Creativity Digest - 30.3.2024

What I've been reading, watching and writing this week

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What I’ve written:

Things I’ve enjoyed this week:

• Vikingur Ólafsson’s Tiny Desk Concert is an utter joy, from the first to the last note. One of the few first class classical performers to really understand the so-called “contemporary classical” aesthetic (felt piano, etc), he’s able to bridge the classical and contemporary worlds like no other. I wrote about his wonderful 2022 album From Afar for A Closer Listen, you can find it here if you’re curious

• This post from Sara Campbell’s Savvy Music Studio about language, and specifically how powerful it can be to use “we” instead of “I” and “you”

• Noa Kayegama’s Bulletproof Musician email about research exploring whether focusing on expression affects accuracy in performance

• Finding out that the months of the year are laid out on the piano keyboard from Robert Cunningham’s amusing and intriguing post

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Good to know:

• The Art of Piano Pedagogy Awards have announced their finalists

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What’s in my drafts folder:

• How to get started with Forrest Kinney’s Pattern Play resources

• Creative activities to introduce Gigue by Samuel Arnold

• Interested in improvising in the style of William Gillock’s “Carnival in Rio”?

• A post about a fascinating German-language musical creativity book called “Impro-Mosaic: the crazy folding book with unlimited ideas for improvising”. My friend and colleague Barbara Arens told me about it after visiting the Leipziger Buchmesse — it’s awesome.

I’m about to take a short Easter vacation (visiting Lisbon — I’m excited!) and will be back with more posts in the second week of April.

Take care,

Garreth