Immersion--Another Way to Write

If you watch PBS as much as I do (which is probably too much—teehee), you may have seen some of the shows that teach foreign languages using the immersion technique. The idea here is that if you just hear the language enough in the proper contexts, you can’t help but learn how to speak it conversationally. In a sense, music, too, is a language, and the more you practice your craft in a proper setting, you can’t help but learn how to do it better. Here are a few ways in which you can make everything you do in a day musical, and help you to get closer to your goal of being an effective songwriter.

YOUR DAILY E-MAIL

I find that being on the Internet has one bad side effect—you get a lot of junk mail. To make this work for, and not against you, make sure that some of it, at least, is music oriented. If you do a Google search on your favorite musicians and/or music subjects, you will find numerous websites, newsgroups and newsletters that are about those topics—join them! It’s fun and educational to find out what musical projects are available out there, new guitar techniques, where your favorite group is playing today, a rundown on a new piece of equipment, a motivational quote that may just be the fanny bump you needed for the day, or a cheery note from a friend that loves the same singer you do. While you are at it, be ruthless and hit that unsubscribe link on mail you don’t want and learn to use your mail filters to eliminate certain pesky folks who just won’t leave you alone—you need time to write and perform, not read unwanted memos. Try and get to this on a timely basis, too, so you won’t miss contest deadlines or opportunities to write because you forgot to check your mail.

CHATROOMS

This may seem like a complete waste of time to many, but this is a great, low-cost way for musicians to get together and get some work done. Yahoo is great for offering voice chat at no cost, so if you and your co-writers want, you can work on material without even leaving your home, and without running up huge phone bills. Many music groups out there have chat rooms on that subject, and this is a great way, too, to meet fellow musicians who share your love of certain forms of music and network if not outright try to work with each other. Your Internet service provider may have chat rooms available, or allow you to set up your own on any subject you wish at low or no cost. Some, like Yahoo even allow you to play music back and forth to each other or pass files back and forth easily, so you can decide if your styles are compatible, or to work out that sticky section of a song you are working on.

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