Category Archives: Creativity

Creating in all areas, the creative process, creative problem-solving.

John Fahey: A Tribute

Posted on July 26, 2014 by fretgenie

I first heard John Fahey‘s solo acoustic guitar playing on an album when I was a teenager. I liked his strange, minimalist, visually and emotionally evocative instrumental compositions, performed in open tunings in an alternating-bass fingerpicking style. I found his … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creativity, Culture, Guitar, History, Music, Music business, Recording and producing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The 20th anniversary of my instructional video

Posted on March 26, 2014 by fretgenie

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of my 1994 instructional video, The Guitar of Preston Reed: Expanding the Realm of Acoustic Playing on Homespun Tapes. (I can’t believe it’s been twenty years!) In the late 1980’s I … Continue reading →

Posted in Composing, Creativity, Guitar, Learning, Music | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Let’s get bored

Posted on January 25, 2014 by fretgenie

When I was in China last fall I watched a teenage girl on a Beijing subway say goodbye to a friend getting off at a stop. As soon as they had waved goodbye and the doors closed, the girl pulled … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Health and Well-Being, Neuro-science, Psychology, Technology, Thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 209 Comments

When you are doing nothing, you are doing something

Posted on December 16, 2013 by fretgenie

When I first finish a challenging creative project, I feel a sense of relief and euphoria. That feeling may last for a little while. But eventually it wears off…and I am left feeling exhausted. The truth is, the project has … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, blogging, Creativity, Guitar, Music, Photography, Psychology, Thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

An incredible year

Posted on December 12, 2013 by fretgenie

I think this past year has been the biggest of my life. It was a year of creating, producing, traveling, performing, making new friends, learning, meeting challenges and growing. It was a year of “firsts” — my first album in … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Guitar, Learning, Music, Performing, Photography, Recording and producing, Teaching, Thoughts, Touring, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

A unique festival

Posted on September 22, 2013 by fretgenie

I recently participated in a unique music festival in Rochefort, France, called Rochefort en Accords. The slogan of this small festival in the south of France — the brainchild of French Canadian organiser Pascale Graham and her partner, American cellist … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Composing, Creativity, Culture, Learning, Music, Performing, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Thoughts on openness

Posted on August 17, 2012 by fretgenie

I gave a talk at TEDGlobal 2012 in Edinburgh recently, alongside a young guitarist from Pakistan named Usman Riaz. It was an instrumental guitar performance, but still a TEDTalk with a great (and true) story behind it. The video of … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Guitar, Learning, Music, Teaching, Technology, Thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The anxiety of opportunity

Posted on June 11, 2012 by fretgenie

This is an unusually big month. In addition to going into the studio several times to continue recording my next album and heading over to Ireland to play at a festival, I will be playing my first-ever hosted, internet live-on-air … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Creativity, Learning, Psychology, Thoughts | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

The value of identifying your values

Posted on December 4, 2011 by fretgenie

I was asked a few months ago by Pat Strother of Strother Communications to name my three core values as an artist, musician and composer. He was looking for a three-word distillation of the guiding principles that motivate me to … Continue reading →

Posted in Composing, Creativity, Performing, Thoughts | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Do you want to be original?

Posted on November 4, 2011 by fretgenie

Somebody called me crazy in a guitar blog recently, referring to the integrated percussive guitar style I invented. It made me smile. I took it as a compliment. To me, “crazy” means things like refreshing, innovative, ahead of its time, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creativity, Guitar, Literature, Music, Thoughts | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments