Hey, this post has a song at the end that you better check out!
A while ago I had some financial problems. Or, you could say, I was broke! I had a hard time with it and I was letting it get to me.
Great tip
Then my girl-friend reminded me of my own advice; to create something from my emotions – Use them instead of just letting them “cook” inside me. So, I decided to write a song about my situation. I actually got quite excited and I finished the whole song, lyrics and all.
First try
I tried to write some kind of jazzy music that I thought would be cool and that would enhance the feeling I was having about the subject. But I soon realized it was just a little too sad and the project did not make me happy. I just got more into “the mood”. The song became an amplifier to my emotion. This can be useful but this time it just made me grumpier and it was not a state I really wanted to stay in.
So, I abandoned the project. Luckily I kept the lyrics.
Second try
Much later, I just happened to find the lyrics again. This time I was more relaxed. I thought I should try to write some music to the song again. This time I chose a kind of music that made me happy. I did not think so much about if other people would like it. I just made it for me.
In the end it turned out to be more of a pop song. Perhaps more of a 70s, 80s mix. But I really liked the end-result because it took this problem that I had and mixed it with a song full of energy. It was like I could laugh at myself a little, I could see thing from a distance and it made the whole thing lighter.
New discovery
Now I had more energy to deal with the problem. I also realized that it was good to let my art/creativity “cook” sometimes. Meaning, when you have created something it can be good to let it be for a while and then come back to it.
Coming back to your art is an advice I’m sure you have heard before. It is like leaving the store to go home and think about the purchase before you make the big buy.
But in this case I was not just coming back. I was transforming my “big problem” into something light. I was making the song so much better just with my attitude, not with my skill and “critical thinking”.
You try it
I encourage you to try the same. Take something you have created that you have abandoned, or something that seem really serious in some way.
Now, take this painting or writing or song or whatever it is and have fun with it. If possible, it can be good to make a copy just in case… Change the mood, change it in such a way that if feels totally different even though the basic material is pretty much the same.
- For example, a text can be read entirely different. You can also write in a different tone with the same message.
- You can paint the same painting, keeping the idea but with different colours and technique, type of material, canvas etc. I know of a class where your assignment is to paint the same object 100 times.
- For music, keep the text and write new music. Or change the chords or melody into major instead of minor or vice versa of course.
Finally, here is the song I wrote so you can see what I did.
Enjoy!
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Do you have an experience similar to this? What did you create? What did you learn?
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Hello! My name is Samuel and this blog is about "creativeness" and overcoming procrastination. Check out "about" for more info. You can also connect with me via the icons below. Enjoy your stay!
