The LyPhyS Music Blog

So you go to distribute your music or post to a new platform and there it is: the genre drop down pick list. (Insert dramatic organ music here.) You have to choose a genre or two or three (maybe even a sub-genre). Ack! "But I don't fit any of these!!!" you might be thinking. Or perhaps you are offended that you should even have to choose. Why should you give anyone any expectation as to what they are getting into? Why should you pigeonhole yourself for the sake of search functions? You're original right? You're you! Here's the thing: if you think you want to distribute your music across streaming platforms, catch the eye (and ear) of bigger bloggers and reviewers, or are hoping for radio play in the future, you need to categorize your sound. Getting people to listen often means giving them a reason to click that play button. Would you buy a box of snacks with an odd name, no ingredients, and no indication of type of snack? Are they corn chips or peanut butter...

It can range from “writers block” on a specific project to a general funk / slow down to a total creative burn out. And no matter how energized you may be one day, there will come a time where you feel it, whether it’s on a project or overall. Don’t panic! I’ve been there. Often after I’ve run myself ragged or I get stuck in a boring routine otherwise. Here are, in no particular order, some of the ways I deal with that inevitable creative rut. Switch gears: By this I mean work on a different project. For me, I can work on another song or start a collaboration. This is most useful, of course, when a particular project is giving me grief. That song may just need more time or a different frame of mind and will be all the better for what you learn while working on a different song. Pick up a brush! Or a pencil, a crochet hook, some clay, a camera, etc. Many musicians have other artistic talents and hobbies that keep their creative wheels greased. And sometimes I have to remind myself t...

This is a post about stretching your ears and mind to accept and enjoy more types of music. Music is forever changing from musicians learning about and fusing other genres, with new technologies in instruments and recording, and the experimental nature of many artists. That being said, I have had far too many conversations where a person tells me they just don’t enjoy anything “too different.” Too different from what? A little prodding reveals they mean different from the standard offerings. Music didn’t come into being as rock, pop, country, blues, jazz, etc. It evolved into those genres and multiple variations of each over time. So what’s too different? And if you are reading this and wonder how you are supposed to find that new and changing music before it is so ingrained as to be on the radio, this is for you. First, go out and look for it. Internet radio and interactive streaming were my windows to the world in college. I found sites (similar to Jango) where I would type in an a...