What has been will be again, It’s jarring when you realize that you haven’t made anything really… new. It’s a feeling that creeps in and terrorizes you – that you can never create anything truly original. All the music in the world that has ever been written is all there will ever be! Even when you listen to your favorite music, read your favorite books, and study your favorite art, you feel as though you’ve hit a dead end. Will you ever become the artist you’ve always dreamed to be? Guess where you’re living. You’re in a creative echo chamber. … I grew up on contemporary Christian music and worship songs. It was my daily source of music for years until I joined the middle school concert band. Little by little, I was exposed to new musical ideas, but I was never encouraged to listen to anything new unless it was by a Christian artist or if it was a piece we were playing in band. When I finally decided to be a composer in high school, my music sounded very much like what I listened to. Repetitive chord progressions, familiar rhythms and tonality that was easy on the ears… but I never stretched out of that. The reason my growth was stunted in the early years was because I didn’t feel the need to explore. In a way, that was a good thing – I was free to make music without feeling overwhelmed by all the possibilities. But when I began listening to music like rap, rock, folk, classical and 20th century music, a whole new world was opened up to me. As a result, I improved tremendously in my composing. When I internalized the new music, I gradually found I had an entirely new source of inspiration to draw from! I had more fun with my music than I ever had before because I was learning and growing and exploring and picking myself back up when I failed. There was an optimism and determination growing in me. … So what is a Creative Echo Chamber (CEC)? In short, it’s your comfort zone. Your creative identity, if you please. It’s full of all the art, music, and books that are your intake, your place from which you pull inspiration and new ideas. Because, let’s be real, it’s impossible to create something truly new and original (see Ecclesiastes 1:9). Artists are just copycats of the art that they love, the art that is in their CEC. What makes it art is the distinctive touch, care, and meaning that the artist gives to it. But the problem with your CEC lies in how long you live with the same old creative identity. As artists, we should always be growing. But when your pool of creativity becomes stagnant, so does what you create. So does your growth. So does your motivation and inspiration. Your work simply won’t grow to its fullest potential. YOU won’t grow to your fullest potential. And if you’re not growing, you’re also not coasting – there is no coasting in art. Just like with exercise, there is only strengthening and weakening. So how do we fix this? It probably won’t be easy, and you might not like it, but you need to leave your CEC for a while. Leave all your old books and music and art and try something new. Listen to new and different music like I did, or read books outside your genre, or go to an art museum with a variety of art styles within it. Study these things for a while. Adopt a few favorites as your own, and then try making something new. See if you don’t have a new idea. As humans, we inherently need a balance between motion and stillness, sound and quiet, change and consistency. Inevitably, if you become bored in your CEC you’ll naturally decide to move out. That’s what happened with me, though I had an initial push from two separate music teachers. After that, it was all downhill. I grew to love this different and new music I was exploring. Classical music, which I used to think was stuffy and reminded me of my grandma (What? She loved the stuff!), has now burst forth with brilliant radiance in my mind. I’m learning about - among other things - structure, harmony, weird meters, atonality, and modes. As a result, my enthusiasm and inspiration have returned, and my music is better than ever - and it’s continually improving. So perhaps a complete move-out isn’t in order quite yet. There are other effective ways to come in contact with new art and diversify your CEC. One way is by getting involved in a community and finding some friends who also love to create. If you go online, I guarantee that the people you meet will not have the same tastes as you do. Plus, if you’re open to learning (and I hope you are!), you can build great friendships AND be exposed to new art at the same time. Personally, I know that having someone to stand by you and encourage you along your artistic journey is also an amazing source of motivation and inspiration. I would never be where I am as a composer today without the author of this blog (You’re literally the best, Kit). My hope in writing this is that you will be inspired to search out new art so you can grow. You don’t need to COMPLETELY immerse yourself in it - even dipping your toe in is helpful. But reaching outside of your Creative Echo Chamber is the only remedy for the problems that spring from it. The most important thing to remember is that even though we might take some new things back to our echo chambers, we should never revert back to sitting there after our first adventure. Keep going out, adding to your collection of knowledge and thoughts each time. Extend the reach of your artistic views for your whole life. Discover art from different genres, different times, different countries. Become a more rounded creator. There is a world of creativity out there just waiting for you to explore it. So, let’s go and dive into it. Thanks for reading!
Have you ever experienced the impact of stepping out of your comfort zone? How did your creativity grow? What genres, styles, or ideas do you think you could explore to improve your art?
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Lily Calicois an aspiring composer, writer, artist and musician. Archives
March 2018
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