Creativity in a Box
Saturdays 4 September 2010
- Creativity In A Box
- Nick Atkinson considers how limits, constraints and boundaries affect music composition. 4 September 2010. (duration: 18′52″)
Jack White, founder of The White Stripes, has always known that a lack of boundaries kills creativity. White has always strived to invent and compose within the strictest of practical limits. Two musicians. Three colours. Guitars that are hard to play and refuse to stay in tune. These are just a few of the constraints White imposes upon himself. These restrictions allow him to flourish.
Local song-writer Sean Donnelly was troubled. He had a brilliant, agile band that could assemble grooves and tunes from pieces plucked from almost any genre. It'd been a goal of his for some time to fashion such an ensemble. But now it proved to be his compositional downfall. There were too many choices, too many options. It wasn't working. Now Sean has a new four part ensemble guided by very strict limitations and the songs are pouring out.
White and Donnelly are both trying to avoid the static caused by having to make countless choices. It's a little like trying to select a tune on your ipod from 10,000 different songs, like picking a single dish from a 15 page menu. The more options the greater the difficulty deciding.
Nick Atkinson speaks to a wide range of musicians who reveal that it is limits and constraints that are the key to unleashing their creativity. As well as White and Donnelly we hear from Riki Gooch, Brent Parks, Matt Black of Cold Cut and many others who all share a need to limit the scope of their invention before they can enable it.
Don McGlashan and Sean Donnelly. Photograph by Nick Aitkinson.
Riki Gooch. Photograph by Richard Brimmer.
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