Everyone is different. Some people think and see so differently that they are called geniuses. In truth, genius is really more about being able to see things for multiple perspectives. A math genius sees how most people see math, but also from other ways as well. Most of the time in music we see genius manifest as a prodigy who can play everything he or she hears AND can add something to it from a new unique, personal perspective. This is what separates the average Youtube kid who can play anything from someone like Mozart or Jimi Hendrix.
Just because someone can do something no one else can or does do, we don’t need to label that person a genius necessarily. Sometimes that fits, but rarely – I can’t think of someone. Genius occurs when someone is fed something and they return it along with something else that pushes forward. This also lends to marketability. Often times, I hear artists say they make music like “nothing I’ve ever heard before”. Never, in my whole life, have I heard this and then heard the music and agreed. That line might work on someone who doesn’t listen to music as much as I have, but as far as I’m concerned (and more often than many might believe) the saying “There’s nothing new under the sun” rings true, but like DJs, Hip Hop producers, and others have shown us, a great, fresh, new remix is 100% possible.
Technology changes in music, but certain concepts will stay alive for thousands of years. It used to be that everyone was playing hand drums to communicate and chanting, and in reality, that hasn’t changed much. We might have a computer calculating the shuffle math, but it’s not that different.
Whether you are a 5 year old classical pianist or 50 year old singer-songwriter, learning to do what’s been done will help you if for no other reason that to point you toward what hasn’t been done yet. And geniuses copy each other all the time. Jimi Hendrix copied both the Beatles and Bob Dylan while other geniuses even crossed and double-crossed artistic disciplines like when Dave Chappelle copied Prince and then Prince copied Dave Chappelle right back and, of course, Dave Chappelle and Prince had copied their heroes coming up as well. Stephen Hawking named one of his books after the saying by Sir Issac Newton which was “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
I implore you to explore this idea. It’s a lifetime thing and you don’t need to copy everyone or everything. Just be aware of what you can do with what you take in. A great book to read is “Steal Like An Artist” by Austin Kleon (2012). If for nothing else, pass on the feeling you got when you heard your favorite artists play. At the end of the day, us musicians and songwriters are remembered for the stories we tell and how we tell them.
If you want some help with dealing with any of this, let me know in a message and we can talk about this or any other aspect of your career.
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