The First Time You Play Something

There’s something magical about the first time you play something.It’s an expression of that moment in time – and it only happens once.

If you turn it into a song, hopefully the song honors and preserves that original moment.

It’s so easy to over-edit in an attempt to make it better, but when you do that, you risk that moment losing its essence in the final version of the song. 

That’s the way it goes. Moments pass.

But as music makers, we can make the best, most honest song possible by keeping the original moment of creation in tact.

And the way to do that is by trusting that other moments will come. 

When we cling to a moment, we suffocate it. 

When we try too hard, we ruminate. 

When we think too much, it can become contrived. 

When we just play what we want to hear and leave it at, magic happens. 

Music isn’t necessarily better with more effort.

The best music falls out of people without thought. 

It’s tempting to work on a song incessantly because you’re in love with it. You want to be around it and make it as good as it can be.

But it’s healthier to give it space so you can have perspective and enjoy it for what it is. And then you can take that energy and move on to the next one.