Group Evaluation:

The third project I completed, titled from the beginning as ‘Existential Breakfast’, was the project I noticed the greatest amount of personal improvement in my creative decisions and most effective collaboration with the other musicians. I began to navigate several areas not only with efficiency but also with confidence.

When starting a new project, often looking at a metaphorical “blank page’ can feel daunting. After two other projects, uncertainty over the direction of this project could be felt. However, from the spontaneous piano playing initiated by me, we were able to improvise on a small piano motif. No written words, or chords, Taibanni, our bassist, used his ears to find the key we were playing in, and the drums (Billy) and guitar (Sam) quickly followed. There was little to no discussion around the first instance of playing, but after we’d stopped, it became clear that moving in the direction of an instrumental piece, without form or structure, could be an interesting way of creating something new. It was poorly fleshed out, but the idea was strong and was built on quickly by the end of the first week. Not only had we broken the seal of a creative block, but we had taken it beyond our comfort zones. Listening to week one on the 6th of Feb from (1:30min to 1:50min), we can hear the uncertainty in the idea, and it would need to be fleshed out.

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As the weeks progressed, the idea naturally changed. But not all change was natural, some things were thrust upon us. The biggest of these changes was the introduction of vocalist Taz. At first our initial thought was to try and add lyrics to this piece of music, but rather than resign ourselves to the usual structure of a song, we kept imagining new things, and asked her to improvise not just with words but also with sounds…

I found it freeing, I ended up prefering singing like that, I wasn’t worried about the words, just the sound I was creating

Taz

As a group, we were able to facilitate Taz’s desire to do something different to push herself out of her comfort zone and continue to contribute to the band not only by pushing the idea into new realms but also by keeping true to the initial idea. It’s in these small compromises that our creativity flourished, not in what we knew we could do as a band, but pushing each other to collaborate in new areas, sometimes in completely alien ones. Taibani commented that Taz’s contribution to the piece was similar to that of Billy Preston’s contribution to the Beatles’ ‘Get Back’ sessions, in which he was able to revitalise the group, giving them new creative energy and vision.

Other artistic references had also been made, which helped keep everyone on a similar footing: taking mostly from jazz and improvisation styles, I knew that the group who’d have mostly all performed or created in those spaces would all feel very comfortable in that style. But as a classical musician, I was initially hesitant to contribute much of the improvisation. However, it was thinking about classical pieces that focus on improvisation that helped me with this mental block, pieces like circular music by Jürg Frey and also In C by Terry Riley. Even in this small change of mind, something daunting became something that I’ve proven I can play. By using those composers as inspiration, I was able to close the mental creative block and contribute more holistically.

Personal Evaluation:

At the beginning of the project, I had just finished reading “The Creative Act” (Rubin, 2023), and from it I had taken a great deal. The biggest of which is the idea that ideas are like “seeds” (Rubin, 2023), some of which grow into fleshed-out ideas that can be used by other people, and go with other seeds that contribute to a larger whole. It’s in how he describes confidence in ideas that I found a great deal of inspiration.

This is not to say that I was always pushing my idea, but rather that ideas can also be let go of. Picking when to speak and when to push for an idea that works, not just for yourself but also for the group, is a challenging aspect of the creative process. It was in this project that I found balance, I suddenly became more aware of not only the music that was happening spontaneously, but also of the ideas that were being presented around the playing. Hearing and understanding those, knowing when an idea someone else had was something worth investing time into and when my idea was something to advocate for.

This can be heard in one of the final versions of the piece on the 26th of February from 1:46. The piano plays a high, tinkling part, which is in direct contrast to the other very low bass parts that I had played previously. This was an idea I liked, and so I suggested it, and the group liked it, but they wanted to know and negotiate where in the piece it would fit.

This give and take is so crucial to the creative process; it’s easy for a dictator to form in these situations. For one person to enact only their ideas, to push for a sound that they can hear, unregarding of the opinions of others. And so, the whole group being mindful of each other’s ideas is key to creating something everyone loves and feels proud to present.

I found that it was through my reading of Rick Rubin and my growing confidence, resulted in not just a better and more creative result (ie, a result that accurately reflected both my taste and that of the group) but also a more enjoyable environment to create music in. Pushing myself to participate in fields and areas forgein to me, has proven that creating music, is not so much about the result, which may never be finished, but about trying to push the boat out of the normally and using the experience and tools of the group members in partnership with your own, to create something new.