Passion and musical innovation
It may happen that women who are also musicians talk about music in terms of passionate and disinterested parenthood: they give birth to a piece of music, but it does not belong to them. They can see music distribution as nurturing leading to growth, which happens when the number of listeners increases. Listeners can really be passionate too: some have thousands of musical pieces that they really know. They listen to them on a regular basis. The passion for music can actually take many forms. When these forms change the form of music itself, producing a new style or renewing an ancient one, the passion leads to real innovation.
To innovate, musicians work hard. In fact, as for anything else, the passion for music is nothing like a temporary infatuation and it requires a lot of energy and dedication. And also, it seems, a high level of ethics. Sound engineer Tom Moulton, who once left the music industry because his expectations of it were not fulfilled, was, for decades, so dedicated to his work that he invented the remix. The cover made by Gloria Gaynor of ‘Never can say goodbye’ , originally sung by the Jackson 5, provides a sample of the sounds that he mixed. And he made a megamix of the song, combining it with some other titles. Moulton once said that, when musicians feel something inside, they just have to try it without letting outside influences stop them. In fact, people that give negative feedback without any valid reason are part of the problem, not of the solution. It is better for musicians to follow their emotions. When they really care about it, it is better for them to let their passion come out. It is easy to put a musical intuition in a box and not touch it, but following it may be more rewarding. And, Moulton says, opinions are not required before a piece of music is entirely composed: in fact, the composer still thinking about it, how could someone else give valuable feedback?
Tensing and relaxing
Musicians, composing a new piece, are often driven by passion. This does not mean that they must work quickly. It may happen, but it is not an obligation. And they sometimes feel the need to relax instead of running from note to note. Tensing and relaxing of the music must be in equilibrium and a way to reach that balance is sometimes to let go, sometimes to reshape the music. Tension is associated with the rules that must be followed in order to produce structured pieces of music.
Norms give to music its objective and tangible side. But the norms alone do not create music: they are guided by the emotions and, when musicians literally see the moment, it helps them to catch the music. Creating a poetic environment so that the music can flow forth may also reinforce musical activity. Anyhow, both rules and feelings provide the basis for music. From that basis, a more refined result can be obtained.