Composing a Symphony

I, myself, have never been a musical person. Music class was the one thing I dreaded going to in school and I always found myself escaping through my thoughts and not always being mentally there. However, within the reading Composing a Symphony by Tchaikovsky, I can take the things he’s saying and understand from my experiences.

 Tchaikovsky starts off by saying that sometimes inspiration just comes to him and the “germ” (idea) “must come at a favorable moment”.  I remember watching my (at the time) favorite show Glee. At the end the creator came on and had an interview answering questions about the show and how he thought of the idea. I specifically recall him saying that it was a great idea but it wouldn’t have been nearly as much of a success if it didn’t come out at the right time. This is what Tchaikovsky is saying, when his inspiration hits, it has the ability to grow and become a musical masterpiece if it comes at the right time. I agree with this. I believe that some things happen for a reason. If you get an inspiring idea and you don’t have the time or attention to nurture it so that it can become all that it should, then the inspiration is worthless. You need to be able to act upon an idea in order to make it into something you could have never imagined.

Tchaikovsky then states that once inspiration strikes, he “forgets everything and behaves like a mad man” then goes on to explain how he rushes against time and even the smallest noise or reminder can jolt him back into reality and ruin his creative flow. A radio station did an interview with Lady GaGa once, an international pop singer if you have never heard of her, and they asked her how she came up with her songs. She then went on to tell the station that she carried a notepad and a pen with her everywhere that she went. Why did she do this? She believed inspiration could strike at any moment and, like Tchaikovsky, she didn’t want to let her whereabouts or activities when was doing while her inspiration struck keep her from writing down her thoughts and in the end not be able to produce something because she forgot about what had sparked her ideas. If you think about it, what both Lady GaGa and Tchaikovsky are saying makes sense. Have you ever had an amazing idea but never wrote it down and decided to act on it later? It’s happened to me numerous times and when it comes to later I can’t remember what It was I was so inspired by. Reality and time can slow a person down so it is essential to act on an impulse and carry through with it even if it means racing against time and distractions.

Lastly, Tchaikovsky touches base on the fact that inspiration does not always come when wanted or needed. It takes time and effort. I agree with this. I believe, after the numerous articles I’ve read on creativity, that inspiration doesn’t just hit. It’s like going about your normal life waiting to win the lottery even though you didn’t buy any tickets. In a metaphorical sense, you have to buy the tickets. With creativity you have to work for inspiration. You have to lay down the building blocks and get your mind going in order to get a bigger more holistic picture. Pablo Picasso did numerous sketches before the masterpiece of Guernica came out and became famous. It is possible to work without inspiration but if you want to create something new and moving, you must first get your mind to work to get your creativity started. 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPbjSnZnWP0

 The link above shows what happens with creativity and time. Although it shows that the more time is given the more we give thee chance for playfulness to come out I believe there is a link between this and the reading. It shows that if limited in time, you can only do a small about of work. This is like what Tchaikovsky was saying in the fact that he has to race against time. Second, i think that this shows that once these children were given something to work with and given more time they were able to come up with more creative ideas, add colors and involve different aspects besides just the drawing of the clock. This is like the making of music in a way that at first he had to come up with his own ideas without inspiration. Then once it hit it all came to him and he was able to go on and make something out of it, like when the children made clocks into flowers and penguins. It becomes something after you take time and nurture an idea and then allow creativity to hit.

 

A Blessing

My dad kept tapping on the steering wheel, a habit he always did when he was nervous. I was close with my father and could always tell what his mannerisms entailed. One time when I was ten we visited his mother who he did not have a pleasant past with. From time to time her name would show up on our caller id and they would chat for a few minutes but their relationship was not ideal for a mother and son. On our way to Belwick, where she had lived, I spent about two hours listening and observing my dad and his nervous characteristics. He bounced his thumbs off the steering wheel ever so slightly, constantly changing the radio station before a song could even finish while trying to make conversation with those around him. My father was trying to make the time pass, doing anything possible to forget his destination. He focused getting his mind off of things before facing the big bad wolf we called my grandmother.

A mother and son should have a great relationship though, right? It all started when my father was around twenty years old. He was in college with goals of being a doctor, maybe a surgeon, just like his mother. He was the highlight of her life, always getting good grades, doing what he was told and never getting into trouble. He was on a path for success and she had dreams of him being intelligent, rich and in love with a woman up to standards for her baby boy. However, that was not the case. The story that they tell me is when he was in med school at Elmira College, there was an art school about ten minutes down the road. Students from Elmira and the art school Oldfield College of Art would always meet up at parties, socialize and get to know each other quite well. One night when my father John was at a party, he “laid eyes on her and instantly fell in love” (her being my mother Christa). They connected instantly, loving every moment they were spending together. My grandmother, however, did not approve. She hated that he was bound to a woman so free and careless, a true artist by nature, and the fact that my father kept pursuing her made her furious. My father never became a doctor or a surgeon, he opted for the route of a physician’s assistant (close to a doctor but not good enough for his mother). They slowly began to lose connection and by the time he announced their wedding and found out they were expecting in the same day, my grandmother became cold. She stopped keeping in touch, sending birthday and holiday cards and soon my mother and father stopped trying to keep up the relationship as well. My grandmother couldn’t stand the fact that her son had basically signed away his future of success for a woman who she deemed unworthy.

Needless to say growing up, my grandmother was never really around much. She never came to my school plays or dance recitals and I never got a card for my birthday containing money in it like everyone else’s grandparents did for them. Never was she around to take care of me or watch me grow. So going on this trip to see her with my father was nerve racking for me too but I would never let my father see that, he had enough to worry about. We pulled into her driveway, slowly rolling along the pavement until we came to a stop. I got up and out of the Honda Civic and realized my dad sat motionless in the front seat. “Come on dad, we have to do this” I said. Why was he being like that? We’re family. She has to welcome us into her house with open arms.  He slowly unbuckled his seat belt and started climbing out of the car. “I’m not sure this is such a good idea anymore” he said “she doesn’t even know that were coming”. Yes, I admit driving two hours to see her was a little hasty, especially because of our not so great history, but she was our only hope and this visit was needed.

Together we slowly walked up the brick pathway leading to this extremely large house, one that put ours to shame. The garden was perfectly grown, each set of flowers systematically placed next to one another. Grass mowed to perfection, everything just seemed to fit exactly how you would want. Perfect. That’s what she always aimed for, what my father couldn’t hold up to. My father stood behind me in a frightful way, waiting for me to press on the doorbell. I did and a few seconds later my grandmother, looking much older than I last remember, opened the door with a smile which quickly turned to a confused yet disappointed look. “John! Rebecca! I had no idea you were coming by, why didn’t you let me know?” up front she seems pleased maybe even enthused to see us but I knew deep down she was caught off guard and seemed a little disappointed it was us at the door. “Hi mom” my dad said “actually, we need your help”. Surprised and anxious to know why she welcomed us in, sat us down offered us coffee or food and asked what the problem was, seeming to be genuinely concerned.  

I am 31 years old and married. I have tried for many years to get pregnant and it never seemed to work. This time, I really am. The problem is, it seems too good to be true. I have the worst luck, especially with my body. It seems that whenever I have something going good for me, it all goes wrong. When I got my first job at the local hospital (medicine seems to run in my family’s blood), I was enthused. A year later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to quit my job and undergo extensive treatment including radiation. I finally overcame that but the endless amount of pills and chemicals that went into my body harmed it and prevented me endless times from having a child and now that I have the opportunity to nothing can go wrong.

My grandmother is a renowned doctor not only at the mercy hospital but also all over the country. She is known for her research and scientific practices and most importantly, her work as an obstetrician, as she was the lead doctor in her field as noted by New York Magazine. I knew I was bound for a miscarriage or problems with my pregnancy and I knew that nobody else but her could help me. Surprisingly, when I told her this, she obliged cheerfully. Was my grandmother as bad of a person as they said she was? She seemed genuinely grateful that I came to her with my problem and that I trusted her. Maybe she felt guilt from her lack of being there in my childhood but if this was the way she wanted to make it up to me, which was okay with me.

We started with a plan of attack. Pregnancy with my heath conditions could hurt my health or my baby. We planned that I would meet with my grandmother every three weeks at the hospital. I would undergo a series of tests, looking for the reoccurrence of cancer, ultrasounds, and blood tests for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Screening blood tests were taken to see if my child had any genetic abnormalities. My soon to be retired grandmother was excellent at her job, almost worn out. But each time within the seven months I met with her she welcomed me with open arms, seemingly grateful I had actually come to her for help.

After each appointment, everything with my pregnancy seemed normal. I was cancer free and healthy, the baby had no genetic abnormalities and we were on a path for success. I knew my pregnancy wasn’t doomed but I knew it was better to be safe than sorry and my grandmother was the best at what she did. One day, as my pregnancy was coming to the end, my grandmother caught me by surprise. She turned to me and said “Rebecca, I know I wasn’t always there for you but I’m happy you came to me for this”. But why would I not come to her? She was my family after all and a professional in the field I needed. No one was more qualified than her and if she was willing to put away the past and start a new future with me, then I would be too.

It was a Tuesday night and my husband Dave just laid down for bed. I was putting away the laundry I had left before I went to bed when my water broke. I called Dave into the room and he had a look of panic on his face. “Get your stuff together and let’s go, I’ll call your grandmother”. In a nervous panic I packed some clothes and my phone and shoved it in my bag and then rushed out the door. I hopped into the car and Dave sped out of the neighborhood and all the way to the hospital where my grandmother and parents all stood together waiting for me. This was the day, I made it all the way through my pregnancy without any complications, a dream I hoped would come true. I was rushed into a delivery room and asked questions by surrounding nurses about my health information and what my birth entailed. After hours of contractions, we learned my baby was breech. My baby was facing head down and couldn’t be turned or born naturally. My grandmother made the call and an emergency cesarean section needed to happen. She rushed me in the emergency room and it was time. With my grandmother instructing surgery right next to me, I was sure I would be okay. My mother and father were right by my side and so was my husband, I wouldn’t have had this birth any other way.

An hour later, I emerged from the emergency room as a new proud mother of a baby girl. Looking back at the process, my grandmother was there the whole time for me, supporting me and guiding me.  Not just because it was her specialty but because she truly did care about me regardless of our past together. “What should we name our new baby girl?” Dave asked me as I was laying there, memorized at the new beautiful baby in my life. “I want her name to have meaning” I said “I want to name her after the woman I couldn’t have done this without, the one that made it so meaningful. The name also means blessed, I am so lucky to have this child. I want to name her Katarina, after my grandma”.

Enhancing Personal Creativity

I enjoyed reading Enhancing Personal Creativity by Mihaly Csikszentimihalya. I found it both interesting and informative. In the reading, the author talks about creativity and interest. She states that if you want to be creative you have to let your mind wander; ask more surprising questions and find your interests. I think this is a probable method to generate creativity. Although, I think today in this day and age it is also nearly impossible to go a day doing this. Today, people are too closed minded and too focused on what they need to do in their daily lives. I don’t think it is possible for one to just let their minds wander while there are other tasks on their minds, we as people were not trained that way. Humans, and especially Americans, have way too much on their plate to be creative. Take the average college student as an example. I’ve only been taking classes for about four weeks. Between attending the class and doing the hours of homework required night after night to study and do well, there is no time or room for creativity. Creativity flows within children because they have the ability to be curious and wonder about the unknown. Schools nowadays shape one’s mind to be one sided, they fill up our mind and our plate leaving us no time to be creative.

I once thought of myself to be a creative person. I loved art class and anything that had to do with making up things with my creativity and imagination. I did not realize until my senior year that my creativity and freedom had been slowly taken away. Each art class I had taken didn’t allow the student to be creative. A task was put in front of you and yes, you got to choose between a picture or two that you wanted to recreate with paint or clay or whatever was assigned but you never truly got the choice to do what you wanted. I remember in eleventh grade art class I had to paint a still life. The picture was printed out for me and I was told what medium to do it in. The following year (my senior year) I had loved art so much I decided to take AP studio art and boy was it a rough ride. It exhausted my brain and my physical capacity to create artwork. Right from the start we were told we had to pick our own concentration and go with it and my teacher was always less than amused with my pieces. I always had trouble departing from my references, creating a piece that was truly my own. I remember her sitting me down for a talk. She tried to illustrate to me that she understood what was happening. I had a different mindset than all the other art students and I just wanted the right answer, I didn’t want to explore and I needed too. She was right and she told me different ways to allow myself to be creative which included meditating and yoga. I ran into two problems, taking 4 AP courses I had no time to experiment with my brain to see what would happen  due to the fact I had loads and loads of work to do on top of cheerleading practices, games and competitions. My second problem was my creativity was taken from me. All my years of schooling led me to only work for the right answer, achieve what was expected of me. Now that the time came to be able to make my own artistic decisions, I didn’t have any. I just wanted the right answer.

Lets pretend we did have time to be creative and nothing blocked or influenced the amount of creativity one had. The chapter is saying that you need to have an open mind, surprise yourself every day and then find what the central theme of those surprises were. Once you find that central theme you’re supposed to just focus on that and build up walls around you that may lead to distraction. I think it would be great for one to do this. Although, I think that by only focusing on one point of interest after you find it and building up walls around you, you’re not allowing to be influenced by any factors around you. You in fact may be blocking creativity by trying to build it.

I think that this passage was very interesting to read. I very much think that this method could work if one had the time or the mindset. People are always born with creativity but something builds their brain to change and not be creative. I know I was shaped by school and education. I went from having a creative mind to just focusing on getting the right answer because that’s what was needed to succeed in school. My mind slowly transformed. I’m not saying by any means I won’t go back to the creative individual I once was but I do believe that while I am consumed with school and other factors around me, it would be very hard to be creative once again. 

The video I pasted below really influenced me. It talks about creativity and trying, if you never try you never know and you can never really explore your interests. If I had tried to think differently and try new things in my art class maybe I would have succeeded greatly instead of just passing by. "The more we think we are limited, the more limited we become". I think I am limited but if I just try to expand my horizons and try new things, a new realm of possibilities are likely to come.Creativity isn't about succeeding at what you are talented at, its about finding what you enjoy and discovering new opportunities and experiences to be influenced by.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=801YMsC_Cj8

Multiple Intelligences

After reading Creators: Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner, I can say that I am in a state of awe and also overwhelmed. Gardner had done a study on seven people trying to find out how and where creativity is found. He came up with a pyramid containing three different aspects that he claims all work together and make one creative. The first section was individuals. It was made up of them themselves and the brains that they were born with. The second section was called the domain and it was the type/area of work individuals were in. And last was the field which consisted of judges and institutions that identified which individuals were outstanding. Albert Einstein, Picasso, Igor Stravinsky, TS Eliot, Martha Graham, Mahatma Gandhi and Sigmund Freud were all creative geniuses that went above and beyond their field of work that Gardner had decided to study. All of these individuals were very different yet similar in many ways. They were middle class, born with creative talents, knew how to work hard, had a strong work ethic and were all born around the same time. Also, they all made leaps and bounds for their area of work. They all took the domains that they were in, mastered it and then changed it. The difference was that they all came from different areas of intelligence whether it be linguistic, musical, mathematical, bodily etc.

I was most impressed by Picasso’s way of creativity. From the start he was a prodigy, being taught by his father who was also a painter. When Picasso was young, he had surpassed the skills of his father. He went on in the art world to create things such as cubism and new pieces of art. His piece of artwork Les Demoiselles D’Avignon was hidden from people at first due to the large negative response from others in the field and he waited for the perfect time to bring it out so that it could be accepted. “He felt it was important to revolutionize and take risks the field saw by creating acceptable new images”.

I agree with many things Gardner is saying. Although, I think everyone has creativity and it is something you are born with. But it is those who can take it and the knowledge and talents they have and combine it with hard work to come out with an extraordinary piece no one has ever seen or thought of before. This is where the revolutionary change occurs.  Like the reading says, “one simply cannot determine whether an individual is creative”. I believe that if creative individual wants to make a change in their field and alter the way people look at it, first they must be dedicated and passionate. They must also have the talent to complement those desires and the wish to go above and beyond everybody else around them. I agree with the part that individuals are judged by the people in their field. It is those that they must prove themselves to and show promise because they determine if they have outstanding talent or just an average amount. All of the people Gardner had studied were influential to those around them and future generations and they all had a breakthrough to get to this point. It frustrates me that all of the people studied but one were men because if girls were allowed the chance to be intellectual, so many more creative breakthroughs could have occurred and now we never know because women weren’t given the chance to try to overcome. Yes, these individuals were the most creative in their field but it doesn’t mean they are the only ones who are creative, creativity lies within everybody but most of the time individuals don’t know what to do with it, don’t have the passion to use it toward their goals or know how to use it to make their dreams a reality.