It's Music Making Month on the Propellerheads web site. Head on over and you can view archives of tutorials and interviews. Great stuff.

Check out this blog post by Aaron Mahnke. In it, he talks about how he writes a novel. I thought the tips were just as applicable to writing music. I really like the idea of removing friction. If you have to launch 3 apps, plug a bunch of stuff in, and spend minutes configuring everything, many times you'll just say "forget it, what's on tv?" That's one of the reasons I like Reason - you have everything you need to get 'er done. You don't have to plug anything in or even turn anything - just open the lid of the laptop or wake your computer from sleep. In fact, Reason is always running on my laptop, just in case I have a random idea. 

With Reason 5, I like to use the on screen keyboard if I am out and about. It turns the keys of your laptop into a mini keyboard. It's not touch sensitive (obviously), and you really only get about 1 1/2 octaves, but it works in a pinch.

Another thing I like to do is always keep an acoustic guitar out, whether hanging on the wall or on a stand. Now, I am by no means an accomplished guitarist, but for some reason it's easy to walk by, pick it up and bang out a few chords if I have a spare minute or two. Sometimes, it will even spark a musical idea. 

Along the same lines, you can keep your ewi out of its case just lying on your desk ready to go for when inspiration strikes.

Do you have any tips for removing friction in your musical endeavors?

The Friday podcast from NPR's Planet Money team was about how musicians use the internet. In it, they profile musician Jonathan Coulton who is a guy you've probably never heard of, but he makes a ton of money making music. 

Listen to the podcast.

The internet has certainly helped me. Without it, I would never have met such engaging, talented people through this web site. 

Has the internet helped or hurt musicians? Let us know in the comments.