Having played the piano most of my life I only started composing when I started spontaneously dropping by the music practice rooms at UC Berkeley in the middle of the day. Without any music I was practically forced to start making things up. Every now and then it’s new and nice. You can listen to a few short piano pieces on youtube.

I strongly believe in this as advice, but it does presuppose years of copying and playing others’ music as well as the basics of music theory. Replicate, then innovate

Want to compose? Just sit down without any music

I know about Third Places thanks to Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam, and Mr Schultz was serious about it when starting Starbucks. Believe the original concept is from Ray Oldenburg.

The Third Place

Next time you arrive at a bar in a big group, resist the urge to go find a seat straight away.

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Stand, don’t sit, in bars, if you’re there with a big group