There’s a great quote by Pablo Picasso that goes: “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”   I’m feeling you this week, Picasso. 

Pretty soon here, I’ll be announcing a new project. But until that time, let me just say that I’ve been preparing a fresh batch of tunes.  Last week, I clocked about 8 hours a day at the piano.  Sometimes, the songs came to me in my sleep, and I’d wake up in the middle of the night (I’ve been sleeping next to the piano) to jot them down.  Other times, a melody would haunt me, and the words wouldn’t come until 3 days later when I sat down with my notepad.  And then there were times that my muse would make me spend 7 ½ hours working on a dead end song, only to plop one out of the sky just before I was ready to give up for the day.  Thank heavens I was still at the piano when the song finally came. 

It occurs to me to me that writing a good song is a lot like hunting.  

First let me say that I’m not really a hunter.  But the process of capturing something that is fleeting is something that I fully understand.   I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been out on a drive and seen something incredible, only to find myself without a camera.  Or how many times I’ve seen a great fishing hole and been without my pole.  Or stumbled upon a patch of wild black raspberries with nothing to carry them home in. 

The point is: you can’t catch something without having the tools of your trade handy.  

Whatever your passions and hobbies, it appears that you need to surround yourself with whatever you need to capture it at a moment’s notice.  Unfortunately, I can’t exactly carry my piano inside my purse, so until further notice, you can find me holed away with all 88 keys, ready to catch the falling songs. -Emily Fudd