I once went through your books Mason and compared the rituals of all the men to the rituals of all the women (I actually gave a talk about it at a creative workshop. Thanks for the material!). For the most part, the men follow a very Metheny-like regimented productivity (Stephen King’s 4000 words every day, Victor Hugo’s daily discipline) while the women follow a much more “when inspiration strikes” mentality (Agatha Christie’s “I work when my husband travels,” Gertrude Stein’s “I work when I find the right setting.”) As artists, it’s easy for us to read stories like Metheny’s and say success is all about the work, but just as often it’s all about the inspiration!
Your work has inspired me, and reminded me that there’s no one way to reach success as an artist, for years. I’ve turned to those books time and time again whenever I need to remind myself that there are artists doing things just like me. Becoming a paid patron was a very easy subscribe!!! Thank you so much for all your work!!!
I am a huge Metheny fan and have been for about 35 years. I knew of his abstaining from drugs & alcohol. But I was unaware of this obsessive productivity regiment. Makes sense as he releases a new recording every year, often being something that is vastly different than the previous year.
I have at least 30 Pat Metheny CDs. And to my ear, there is not a bad Metheny album. I'm constantly on the hunt-down for ones I've missed.
The last 5 min of my morning completely opened up by reading this fascinating piece. Thank you for it and thank you for your paid subscription notice. I'm about to do the same and completely horrified. I will now go and subscribe so I won't miss a story by you!
Okay, so this thing with Mr. Metheny is SO FASCINATING—that line between being joyfully disciplined/motivated and being compulsive. I guess the way the difference is, does the person have a choice?
I don't care how good your work is, I don't think you can real contribute anything good to society in the long run if you're treating yourself with anything other than kindness and respect. But from the outside, there's really no way to tell what's going on.
Also: Very happy to have this cheapie subscription option. Mason, it'd be great if could do a post outlining the results of this experiment, if you're inclined to share. :)
Loved this last one Pat Metheny!! I’m a fan of his work and often listen to his music in my studio. As an artist mother I couldn’t possibly dedicate a focused 8 hours to my artistic practice, but I so appreciate the struggle for work/life balance. Looking forward to the next newsletter. Thank you for your work!!
That is compulsive, but we each have to find our own way. I get tired easily, and then everything stops, so I need a more gentle approach. I'm really interested in your next newsletter "Pushing yourself vs. letting things come to you" - that truly is an eternal dilemma.
Wow, this is incredible. I love how he acknowledges the line between dedication and compulsion — and doesn't seem to mind crossing back and forth over it. I love this.
Pat Metheny's compulsive productivity
I once went through your books Mason and compared the rituals of all the men to the rituals of all the women (I actually gave a talk about it at a creative workshop. Thanks for the material!). For the most part, the men follow a very Metheny-like regimented productivity (Stephen King’s 4000 words every day, Victor Hugo’s daily discipline) while the women follow a much more “when inspiration strikes” mentality (Agatha Christie’s “I work when my husband travels,” Gertrude Stein’s “I work when I find the right setting.”) As artists, it’s easy for us to read stories like Metheny’s and say success is all about the work, but just as often it’s all about the inspiration!
Your work has inspired me, and reminded me that there’s no one way to reach success as an artist, for years. I’ve turned to those books time and time again whenever I need to remind myself that there are artists doing things just like me. Becoming a paid patron was a very easy subscribe!!! Thank you so much for all your work!!!
I am a huge Metheny fan and have been for about 35 years. I knew of his abstaining from drugs & alcohol. But I was unaware of this obsessive productivity regiment. Makes sense as he releases a new recording every year, often being something that is vastly different than the previous year.
I have at least 30 Pat Metheny CDs. And to my ear, there is not a bad Metheny album. I'm constantly on the hunt-down for ones I've missed.
The last 5 min of my morning completely opened up by reading this fascinating piece. Thank you for it and thank you for your paid subscription notice. I'm about to do the same and completely horrified. I will now go and subscribe so I won't miss a story by you!
Have just bought my annual subscription & good on you for the donation towards 🇺🇦🌻
Okay, so this thing with Mr. Metheny is SO FASCINATING—that line between being joyfully disciplined/motivated and being compulsive. I guess the way the difference is, does the person have a choice?
I don't care how good your work is, I don't think you can real contribute anything good to society in the long run if you're treating yourself with anything other than kindness and respect. But from the outside, there's really no way to tell what's going on.
Also: Very happy to have this cheapie subscription option. Mason, it'd be great if could do a post outlining the results of this experiment, if you're inclined to share. :)
Loved this last one Pat Metheny!! I’m a fan of his work and often listen to his music in my studio. As an artist mother I couldn’t possibly dedicate a focused 8 hours to my artistic practice, but I so appreciate the struggle for work/life balance. Looking forward to the next newsletter. Thank you for your work!!
That is compulsive, but we each have to find our own way. I get tired easily, and then everything stops, so I need a more gentle approach. I'm really interested in your next newsletter "Pushing yourself vs. letting things come to you" - that truly is an eternal dilemma.
Wow, this is incredible. I love how he acknowledges the line between dedication and compulsion — and doesn't seem to mind crossing back and forth over it. I love this.
I'm a paid subscriber but I keep being told I'm getting the free version & asked to subscribe. ???