Learning from other people’s working practises

One of the key principles of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) is that we can learn a lot by looking at how other people who are highly effective function and extracting from that study ideas which we can implement ourselves. This is a really helpful practise. But it can be difficult to do when we are working with people unless they give us access to look at how they work. It can be much easier when we have the opportunity through published diaries or other material. I have been looking at the working practises of 3 musical artists who I admire.  Let’s take a look at them them one at a time:

1. Robert Fripp – has been producing a daily diary which is made available to view online for many years now. Looking at what he says in it, it’s also likely that he has been keeping a diary in some form or another since at least the 1970s. It’s interesting that this generates material for album notes when there are reissues. His diary entries include many photos to illustrate what he is talking about. He also has experimented with cartoons and other formats. And there are also interviews available of him talking about his working methods. There is a substantial interview series which he made with his sister Patricia Fripp too. Learning from all of this: – Fripp is very self-disciplined. He has a structure to his days. Often begins with morning reading. He also practises the Alexander Technique and meditates. He documents what he does as he goes along which is presumably part of the overall discipline to his work. He is creative in a number of different ways, not just musically. For example, he leads Guitar Craft Workshops at least once a year in different parts of the world.
2. Brian Eno – I have been really impressed with Eno’s approaches to creativity since the 70s. I came across his Oblique Strategies cards which he created with Peter Schmidt. I’ve never seen a physical copy, but have seen versions of it online including a tiny programme which generated a random strategy whenever one was needed. These cards are famous for being used in the studio on many albums to shift thinking and create radically different music – from memory I think they were used in the studio with Talking Heads, U2, Coldplay. When working with David Bowie on the album “1: Outside” role playing games were used to create material. The key to a lot of this seems to be to remain playful and light in the approach. Eno also has incredibly diverse interests – including perfumes, built design, the arts, cybernetics and the study of systems.
3. Richard Skelton – I’ve been listening to Skelton’s music for a couple of years. I first heard it on Stuart Maconie’s radio show on 6 Music. His work consists of drone and ambient music combined with artwork, poetry etc. He often uses materials drawn from nature to influence the work. He and his partner have been very skillful at developing an online presence (here and here) and building a following of people to whom they sell new material. I like the remix ideas and the curation techniques he has developed. I’m also very taken with the personal nature of the approach. Hand written with compliment slips inserted in parcels for example. His work is very focused and personal. He has done substantial research for a lot of his written material. One is left with the clear impression that there is so much work done to achieve each product.

Lessons learnt from these three artists:

– documentation of the creative process

– being playful to create the unexpected

– being very focused to take particular approaches as far as one can

– using card decks and other techniques to disrupt thinking

– importance of curation and archive building