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This morning in a guitar lesson, my student expressed frustration that although she knows only a handful of chords, she can’t learn any new ones from learning new music. I told her that very simply, that was because the folks writing the new songs she’s been learning don’t really know any more than she does. Most have learned the chords they know in the same way that she has learned hers. They then go about creating new songs with the same tiny box of materials. We borrow what already is, and use those materials to create something that is nearly the same. Imagine the creativity if we imagined what isn’t yet, and acquired the materials to make that happen. We would keep imagining beyond where we are and what we have, and would strive to do what it takes to make it reality.
Imagine two guitarists whose styles are often compared. The comparison really only goes as far as instrumentation and some catchy techniques, but to those who don’t look beyond the “catchy”, this is all there is. To those compelled to hear more deeply, the catchy is the least common denominator. The one guitarist plays his instrument, finding in his ability lots of interesting melodies, turns and phrases and constructs them into a piece of music. He has a box of musical materials from which to construct. The same box from which he constructs all his music.
The other guitarist sits with his imagination, pen and paper and composes music that has nothing to do with his ability on the guitar. His imagination is not limited in any way by what he can already play. His music is not inhibited by the materials already in his box. Once finished, his composition will require him to invent new techniques, solve problems, stretch himself to realize what his imagination dreamed was possible. Years from now, he will have acquired abilities and ideas that he once never dreamed of, while the first guitarist will still be using his same old tried and true resources with his same old technical ability. The music of the second guitarist will probably appeal to new people all along his career, while the first guitarist will appeal only to those who enjoyed his music way back in the day. All the while, he’s worried that his own creativity will be squelched if he were to learn something new.