Every year, I hear all kinds of people knocking the month of January. Some say that, now that all the decorations are put away and holiday festivities are wrapped up, January feels dull and bleak and depressing. Others complain that it’s too cold, or that there’s nothing to do. But I think that poor January has gotten a bad rap–because by taking a different perspective on this season’s chilly calm, it’s possible to turn January into a monthlong creative and musical retreat!

I get into this creativity-friendly perspective simply by turning around the wintery subjects I’m tempted to whine about. For example, if my first thought is, “Man, it’s too cold outside to do anything!!” I spin that thought around until it says, “But it’s super-warm indoors. What are some things I can do inside?” (And for a musician, this question has some awesome answers: practice, compose, arrange, harmonize, study, improvise, jam, experiment…and the list goes on!)

Here are 3 more typical January complaints, and how to turn them around to give you a creative boost:

1. “I’m SOOO tired!” – January is quite a dark and gray month in many parts of the country, so it can be a nightmare trying to get out of bed in the morning…or at all. Sometimes it may feel like all we want to do is sleep! But what if we looked at this urge to hibernate as a good thing?

Extra sleep can feel luxurious, especially when we lay aside our worries about what we think we “should” be doing and just rest. When we allow ourselves small luxuries like lazy, carefree relaxation, we contribute to the health of our Inner Artist. And when our Inner Artist is strong and happy, our creative ideas flow more easily!

2. “I’m SO bored; there’s nothing to do!” – After the craziness of the holiday season, adjusting to the calm of January can be very difficult. One great way to turn this complaint around is to view a sparse schedule as a golden opportunity to pursue those things we never seem to have time for. For many freelance musicians, January is a time when nobody’s calling us to play their music. So, we can turn it into a chance to make OUR music! When we start feeling bored or stuck, we can use it as a signal to sit down and work on music we’re passionate about.

3. “Everything looks so depressing, now that all the Christmas lights are down.” – It can be a real drag taking down all the pretty holiday decorations we put up last month. But who says that decorations are only a December thing? We can also have great fun decorating for January! Each year, I make January fun by doing up Summerglen in calm, meditative winter stuff. I only decorate for January once a year, so it’s a special thing that I look forward to. And…changing up our environment can stimulate our brains, bringing us new ideas to bring into our musical lives.

So, how will you make this month a fun and musical time? Best wishes, and happy January!

So, our next three videos will present a challenge for young trombonists–to move away from homework-only practice, and add a healthy dose of solo trombone literature to their sessions. Enjoy!

Our ceiling had an interesting encounter with an unruly tube of glitter glue…

and Buster the Summerglen Bunny came out after class to check out one of our creative projects!

If you’d like to follow our group’s creative experiences throughout our 8-week course, please feel free to visit our Women Embracing Creativity Fan Page on Facebook. You can even join in the fun, and post pictures of your projects or creative adventures!

Last night, we spent some time writing about our new creative selves, definitively introducing our creative consciousness into our lives. Here’s what I wrote:

Today I am fully present in my creative self. I do not fear the future. I’m grateful the past has been my teacher. My creativity is a beacon to those around me, and I am happy and at peace.

This is a super duper intention–not just for this week or this month, but for how I live my life for years to come. I’m amazed at this neat little creativity course. We spend 8 weeks eating, painting, cutting up magazines, drumming, and talking about random subjects, and we leave with some of life’s best gifts: fresh insight into who we are, close connections with other people, open-mindedness, and the strength to get out there and do our thing.

Unfortunately, it can be easy to answer that question with “Sit and drink coffee!” or “Daily movie marathons in our pajamas!” After all, freelance musicians don’t have bosses, and we have nearly complete control over our schedules. But we also have chops to maintain, and a studio to keep healthy, and music that needs making. So the real question is, “How can we enjoy our extra time, while still doing what we need to do for our music?”

So, I’m treating these next couple of weeks as my musician’s transition. I’m going to treat myself well and allow some extra chillout time, but also make sure that I devote plenty of time to practicing and working toward my musical goals.

It’s in the transitional times when structure becomes so vital for creative people, especially musicians with chops to keep up. Structure doesn’t have to mean ironclad, nose-to-the-grindstone discipline–it can be anything the creative person wants it to be! For me, structure in the form of a flexible schedule, or a list of the top 5 things I’d like to do, helps me have fun and relax while still getting things accomplished. Goals and intentions also help a great deal, because they give me something to work toward.

If you’re a marching band clinician, or a marcher yourself, how are you going to make the transition from marching season back into the “real world”? What kinds of structure work best for you?

practicing – IN!!
rehearsing – out
performing – out
stretching my legs and listening to guns n’ roses – in
planning and brainstorming – in
creating a routine and following it – in
occaisionally breaking my routine- very in
business networking – out
teaching – in with ideas, out with energy
book signings – out, out, and more out
playing around with the website – in
hearing live music – in
giving presentations – out
making random lists…IN

So, what are some activities that fill up your creative bank account? What are some things that make you expend your creative energy? And even more important…how can you go about achieving balance each day?

I’ve found that whenever I get out of my normal routine or envrionment, I’m rewarded with new insights, and this week at Band Camp was no exception. I didn’t do anything I normally do, didn’t see anyone I normally see (except Andrew, of course), and the mountain town we stayed in was very different from our sweltering, fairly flat home in Raleigh. Although running a marching band camp zaps your physical energy, it can still be a vacation for your mind–I came home with a brain that was motivated, inspired, and ready to go–and have been writing down ideas all weekend.

SO, to celebrate the joys of idea generation, here are two fun creativity-related things for your reading pleasure:

1. Liz Massey, over at the Creative Liberty blog, was kind enough to interview me about the Women Embracing Creativity book. She did such an excellent job getting behind the scenes of the book, that even I learned something from reading this interview!

2. If you will be in the Raleigh area this fall, I’ve just rolled out plans for our final Women Embracing Creativity course of 2009. The wheels have been turning all summer, and I’m sure this will be our best course run EVER. How could it not be? This run of the course overlaps Halloween! Check it out here.

Next time, I’ll show you what the students did to our car at Band Camp. Until then!