Here’s my suggestion to musicians: When you’re about to reach for whatever musical tools you use, virtual or real, guitar or computer, ask yourself if you’re doing so to save time or because you don’t feel like straining your brain. Or, more important, ask yourself if you have anything to say yet. If not, keep working (or playing) upstairs, in your brain. Sure, it’s okay to react to what happens playing with the tools—the way a chord sounds, a loop, or even an accident. But make sure you express what you wanted to say or what you have imagined. Don’t let your tools make you their bitch.
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