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The Care And Feeding Of Muses
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 29 Jun 04 - 10:40 PM Good Friends Good Books
They have all contributed
Sincerely, |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: freightdawg Date: 29 Jun 04 - 07:13 PM Just a question, Jerry. You advocate feeding your muse with a lot of other music (the results of the muse' predecessors). However, I remember hearing an interview with Paul McCartney and he was asked who his favorite classical composer was. McCartney responded that he never listened to classical music, for fear that what he heard would subconsciously come out in a piece that he was creating. He said that as he tended to write less and less he wanted to begin listening to classical music. So my question is this: how do we keep our muse from stealing the work of another muse, and then sticking the thought in our mind? In addition to being somewhat fickle, they tend to be equally shifty and mischievious. Also, how do we get our muse to multi-task? Mine seems to provide only poetry, or seminal lyrics, but he (or she, I'm not quite sure of the gender of my muse) appears to be bereft of any compositional skills whatsoever. Is there a way that one's muse can network with, say, the muse of Paul McCartney? And what of the muse of those dearly departed? I think of the muse of Jim Croce, or John Denver, Marty Robbins, etc. Surely their work was not complete. Are they in a retirement home for muses? How might we coax them into coming out of retirement? Eagerly awaiting your muse-inspired response. Freightdawg |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: beardedbruce Date: 29 Jun 04 - 03:44 PM One's muses come and go, but when they give, All one can do is hold the words, and pray That they will come again. We let dreams live, In hope that muse might find reason to stay. 8-{E |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 28 Jun 04 - 12:34 PM I'd be happy to loan you mine, Ellenpoly, but I think he's a one man muse.. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Ellenpoly Date: 28 Jun 04 - 11:40 AM I'm afraid my muse went on a long holiday and forgot my address. I still hope she'll be back someday because we had some grand times together. Be kind to your muses, folks. They may only visit for short whiles. ..xx..e |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Vixen Date: 28 Jun 04 - 11:26 AM Listen, listen, listen, write, write, write, play, play, play. My Muse spends a lot of time frustrated because I'm just not physically doing what she wants. I do it all as much as possible, and I muse a lot when I'm doing things on automatic pilot. I always say thank you...I feel an overwhelming gratitude and humility when I produce something that effectively expresses my ideas and emotions in such a way that someone else can recognize and understand them. Great thread. I like Gerry's Muse Food idea--tapes, places, smells, all sorts of things can work--I'm thinking now about ice cream. V |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: greg stephens Date: 28 Jun 04 - 09:21 AM Diaphanous, that's the word exactly Jerry. just take a little time for some quiet calm reflection looking at them darling little muses dancing around in diaphanous dresses and you'll soon feel that old inspiration stirring. |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 28 Jun 04 - 09:13 AM I think the term is diaphonous, Greg. Definitely inspirational. The "Care and Feeding" is different than controlling, El Greko. The things I referred to earlier in this thread: listening to music, (and enjoying all creative arts), sharing conversations with friends, playing music together and taking the time for quiet reflection and listening all are part of "feeding" my muse. Many wonderful, creative artists find that discipline and working at their art every day is the most productive way for them to create. I am just the opposite. Sitting down every day to write songs would never work for me. My songwriting is a response to fully living each day, as best I can. I can't "control" the creative process. But, I can respond to it, work with it, and be a co-creator. I just don't seem to have the ability to make it happen on my own. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: GUEST,R Grieves Date: 28 Jun 04 - 08:24 AM All Whores, Madonna's and Hags. |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: greg stephens Date: 28 Jun 04 - 08:01 AM Definitely not togas Jerry. Those are great blanket things that Julius Caesar and Cato and Nero wear when making pompous speeches in the Senate. Muses wear cute little flimsy dresses like Isadora Duncan danced in. Plenty of leg showing, and when they are jumping about with the sun behind them you can see all their....you know what I'm talking about Jerry boy, even if you're not allowed to think about it. |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: George Papavgeris Date: 28 Jun 04 - 07:48 AM Good thread, Jerry. But I do have a problem with its title, because it implies that we can "control" the creative process - which I, for one, am totally unable to. The best output gives me a feeling of "who opened the window and let that one in?" - it feels like someone else created it, and I was just the tool, the medium. Am I grateful? YES, definitely! You cannot possibly imagine how much (well, perhaps you can...). It gives meaning to a life to create something that gives pleasure to others while expressing your soul. Proud? No, definitely not - because they don't feel "mine". I have a theory: Songs (and music, and poems etc) exist "in potential"; they pre-exist, if you like. Now and then, someone, somehow is attuned enough to recognise them and give them physical/aural form. They are just the channel, not the creator. Having said that, I made sure to register the copyright ;-) |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 28 Jun 04 - 07:18 AM Hey, Mudlark: Yes of course, you are right. We all have brains, and we can't help but notice when we've created something beautiful. I guess the way I would describe it is that I think, "Damn, that was good!".. and I feel a deep sense of thanksgiving, and humility. It's not so much an ego thing as a recognition that I have just been used to produce something beautiful. I think that's what bruce is feeling. There are times when I'm singing that I almost have an out-of-body experience, where I am standing next to myself, when I realize that something far more powerful and universal than my own limited abilities is moving in me. When we have that feeling, it's something that we don't ever want to end, because it is so powerful. And bruce... there are so many examples of songs that have flowed through me as a direct result of the enjoyment of being with friends. Sometimes, I feel more like a recording secretary than the creator. Many years ago, I'd had an especially joyful night playing music at Sandy & Caroline Paton's. We'd been up recording until early in the morning with friends, and I was the first one up. I wandered downstairs to the living room, and the instruments were still leaning against the wall. And one of the verses to a new song just came tumbling out: Downstairs, no one is waking Though the clock on the wall says a quartet to eight And the banjos and fiddles still lean by the wall With songs of their own that just wait to be played And it's almost like being back home Many years ago when my youngest sister was really suffering, the words came flowing out.. the chorus to a song: God rest those who find mercy in sleep All those who sow, who never will reap All those who search, who never find peace May they find rest tonight You're right, too, Mudlark... inspiration often comes from other forms of creativity... a movie can inspire a song, or a poem... a painting can inspire a sculpture. Perhaps the true muse is just the experience of life. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: JennyO Date: 28 Jun 04 - 07:08 AM I thort chitons were little sea-creatures - molluscs I believe. |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Roger the Skiffler Date: 28 Jun 04 - 03:57 AM Togas schmogas, that wuz de Romans. Ancient Greeks wore chitons, I believe! (Modern Greeks still worship Nike!) RtS ("We are not amused") |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Mudlark Date: 28 Jun 04 - 12:20 AM I am grateful to all who have given me music I enjoy, whether in person or via tapes and CD's. Altho in person is the most exciting, all are stimulating... But even creativity outside music stirs me. Looking at brilliantly conceived and executed wooden creatures from Mexico inspired me to a whole line of pots that, on the surface had no connection. And often making pots ispired me to song. I know my Muse is present when I see or hear something that not only pleases me but resonates so strongly I feel compelled to respond, a sort of giving back, so to speak. Thanks, Gargoyle and Amos for the great S'peare lines. And altho I agree with 99% of all you say, Jerry, I do take exception to not allowing for at least a little of that "damn, I'm good" feeling. It comes to me rarely, never stays long, but while I'm in the zone, whether I'm making pots, music, an inspired spaghetti or bringing off a good piece of writing, it's a great feeling, and to me, transends simple ego...when I feel that good, the rest of the world is that good, too. |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: M.Ted Date: 27 Jun 04 - 11:29 PM I think, all kidding aside, that the key is to keeping your work honest--which is to say, to make your creations the best embodiment of your own vision that you can manage--not warmed over imitations of somebody else, or, even worse, warmed over imitations of yourself-- |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: beardedbruce Date: 27 Jun 04 - 11:02 PM Jerry: Hear, hear! Excellent post! I agree entirely. I find that I write (poetry) to a specific person: That is my muse. I do not feel that i an so much creating it, as writing down what has been given me. Perhaps all have muses whispering to them- the trick seems to be to listen, and catch what they give. 9-{E |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Amos Date: 27 Jun 04 - 06:48 PM With spelling modernized and omitted bits included: O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention, A kingdom for a stage, princes to act And monarchs to behold the swelling scene! Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, Assume the port of Mars; and at his heels, Leash'd in like hounds, should famine, sword and fire Crouch for employment. But pardon, gentles all, The flat unraised spirits that have dared On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth So great an object: can this cockpit hold The vasty fields of France? or may we cram Within this wooden O the very casques That did affright the air at Agincourt? O, pardon! since a crooked figure may Attest in little place a million; And let us, ciphers to this great accompt, On your imaginary forces work. |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 27 Jun 04 - 06:34 PM Nice thread Mr. Rasmussen. From the Prologue....Henry the Fifth...
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 27 Jun 04 - 09:54 AM All kidding aside for a moment, what I REALLY believe about the whole creative process is: Creativity is a gift. If you are secretly thinking, "Damn, I'm good!" you're deluding yourself. Our responsibility is only to use gifts wisely. When you receive a gift, you should thank the giver. I agree with Hirsutebruce that people are often the givers. Not just people we know, but all those who have used the gift of creativity in the past, who give us inspiration. I wrote a song about that once, with the chorus: "We are walking in the footsteps Of those who've gone on before And their music will go on ringing 'Till we reach God's golden shore But often, I can't thank a particular person for the gift of a song. I have to look beyond that. And, for those who believe that creativity is a gift, it's up to each of us to decide who is the giver... a Greek muse, a cigar-smoking Irish muse, or God. Some of the other lines that came out in the song about my muse are all part of the creative process for me. Freshening the well of inspiration is central to creativity in my mind... kind of a more spiritual variation of the computer truism... "Junk in, junk out." And, if you don't continually freshen the well, it will eventually dry up. It is true that we start to plagiarize ourselves after awhile, if we don't freshen the well. Muse food tapes (jokingly) are one way... listening to music we love, whether it is a direct stimulus for creativity, or just a feeding of the creative spirit within all of us. Playing music with others is another way of freshening the well, as is the simple connection of caring conversation. Long, slow walks are one form of quiet times... times of reflection, times of listening. All of these things feed the creative heart. In the long run for me, music is connection, as are all forms of art. Music is more than creation, because creation needs to be shared. It is one of the most beautiful ways to step beyond all the barriers we set up between each other and find that common spirit that unites us all. I know who I thank. Do you? Jerry |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 27 Jun 04 - 07:40 AM No disrespect meant to the Original, Genuoooooine Muses. I just can't relate to togas... Jerry |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: George Papavgeris Date: 27 Jun 04 - 04:13 AM Hey, you've had our Marbles, leave our Muses alone! At this rate, having kindled the flame of civilisation, and passed it on, Greece will be left without any. (Who turned out the lights?) |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Hrothgar Date: 27 Jun 04 - 03:22 AM I thought muses were Greek, Jerry. You make them sound as though they have a very Irish attitude to the ownership of tunes. |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: beardedbruce Date: 26 Jun 04 - 08:37 PM IMO, there needs to be a distinction between Muse, the creative force, and muse, the inspiration for one's creative work. I have found a number of muses, who inspire me to write. They are human, and as flawed as any of us, but still the thought of them bring poetry to my mind. My Muse remains a distinct idea, unreachable, but always there as a goal. 8-{E |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 26 Jun 04 - 08:30 PM I ain't afraid a no muses: I press onward: After writing the first part of the article, I decided just for the fun of it to send my first Muse Food tape to some friends (whose muses probably turned up their noses at half the music on the tape): Gordon Bok, Sandy Paton, Jerry Rau and Pat Conte (Major Contay of Major Contay and the Canebrake Rattlers.) It seemed like the start of a good idea... exchanging Muse Food tapes. Just so that it's clear what a Muse Food tape isn't: it isn't a learning tape of songs that a musician would like to sing, himself. It also isn't a collection of music by people who are "important," or influential in the history of folk or pop music. Songs shouldn't be chosen to impress anyone, either. As a matter of fact, some of the songs you choose might even be an embarassment to you. Most of all, it's a tape that your muse will delight in listening to. And, the songs that you get back in return sooner or later are guaranteed not to be museless. (A real word..) Of course, one muse tape isn't enough to keep a muse happy for any period of time. They need new music and a broader range of songs than you're likely to be able to squeeze onto one tape. That's why I've made folk-rock, old-timey, rock-a-billy, contemporary folk and jazz tapes, too. If my muse is typical, it needs kmore than music to keep it happy., and that's where the last two lines of the chorus come in... "the "all night talks," and "long slow walks" and "playing until dawn." Of all music, folk music seems the most poorly suited to exist in a formal music room on a Long Island estate. Muses need people, just as much as they do music. Many songs get their start as a natural, enthusiastic response to an all-night talk with friends. (Sometimes a long letter can generate the same reaction.) Muses don't seem capable of keeping their feelings to themselves for very long, and sometimes talking with friends is such a strong need that the instrument cases are never opened. "Playing until dawn" is a sure-fire way to keep your muse contented. While they may not like to admit it, muses aren't nearly as creative as they'd like you to believe. They need to commune with other muses, and get new ideas. Muses can get into ruts, too. One of the great ways to rouse your muse is to play music with other musicians. That makes him stretch. For my muse, playing with old-time musicians is like eating a ten course meal. If I don't play with other musicians for a long time, my muse gets lazy and starts stealing ideas from songs he's already given me. I dn't know who he thinks he's kidding, because I can spot used inspiration as well as the next person. That's enough for now... think I may just make a new muse tape tonight... I haven't made one for a long time... no wonder my muse has been so sullen recently. And my muse smokes cigars, M Ted.. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: M.Ted Date: 26 Jun 04 - 06:30 PM You're obvious lack of respect for the Muses will cost you in the long run, Jerry---your big mistake is to assume that they are genteel, they are not and never were--they are already mad because you started a thread about them without my brief and admittedly plagarized descriptions--your problem is that you neglected the classics for rock'n'roll--Better do your homework--time is wasting, and they can take cruel revenge! |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Megan L Date: 26 Jun 04 - 12:37 PM drat jerry How could i forget fred |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: GUEST,Betsy Date: 26 Jun 04 - 11:30 AM Hiya WYSIWYG ( & Jerry ) , I guess Jerry started this Thread because as one recent thread "HOW do you write your songs" was starting to drift into this area of Muses. I've written most of my thoughts in that particular thread, but your comments assure me I'm not as big a wierdo as some people in that thread believe, just because of my subscription to the idea that the Muses DO indeed exist. In answer to How do I feed / care for the Muses – I couldn't rightly say , but I think they're occasionally coaxed when I drink Drambuie. |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: wysiwyg Date: 25 Jun 04 - 09:37 PM I think whether you call the Muse a part of yourself or something external--or God-- or whatever, it all comes down to the same simple thing: TRUST THE MUSE. Feed it what it asks for, let it rest or be active at its own whim, do what it tells you to do. Might not make sense at the time but in the end, hindsight always tells you how wise it was. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Jun 04 - 07:32 PM You got all but one, Megan. You forgot Fred.. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Megan L Date: 25 Jun 04 - 04:58 PM Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, and Urania. that takes a lot of feeding :) |
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Subject: The Care And Feeding Of Muses From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Jun 04 - 04:53 PM I started this in a songwriting thread, but thought maybe it might be better to put it in its own thread. This comes from an article I wrote many years ago. In more genteel days, muses wore togas, played lyres and harps and struck attractive poses. Composers sat in deep thought, their fingers poised above the keyboard, and communed with their muse. They didn't have to carry out the garbage or stop their kids from dissassembling each other. Creativity was a good business to be in. While you might think that those days are gone, muses are still around if you take the time to listen to them, and for a musician, The Care And Feeding Of Muses is an essential skill. The first thing to realize about folk muses is that they are far more liberated than any of the old Greek goddess. Because the pay is so small, it's hard to say that folk muses even work for a living. Without having to worry about record sales, they have become an independent lot. When you try to find something in common between the muses of Utah Phillips, Gordon Bok and Sally Rogers, you have to do some pretty heavy thinking. When I first went in search of my muse, he (I expect that women have female muses) responded by giving me a song. He was very explicit about his needs, in the chorus: And I feed my muse on rhythm and blues And old-time country songs All night talks and long, slow walks And playing until dawn As a starter, any muse needs to hear a lot of music. You can't expect your muse to make up songs out of whole cloth. Muses can be very opinionated about what they want to hear, and whether you're a songwriter or play mostly traditional music, the music you play for your muse will have a lot do to with what he gives you in return. As a gesture of friendship, I made a tape for my muse a few months ago. I made sure that I included some of his favorite songs. While the choices may seem strange to someone else, he was delighted with the tape. It included everything from Not Fade Away by Buddy Holly, Let The Good Times Roll by Shirley and Lee, Muleskinner Blues by the Fendermen and Smokey, Part II by the Bill Black Combo to Country Pie/Brandenburgh Concerto #6 by the Nice, Been Here and Gone by the Insect Trust, Rider in the Rain by Randy Newman and I Must Be Dreaming by Cat Mother and the All-night Newsboys(with Jay Unger on fiddle. More about muse tapes in the next installment. Jerry |
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