Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Tip #14-1/2: Embrace your limitations

It seems paradoxical, but when artists are forced to work within severe limitations, it often leads to their best and most memorable works. Artists all know about this phenomenon, and so they often chase down self-imposed constraints, hoping to spur their creativity. For example, an entire album with only voice and ukulele.

When you're under the gun to produce a whole pile of work in a limited time, the deadline is itself a constraint that can spur your creativity. But there's another set of constraints that you should go ahead and adopt in such high-pressure circumstances: the constraints that correspond to your own personal limitations as an artist.

Instead of struggling to overcome your limitations, this is the time to embrace them. Instead of raging against the handicaps that keep you from reaching your goals, choose them as the constraints that define your style.

If you can't play fast to save your life, you can be the artist who does all slow-tempo songs.

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