"Making Mistakes and Calling Them Chords"

Found this great quote in a remarkably astute feature by Craig Havighurst on my new fave, Madison Cunningham. She tells him:

I was just so entertained by guitar and different tunings. I started on acoustic and then went to electric and that was mind-blowing for me because so many possibilities opened up. I just did a lot of sitting in my room, making mistakes and calling them chords. That’s still what I do.

I often tell my sons as they practice piano and make interesting mistakes that that's how composers start—it certainly rings true to my experience on various instruments. You start by imitating and fumbling and end up, willy-nilly, with your own craft and, if you're lucky and persistent enough, your own voice.