Philip's Field Of Fog

One of the best analogies for the experience of song writing I’ve heard came from modern classical music composer Philip Glass.

In the doco “GLASS: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts”, he invokes the scene of looking out your window into a field of fog. At first, you can’t see anything. And then slowly, you sense something in the mist that catches your eye. You follow that impulse. It disappears and reappears intermittently.

Slowly, the fog lifts and reveals more and more of the scenery. As it does, you go to work expressing it in your own musical terms.

The moment I heard this, it resonated immediately. The mystery of what is behind a creative impulse can rarely be rushed or hurried. The surest way to lose the creative moment is to grasp at it for the final resolution. It’s a state of patience and connection to the present flow of creative unfolding that more readily leads to the full revelation of the scene.

GLASS: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts

You can watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhNOt8F1ECs

Watch the full film here: https://vivaverve.com/film/glass-a-portrait-of-philip-in-twelve-parts/

I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

What do you think of this analogy for songwriting? Do you have any of your own you'd like to share? Leave us a comment below to join the conversation.

Big love,

Mijo

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