Blessings in Disguise

As you know, I am a composer by trade but I prefer to think of myself as a creative person. I like to write music but I also like to draw, play, film, write.

The interesting thing is that I actually find it hard to express myself in person (verbally).

What I mean is, I sometimes find it hard to communicate without too much emotion or to find the right words.

That being said, I’m not shy, in fact, I am very talkative, but I don’t always communicate clearly or concisely.

I worry about hurting people’s feelings or saying the wrong thing.

Which is funny because that can happen without me knowing.

I used to think this was a problem. Finding verbal communication difficult that is.

Now I realise it is a gift I have been given.

Because I find communicating how I feel difficult, I naturally migrate to other forms of self-expression as a way to compensate; I turn my emotions into art (of any kind).

There are a couple of challenges attached to this.

1. Because I am easily inspired, I am not able to easily switch off this mode of always creating. My mind is almost always looking for ways to transmute what I am seeing or feeling into something else.

“Ooh that sound would make an amazing pad” or “Oh man I can’t believe he said that that would make a hilarious comic strip” or “Wow this is beautiful I have to get a photo”

You know what I mean - you do the same thing too right? This has given me tremendous drive but it also leads to another problem.

2. That I am always looking for new ways to create more. A new shiny project. This looking forward to other things means I have little patience for details and fine-tuning...

3. The third problem is that I am not fussed about details. I will release things to the world with mistakes. It doesn’t bother me if there is a minor detail that I missed or that it’s not “perfect”

Well, most of the time that is.

I stand by the simple adage that “done is better than perfect”. This has enabled me to be quite prolific and productive.

It has taken me many years to realise that these three “problems” are not problems at all, they are blessings.

I am blessed.

And so are you.

I find creating very easy and I am constantly driven to create more. I now know the value of letting go of perfection, being inspired by the "every day", and looking to new projects to keep my excitement going.

These are my creative blessings disguised to me as being over-sensitive, easily distracted, and sloppy with my work.

Have you ever been told you are a certain way and made to think it was a bad thing?

Maybe have a think and see if some of those “problems” in your life are actually also creative blessings in disguise.

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The Quiet Whisper | Issue 30

🎙 Orchestral Mixing & Mastering

Interview with Joel Dollie. A few months back I had the pleasure of chatting with Joel; a super nice guy who is incredibly passionate about all things audio. We had a lot of fun nerding out about plugins and he even goes into great detail about mixing trailer drums #gold.

3️⃣ Spice Up Any Rhythm Using Triplets

When writing action drum lines for trailers, or any genre for that matter, it is imperative that you understand how to use triplets. They are such an easy way to level up any beat or fill.

🎧 I'm Listening to

Tina de Rocha. I discovered her music on the Bandzoogle website while researching for my Direct to Fan Project. Her music is intimate, honest, and beautiful.

🎥 I´m watching

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. Now, I will be the first to admit that this is my least favourite of the Ant-Man movies. It lacks a lot of the humour and "everyday Joe" vibe the others had. But, I still really enjoyed it and the worlds that they create are breathtaking. Plus, it supplied me with this week's quote 🤣