Archive for February, 2012
Write And Don’t Look Back
Write And Don’t Look Back
by Imei Hsu
When I was in the seventh grade, one of my poems was published in a list of the top 100 poems in Washington State. I had submitted about half a dozen entries without a belief that any of them would be selected, and when my teacher told me one of mine made it on the list, I could barely contain my joy (and my inflated ego!) that something of mine was being read — by strangers, by other teachers and students, by critics and lovers of poetry alike.
Every time someone picks up one of my blog posts, a tweet, or quotes me from an email, I experience that same thrill. When someone says, “Could I reprint what you said about [whatever content]?” I am transported back to my 12-year-old happy child self, the one who skipped and laughed all the way home. But other than my blog posts, and tweets, and Facebook updates, I remain an unpublished writer.
THAT is about to change forever. And with your help, I will write a book and I won’t look back.
Write A Book
Write that book, and never look back
Why write a book? Is there even a market for it? After attending an important book publishing seminar this past week, I’ve learned that publishing a book is the best marketing practice there is to building your business. People get to know you, they like what you do or what service you provide, and then they want MORE. They want to take a piece of you home with them. They want to bring you back to their world, their business, their boss, their co-workers. If they can’t do that, you fall prey to this reality:
OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND
I’ve always wanted to make a difference in the lives of those who entrust themselves to my care, whether it’s one year at a time (such as in my private practice as a therapist), one visit at a time (as an RN in a clinic or on the phone during triage), or one hour at a time (such as at a speaking engagement or workshop). While I’ve had the privilege of doing this on a very small scale, I have always known that these experiences were just that: meaningful, but small.
The challenge for me is that I’ve had more than one passion, and I didn’t exactly know how — or if I even should — try to combine them. The truth is, whatever your first book is, your next years of writing should share a common thread. For all the work you’ll do to promote one book, each book can ride on the success of the previous one if they are somehow related.
My Ah-Ha Moment
They say that if you put yourself in the stream of creativity, you will have many “ah-ha” moments. But creativity is actually a kind of work, according to Scott Berkun, author of Mindfire. It isn’t the idea, but what you do with it.
A week ago, I delivered my first presentation to an audience of about two hundred creative thinkers and medical personnel on the topic of technology and Social Media for helping professionals. It was so well received that people were asking me if I had a book with this information in it. I was smart enough to say, “My book is coming out later this year!” But the truth was, I had been carrying the subject of this book — designing your own private practice using the arts, technology, and Social Media — in my head for a few years, and I was suddenly struck that I already had the keys to how I would pull my passions of art and healthcare together: they were right in front of me, in the form of hundreds of blog posts, tweets, updates, and videos over the past few years. They were in the requests of my clients over the past twelve years. I would not need to think of what topic I’m passionate enough to write about, because my passion has been evident.
Where Do I Go From Here?
Besides getting the title, outline, and the skeleton completed for the book, the path to publishing a book professionally can take several directions. I’ve selected mine by opting to secure angel investment in the publishing of my book. Last week. I began looking into hiring a book coach for life, and working towards becoming a dynamic speaker and presenter. The road is long, but it contains so many elements I’ve already studied.
Did you know that I completed two semesters of pastoral speaking in a religious educational setting? Did you know that I received formal training to speak on a stage when I entered several scholarship contests in my college days? What about all the piano lessons and performance lessons I received in order to make me comfortable speaking in public and getting my point across? Put that together with the last few years studying Social Media trends as a side interest, and attending technology-oriented workshops? I had no clue this is where the roads would converge, but converge and collide they did, and it’s a beautiful mess.
And like so many others, I’ll now be chasing down the dollars to fund my book publishing project. It’s the first time I will have to engage in self-promotion in a way I’ve never felt comfortable doing, yet this is something I absolutely know I must not only do, but succeed famously while doing it.
What do you think? Do artists need to spend time writing intelligently about their work to succeed? Are you ready for HFH (and my other web presence, Seattle Direct Counseling) to experience a huge change? Will these worlds come together quietly, or will they be the provocative upstarts in the community I hope they will be? I’d love to hear what you think .
P.S. If you wish to have a copy of my Angel Investment letter, please request one and the email address you wish to send it to. All inquires can be made at info at hipsforhire dot com [I spelled it out here so bots can't send me spam].
How To Write A Song Part One
Writing a song does not need to be an intimidating task. It can be one if you want it to be. It can actually be a fun exercise in creativity, and the process of creativity usually begets more creativity. This post contains my thoughts on the simple outlines of creating a song for those who have never tried to do this on their own. There are simple tools available to help you flesh out your song, and while there is no guarantee that it will be worthy of broadcasting, it will put you on the way to writing more material as well as having an enjoyable time time in the process.
If you are a professional musician: my apologies to you. This is not a video for you or your market. However, you might find some comedy in it, because you know exactly what I’m talking about. My hat’s off to you for what you do. Do the world a favor, and keep writing good stuff [Mwah]. Come back for the other part of my series on How To Write A Song, which will cover an option for song writing and performing involving the tools of the trade.
Learn to write a song - without notation! Try this simple exercise to get your started on your songwriting journey. You do not have to be an expert or play an instrument
How To Write A Song Part I: Getting It Down
Music is pure emotion. One of the best places to start in the music writing process is to begin naming a feeling you have personally felt, or that you have observed feeling by proxy. If you want to write about the feelings of a person going through a breakup, but you haven’t personally experienced such an end to a relationship, you should at least observe what others have gone through before you put pen to paper (of fingers to laptop).
Collect thoughts, even if they are fragmented. I often scribble thought down in a little moleskin book I keep in my purse, or I’ll tap a few notes in a memo on my iPhone4S. I am not surprised that at a recent meeting on the subject of creativity, speaker Scott Berkun shared with his audience about one his keys to being more creative involved the regular and disciplined use of recording all of his thoughts in a small notebook. In that notebook, you do not have to make sense to anyone, not even yourself. Just get the thoughts down. My advice: the minute the thought comes to your head, write it down. Do not wait until it is convenient to write (unless you’re driving). If you must, use a voice memo recording device if you can’t write it down. You can sort through these thoughts later.
A few thoughts might emerge as more intriguing than others. Circle them. See if there is some connection. Recognize
Collect ideas for lyrics, and put them all in one place
that their dissonance might be a type of connection. My tip for collecting thoughts: I sometimes put them in a Google Document, so I have them all on one place. I pull up the document on my iPad, and then start creating with it nearby. Here’s an example: I’m writing a sample song, “Bad Boyfriend Blues”, using a standard blues progression AED (that is, I’m starting with in the Key of A major as the tonic key, progressing to D, climaxing in the key of E for the third line (and transitioning back through D), and resolving by returning to the tonic. For those of you interested in music theory from a more neurological point of view, check out “This is Your Brain On Music” by Daniel Levitin).
Be prepared for shitty attempts. Ernest Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is shit.” Writer Annie Lamott has a whole chapter called, “Shitty First Drafts” [from the book, "Bird By Bird"]. You have to get it in your head the first time you try to create just about anything, it’s going to make you laugh, then make you sick, and then drive you a little mad as you try to tweak it and make it do your bidding. Writing is hard work. Creating anything worth creating is hard work. The flash of insight is just the beginning. From then on, it’s just putting blood, sweat, and tear into the process of getting it finished.
Not everything you write down is going to be useful. More than 1/2 of what is on my “Bad Boyfriend Blues” note is going to go absolutely nowhere [Ed. note: if you think you see something about you or someone you know, chances are 90% that they are NOT about you. If they are about you, no one will know it].
A few of you out there are from “The Secret” camp. You’re shaking your heads, saying, “Well, if you think it’s going to be shitty, then you’re only going to attract shitty things.” Here’s a test for you of “The Secret” Camp. Think really, really, really positive thoughts about how wonderful your first attempt is going to be, and attract all the positive, wonderful, awesome words and ideas and thoughts and content you can. Write it down. Let me know afterwards if it a Grammy award-winning masterpiece on the level of Sir Paul McCartney [if it is, we will all bow to you, and "The Secret" will be employed internationally as that missing piece of why things fail]. My suspicion: creativity requires risk, shitty first drafts, and tweaking.
Give yourself permission to play. While in the creation process, I mess with my content. If it’s dance, I dance in front of the mirror and audition a few options, filming, observing, and tweaking. But while I’m running the intellectual process, I always give a little room and time to just dink around: throw in some extra spins, move in ways I don’t normally move, etc. The same can be applied in the writing process for music. Try a different rhythm or genre. You hate country? Make your piece as twangy as possible. Pop makes you want to vomit? Give it whirl, and sing like you thought you were the epitome of Commerce. Sometimes doing the opposite of what you want to do will unleash the very thing you’re looking for.
The permission to play taps the child within. Hopefully, this child is not afraid of what others think. This child is just happy playing, without judgment or fear. By playing, you liberate what you are passionate about. It cannot help but rise to the surface, usually in something we recognize as a smile on your face.
Leave a trail of breadcrumbs. The creative process is a PROCESS. You may or may not be a one-take wonder. If you can’t finish enough of something in a single sitting to feel confident that you can pick up where you left off, leave yourself a trail of breadcrumbs; that is, record yourself with as much as you’ve gotten down. Afterward, step away, work on something else, and come back when you’re ready.
Here’s my sample [and it's full of shitty mistakes, but it'll serve as my trail of breadcrumbs for the next post]:
Next post: taking the words and putting it into lyrics. How to become the world’s worst poet.
Now it’s your turn. Are you new to song writing? Do you have some tips or thoughts on the songwriting process? Please share them here.
When You Want To Make Music
I am sitting at home in front of my computer, a hacker. Hmm, didn’t I make it clear I’m not a hacker? Oh, I meant, I’m a hacker because I’m coughing up little pieces of my lung on Day 12 of a cold threatening to convert into a lovely and familiar friend, Mr. Bronchitis [Eww]. One of the great things about the digital age we live in is that we don’t have to be in the best of health — or even well in the head! — to create some really cool tunes. Music creation in the digital age does not require my perfection. It doesn’t even require my voice for at least parts of the creation process, until my voice is good and ready to show up again. Until that day comes, I have a number of tools in my tech tool belt to keep this musician and artist both busy and happy!
The great news to you about music and sound creation is that you do not need to be any of the following to use the tools: EXPERT, PROFESSIONAL, ACCOMPLISHED, RICH. Many of the tools I use allow me to polish and edit recordings, capture ideas before they are lost, experiment without being in a studio, and are affordable. Even better than these features is the concept of accessibility: you do not need to be an accomplished musician to acquire great sound on these devices and applications, and they are all easily portable in a medium-sized gig bag. When I want to make music, I turn to the family of IK Multimedia products for iPhone and iPad I’ve had the delight in using, and I hope as I introduce the newest in their line of apps and hardware, you will also see how easy it is to make great music using these same tools.
If you’re new to IK Multimedia, let me run down a short list of some of the items I’ve written about in the past:
Amplitube — app that you use with the iRig to access sounds through digital pedals
Fender Amplitube – expansion of Amplitube app with the exclusive showcase of the Fender amplifier sound
iRig — hardware that connects your iDevice to a guitar, allowing you to have a studio on the go. Includes a 4-track recorder.
VocaLive – app for singers, vocalists, and speakers that enhances sound using a variety of filters, sound effects, and modification. Has a “karaoke-like” mode that removes mid-range sound so you can sing along with most popular music.
iRig Mic — a microphone useful with VocaLive, which allows you to use your iDevices headphone output (and includes an extra output for listening through headphones).
iKlip and iKlip mini — allows you to secure your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad to any stand with a minimum 3/4 inch diameter, and expands with a strong screw for larger objects (i.e. the edge of a table, for example). I’ve attached my iPhone4S to a hula hoop using the iKlip mini and filmed while it was running, as well as attached it to my bicycle for a spin around the neighborhood.
At Macworld|iWorld2012 in San Francisco’s Moscone Center, I had the opportunity to chat with Starr Ackerman of IK Multimedia and document some of the latest items from November 2011 forward that going to make music creation even more simple, fun, and accessible to the non-musician as well as the professional.
Connect your iDevice to any MIDI compatible instrument, and use it alone or paired with SampleTank, a software app that contains banks of fresh sounds and beats to create all kinds of music. If you’ve ever tried to create something on the virtual keys of an iPhone, you know it’s pretty hard because the strike surface is limited. Not anymore.
My notes: iRig MIDI has 3 MIDI ports: IN/OUT/THRU, which connect to any standard MIDI jacks using the included 2 x 1.6m/5.2’ cables.iRig MIDI also exclusively provides a micro USB port – with included cable – that connects to any standard USB power supply source so that the iOS device can stay fully powered during long sessions. They know musicians don’t want to be bothered with batteries or a clunky charger and plug. The price is listed as $69.99, but remember, you’re not just buying a cable. You’re also purchasing access to a software application IK Multimedia has a commitment to continue expanding and improving. Whether you access the app with a drum pad or a keyboard, you’ll get more than enough sounds without unloading stack after stack (believe me, I hated doing this for live shows)!
Many of you have seen me play with Looptastic on two iPads. IK MultiMedia has created a stylish and portable system that allows me to more easily incorporate my iTunes library favs (like my Middle Eastern music collection) into DJ Rig, an app (free version is available, and an expanded version will be on sale in the Apple App store soon), while synching the second song seemlessly. If you have ZERO experience as a DJ, you’re going to love how easy this piece of hardware and application pair to become your dynamic duo at your next party. You can use two iPads or two iPhones/iPods, and the iRig Mix is much smaller, lighter, and thus more portable than any quality portable DJ mixer I’ve seen. At present, I have a very decent mixer I purchased for just under $100, but it weighs about three times as much and takes up four times the room in my gig bag. Guess who might end up in the island of misfit toys now [oh Gazelle.com!]? At $99.oo [pre-orders can be made on the website for a late February 2012 ship date], this is one piece of equipment I am salivating to get my hands on. Now. [OK, there's other equipment I'd like to handle, but it's kind of attached to some body...].
Take a peak at the DJ Rig app, and feel free to compare it to other apps available. What I love about the IK Multimedia family of apps and hardware is that they were all made to work with each other. No square pegs in round holes [OK, I'm a therapist, and I am aware that these little entendres keep creeping into my blog post, dagnabit].
After watching Atomic Tom perform on their instruments instead of their iDevices, I reflected on what musicians in general tend to like. It’s clear that for guitarists, it’s going to be awhile before we walk away from the stomp box. While there are glimpses of what’s to come — guitars with an iPad imbeded in it — it will be some time before we conceive of a way for live performance guitarists (not studio musicians) to control their sounds without using the stomp box. The iRig Stomp may end up being the piece of hardware representing the “missing link” between all hardware stomp pedals linked together (or mounted into one piece), and the stomp controller that links to an iDevice running into your electric guitar.
The iRig Stomp is slated to release in Q2 2012. At $59.99, it can be a nice addition to your present stomp box collection, or if you’re a newbie musician, it’s affordable enough to invest in it as well as a few standard stomps you easily find on sites like Craigslist or Ebay. Mix and match, baby. Stomp away, kitties and puppies.
At a podcasting seminar, Brian Crouch (Behringer) and Heidi Miller explained to the small group gathered around a plethora of devices that our home recordings of podcasts would need a preamp to incorporate our lovely iDevices. Why, you might ask? Because you can’t plug in any old microphone — or even any new one for that matter! — into an iDevice, since the output is actually made for headphones or earphones with a mini jack plug. Even with the right plug, you’re fancy schmancy microphone won’t record through your iDevice (note: I used the iRig Mic for the video recordings, thus bypassing the need for a converter cable).
The iRigPre is a microphone interface (translation: pre-amplifier) solution, allowing you to use your existing microphones with your iDevice. It is lightweight, portable, and transmits a stable fairly loss-less sound quality. Like most pre-amps, it does need to be powered, but at least the batteries are standard. The battery life is approximately 40 hours with dynamic microphones and 15 hours with phantom powered condenser studio microphones. I picked up the item, and once again, IK Multimedia’s standards are reflected in the design: lightweight but sturdy. There is a headphone jack on the box, so you can listen in on your live recordings. You also get a couple of freebies: iRig Recorder and VocaLive, to get your home recording off to a good start. I’d be careful how you store or wrap cords, since there are not bend points into the box.
The price point is $39.00, and will likely be available sometime in Q2 2012.
Are your music creation nerves all a-quiver? Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
Next post: Imei gets her voice back after antibiotics and attempts to write a little love song (OK, more like a hate song, inspired by real-life events).
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