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How To Find Musical Ideas
By
Edward Weiss
The Russian Composer Igor Stravinsky once said: " A good composer does not imitate;
he steals."
I think what he meant by this is that it's OK to use a technique developed by another
and make it your own. To imitate is to steal a technique or style and, somehow, not
incorporate your own voice and energy into it.
We all get our ideas from somewhere, whether by accidentally listening to a piece
of music and subconsciously storing it away, or by a conscious act where we say to
ourselves: "This sounds great and I want to use it in my own music."
Some people have the idea that everything created must be original and by that they
mean that there must be no outside influences - but this is unrealistic. Haydn taught
Beethoven. Italian composers influenced Bach and so on. All past and present composers
on this planet have their influences whether they admit them or not.
Now, most of you know that I have two major influences: George Winston and John
Herberman. You may or may not know of these people. The point is I admit that they
shaped my own style. How? Because I liked listening to them. It's that simple.
When I sit down to play, I inevitably gravitate towards one style or the other.
I'm fine with that. It doesn't mean that I'm unoriginal. It just means that I
acknowledge reality and don't try to come up with "something original." What sounds
new is 99.9 times out of 100, a modification of what came before.
The whole point I'm trying to make is this: Don't try to be original. Instead, focus
on what you like and love and your own voice will come through in the end. The music
may be modified to an extreme (innovation) or just a little (homage). Just don't imitate.
Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music's online piano
lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for
over 14 yearso and now teaches an online class.
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