The "Final" Countdown

Salut Les Amis! Welcome back to another edition of my weekly newsletter! (Your dose of my creative journey and music insights.) Following is an essay I wrote surrounding the immense excitement around my first ever gig as a solo artist! If you are local to Philadelphia, you can find my upcoming concerts here! 🙂 I hope you enjoy reading!

At what point did things really change in terms of my music or approach? 

Honestly, it’s been a combination of things. The biggest shift came when I set a date for my first show in September. It suddenly made everything very real. Booking a studio made it feel like there was no turning back, and my only option was to prepare. Otherwise, I’d be setting myself up for a lot of embarrassment. Plus, I’ve invested quite a bit of money into this, so why wouldn’t I work hard to make it all worthwhile?

Looking back, there have been a few "points of no return." The first one I can remember was getting a job, and eventually running out of excuses for why I wasn’t doing anything with my music. I had a lot of ideas but wasn’t executing them. Then I bought a Strandberg guitar, which was a huge turning point. After investing so much into that guitar, I knew I had to do something meaningful with it to justify the cost. That moment really forced me to write. Once I started writing, I thought, “What’s next?”

If I’m writing music, I should be able to perform it live, right? Especially if I have dreams of opening for artists like Plini. If I’m telling myself and others that these are my goals, then my actions need to align with that. I need to be prepared. If the opportunity arises, I don’t want to be the one saying, “I’m not ready, I haven’t even finished my songs.” I need to be ready, and that’s what really shifted my mindset. I realized I needed to match my ambitions with preparation.

In the process of preparing for the show, I feel like I’ve completely rediscovered my love for music. These days, I’m not just listening to the same bands over and over. I’ve started exploring different genres, like jazz and classical piano. I’ve been diving into Barry Harris, a lot of Bach, and Jacob Collier’s piano arrangements. I’ve also started learning to transcribe and study more theory. I’m reading books on music theory, like Ted Greene’s Modern Chord Progressions, and Theory of Music by Ernst Levy that Jacob Collier recommends. The more I’ve prepared, the more I’ve realised how deep this all goes, and it’s exciting to feel that growth.

Even though I haven’t been putting out a lot of music recently, I’m actively preparing myself. Over the past four years, I’ve only released four songs, but I’ve had hundreds of ideas that haven’t fully materialized. I have around 150-200 project files just sitting on my hard drive. Whether they’re good or not, those were creative ideas I had at the time, and they’ve just been left unfinished. That gap between the ideas and the output is something I’m working on closing now.

I’ve learned what the process of writing a complete body of work really takes. What used to take me years can now be done in a matter of weeks. That’s how bands have always done it—short, intensive bursts of creativity. Moving forward, I’m planning to follow that approach. But right now, I’m focused on training, practicing, and absorbing as much as I can. I’m casting a wide net so that when it’s time to create, I’ll have plenty to draw from.

My current focus is on raw fundamentals. I’ve realized that being good at guitar isn’t just about playing fast or complex licks. It’s about having a solid foundation. I’m spending hours practicing basic things: 2-5-1 progressions, blues, melodic minor scales, and different chord shapes. I’m doing all this at incredibly slow tempos, like 20 or 30 bpm, trying to stay in time and develop my phrasing. I want to be able to play jazz phrasing well, which has been a new and exciting challenge.

This process has changed the way I see my own work, too. But I want to expand my harmonic vocabulary and write more interesting, diverse music. That’s what sparked this change in my approach.

Now, practice has become a part of my daily routine. I don’t even think of it as “guitar practice” anymore—it’s more like exploring the instrument. I’m focused on fundamentals, whether it’s working on scales, developing speed, or refining my tone. At one point, I struggled with playing certain licks live, but through focused practice, I’ve reached a point where those once-difficult licks feel effortless. That’s been a huge confidence boost.

At this stage, my goal isn’t just to play live. I’m doing that anyway. My bigger ambition is to win a Grammy. Whether or not I actually win isn’t the important part—it’s the process that excites me. I get to study music deeply, which I haven’t done in a long time. For much of my life, I’ve been pulled in different directions, never fully committing to one thing. Now, I have the opportunity to dive into music, and I’m embracing that fully.

I don’t regret the path that’s brought me here. Every experience has shaped me, and now I’m ready to put everything I’ve learned into action. Thanks for reading! I hope I get to play in a city near you soon! 🙂 

À bientôt!

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