’s presence in American culture.

For more, visit The Poetry Foundation.

And to learn more about Poetry in America and other initiatives, visit their site.

Enjoy!