Tim Benjamin

Quite a few years ago, I gave a TED Talk debunking the idea that "writer's block" is real.

Well, in 2023, I appeared to be suffering from it!

So I took my younger self's advice and dealt with it, by just writing. Every day. A little bit, no matter what.

And you know what? It worked!

At least, I produced these four piano pieces, and went on to write some larger-scale things without feeling "blocked" (in particular, the major work There Is Nothing Here, 2024). I like these four pieces, partly because they "unblocked" me, but partly (and far more importantly), I like them as pieces of music. They each have their own whimsical character, born of frustration, but capturing a spirit of freedom to roam and explore.

Each of these "experimental" pieces are so-called because they play with some part of the "prelude and fugue" format, which itself is a perfect way to portray some single idea, spun out over a matched pair of pieces. As with J.S. Bach's unparalleled template (The Well-Tempered Clavier), the fugues are where much of the action is, but not all, and the essence of variation is the tonal system itself.