The Rough and Tumble

Well… I have a confession.  My blog is late today, because I chose to be an irresponsible student and to spend my night at Muggswigz seeing The Rough and Tumble, an Indie Folk band.  I hadn’t planned on going, but after listening to them at a song-writing workshop this morning I couldn’t resist. 

Mallory, a Malone graduate, and her friend Scott spent some time talking to us about their experience becoming a band, and writing songs together. 

One thing they expressed was that it’s easy to get artistically frustrated, something I know I can relate to.  Right now, as a college student, it’s hard to write for me.  It’s hard to just sit down and commit myself to working on a piece, even if I care about it immensely.  It’s hard to produce something and feel like it even matters that I took the time to create it.  Hearing two established musicians relate to that experience was indescribably encouraging.  Mallory said at one point “Everything you’re doing right now looks like a really big deal, and it is.”  It’s important to work hard and push yourself to learn because it builds you into an artist.

 

They also talked about the concept of criticism, and how it can be healthy, and also really difficult to take.  “We’re fragile people, and we play fragile instruments…” they told us.  “People are fragile, and so are the ideas they have.”  Even though other people’s opinion can be invaluable, at the end of the day you’re both your worst critic, and yet you’re the only one that really matters.  That’s why you need to learn to be a healthy critic of yourself.  Over time you will develop an artistic instinct that goes beyond just what’s good and what’s not. Discernment comes when you’re really aware of who you are, and why you need to write. 

The keys here, I think, are experience and dedication.  Good art doesn't just appear magically.  It costs hours of sleep and sanity, and it might cause you to miss a due date.  But, as Mallory said “You have to do whatever you’re trying to do now, and do it really hard or just stop doing it.”  I was challenged to keep making time for my writing, with hopes that someday I’ll be able to look back and be glad that I did.

Muggswigz