Brick by brick

on building music and creativity one brick at a time

When my brother and I were kids we had a Humpty Dumpty game. Big blue plastic blocks and a cheerful, chubby Humpty. Build a wall, place Humpty on top, then take turns removing bricks until he falls off. 

These days I talk to my music and creativity students about brick walls quite a lot, but this time it’s all to do with building them instead of knocking them down. 

I tell them to think of whatever they’re creating as a wall they’re building. Slapping bricks together won’t cut it, but choosing to work on individual bricks will. This week’s Creativity Helm newsletter is about building music and creativity one brick at a time, and how agency appears when you choose what to work on and how.