Blog
Notes from the porch
Painting With Sound
Joni Mitchell is a visual artist. Her sense of melody, harmony, and lyricism is often described as painterly...
Read →Joni Mitchell's Right Hand Picking Secret: The Woman Who Inspired Her
What’s the secret behind Joni Mitchell’s right hand picking style? Let’s explore this together…
Read →Joni Mitchell Receives Lifetime Achievement Award in 2026
As the JUNO Awards return to Hamilton this year, many of us across Canada feel a shared excitement. But for those who have followed Joni Mitchell’s music, teachings, and legacy, this particular season feels especially meaningful. Joni—our prairie-born poet of sound—is being honoured once again, reminding us all of the power and endurance of her artistry. Joni’s work has always had a way of reaching beyond the radio, beyond the stage, and into the interior landscapes of the heart. Her songs are
Read →Conquer Your Performance Anxiety: Unlock Your Voice Through Joni Mitchell's Early Years
Performance anxiety has a way of warping the moment. When adrenaline floods the body, everything becomes louder and sharper — except our connection to ourselves. A small crack in the voice feels like a collapse. A rushed tempo feels like chaos. A single memory slip feels like a catastrophe. But here
Read →November 7 Declared Music Creator Day in Canada | Honouring Joni Mitchell and 100 Years of Canadian Songwriting
Canada has officially declared a new national celebration for those who give our country its sound. Today marks the very first Music Creator Day, launched by SOCAN (the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) to recognize and honour the songwriters, composers, and music publishers whose words and melodies shape our collective story. This inaugural celebration comes during SOCAN’s 100th Anniversary — a full century of championing Canadian music creators — and it lands fitt
Read →Learning: the Shepherdess Way
Here at The Last Living Shepherdess, I believe in gentle learning. In following your ear, your heart, and in connection to everything around you. In music that grows slowly, honestly, like a field of wildflowers. I believe music is more than a skill—it’s a way of living. Like Joni, we chase wonder. We let the sky in. We bend our own paths and hum to the grass. Learning music her way means listening inside and outside, trusting your instincts, and carrying your stories in every note. Whether yo
Read →Why Joni Mitchell Used Alternate Tunings
There’s something magical about the way Joni Mitchell approached her instrument. Before the melody or the lyrics came, she would often begin by changing the tuning of her guitar—sometimes wildly, sometimes gently, but always intuitively. This alone can teach us more than a thousand music theory lessons. When I first discovered Joni Mitchell’s alternate tunings, it felt like I’d found a secret door in a house I’d lived in all my life. Instead of shaping her songs around standard chords, Joni tun
Read →Prairie Roots Reaching Beyond
Though her music floated across genres and continents, Joni Mitchell always sounded like she came from somewhere—the cold air and open skies of the Canadian prairie. Her roots mattered...
Read →In the Beginning…
As a child, I remember a guitar sitting in the corner of our living room, a lonely instrument that was never played...
Read →Let the Lyrics Lead
Joni Mitchell’s lyrics read like modern psalms—rich, poetic, and full of mystery. She didn’t set lyrics to music; she "sculpted" music around her words...
Read →Songs as Memoirs
Today’s snippet: why do Joni’s songs resonate so deeply?
Read →When Your Voice Wavers, Sing Anyway...
Joni’s voice changed dramatically with age, but she kept singing. Her courage to keep on—even as her voice weathered—reminds us that music isn’t about perfection. Joni’s voice changed dramatically with age. But she didn’t stop singing. She adapted…
Read →Open Tunings, Open Heart
Joni Mitchell was known for her fearless use of alternate tunings. For her, it wasn’t about complexity. It was about emotional truth. When a song couldn’t be born in standard tuning, she made a new way. Joni used over 50 alternate tunings in her career. Not to be clever, but to find freedom. She called standard tuning a 'jail.' Learning music doesn’t have to be rigid or hard-edged—it can be soft, intuitive, a kind of playful rebellion. If you’re stuck or frustrated, try tuning your guitar to s
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