Creativity Podcast Series- #1 Rob Sweitzer of Mae

 After listening to Will Richardson's podcast with Steve Hargadon I began to think about how the process of creation relates to learning. In the interview, Will describes how blogging should be the result of creative inspiration from reading the ideas of others and then synthesizing your thinking into a blog post.

Not long after I listened to the interview, I had a conversation with Rob Sweitzer, keyboard player for the band Mae, and Rob told me that he had been writing a great deal of music as a result of reviewing some fascinating books he had gotten for Christmas.

The connection  between using the work of others as a springboard for creation gave me the idea of doing a series of podcasts with highly creative people to see if this strategy was common. I also am interested to see if there is anything to learn from this possible connection in reforming education, especially as it relates to digital and media literacy.

Rob Sweitzer Show Notes

1. How important creative inspiration is to writing music.
2. What fuels creative inspiration in music creation.
3. Inspiration comes from viewing photo journalism, musical scores, reading books, periodicals, fun magazines and listening to music and how all of these stoke the ability to explore concepts you want to cover in musical composition.
4. History of Rob joining Mae, a rock band on the Capitol Records label and how changing labels has impacted the band's performance style.
5. Rob's blogging and how that relates to writing music.
6. How blogging has deepened his relationship and understanding of fellow band members.
7. Rob's take on comments and how they impact his writing.
8. Relating the process of music creation to educational reform.
9. How creativity is nurtured in school in terms of brain dominance.
10. Rob shares his personal struggle with how to balance rigor and creativity and how to break free from his preconceived conceptualizations of education as he experienced it and as it could/should be.
11. The effect of globalization on the field of music.
12. How to find out more about Mae.
http://www.whatismae.com/flash.php
13. Rob's realization that it is tough to redesign school as we once knew it. 

Listen to the interview in MP3 format

 

Comments

[John Holland]

"The connection between using the work of others as a springboard for creation gave me the idea of doing a series of podcasts with highly creative people to see if this strategy was common."

WHat a wonderfully cyclical observation. As an artist I have often spent time looking at design and art magazines before attempting a new direction or painting. When I leave the Barnes and Noble I walk outside and see my paintings every where. I think ... why not paint the four lane stoplight? It is aesthetically elegant while being completely utilitatarian AND why not paint the deserted farm in the back ground, the one that will become a shopping center in the next six months?

THis stimulation for my painting is almost like a switch that I can flip. This isn't the case with my teaching. There aren't huindreds of magazines out there to help me be a more creative teacher. I have to rely on my colleagues and the the sad part is, they often aren't very creative. OR, if they are creative it is in such hard to see ways that unless I have an hour to talk with them I can't find out how they are creative.

THis discussion never happens.

Sheryl, your work, the recent "Tough CHoices, TOugh TImes" report even such historical documents as "A Nation at Risk" all say, we need to teach students to be creative. BUt, it's not happening.

Maybe we need to reframe education as one of the creative class professions. The profession would become a much more desirable career if we were to stand it up next to ad designers or architects instead of accountants and engineers. THen maybe we could pull those creative risk takers (who are usually bleeding hearts when they get to college anyway) into the profession.