Arts & Entertainment, Music
Closing Thoughts
Lesson time 03:02 min
Annie wraps up her class with parting words of advice and some thoughts on the gift of music.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Don’t Fear the Future
Teaches Creativity and Songwriting
Explore your creative process and embrace vulnerability with St. Vincent, the Grammy-winning, genre-defying artist and performer.
Get Up To 50% OffPreview
[00:00:00.00] - (SINGING) I fear the future. [00:00:09.37] - Right now my head is at just playing when I have something to say and leaving space. There have been times in the past where I will put a guitar thing where maybe it doesn't even need to be, because I had some fear of, like, well, people need to know I'm a guitar player. [00:00:29.81] I don't care about that at all anymore. And ironically, it means me playing so much more guitar. It's a paradox in that way, to have run from convention in certain ways and then find yourself back loving what you loved about it when you first heard it, and coming back to those influences. [00:00:52.34] A lot of times when you're arranging and writing and more in the production phase of things and layering, you think, well, the chorus is going to happen. We've got to add something. [00:01:03.02] Think the opposite. Think, I'm going to take something away here. This piano part, this is how we wrote the song. Great. Build a track up around it and then remove the piano and see what you get. [00:01:13.04] You can't use every color in a song. You have to pick. Not every song needs a guitar solo. Not every song needs a big distorted monster guitar. Just try to serve the song [00:01:26.10] It's so much about deciding what's going to be the best big picture. And that big picture isn't about ego and planting your feet in the space and going, here's my macho moment. Just kind of being way more fluid with the whole thing. [00:01:50.34] I think no matter what the genre, there's a lineage and there's a DNA that you can feel. Like John Coltrane in "The Love Supreme," just wailing. You can hear that spirit in punk rock. You can hear that spirit in hip-hop. No matter the genre, this kind of grasping, reaching for more is present in all kinds of music, in every kind of music. [00:02:13.77] The great thing about music is that you get to be a part of this lineage for a brief period of time. And the greatest thing you can possibly do is get to give back to this lineage that has given you so much. [00:02:25.71] Music is the gift that keeps on giving. It really is. The more you do, the more you can do. You could study it your whole life, you could play it your whole life, and you will never even get close to its edges. [00:02:43.59] Everybody, good luck. I hope this was valuable in some way. And remember that the best thing you could possibly be is be yourself.
About the Instructor
Under the stage name St. Vincent, Annie Clark has won Grammys while remaining fiercely innovative and true to herself. Now Annie is opening the door to her process to teach you how to explore your creativity. Learn how to record music, write songs, improve your guitar skills, and embrace your vulnerability. Let Annie guide you through the ups and downs of creating art so you can share what’s in your heart with the world.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
St. Vincent
Explore your creative process and embrace vulnerability with St. Vincent, the Grammy-winning, genre-defying artist and performer.
Explore the Class