3 ways to access creativity
Musicians are creative people. Art doesn't exist until we do our work to create it. Along the same lines, musicians are also re-creators, interpreting instructions from other artists in their own unique ways.
Maybe we take the creativity in our work for granted: since we are musicians, we are automatically creative when we do work. Is that always true? How often in our work do we really feel like we are being creative? Or have the ability and permission to be creative?
Large ensemble musicians especially are not often encouraged to regularly activate our creativity at work. We get used to being told what is the right way and what is the wrong way by our teachers and conductors. We are constrained by time and logistical parameters that take away the space for experimentation. Through our years of training, it is easy to forget that we are fundamentally creative people. And because of this, we may even end up showing up to play the notes and believing that is the end goal of our jobs. I know for many it certainly feels like that on some days.
How can we regain access to our inherent creativity as musicians?
As I explore other industries, I'm finding a curious focus on creativity as a pathway to grow and advance.
Here are 3 ways non-musicians are thinking about creativity that may help us as musicians:
1) I love these two definitions of creativity that are very much on the same page:
"Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.” - Dorothy Parker
"Creativity is our ability to toggle between wonder and rigor to solve problems." - Natalie Nixon
I recently used Dorothy Parker's definition to rehearse rubato. The discipline of staying attached to internal subdivisions will allow a group of people to achieve a "wild" rubato that is fluid and organic. And the goal was not to do it the exact same way each time, but rather to allow the discipline to help us access more spontaneous renditions each time. It's helpful for us to remember that our technical rigor and discipline is what allows us to access the wonder that leads to highly creative work.
2) Ron Friedman reminds us to not confuse creativity with originality.
There is often a huge burden that comes with the term creativity. We think we need to come up with something original that is brand new. That blocks us from sometimes even trying. Friedman says, "Creativity comes from blending ideas, not isolation." As musicians, we can consider how we can engage with existing ideas - those from our experts as well as peers - to access a level of creativity that is uniquely ours, when we connect the dots where no connection had previously existed.
3) Seth Godin defines creativity as "solving interesting problems for other people."
Musicians are great at problem solving. We are skilled at overcoming obstacles, hardships in our individual training. We manage decently well in teams that often have to work together to solve collective issues. We are passionate about making artistic projects happen no matter the challenges we face. What if we viewed these aspects of our work as being highly creative? What if we actively looked for interesting problems to solve for the good of the people around us? What kind of creative activity may result from thinking that way? How could that activity be funneled into and merged with the regular work we do in making music?
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Next time you're not feeling fully creative as a musician, remember to discover the wonder in your existing discipline, let go of having to be original, and find interesting problems to solve.
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