Saturday, April 13, 2013

The Uses Of Difficulty

The brain likes a challenge—and putting a few obstacles in its way may well boost its creativity.

Ian Leslie
From INTELLIGENT LIFE magazine, November/December 2012

Jack White, the former frontman of the White Stripes and an influential figure among fellow musicians, likes to make things difficult for himself. He uses cheap guitars that won’t stay in shape or in tune. When performing, he positions his instruments in a way that is deliberately inconvenient, so that switching from guitar to organ mid-song involves a mad dash across the stage. Why? Because he’s on the run from what he describes as a disease that preys on every artist: "ease of use". When making music gets too easy, says White, it becomes harder to make it sing.


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