DJ Chimney Sparrow

1000+ Hours!

It’s official: I’m 10% of the way towards my “mastery” goal of 10,000 hours in the music industry.

I can safely say I’ve never put so much intentional time into a meaningful goal I’ve set for myself. This is new ground, which is both scary and exciting.

To commemorate the occasion, I thought I’d take stock of my journey – what’s changed, where I thought I’d be compared to where I am, etc.

Like most artists, I worry about finances a lot. One of my worst fears is of running out of money, not being able to support my wife, and us ultimately having to return home to Toronto. In my mind, that would make me a “failure”.

But what does it mean to fail anyway? Is it the same for each person? Does it mean we don’t succeed at one endeavour, or ALL endeavours? Is that even possible? What’s the difference between failing and being a “failure”?

I won’t pretend to have the answers to these questions. BUT I gots plenty of opinions! Let’s dive in!

My Daily Routine

I’ve often struggled with finding a consistent pattern of starting my day. It bothered me, because I’ve heard of how many successful people use it as a way to jumpstart their day. And it makes intuitive sense: To create a consistently focused mind space, prep it for the day in a consistent way.

Recently however, I think I’ve hit on something that works. Here’s how it goes.

Benchpress Your MIND

I’ve been taking up daily guided meditations lately, through this helpful app called Brightmind – the first 8 sessions are free, check them out!

One thing I really like about the Brightmind approach is they keep it simple, while organizing their meditations around various approaches, like reducing stress, improving sleep quality – important stuff like that.

As someone with ADD, I’m often frustrated with the typical sit-still-and-focus-on-your-breath strategy. But the directional approach really works for me.. And maybe for you too?

Smoke and Mirrors

This morning, I woke up around 6:30am. Anxiety levels were high, and I found worries of the future drifting through my brain. My sleep, as far as the morning was concerned anyway, was finished.

Fears like this can be the worst, because they can paralyze you, while screaming that you have to act, to do something to save yourself.

That may sound dramatic, but as someone who suffers from chronic anxiety, I can tell you, it’s quite appropriate.

Want Some Humble Pie With ‘dem Samples?

I’ve recently come out of a bit of a rough patch – sky-high anxiety levels, low energy, all that fun stuff. This put me behind on my writing, so I thought I’d quickly share what I learned from the experience.

So, I’m a big fan of fantasy – was raised on the Dragonlance series growing up – and a big D&D enthusiast. So I figured, hey, I can make some fantasy music, and combine it with the dance-y tracks I’ve been making!

And since I’ve been adverse to using samples or presets, I thought I could learn to create the orchestral sounds from scratch, and learn more about sound design in the bargain.

Well, that may have been biting off a teensy bit more than I could chew.

So… I Might Have F**ked Up

Man, it’s been a hard week.

My latest track, “Steam-Powered Knight”, has been kicking my a**. Lots of new instruments to learn how to reproduce and arrange, and sometimes the inspiration just hasn’t been there.

I’m coming out the other end, thankfully, and just finished my first fully productive day since my mood dipped. What I wanted to share however, was a few things I learned hearing about the struggles of another dancer and blogger, The Girl With the Tree Tattoo. You can check out her article here.

What hit me wasn’t what she was going through, and it wasn’t even how she got through it. It was why she wrote it, and her concerns about doing so. And it’s made me take a hard look at myself.

If You Think You Hear It, It’s Enough

Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods.
Robert H. Schuller

I try to get my most creative work done first.

Later in the day, when I start getting tired, and/or my mood tips towards the melancholy, I tend to focus on broader strokes – making small arrangement changes, a fader here, a riser there.

But the process of making something new, or of fine-tuning a sound at the edge of my ability, is something I think we can only do when we are in a state of positivity and mental clarity. You might say it’s mood-dependent.

Things to Know When Buying a Microphone

Previously, I wrote an article talking about the preliminary research I conducted before purchasing my first mic, the Rode N1-USB.

Since then, I’ve done a LOT more research, trying to understand all the different parts of mics, how they work together, and – most usefully – what manufacturers mean when talking about terms like impedance, sound pressure levels, transient responses, and so on.

If you’re just wanting to know the basics, like the most common types of microphones and their polar patterns (read: how they pick up the sound around them), check that article above. But if you’re ready to take a deep dive into the nuts ‘n bolts of studio microphones, strap yourselves in!

Have fun, that’s an order!

I am writing this for the people who would naturally like their work, were it not for pressing deadlines, frustrations over audio quality, and the million other things that get in the way of enjoying the process as an artist.

Years ago, I created an online dance instructional website, with the aim to sell subscriptions and supplement my meagre income. I had a good idea, a partner who was willing to help me film the lessons (my wife), a good camera, and a dream.

It was helluva fun.