Arranging as a Subtractive Process
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Arranging as a Subtractive Process
This is one of the fun parts of a project, because nothing is at stake. You get to play with forms and see what takes shape. There are no rules. Cultivation will look different for every artist and every seed.
Rick Rubin • The Creative Act: A Way of Being
Another challenge we might call demo-itis. Demo-itis happens when the artist has clung too tightly, for too long, to their first draft. The danger of living with the unfinished project for too long is that the more often an artist is exposed to a particular draft of a work, the more final that form can become in their mind. A musician might record
... See moreRick Rubin • The Creative Act: A Way of Being: The Sunday Times bestseller
Sometimes the process of thinking looks like needless chaos from the outside
But thats what creatives should be doing.
Banging on random objects just to see what it might shake out.
Creatives need to make a mess in order to arrive at clarity.
If you reach a section of the work that gives you trouble, instead of letting this blockage stop you, work around it. Although your instinct may be to create sequentially, bypass the section where you’re stuck, complete the other parts, then come back to it.
Rick Rubin • The Creative Act: A Way of Being: The Sunday Times bestseller
To summarize: quickly, roughly decide what needs to be moved and where it needs to go . Only use physical paper (or Apple Notes). Over time you’ll train your intuition to naturally focus on what really matters.