# Creativity -- how do we maintain it?



## JohnG (Nov 9, 2012)

This morning a radio station played an interview with Sam Mendes about "Skyfall" in which he talked about creativity in relation to the now-50-year-old Bond franchise. 

Paraphrasing Camus, Mr. Mendes said, 'A man's work is nothing more or less than the slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in the presence of which his heart first opened.'

I think maintaining creativity presents a major, ongoing challenge for us. Presented with so many snares out there -- our own habits and timidity, direction from producers / directors asking for repetitions and imitations, concerns about audience expectations -- it can be hard to keep seeking something new.

What do you think? What do you do to avoid sounding stale?


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## Waywyn (Nov 9, 2012)

I see this "finding something new" the same as "trying to find a girlfriend" to be honest. Everytime you force it, it never happens! 

I have the feeling, that everytime I tried to create something new, the first track I heard from around the corner implemented the same technique/pattern/whatever.

My general philosophy is that we just have twelve notes and it is on us to make the best out of these. Just to set that right, I am aware that there are more than twelve notes. Ethnic scales, blue notes and detuned material etc. ... but this is not what we use contructionwise. We do not create e.g. a special C superior major chord with C, G and 50cent above E note. It doesn't sound innovative but just crap. That's what I am trying to say with "we just have twelve notes" 

So back to topic, with this philosophy I am not tryng to invent something new but just going with the most emotional thing. Of course I pay attention to not copy someone, but this is not possible. Imagine how many tracks are being written each day and how many years composers have been composing. There should be more compositions out there than atoms in the whole universe! However, the most important thing to me is to write touching and expressive music which in the best case triggers feelings and goosebumps.


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## rgames (Nov 9, 2012)

How to maintain creativity is a good question - I don't have an answer. To answer that question, though, I think you need to consider that there's emotional creativity and rational creativity.

Really great (and creative) music does both. I think I can kind-of do the rational part but the music always ends up sounding like the concert hall crap that I don't like. I don't think I've ever been able to do the emotional part - i.e. I've never come up with a musical idea that expresses something in a new way.

So I quit trying 

The same issue arises outside of music - e.g. in science, business, whatever. The solution there is to surround yourself with smart people who are independent thinkers but committed to a common goal. Everyone is more creative in those types of environments. Composers tend not to work that way, though.

rgames


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## JJP (Nov 9, 2012)

Uh oh. You mean more drugs and alcohol aren't the way to do it? ~o)


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## Resoded (Nov 9, 2012)

Well, I've been thinking about this lately and here are my two cents on the subject. I'd say creativity comes from boundless play. Children are among the most creative, and they pretty much have no rules. I heard about a story where the audience were asked to draw the person sitting next to them in 30 seconds. After they were done, and showed it to the person beside them, they started apologizing. When kids were asked to do the same thing, the kids were glad to show their creations to anyone willing to see them. It didn't even cross the childs mind to apologize for their attempts at drawing someone else. 

Look at companies like Ideo. They make a living out of creativity, and playing around with things is essential. Rules and limitations are only effective to a certain degree. After that, they only serve to obstruct creativity. It's hard though. I'm still young, but I find even at my age there are so many unspoken boundries that I feel needs to be taken down to allow me to be truly creative. 

One thing that I think is important is to see the entire thing as a process. Creativity feeds creativity. Instead of sitting down and immediately trying to do something good, I'm planning to do a series of insane pieces where rules does not apply, even if that involves layering strings with me making fart sounds with my mouth. Judgments like silly and childish are obstructions in my book. Who knows, exploring insanity might give a whole new perspective on sanity and how things "should" be done. And saying "no" to ideas is a great way to destroy creativity. Anyone that has ever worked with someone constantly saying "no" to something knows how frustrating it is, and if the composer himself is the one saying no to his own impulses and ideas, no wonder he falls back on the safe bets. Saying "yes" to everything might lead to a whole lot of dead ends, but at least it's constructive.


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## Kralc (Nov 9, 2012)

Waywyn @ Sat Nov 10 said:


> I see this "finding something new" the same as "trying to find a girlfriend" to be honest. Everytime you force it, it never happens!


Creativity prostitute? :|


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## JohnG (Nov 9, 2012)

Richard, I agree with you when you say, "there's emotional creativity and rational creativity. Really great (and creative) music does both." Just listened to The Rite of Spring again yesterday and it does both for me.

Resoded's process discussion got me thinking about John Cage -- who drove me nuts with his rhetorical pieces but who nevertheless wrote some interesting stuff. 

While maybe you can't "force it," I do find it helps to be trying consciously to be original.


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## gsilbers (Nov 9, 2012)

JohnG @ Fri Nov 09 said:


> This morning a radio station played an interview with Sam Mendes about "Skyfall" in which he talked about creativity in relation to the now-50-year-old Bond franchise.
> 
> Paraphrasing Camus, Mr. Mendes said, 'A man's work is nothing more or less than the slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in the presence of which his heart first opened.'
> 
> ...



to me personally is its hard to get inspired. so many options from style, structure, melodody/notes.. 

then internet, life , video games.. etc 

i used to get glued like 10 hours with reason 1.5 back in the day. only one daw , internet sucked in 1999 , no smartphone etc.


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## rgames (Nov 9, 2012)

JohnG @ Fri Nov 09 said:


> Richard, I agree with you when you say, "there's emotional creativity and rational creativity. Really great (and creative) music does both." Just listened to The Rite of Spring again yesterday and it does both for me.


Yes - The Rite does both for me and a lot of other people as well. Copland is another who is able to capture both, though I do think The Rite is more of a true masterpiece than anything Copland wrote.

When I listen to, say, Webern or Philip Glass, though, I appreciate the uniqueness of some of the musical structures but, in the end, I just don't like the music very much.

I think Eric Whitacre is a good example of someone who writes very enjoyable music that uses (relatively) straightforward harmonic/structural elements. There is still creativity in using simple structures without sounding bland, uninteresting, and derivative. There is yet good tonal music to be written 

rgames


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## impressions (Nov 11, 2012)

when I saw skyfall, I thought its a great rendition of the theme, Thomas went in so many different ways using that famous line and chordish cliche. 

I found there are 2 ways to create music-
There is a way to portray music by our minds, and there is a way to convey the music by emotion. 
none of them seem to work, because I'm not a famous composer, but here they are none the less:

with the first one i have to envision the music before i write it. but it requires tons of concentration, usually i find a good motif but then after i listen to it-the visions are gone.
so i have to work my way another way.

second way is by emotion-
i try to get into the feel of what i want and draw upon it. just like actors do it. that is a very straining process, because it really requires energy and not just "imagining" so it usually depletes fast.

if I'm very energetic, or inspired by the director/concept whatever it is usually enough for the project. 
but in my humble opinion, the source of creativity is always a function of our daily struggle. we have our energy by our lives and experiences and we convert it to music.
if we feel negative and hollow, it will be much tougher for us to "create" because we need the energy to create it. depressed people for example, are probably more lacking in creating when in that mood.

so, I hope this was a related answer...


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## KEnK (Nov 11, 2012)

What works for me is to continuously learn.
This leads me to exploration.
Curiosity seems to have a great deal to do with Creativity.

Here's what I see happening a lot at the pro level:
*Schtick*- This is the opposite of creativity.

Once you're in your safety zone, working in a genre,
creativity is rarely involved. You're becoming a Craftsman, not an Artist.

There actually is a lot of music out there to learn about
especially in the so-called World Music area.
Learn that.
Adapt and Combine.

If you're feeling stuck in a rut you need to open a window and let some fresh air in the room.

k


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## germancomponist (Nov 11, 2012)

A different kind of creativity.


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## Peter Alexander (Nov 11, 2012)

Creativity comes from idea that you have the craft to develop.


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## germancomponist (Nov 11, 2012)

JohnG @ Sat Nov 10 said:


> Richard, I agree with you when you say, "there's emotional creativity and rational creativity. Really great (and creative) music does both." Just listened to The Rite of Spring again yesterday and it does both for me.
> ...
> While maybe you can't "force it," I do find it helps to be trying consciously to be original.



Yes! And if you are allowed to write melodies in your scores, it should be easy to not copy someone.

"The Rite of Spring" is a good example for creativity.


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## Arbee (Nov 11, 2012)

Simultaneous curiosity, intellect and emotional sensitivity to the world are probably the three biggest creative drivers as I see it.

I like the terms "rational" and "emotional" creativity - while i _respect_ ratlional creativity I _respond_ to emotional creativity. Yes, great music is both clever intellectually and it "gets to you" emotionally. Left brain/right brain material.

I respond similarly to performers of music, driven by a range of ego (look at me!), intellect (aren't I clever?), and emotion (did you feel that?). The last group get to me every time.


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## passenger57 (Nov 11, 2012)

Easy - get a muse


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## impressions (Nov 12, 2012)

passenger57 @ Sun Nov 11 said:


> Easy - get a muse


hehe, i always say-if you need answers to things in life, just get more energy..(and then you won't need to ask the questions)!


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## FriFlo (Nov 12, 2012)

One of the very best - if not the best - creativity tutorials you could hope for ... and funny at the same time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VShmtsLhkQg


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## lee (Nov 12, 2012)

Thanks FriFlo!

These words by John Cleese are very true:



> "McKinnon showed that the most creative had simply acquired a facility for getting themselves into a particular mood, a way of operating, which allows their natural creativity to function." ..."An ability to play"


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## Guy Bacos (Nov 13, 2012)

germancomponist @ Sun Nov 11 said:


> A different kind of creativity.




Interesting Gunther. I've become more a fan of Schoenberg in the last years. Opens new doors.


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## Rednas (Nov 19, 2012)

Creativity: get a girlfriend, break up, go on a holiday, drink with your friends. That's how it works for me.

Often after I haven't made any music in a while, I'm ten times more creative than in situations where I lock myself up for 3 days sitting behind a computer screen.


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## Tatu (Nov 19, 2012)

Rednas @ Mon Nov 19 said:


> Creativity: get a girlfriend, break up, go on a holiday, drink with your friends. That's how it works for me.
> 
> Often after I haven't made any music in a while, I'm ten times more creative than in situations where I lock myself up for 3 days sitting behind a computer screen.



Good, working method.

I do believe that creativity doesn't die, even though all of us eventually get old and grey. Some of the greatest classical pieces were written by "grumpy old men" and it's pretty much proven in psychology (I've studied it a bit) that though one might get slower and degrade on a cellular level (brains etc...), one can still have that mojo to get the job done. It really comes down to differences on an individual level and to all the other aspects of life that can make the difference.


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## MacQ (Nov 21, 2012)

I happened upon this great video ... 


Will We Ever Run Out of New Music?
http://youtu.be/DAcjV60RnRw


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## Will Blackburn (Nov 25, 2012)




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## Markus S (Nov 25, 2012)

Personally my solution to this is to use less and less sampled instruments and more and more live recordings of instruments I play myself. 

First of all you get unique sounds, no endless repetition of the same recordings like with the sampling system.

Secondly you get to sit down with a real instrument, touch it, feel it, and this "simple" approach brings me ideas I wouldn't have thought of theoretically.

Thirdly while the sampling world makes huge steps forward, to my ears there still is no soul in a purely sample based music, no emotion and the production gets "dated" very fast. With real instruments there is a depth to the sound, that makes me satisfied with the results and when I hear it years after, there still is magic to it and that motivates me to create more.

PS : Also I stopped listening to anything that is close to the music I want to write, to not get side tracked.


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## Guy Bacos (Nov 25, 2012)

I don't know about the others, but for me, every time I start writing a new piece, I say, that's it, I'm totally out of ideas! I stick to it, and usually within the next 24-48 hours, something happens. Unconsciously the brain could be searching in the creative side of mind, and then deliver some ideas.


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## germancomponist (Nov 25, 2012)

To speak for me, it depends. Sometimes I have an idea in my head, not knowing where it comes from. It is just there and then I begin to work on it

Sometimes I get good ideas when I play some riffs e.t.c. on my guitar or piano. And sometimes or more often it is only a sound what inspires me. 

Sometimes I write much music only in a few hours, and sometimes I need a week or more for only some notes, because I experiment and experiment and experiment.... .


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## doctornine (Nov 25, 2012)

Would it open a while can of worms if I said :

Creativity ? I don't have time to worry about that, I have deadlines.

>8o 

I am joking, in part. 
Basically my job is to write music. Thats what I do, pretty much everyday.


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## Guy Bacos (Dec 2, 2012)

doctornine @ Sun Nov 25 said:


> Would it open a while can of worms if I said :
> 
> Creativity ? I don't have time to worry about that, I have deadlines.
> 
> ...




I agree, when you have deadlines, you don't have time to think about creativity, and that's probably the best creativity incentive.


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## sherief83 (Dec 2, 2012)

I first go get Starbucks... and then I decide that wasn't enough so I make coffee at home and then I sit down, write 4 notes and it all clicks in the brains on what to do but first I must have a kit-kat bar because that will secretly enhance the piece... 

so I leave the house to get some and then I get home and eat it and feel good about my self, but then its time for lunch so I go out and eat well and feel good about my self again. 

Then I decide to watch a film for so called more inspiration... 

By the time I sit back on my Computer, I have basically an hour left until my body shuts down for bed and that's when I get creative, I get everything down and fast and make my self look at the clock 600 times to make my self aware of every second in those last hour before I shut down... Oh I only do that with personal pieces... not for films with a deadline. 0oD


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## sstern (Dec 20, 2012)

I just sit and compose music. If the music is no good - I go to sleep and start composing the next day and creativity will follow  I've heard thats the daily routine John Williams adheres.


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## SergeD (Dec 21, 2012)

Sometimes, in the dark night, I jump out of my bed, grab the guitar, and record a 30 seconds voice+guitar melody that will be lost if not recorded right there.


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