{"id":2184,"date":"2026-02-20T13:30:55","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creativityhelm.com\/?p=2184"},"modified":"2026-02-20T13:34:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:34:55","slug":"too-many-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativityhelm.com\/?p=2184","title":{"rendered":"Too many notes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">what creativity looks like before it&#8217;s finished<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have a habit of playing far too many notes when I first sit down to create something at the piano.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They spill from my fingers, float up into the air, fall into my lap like crumbs, threatening to flow out of the music room door and down the stairs into the kitchen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The urge to fill every gap is strong, as if more notes mean more certainty, as if I can control the outcome simply by adding enough.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even as I&#8217;m doing this I know it&#8217;s too crowded, but I also know this is just part of the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I know I\u2019m getting close when the music can breathe, and so can I. This week&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/open.substack.com\/pub\/katepainecreativityhelm\/p\/too-many-notes?r=1entx5&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;showWelcomeOnShare=true\">Creativity Helm newsletter <\/a>is about what creativity looks like before it&#8217;s finished.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-opt-id=1412065401  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/mlalw4dkwpur.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:726\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/creativityhelm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Creativity-Blog-3-2.jpg\" alt=\"what creativity looks like before it's finished\" class=\"wp-image-2185\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mlalw4dkwpur.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:726\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/creativityhelm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Creativity-Blog-3-2.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlalw4dkwpur.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:213\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/creativityhelm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Creativity-Blog-3-2.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlalw4dkwpur.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:545\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/creativityhelm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Creativity-Blog-3-2.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mlalw4dkwpur.i.optimole.com\/w:1521\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/creativityhelm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Creativity-Blog-3-2.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/mlalw4dkwpur.i.optimole.com\/w:1522\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/creativityhelm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Creativity-Blog-3-2.jpg 1748w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>what creativity looks like before it&#8217;s finished I have a habit of playing far too many notes when I first sit down to create something at the piano.&nbsp; They spill from my fingers, float up into the air, fall into my lap like crumbs, threatening to flow out of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,15],"tags":[28,80],"class_list":["post-2184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-creative-mindset","category-creative-process","tag-getting-started","tag-messy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - 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