Creativity versus Competition
I really enjoy playing and making music and freedom and the joy that it has the potential to give me, but I have been noticing a trend recently in the way that I think recently. Frequently I have been finding myself comparing own skills and creativity to the other musicians that I play with and that are around me. I either find myself trying judge their skill level as compared to mine, or I become discouraged because of a person's obvious skill and creativity that seems far superior to mine. At first I saw nothing wrong with this, until later I realized not only was I discouraging my own creativity, but more importantly I was unfairly judging people and getting discouraged by other people's gifts.
Obviously, this is not how I want to live my life, not only musically, but also with my everyday life in general. Creativity should not be something that is envied, but rather enjoyed, and people should not be judged by their skill level, but by what is really in their hearts. It is sometimes hard for me to realize that when it comes to art, everyone is coming from a different background and everyone is going to have a unique way of interpreting the world around them, whether it is through writing, music, visual art, dance, or any other way that their creativity may manifest itself. When will I finally begin to realize this and stop just trying to compare other people to some arbitrary standard, and what will happen when this idea starts being applied to other areas of my life?
About Me
- David Butcher
- Grand Marais, Minnesota, United States
- I am currently working as a canoe guide for a summer camp in Minnesota. I am young, naive, and not sure what lies in store for me as I continue to journey through my life. The only thing that I am certain of is that I am going to enjoy every minute of this journey that is spreading out before me.
1 comment:
At the same time though, while not judging people, is it wrong to see how one's ability stacks up to what they're trying to do? I agree with 2/3 of what you're saying. 1) I agree that it is wrong to judge people based on their ability - including yourself. 2) One should not compare between styles. For example, saying a jazz artist has no creativity or talent because she does not conform to a classical standard is preposterous. My only question is if we cannot compare people's ability to a standard, how can we improve? While it may be warm and fuzzy to question what improvement means, I challenge whether that really helps the guitarist hit the sound he's been gunning for, or that drummer to consistently keep on time.
Interpretation and creativity are one thing. Being skillful is different. The more skill one has the more potential outlet there is for creativity and interpretation. Jazz players have theory. Classical players have theory. Every style of music has "right" notes and "wrong" notes (though technically its more a question of timing). In some senses, the art of improvement seems to be conformity to those rules of theory to the utmost perfection. However, its the great ones who move beyond the theory and do something new and original. However, it isn't throwing away the theory that makes them great, its creating a new theory. Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and J.S. Bach weren't great because they started playing random notes in an effort to throw away the theory book. Through skill and mastery of it, they went beyond it. There is a difference between someone who has a good intention and heart yet is significantly lacking in skill, plucking or banging out random notes that occasionally happen to sound good and someone who creates something new or synthesizes two things that were old into something different through being skillful and intelligent.
Is it judgmental to say to someone, "that doesn't sound good...try it this way..."? If the original way is in fact the way the creative individual wanted it to sound, then more power to him on embarking to something new. But if it is a mistake (as often happens when we lack skill), then perhaps judgement is needed in order to improve.
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