Other people's music inspires me!
ErickMcNerney
28 Aug 2013 06:42
I remember when I used to try to figure out Piano pieces by Liszt, Debussy, and Chopin. I also enjoyed trying to transcribe classical music pieces (especially Wagner, Tchaikovsky, and Sibelius). There was a great increase in my creativity.
I recently decided that I would do the same with other music, such as Movie Soundtracks, Popular Music, and whatever else there is out there. By playing other people's music you will be influenced greatly by their style and method of composition.
My first project is Hans Zimmer's The Ring. One of my favorite horror soundtracks. That eerie harmonic violin section is stuck in my head so often.
I will also never forget when I first started playing guitar and sat in my room for 4-5 hours trying to flesh out the guitar solo by Roby Kreiger in the Door's song Light My Fire. I know now that I did not figure it out very well, but the process was inspiring and encouraging. I learned from it and got better.
Ever since I was a kid I loved listening to music and playing music.
I believe we learned the most by listening to other music. If we stick to our own world only, we miss out on so much.
It is very important to find our own sound, but this cannot be done without being influenced by other sounds.
There may be other schools of thought on this, but I think it may be conceited to assume we can write music without the influence of others.
I think Socrates said it well when he said "By reading, we easily learn that which others have labored hard for" (I'm sure that's a paraphrase). I think most would agree it's much easier to play great music, then it is to compose it.
I recently decided that I would do the same with other music, such as Movie Soundtracks, Popular Music, and whatever else there is out there. By playing other people's music you will be influenced greatly by their style and method of composition.
My first project is Hans Zimmer's The Ring. One of my favorite horror soundtracks. That eerie harmonic violin section is stuck in my head so often.
I will also never forget when I first started playing guitar and sat in my room for 4-5 hours trying to flesh out the guitar solo by Roby Kreiger in the Door's song Light My Fire. I know now that I did not figure it out very well, but the process was inspiring and encouraging. I learned from it and got better.
Ever since I was a kid I loved listening to music and playing music.
I believe we learned the most by listening to other music. If we stick to our own world only, we miss out on so much.
It is very important to find our own sound, but this cannot be done without being influenced by other sounds.
There may be other schools of thought on this, but I think it may be conceited to assume we can write music without the influence of others.
I think Socrates said it well when he said "By reading, we easily learn that which others have labored hard for" (I'm sure that's a paraphrase). I think most would agree it's much easier to play great music, then it is to compose it.
Mizamook
29 Aug 2013 00:16
Nice post - thanks for sharing. It goes both ways, too. I love "discovering" influences ingrained in my recordings after they are recorded. Sure, it's not as deliberate of a method, but still carries the joy of discovery, and kind of expresses the unfathomable richness and variations possible in many artistic aspects of life.
Mizamook
29 Aug 2013 00:30
Also - you got me curious. I don't usually watch horror, but from this description my curiosity is piqued, especially with regard to the soundtrack. http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/ring.html