In our modern age we are bombarded with many distractions. From cell phones, to email, to facebook, to blogs (did I just say that?!), our concentration is interrupted frequently throughout the day. Do all these interruptions and distractions make the task of writing a great song harder?

Craig Bickhardt at Ninety Mile Wind thinks so.

…distraction and e-living have damaged the music. There’s so little music out there that moves us because we’re all moving too fast to create it. It turns out that being moved requires a thrill greater than the adrenaline rush of a Tweet or an email. In a sense, we are being moved in the opposite direction by the song. The Internet and multi-tasking pulls us outwards (or at least sideways), but the song pushes us inwards, ever deeper inwards.

In his post, Bickhardt suggests songwriters may need to unplug for extended periods of time in order to connect with their deep inner wells of creativity.

I would guess musicians could benefit from the same practice, especially during times of required creativity such as the recording of a new CD.

Of course, no one could rightly consider The Bluegrass Blog a distraction!