How you write your best music

Musician One

I know a musician who hates material objects.  Everything he carries with him is a burden.  Besides the obvious problem of weight, most objects are also a connection to another place or person or time in his life.  And those connections, which beget other connections, hold him down.  They make it harder for him to breathe.

He needs just two things to feel free.  The first is psychological.  He needs to know that he can leave at any moment, from anywhere.  The second is material – the only material object he cares about.  His guitar.  Because it holds the keys to his heart and soul – the songs he’s written and carried with him all these years.  And the songs he has yet to write.

Musician Two

I know another musician who isn’t like that at all.  He feels burdened by the possibility of missing out – of not having the people and things in his life that help him make music.  Because without friends and family, and all the latest sounds, gadgets, and instruments, he can’t keep in touch.  He can’t breathe.

He also needs just two things to feel free.  The first is material.  A house filled with loving people and familiar things – all essential for keeping him connected and sane.  The second is psychological.  A temporary escape.  Because every now and then he feels like he needs some air.  So he escapes to his porch to think and be.

Best Music

Musician One writes his best music while breathing anywhere with his guitar.  Musician Two writes his best music while breathing at home on his porch.

How and where do you write your best music?  (Use ‘music’ as a metaphor for whatever your passion is.)