Mental Health – Aaron Espe

How to Remember Music Is Pretty Cool (After Living in Nashville for So Long)

Aaron's Blog, Mental Health, Songwriting

Living in Nashville is great, but you start to wonder whether music is even special anymore. Your next-door neighbor plays guitar for so-and-so. Your Uber driver sings better than anyone who’s ever won The Voice. And your Instagram feed is so full of exceptional musicians and artists, you start thinking becoming a plumber might be […]

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Why I’ve Been Going Back to Paper

Aaron's Blog, Mental Health, Songwriting

I’m a distractible person. Don’t get me wrong, I can be laser-focused for several hours on, let’s say, a guitar tone. But send me to the grocery store for an onion, and I’ll return with strawberries, ballpoint pens, tiki torches—pretty much everything besides an onion. I tell you this because I’ve realized that looking at

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AMA: “Do you ever worry about burnout?”

Aaron's Blog, Ask Me Anything, Cowriting, Mental Health, Music Industry, Songwriting

“Do you ever worry about burnout?” Theo S. Hi, Theo. That’s a great question. Burnout is something I think about a lot because I’ve had to deal with it over the course of my career, especially during my early days here in Nashville. In 2012, when I signed my first publishing deal, my calendar began

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3 on Thursday – 4/27/23

3 on Thursday, Aaron's Blog, Family, Mental Health, New Music, Recommendations, Recording/Producing, Songwriting

In this week’s issue I share…
1) My One-Week Social Media/Email Challenge
2)For the Audio Nerds: “The Amway Years” DAW Session
3) On Songwriting: Disappointment Is Your Friend

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3 on Thursday – 4/20/23

3 on Thursday, Aaron's Blog, Guitar, Life Stories, Mental Health, New Music, Performances, Recommendations, Secret Songs Club, Songwriting

In this week’s issue I share…
1) Beginning Guitar: A Hack for Building Calluses
2) Patron Perks: Livestream Replay
3) On Songwriting: What to Put In and Leave Out of Your Song

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3 on Thursday – 4/13/23

3 on Thursday, Aaron's Blog, Life Stories, Mental Health, Music Industry, New Music, Recommendations, Songwriting

In this week’s issue I share…
1) A Trick for Singing in Tune (with stage fright)
2) Forgiveness_MIX6: New Secret Song for Patrons Performance
3) On Songwriting: Let People Put You in a Box

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3 on Thursday – 4/6/23

3 on Thursday, Aaron's Blog, Life Stories, Mental Health, Music Industry, New Music, Performances, Recommendations, Recording/Producing

In this week’s issue I share…
1) Mental Health: A Helpful Tool My Therapist Taught Me
2)”Liver and Onions”: Live Performance
3) Home Recording: 7 Gear Recommendations

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3 on Thursday – 3/30/23

3 on Thursday, Aaron's Blog, Ask Me Anything, Life Stories, Mental Health, Music Industry, Recommendations, Songwriting

In this week’s issue I share…
1) Motivation for Creatives: The Calendar Hack
2) Liver and Onions: From Children’s Song to Adult Ballad
3) On Songwriting: AMA: “Can you talk about using mundane, boring life as a source of inspiration?”

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3 on Thursday – 3/23/23

3 on Thursday, Aaron's Blog, Life Stories, Mental Health, Recommendations, Songwriting

In this week’s issue I share…
1) Time Management for Creatives: Books I Recommend and/or My Simple System
2) Story Time with Aaron: My Rock and Roll Gig (at the Senior Center)
3) On Songwriting: 5-4-3-2-1

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3 on Thursday – 3/9/23

3 on Thursday, Aaron's Blog, Cowriting, Family, Guest Posts, Life Stories, Mental Health, Paintings, Recommendations, Songwriting

In this week’s issue I share…
1) “Sheltering Oaks”: How One Song Led to an Album
2) My Wife Heidi’s 3 Tips for Getting into Gardening
3) On Songwriting: Being Scared Is Normal

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