Even A 3-year-old Can Do This

0 CommentsSaturday • January 8, 2011 • by Imei

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The other day, I had a conversation with Justin Hillgrove of Imps And Monsters. I asked him if he ever worried about other artists copying or literally duplicating his work and selling them as their own. His answer was disrupting. Justin said he didn’t worry about people copying him because he wouldn’t be where he is now if he hadn’t done his own share of copying others. Imitation being the best form of flattery, it can also be the genesis of creation for your own style.

Whatever line of artistic work you do, your mind can either be full of fear or full of freedom. One songwriter once told me that he worried about running out of ideas for music. Ironically, this songwriter has had music of his own purchased by famous composer/musicians, and he was sharing with me that he, too, was filled with fear until he realized one day that creativity is like a waterfall. Once you get into the stream of creativity, it never runs dry. But first, you have to get into that waterfall, and one of the ways to do that is to start by imitating the works of others that you admire.

Take a look at this three-year-old child conducting to Beethovan’s Fifth Symphony, Fourth Movement:

[video embed is temporarily down: click here for the link to the Youtube video]

What do you see? First of all, Jonathan has listened to this music before. This is clearly because he is able to anticipate the changes in timbre, volume, and feeling. Second, he is imitating someone he has seen before, right down to the look of intensity at certain points, the whole-body dance that is the style of the conductor, and the obvious parody in the moments when the music goes quiet. I don’t think he was copying anyone when he needed to remove a booger from his nose! But even with imitation, this child has his own style. Note his foot pattern. That’s all him. He created that movement. Right there is evidence for imitation leading someone to creativity. A few more times, and this will inhabit the body of the person creating a new track – or groove — in his neural network.

Just be sure that when you use the works of others directly, get permission, credit appropriately, and don’t outright steal it. In the case of music copyright infringement, this can be an expensive mistake.

Some people have seen me start practicing piano by doing cover tunes. I put in some practice by simply taking the chord progressions and lyrics of others, and playing by ear. This allows me to concentrate not so much on creating, but on being in the creative stream. After doing this for fifteen minutes or longer, I’m usually in a more receptive frame of mine to move into creating something of my own.

I am flattered every time another dancer has come to me for an idea in choreography. I am unafraid that I will run out of ideas. Chris Pirillo reminds me time and time again, it’s not the idea that matters so much: it’s the execution of those ideas that makes it “work” (or not). Your unique spin on an idea is as creative as the idea itself. Your presentation of the “same thing” is going to be different than someone else’s.

How has imitation helped you become a better artist? Share your best stories in a comment. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @HipsForHire.

Posted in: Art, Youtube, music

Tagged with: 3 year old, conductor, create, imitate, imitation, Imps and monsters, Justin Hillgrove