#172: Creation vs Craft - What We Learned From Rick Rubin's Book "The Creative Act" And Why You Should Read It

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Episode show notes:
I just finished Rick Rubin's book "The Creative Act". A fascinating and very inspiring read that made me want to talk about it on the podcast because there are so many interesting things to discuss and unpack in what he says.

In this episode, I want to highlight one specific, very important concept that is at the heart of the book.

In "The Creative Act", Rubin discusses the phases of any creative project, which he calls the Seed phase, the Experimentation phase, the Craft phase, and the Completion phase.

From working with so many artists, I know that many people find it hard to "plan" art. To follow a process and to be intentional.

I always ask people to tell me why they are making a record, what they want it to sound and feel like, what they are trying to achieve and how they are going to make that happen.

But it's important to understand that not every part of making a record has to be planned. Not every decision needs a "why" behind it, especially not in the early phases.

I realized that the way I used to explain and teach it can easily be misunderstood, so "The Creative Act" provides a perfect opportunity to make this more clear and straightforward.

At every stage of the record-making process there's a bit of both creation and craft involved, so let's have a look at that.

The writing never stops.

As artists, we are constantly inspired by things happening around us, our emotions, stories we hear, people we meet, things we go through, etc.

Just observe, pay attention and capture (the seed)

Then we take these notes and develop them into drafts.

No rules. No limitations. No plan. We create what we feel like creating and let our intuition and inspiration guide us. Whatever comes out becomes the art. Some things will be good, others not so much. We just keep creating and experimenting.

If we separate the craft and creation, we can show up to do either or, focus on the task at hand and will get the most out of both, instead of constantly doing it all at the same time.

Let's discuss!

-Benedikt

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For full show notes go to: https://theselfrecordingband.com/172
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