Vocal Improvisation as a Tool for Creativy Enhancement

I've been thinking lately about how to use vocal improvisation to help people become more creative and spontaneous in their lives. So I am working on some workshops for musicians and non-musicians to find the inner depths through making sound through their bodies.

This is by no means a new concept as people have been using sound for a long time to inspire creative thought and even spiritual evolution. Mine is a combination of what I have learned as a jazz improviser, new music/electronic music improviser, and sound healing. I think there is a way to find a "cognitive high" from working with people on this level.

If anyone is interested I will be doing some workshops in Ojai, CA coming up in the future.

It's been awhile since I've blogged...
so much has been going on so thought I'd share some of that with all of you.

Besides singing around my area, working on a couple of books, and coaching I will be doing another Poetry Festival next week. This is the main Poetry Festival that Ojai hosts once a year and this should be quite fun.

I'll be doing my poetry with bass accompaniment that I've been doing for quite a number of years. Started out doing other people's poetry like the great beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti (born on my brother's birthday) and others.

I'm excited to hear some of the other poets in the festival and share in the day of words, imagery, and expression.

Encouraging all of you to find someplace to express yourself and your creativity!

I'll be sharing some more creativity tips and thoughts in the next couple of weeks... maybe some sneak previews of my new book.

OJAI POETRY FESTIVAL BENEFIT

Sharing some of my poetry and songs based on poetry at the Ojai Poetry Festival Benefit today.

I'll post what I will be reading but here's a few samples of what will be heard today:

Eulogy For A Poem
I’ve missed these lonely nights
Where words poured through my soul
Melting icicles that drip with cold thoughts
Longing for beauty as she smiles in consonants
And voraciously laughs in vowels
Typed or written to soothe the anxiety of assimilation
A concept taken for granted as we peer
Through lit screens emancipated by wireless dreams
And roads that travel everywhere and lead us into
Temptation
Aggravation
Accumulation
And occasional satisfaction
Words dripping from desire as the night sleeps on
With an audience of stars that shift directions
Keeping time in a wound up black hole of light
Reflecting back each image as fast as my mind
Can travel
Correcting all the pragmatic punctuation that slips
From coffee stained bookmarks
Homeless from lack of attention
Replaced by digital dialogues dancing on video monitors
Similar to the eye of Cyclops
Staring at my empty poetry portfolio
Begging for attention
Relieved at the sight of one
Squeezed out bloody turnip of a poem
Glistening in the promise of another.
It occurs to me that I am not finished
That I am still alive with Einstein’s belief in
Imagination.

©Ellen Johnson – June 14 2006

This poem is available on the CD "These Days" featuring Sheila Jordan improvising in the background (available at iTunes, CDBaby.com and http://www.SoundVisionsMedia.com)

LITTLE MESSENGER
(For Sheila Jordan)

Little messenger
Singing jazz
As she passes our way
On the wings of blackbirds
That blow bebop changes
While telling Charlie’s stories
Through sagacious Cherokee eyes
Not a surprise
To watch wood and flesh
Inspired by the rhythm of ancient ancestors
Calling from the heart of time
The phrases of truth
Dripping down piano keys
Just to please
The songbird
Who perches on our souls
Spreading her seeds of joy
And love
And hope
While God holds her essence
In the perpetual palm of his spirit
As a gift to humanity.

Ellen Johnson
©2004 Long Snows Moon Music

THE OYSTER AND THE PEARL: What Motivates Us To Create

Featured Article on:
www.creativity-portal.com
as part of their Author Articles Series

Lately, I’ve been thinking about what motivates us to create. I’ve been contemplating why some people can create works of great beauty under great duress. I’ve been wondering why sometimes you feel so motivated and other times you don’t want to do a thing. Recently, I’ve seen a tremendous amount of motivation for people to get involved in our government and creating new organizations and jobs. You’d think after all the disappointment and disillusionment that it would be just the opposite. Instead there is a renewal of energy and enthusiasm to create new ideas out of the old paradigms. Certainly the typical “struggling artist” is known for creating some of their most innovative work in turmoil when in better days their creations very often become mediocre or non-nonexistent.

So what is it about struggle that motivates and reaps its own rewards?

To finish reading the article go to:
http://www.creativity-portal.com/cca/ellen-johnson/what-motivates-us-create.html

SPINNING STRAW INTO GOLD: Creating From Nothing

Featured Article on:
www.creativity-portal.com
as part of their Author Articles Series

When I was a child I remember hearing the story of Rumpelstiltskin, a fairy tale written by the Brothers Grimm. The gist of the story is that a young girl is forced to spin straw into gold for a king because of her bragging father. Of course she cannot, but a small man, perhaps a gnome like character, tells her he will spin the straw if she gives him first a necklace, then her ring and finally her first born child. The young girl marries the King because of her supposed special talent, becomes a Queen, and eventually gets out of the situation of having to give up her first born by guessing the small man’s name. And so the story goes.

I started thinking about “turning straw into gold” and what that means as a creative person. Often we feel as though we are working with straw or we have nothing to offer in our creative lives. That could symbolize a lack of ideas, tools, resources, or even emotional straw. So how do we spin our “straw” or creative energy into gold?

TO FINISH ARTICLE GO TO:
http://www.creativity-portal.com/cca/ellen-johnson/creating-from-nothing.html

FINDING MOTIVATION TO CREATE

Welcome to the New Year 2009.

This is the time of year when everyone is motivated to start something “new”; a new book, a new diet, a new job, a new hobby and on and on. We are highly motivated primarily because we are looking back at the year and thinking, “now why didn’t I do what I wanted to do this last year?”. So we decide not to waste any more time and get started.

As wonderful as that may be it generally lasts about a month and then we loose our motivation, we forget what inspired us, and we lose faith in our dream. There are many good reasons why we don’t accomplish our goals. First of all, we get distracted, or we are overwhelmed with too many goals, or we don’t see quick enough results to keep us interested.

So how do we stay motivated and I might add, focused?

1) Set a realistic goal with a realistic time frame
Be careful not to set yourself up for failure. Choose attainable goals with positive results.

2) Choose your goal with passion
The things we care about the most are the things we will generally accomplish. Choose something because it moves you and not out of guilt. If you really want to lose weight then either do it because there is an emotional reward for you or do it for someone who means something to you. We always tend to be motivated when there is meaning attached to the outcome otherwise the outcome has no meaning.

3) Create a routine that works every day
The best way to succeed with your goal is to make it work into your daily life. Whatever you do don’t just add it to your schedule, make it a part of your life. If you want to learn to play the piano then do a little playing every day. If you are an artist and want to finish those paintings that have been sitting around all last year, then before lunch decide to paint for 30 minutes. Make it a habit. Habits can create a pattern of success when you use them to accomplish positive results.

4) Show up at your designated time frame no matter what happens
Even if you don’t do the entire 30 minutes of painting, show up anyway. Use the time to get ready to paint the next day, to organize your music, to write an outline, etc. The daily practice of showing up to create or fulfill your goal will keep you motivated and establish a commitment to your progress.

5) Don’t measure results, measure emotion
We are all too hard on ourselves. Instead of looking at what you accomplished at your designated time frame, notice how you feel afterwards. The mere idea that you are doing the thing you love is part of the success of your goal. If you are having a difficult time enjoying the process then find one part of the routine that brings you pleasure and make sure you always incorporate that in your daily routine. Build on how good that accomplishment makes you feel.

Coda
Yes, there will be days when you don’t feel as motivated or exhilarated. Find something to remind you of what you can accomplish like a picture of a successful performance, an award, a note from someone you admire, etc. You get it. Those are your personal motivational memories. Use them.

And remember to celebrate your accomplishments too. It’s important to give yourself credit for your successes. Having a reward is motivational too.
Once you get in the habit you will wonder how you ever kept yourself from doing the thing you wanted to in the first place.