Monday’s Muse: Creativity
Posted by: Lizzie
‘Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences than other people.’
— Steve Jobs
Monday’s Muse asks whether or not we agree with this quote. My mind has been racing, mulling over different ways I could interpret these words. The first person I thought of (aside from myself) was my little sister, who earned her degree in graphic design–the epitome of “creative.” I don’t think I’ve asked her how she did anything unless I really just wanted to know, technically, how she did it. What I do know is that she spent four years of her life taking theory, history, another art-related courses to further enhance her knowledge. I believe this made it possible for her to explore new avenues of creativity.
As a musician, my creativity doesn’t always shine through. I am first a choral musician, my heart dedicated to the sounds that many voices can make together. Sure there’s room for a little creativity which depends on the style of the piece we’re doing, but it’s not like we’re all taking jazz solos or anything. As a soloist, I apply what I learned in my own college career and mesh that with the experiences of my own life to create a piece that’s my own. I can’t tell you how it happens, though. It just does. And if I sit down to tell you how I come to interpret a piece like “The Trees on the Mountains,” I’ll probably just start crying. It goes that deeply; before I begin to love a piece, I feel it in my soul first. And sometimes, it hurts.
I certainly can’t say that I’ve had “more” experiences than other people. I’ve had different ones, sure, but don’t we all connect our experiences to aspects of our lives? My musical creativity does feel natural to me, though I would hardly say it’s because I’m more worldly. That would be extremely presumptuous.
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Tags: Monday's Muse, Music stuff
January 5th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Thanks for participating in Monday’s Muse! As a not very musically inclined person – I’m pretty lost in knowing how it all comes together. And yes, I believe we do connect our experiences to the other aspects of our lives. Great post!