Processing Creativity

The Tools, Practices and Habits Used to Make Music You're Happy With

By: Jesse Cannon

Narrated by: Jesse Cannon

For over a decade, Jesse Cannon has been pushing creative ideas in music. You may know him from writing one of the most popular books on the music business, Get More Fans, or from his recording credits on records with the most varied set of bands you've ever seen, including The Cure, The Misfits, Animal Collective, Brand New, The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Menzingers, Limp Bizkit, Basement, Leftover Crack, Saves The Day, Senses Fail, Weird Al, Lifetime, Say Anything, NOFX, Man Overboard, Bad Books, Transit, Somos, Conflict, and over a thousand others. You may also know his work as the host of the podcast Noise Creators and Off The Record or from writing for outlets like Alternative Press, Tape Op, Hypebot, and countless others. He just wrote a book about what he's learned working on all those records and writing about music's bleeding edge, taking on the subject he knows the most about; helping musicians fulfill their creative vision. Processing Creativity: The Tools, Practices and Habits Used to Make Music You're Happy With is the culmination of four years of poring over scientific studies, books and thoughts from top creators as well as his own experience to write a book every musician should listen to about what goes into making great music versus what bands do when they make a bad album.

Covering the pitfalls of creating music, the book thoroughly explores the hidden reasons we actually like music, how to get along with your collaborators, and patterns that help creativity flourish. While every musician says that being creative is the most important part of their life, they barely explore what's holding back them back from making music they are happy with. When trying to navigate the ways our creative endeavors fail there's no YouTube tutorial, listicle, or college course that can help navigate the countless creative pitfalls that can ruin your music.

©2017 Jesse Cannon (P)2017 Jesse Cannon

Great for stumped artists or people in general

I've been listening to this audiobook on and off for about a year or so. Anytime I felt lost or depressed especially musically, this book gave me the push and advice I needed to feel inspired again and feel proud of the music I would make. A definite recommend for not just struggling artists but also people that need some kind of drive in what they do. Thanks Jesse Cannon.

Great book, but not well narrated audiobook

I have only positive things to say about the content of this book, as a musician and composer I found it gave me a much better perspective on my work, how to be more convinced of what I want to do and why, instead of trying a bit of everything and end up doubting my work. The audio version I must say it was not so good: as a non-native speaker it was much harder than other books, the narration is really too fast, not so well enunciated, quite monotone, full of cuts and punch-ins. It can be listened to, but I found like others that at least a 0.8x slowing down was needed, making it even uglier to listen to, but at least understandable. The content was really great though, and was worth the extra effort.

Concise, Organized, and Practical Information.

Jesse does a great job organizing and presenting his ideas. most "how to" or "self help" books are very cut and dry and offer vague information. Processing Creativity offers advice and practices back up by data. great read/listen!

One of the best books I’ve read about creativity

I’ve been watching his YouTube videos for a long time now. This is a really good read and shows a great mindset towards success

it inspired me

very valuable information for the creative person. helped me realize things about my creative process that could use some serious evaluation and work. excited to get to it.

AWESOME!!!

No artist should start a band or music collaboration without reading this book first! Great gems in here that are very helpful and very eye opening both business wise and psychologically!

Explorations in creative inspiration and thinking.

Jesse has put a lot of thought into the creative mind and how we are inspired by the work of our favorite artists, as well as some whom we might not normally draw inspiration.

Interesting Concepts

Things that definitely need to be talked about more- the psychology of being creative. Check it out, it might help you change your thought patterns for the better.

Demystifying the creative process

The book had a great deal of useful information and ideas on what inspires creativity, and how to generally move from a creative idea to a creative product. Jesse reads with a very matter of fact voice at a quick pace, And there is enough important details to warrant a second listen. I highly recommend this book for anyone in any field who comes up with ideas and turns them into reality, from artists to technical workers.

One of the Most Important Books for a Creative!

This book is absolutely wonderful. I have dislexia and still found it important enough to work my way through a hard copy. When I discovered this had been released and narrated by the velvet voice of Jesse himself, I was ecstatic.
This book comes together in a magnificent way. Jesse works from the ground up by asking questions everyone thinks in the abstract but rarely puts into words, and then he works through and finds solutions to the problems. His approach is methodical, detailed, and interesting. He answers questions, and gives advice on topics that all creatives struggle with. If you create literally anything, this book is worth a fortune. You have no excuse.