Becoming a mad scientist

The importance of "Mad Scientist Syndrome"

Okay, I know that the title above is the item that appears last on the title of the actual blog post, but I don't care. That's the wonderful thing about having your own blog :D

That being said, I have something to say about productivity. As most people know, this is just a fancy word for "getting things done." All jobs, careers, duties, tasks, etc., whether it's writing a report, cleaning a toilet, repairing a pressure system on the International Space Station, wiping the snot off your 3-year-old's nose, or writing a symphony -- all of these "tasks" require productivity. If they didn't require productivity, they wouldn't be tasks.

Needless to say, composing and creating music is no exception to this. Different types of tasks also require different time frames, and this is where the "Mad Scientist Syndrome" plays a key role.

How long does it take to clean a toilet? Twenty minutes? That's not a particularly long time. But how long does it take to write a symphony?

The writing of a symphony, or any other task that requires a similar amount of effort (as well as training and talent) is one that obviously calls for a longer time frame. Jobs that require these lengthy time frames are the ones that require the Mad Scientist mentality. Wiping your kid's nose is easily done by dropping what you're doing and just doing it quickly. "Drop everything and just do it" can be tricky to pull off, however, when the task involves writing an opera, building a house from scratch, starting a business, sculpting a statue, or designing the blueprint for a new shopping mall. When it comes to lengthy tasks like these, where do you start? "Just drop everything and do it real quick" isn't a realistic answer, but "Drop everything and just start," is. Why not start now? It may take you three months, three years, or more than a decade, but there's no better time than the present.


If a tree fell in the woods...

No, I am not asking that old question about whether a tree makes a sound if it falls when no one's there to hear it. (This is an easy question, by the way: Yes, it makes a sound. It creates sound waves. The sound waves are still there, even if nobody is there to detect the them -- it's not exactly rocket science). What I do want to accomplish, however, is making a connection between a fallen tree and this Mad Scientist syndrome I mentioned.

In 1997 I worked at a private resort near Santa Cruz, where my job was to maintain and clean cabins for the guests. I remember on one of the days that I worked there when a tree had fallen over unexpectedly, and as a result the landscapers had to run out with chainsaws and spend a day and a half sawing up the tree and removing it, so that it wouldn't block the trails. I don't know why, but I distinctly remember talking to one of the landscapers.

"At least you're getting your exercise," I told him jokingly.

"Yeah," he replied. "Well, I was going to clean the pool, organize the shed, check up on the electrical, clean the gutters, AND take a trip to the city dump. But instead, THIS tree here just had to fall over, so we've gotta spend all day taking care of that instead."

Just like the fallen tree incident that day, there are some tasks that suddenly become necessary because of an unexpected event, and if the needed task is something that requires nearly all of your attention, and/or is overwhelming and time-consuming, then often times everything else has to be dropped.

This was similar to what happened when I decided to take on the task of making a 15-minute slideshow for my aunt and uncle of their trip to Antarctica -- and yes, I was like a mad scientist, wrapped up in the work and the recordings, even forgetting to eat lunch. I was like that landscaper guy who had to "drop everything" and get it done -- you get lost in the work and feel energized because there's so much to do and somewhat of a sense of urgency.

This mad scientist mentality is healthy, in my opinion, because it helps to maximize quality. I've seen a lot of people get into this mindset and thrive on it. When it comes to music, musicians and composers should try and get into this frame of mind when they're creating something. I had quite a few other things on my plate that I knew I had to get to, so I didn't spend quite as much time on the Antarctica project as I wanted, but I finished it nevertheless. Agreeing to take on that project was a lot like being a landscaper and having to deal with a fallen tree unexpectedly; I had to drop everything and focus on just that.




More Time Needed for the Album

The recording project August In Bloom, my next piano CD, is taking up so much more time than I anticipated that for a few days (or maybe a week or so) I was feeling frustrated and discouraged. I realized, however, that this feeling of pressure and angst was because of the deadline I had set for myself (April 29th). The recording process has not only been time-consuming, but it has been a series of experiments. I ended up upgrading my software, which in turn required me to buy a new (better) computer, which in turn also required me to install and learn how to use the new software. Basically it has ended up with me spending more time doing sound and recording tests rather than recording the actual tracks. So I submitted a request to myself and asked myself permission if it was okay to extend my own deadline, and I told myself "damn you Thor, what's your excuse this time?" and after explaining to myself how I wanted to find the right sound, I granted myself the extension. This clearly took a lot of convincing ;)

The background tracks (strings, percussion, etc.) are being included in most songs, so this also requires more of my time. There is no rest for the Mad Scientist.