027: If A Tree Falls

Call him Herman. Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - Herman was known as a writer, ‘was’ being the key word. After his latest manuscript Isle Of The Cross was rejected (and since lost) he gave up writing as a career. The downfall started a few years earlier with the release of his sixth novel, it was a commercial failure and garnered negative reviews. Forty years later, at the time of his death he was a forgotten figure.

We’ll get back to Herman later though.

If a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound? It’s a classic thought experiment that can get the inner philosopher going down many different paths. My reaction to this question has always been - does it matter? Focusing on the moment a tree drops to the ground, and the amount of noise it makes at the time, misses what is actually important about the event. I’ve watched enough NatGeo documentaries to know that when a tree falls in the forest the effects can be far reaching. It provides a habitat for many other creatures and organisms. As it decomposes it provides nutrients to the soil to help everything around it grow. The forest wouldn’t survive without the long term impact of the fallen trees - the sound it makes at the time is irrelevant. 

But let’s be honest. There is something exciting about a huge tree crashing to the ground, it gets the heart racing, it can capture our attention - for the short term. There is nothing exciting, nothing glamorous about a tree laying on the forest floor - the process of building a healthy forest is a slow one. 

OK - enough with the tree metaphors. Let’s talk music.

What is the current project you are working on? More importantly what is your goal, your purpose, in releasing it to the world? Whatever it is, make sure you don’t rush the project just to get it out. In the digital age we’ve come to value quantity over quality. We think that the more we put out, the more noise we make, the more success we’ll have. When we rush to release, the creation process is the first to go. Less time is spent on each song, they aren’t given the time they need to develop and mature. Are you trying to make noise, or are you trying to create a forest - something that will long outlast you.

Back to our friend Herman. In 1924, over 30 years after his death, a manuscript for a short novel he left behind was published. This novel revived interest in his writing and all his previous work. Within the decade his place in literary history was cemented and his 1851 novel is often cited as one of the Great American Novels. That of course was his sixth novel, ‘Moby Dick’.

The story of Herman Melville shows that you never really know what will connect with people, or when it will connect. But if you put all your effort into creating the work you want to create, the work you truly value, it can truly have a lasting impact. Creating big trees that have a large impact can take time - the upside is the sound they make is huge, much bigger than a bunch of little trees dropping every now and then.

~ Steve