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Folk and Acoustic Music in New Zealand
Folk and Acoustic Music in New Zealand
(Different ways the right brain and left brain process information.)
While we have a natural tendency towards one way of thinking, the two sides of our brain work together in our everyday lives. The right brain of the brain focuses on the visual, and processes information in an intuitive and simultaneous way, looking first at the whole picture then the details. The focus of the left brain is verbal, processing information in an analytical and sequential way, looking first at the pieces then putting them together to get the whole.
| Left Brain Inventory | Right Brain Inventory |
| Verbal, focusing on words, symbols, numbers, syntax, instructions. | Visual or auditory, focusing on images or sounds, patterns, rhythms, melodies, colour. |
| Analytical, led by logic. | Intuitive, led by feelings. |
| Process ideas sequentially, step by step. | Process ideas simultaneously - conceptualising. |
| Words used to remember things, remember names rather than faces. | 'Mind photos' used to remember things, writing things down or illustrating them helps you remember. |
| Make logical deductions from information. | Make lateral connections from information. |
| Work up to the whole step by step, focusing on details, information organised. | See the whole first, then the details. |
| Highly organised. | Organisation tends to be lacking. |
| Like making lists and planning. | Free association. |
| Likely to follow rules without questioning them. | Like to know why you're doing something or why rules exist (reasons). |
| Good at keeping track of time. | No sense of time. |
| Spelling and mathematical formula easily memorised. | May have trouble with spelling and finding words to express yourself. |
| Enjoy observing, analysing. | Enjoy touching and feeling actual objects (sensory input). |
| Plan ahead. | Trouble prioritising, so often late, impulsive. |
| Likely read an instruction manual before trying. | Unlikely to read instruction manual before trying. |
| Listen to what is being said. | Listen to how something is being said. |
| Rarely use gestures when talking. | Talk with your hands. |
| Likely to believe you're not creative, need to be willing to try and take risks to develop your potential. | Likely to think you're naturally creative, but need to apply yourself to develop your potential. |
In reality, you are a mixture of these two columns but you can quickly see where you are typically dominant. (If you find yourself almost totally in the right column: congratulations! You qualify for a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder.) Our job as songwriters is to harness the best bit at the right time. Knowing how to do that is key and requires a bit of exercising. Let’s look at the pros and cons of each.
As you can see, each has their advantages and disadvantages. In short, we need to engage our right brain for the ideas phase and the left brain for the tidy-up. Applying analytic (left brain) skills too early in a project can result in over-descriptive, even clichéd work and in writer's block. How do we switch between them?
* Anglo-Saxon words in English are short, immediate words like go, come, stop, hit, run etc. which engage the heart or the instinct, whereas Latinate words like proceed, arrive, cease, collide, flee engage the mind: the former might be used in a pop song whereas the latter would be used in a Gilbert and Sullivan style patter song.
