Gary Powell, Composer/Producer
Music, Production, Identity, and Mentoring in Austin, Texas
Various topics Gary Powell presents to organizations.
by Gary Powell
We think we listen to music from left to right like we read. When we whistle a tune, most of us whistle from left to right. Melodies undoubtedly move from left to right. That’s how it’s always been.
So, when the disc-jockey on the radio plays “name that tuneâ€, playing a half second of the song’s most uninteresting part, why do we still recognize it? It’s hardly moving in any direction, yet we might instantly recognize it and win a couple of movie tickets.
by Gary Powell
We think we listen to music from left to right like we read. When we whistle a tune, most of us whistle from left to right. Melodies undoubtedly move from left to right. That’s how it’s always been.
So, when the disc-jockey on the radio plays “name that tuneâ€, playing a half second of the song’s most uninteresting part, why do we still recognize it? It’s hardly moving in any direction, yet we might instantly recognize it and win a couple of movie tickets.
by Gary Powell
The musical landscape has been flattened, the crooked has been made straight and“Trick or treat?†is now only“Treat?â€.
“The more we move toward issues of the heart, the further we move away from the tools which would benefit us most in expressing that heart.â€- Gary Powell
If dropped into any shopping mall in America there would be no way to discern in what city you were spending your money. There are libraries full of smart and dusty books which explore the homogenization of our culture. Below is what that looks like in musical terms.
by Gary Powell
The musical landscape has been flattened, the crooked has been made straight and“Trick or treat?†is now only“Treat?â€.
“The more we move toward issues of the heart, the further we move away from the tools which would benefit us most in expressing that heart.â€- Gary Powell
If dropped into any shopping mall in America there would be no way to discern in what city you were spending your money. There are libraries full of smart and dusty books which explore the homogenization of our culture. Below is what that looks like in musical terms.
by Gary Powell
Culture, politics, belief systems, family and psychology are all having their way with us as artists. Untangling all of it as a young person is nearly impossible. Most of us think we are in control of our self-aggrandized destiny, especially when so many others agree with us. Little do we know the depth of personal deception we live under. No matter one’s age, it’s time to see the glass as both half-empty and half-full! 
It’s time to make a plan! In fact, you are going to need two plans: a business plan and a philosophical plan. If your philosophical plan is EGOCENTRIC, in other words, if the rest of the world revolves around you, it’s time to change THAT before that same world grabs you by the neck, slams you on the deck, then drops a rather large piece of reality on your head!
by Gary Powell
Culture, politics, belief systems, family and psychology are all having their way with us as artists. Untangling all of it as a young person is nearly impossible. Most of us think we are in control of our self-aggrandized destiny, especially when so many others agree with us. Little do we know the depth of personal deception we live under. No matter one’s age, it’s time to see the glass as both half-empty and half-full!
It’s time to make a plan! In fact, you are going to need two plans: a business plan and a philosophical plan. If your philosophical plan is EGOCENTRIC, in other words, if the rest of the world revolves around you, it’s time to change THAT before that same world grabs you by the neck, slams you on the deck, then drops a rather large piece of reality on your head!
by Gary Powell
“We were taught to sing before we were taught to listen.†– Gary Powell
“Oh you have such a beautiful voiceâ€, says your Aunt Jessie and Uncle Max 
after your first home-produced talent show. Years later, you hear it from an anonymous blue-haired lady at church, then next, from your dentist whose daughter sings in choir with you and even sometimes in the same key.
by Gary Powell
“We were taught to sing before we were taught to listen.†– Gary Powell
“Oh you have such a beautiful voiceâ€, says your Aunt Jessie and Uncle Max after your first home-produced talent show. Years later, you hear it from an anonymous blue-haired lady at church, then next, from your dentist whose daughter sings in choir with you and even sometimes in the same key.