The magic tube!

or how a simple tool can make all the difference to how we negotiate creating something

A year ago I had a brainwave 🧠

I needed something to help my music students learn how to be strategic when practicing, how to focus on what needed the work instead of just playing or singing from beginning to end, over and over again.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you…the Magic Tube! 🪄✨

Okay, it’s just the cardboard tube from a roll of kitchen towel that I’ve covered in pretty wrapping paper. But let me tell you that this tube really does have magical powers.

Hold it up to one eye and you can isolate the bit of music you need to work on next. Whether an entire line or just a few nots, the magic tube has an uncanny knack for helping someone look at the music in a new light.

The same goes for anything creative.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed by an idea or stuck, or find ourselves in an endless loop that goes nowhere.

But finding a way to zoom in or find a different view is really magic. It’s like focusing on a single puzzle piece at a time, and then putting it back to see how it works with all the rest.

The creative process can often be overwhelming. But not if you’re able to give yourself permission to step back and work ‘small’, which paradoxically is what can make the ‘big’ progress happen.