I overheard a professor telling a student a story the other day. He had been playing at some music conference and a student asked him to help him get some really good ideas out of his head and into the world. So the prof tells him to play what he's got. After the student is done he says, 'You can't play your horn, learn to play it and the ideas will come out.' That sounds harsh, but it's probably the best advice that student could have gotten.
If you don't know what your tools can do, then you can't use them to fully express your ideas. I mean tools in the broadest sense possible, like if you are a writer than language is your tool, if you're a photographer the camera is your tool.
Learning your craft might seem tedious, but once you have it down you are free to use it, abuse it, disregard it, do whatever that gets your idea out because you know the rules and you can consciously decide how to apply them.
Guess I better go learn the scales. Again.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
By request
So the fun has begun, hey? Work, school, activities and only 24 hours in a day. You asked for a little advice on how to get through it all without keeling over so here it is:
Coffee.
Naps.
Not in that order, naps definitely have priority. When you can't take a nap, drink coffee. Scope out a few places that aren't too far from where you need to be that can be used for a quick sleep. Twenty minutes is awesome, thirty even better. That's not enough time to really get homework done, but it can be the recharge your brain needs to get through the next appointment.
My favorite spots were the fourth floor of the library, the grass between the Art and Administration buildings (shade and a slight slope made for a comfortable impromptu bed), and the student lounge. Hell, you live on campus so you could probably duck back to your room for a kip.
Study at night with friends, you'll keep each other awake and on task (as long as the Game Cube stays off.)
Avoid energy drinks because they suck. You'll be feeling great and then it wears off and you crash. Hard. Same with cigarettes, only they make you smell, too.
When things really get rough, just remember that you'll have plenty of time to sleep when you're dead.
Coffee.
Naps.
Not in that order, naps definitely have priority. When you can't take a nap, drink coffee. Scope out a few places that aren't too far from where you need to be that can be used for a quick sleep. Twenty minutes is awesome, thirty even better. That's not enough time to really get homework done, but it can be the recharge your brain needs to get through the next appointment.
My favorite spots were the fourth floor of the library, the grass between the Art and Administration buildings (shade and a slight slope made for a comfortable impromptu bed), and the student lounge. Hell, you live on campus so you could probably duck back to your room for a kip.
Study at night with friends, you'll keep each other awake and on task (as long as the Game Cube stays off.)
Avoid energy drinks because they suck. You'll be feeling great and then it wears off and you crash. Hard. Same with cigarettes, only they make you smell, too.
When things really get rough, just remember that you'll have plenty of time to sleep when you're dead.
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