A couple days ago, Gabriel Wilson wrote on his blog about “Order and Creativity.” He had recently read a tweet from another music artist, who said that “Creativity and Order need to be held in balance, like walking a tight rope.”
He went on to explain that many artists over time have redefined what “order” really means. Each in their own way, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and U2 were all uncontemporary for their time, yet set a new standard for dress, style or technique as musicians.
I think this is an excellent point. As artists, we really need to consider how much we rely on the “old order” of projects past. How can you innovate when everything is a formula? We need to break out of the box and give ourselves room to be “disorderly”… to breathe, play, experiment, and try something different.
I think that great creativity comes about when we mix fresh inspiration with a balanced perspective on order. Structure is actually an essential ingredient to most works of art. Think of the steady beat on most rock music, or the intentional syncopation of break beats. Melody, rhythm, repeating choruses… structure is life-giving, used in the right way.