
It's helpful to think of projects in a couple of ways: one organic, one structured.

A grapevine doesn't bear its fruit right away. The garden is a messy place where plants can come and go. Some bloom before others. Make a dish with what's on hand.

The Kitchen, however, is where those fruits need to be pulled together to make a dish. After seeing what has grown, a meal can be decided on, additional ingredients picked up from the grocer, and so on.

You see what I'm trying to say here?

It's good in your practice to have a garden. To let the organic nature flow through what you're doing. Let curiosity lead, and allow yourself failures and dead ends. Don't feel too tied to any project.

Then, take a set time to give shape to your work. See what's gained traction and what's ready to be harvested. From there, you can start dicing tomatoes, peeling carrots, and boiling potatoes. There's a goal and a structure here. Though, it's all the more delishish because the dish is cooked with fresh, homegrown ingredients.

The other approach is to pick a recipe, go to the store, and buy the necessary ingredients. Sometimes, that's what you have to do. It's purely goal-oriented, without the spontaneity of what's in season.

So pull from the garden. See what ripens next for your kitchen.


The Garden and The Kitchen

Make What Only You Can

Fantasy at Work


[Dave Rupert shared last year](https://daverupert.com/2022/09/shigeru-miyamoto-secret-to-success/) this amazing resource of translated video game magazines — [Schmuplations](https://shmuplations.com/).

Dave's post highlights some great connections between game development and Miyamoto's advice for success in the game industry. I did more digging and also enjoyed this Miyamoto quote from [the same article](https://shmuplations.com/success1989/):

**What advice do you have for aspiring game designers?**

> No matter what your creative field, you should try to find a job that offers you many chances to realize own potential.
>
> Before that, though, I think it’s important to refine your own sensibilities. 10 years from now, games will have changed. It won’t just be the same style of games you see today. If all you do is mimic what exists now, it will be difficult for you to create anything in the future.
>
> I know it’s a cliche, but I think aspiring designers should follow where their curiosity leads, and try to accumulate as many different experiences as possible.

Another vote for following curiosity. Video games were (and still are?!) a young medium, so it's practically a necessity to be looking outside of games for inspiration from the world. There's simply more out there.

I'm excited to keep [digging through the crates](https://www.robinsloan.com/lab/new-avenues/#crates) on this site! Here are a few more of my favorite snippets, [this time from Beep Magazine's Game Music Round Table Interview](https://shmuplations.com/gamemusic1986/):

**What’s the secret to success in the game industry?**

> I hope this doesn’t come off wrong, but I don’t really remember trying super hard. One day I looked up and noticed things were going pretty well. Of course, I’ve been very blessed to have talented people and teachers around me. So I would probably have to say I didn’t really try super hard to get where I am… it just happened naturally.

A vote for effortlessness. It's what's easy and natural that we end up excelling at, and so, opportunities open. A nice counter to the notion that all that's worthwhile is on the other side of hard work alone.

A couple more on breaking into games. I don't ultimately see myself in games, but it's fun to see how musicians made it in way back when!

**What advice do you have for aspiring game designers?**

> At present there are two in-roads to working in game music. The first is to join a game development company. For that it’s helpful to go to a 4-year college, and all the better if it’s a music school. The other way would be to gain some notoriety as a composer first, perhaps in a rock band or something, but basically if you can build a reputation in the music industry as a player, composer, or arranger, you might end up getting commissioned for this sort of work. Whichever path you choose, having that can-do spirit of “I want to write music no matter what!!” is important. If you can carry that passion with you wherever you go, and sustain it, I think nothing will serve you better.

Just an interesting perspective that still feels true. Though, in the indie world these days, it helps to have another skill to bring to the table: art, development, story writing, etc.

Here's that counter point from Mieko Ishikawa, composer for the Ys series:

> For those who want to write video game music, I think knowing a bit of computer programming is a big advantage. There’s lots of people out there who can write songs, but if that’s your only talent, I think it will be rough-going in this industry.

Seems like good advice for creative work in general. Go all in on trying to make it on your art alone, and then pick up auxiliary skills to sustain your creative work.


Creative Insights from Miyamoto and Game Composers


Having been a teacher and, generally, someone who places a high value on exploring the world through learning, I end up reading a [few books on education](/books2022).

I'm only _just_ coming across Seth Godin's [Stop Stealing Dreams](https://seths.blog/2014/09/the-shameful-fraud-of-sorting-for-youth-meritocracy/), a manifesto on education. It also happens to be about the values in our society, but education is the driver.

The [illustrated version](https://static.altmba.com/share/Stop_Stealing_Dreams_altMBA_200506.pdf) is beautifully done. Here are my favorite points from first glance:

> **33. Who Will Teach Bravery?** The essence of the connection revolution is that it rewards those who connect, stand out, and take what feels like a chance. Can risk-taking be taught? Of course it can. It gets taught by mentors, by parents, by great music teachers, and by life.

> **44. Defining The Role of A Teacher.** Teaching is no longer about delivering facts that are unavailable in any other format... What we do need is someone to persuade us that we want to learn those things, to push us or encourage us or create a space where want to learn to do them better.

> **56. 1000 Hours.** Over the last three years, Jeremy Gleigh... has devoted precisely an hour a day to learning something new and unassigned...This is a rare choice...Someone actually choosing to become a polymath, signing himself up to get a little smarter on a new topic every single day... The only barrier to learning for most young adults in the developed world is now merely the decision to learn.

If you've been in music, likely you've had an instructor teach bravery. Sometimes it's the director that encourages you to give it one more try. Or the drum tech that's not giving up on a section of percussionists struggling with a tricky passage. Or the private teacher that so wholly embodies their instrument and the musicianship of a piece. So much so that it's impossible to resist the allure of striving for that sense of awe and wonder in our own musicianship.

Those teachers have also created environments where students can be fully immersed in a world of music, no matter how big or small. It's what makes classroom band more special in my mind than solely taking private lessons - you can't beat a thriving community of learners where you're playing a unique role in the musical process. Every band needs a kid on tuba and another on flute playing together.

A somewhat disappointing truth is that many students that graduate high school, having played an instrument for 7 years at that point, don't pick it up again. I think there's a missed opportunity - leading with greater creativity and exploration in the classroom. I'm sure Seth explores those ideas in the book as well.

On the other hand, though, it's still one of the best vehicles for learning resourcefulness that we have. To the last point I've quoted - all the musicians I know have absolutely _no problem_ applying creativity, persistence, and bravery in their endeavors beyond the instrument. I have musician friends who are also photographers, who knit, work with aquaponics, code for fun, mountain climb, and write novels. Many of my colleagues are now master teachers. A significant number of them _also_ have skillfully transitioned into roles in tech, finance, health, marketing, entrepreneurship, and sales.

The vision of the once young musician grows beyond music, beyond the self, beyond a local tribe to a larger community and a greater opportunity for contribution and the wonderful lives that support that.

In that case, music education is doing exactly what I think it is uniquely best at: Expanding Dreams.


Music Teachers Expand Dreams


Miranda and I drew camels and snails while listening to [Arooj Aftab](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRZ98HX1MO8&ab_channel=AroojAftab) this week! 🐌 🐫

![We did do this on hump day, actually!](https://padilla-media.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/art/sketches-2023-03-19.jpg)

![It all happened so fast.](https://padilla-media.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/art/sketches-2023-03-19-2.jpg)

![Who's a good boy?](https://padilla-media.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/art/sketches-2023-03-19-3.jpg)


Chris Padilla/Blog

On This Day