Musical Creativity

Nicolas Sablan

Musician’s Comfort Zone

and the

Comfort and Confidence

• Makes a musician sound musically competent

• Makes each note sound purposeful(defined)

• (+) Creates space for adding entertainment to the performance

Professional Lead Plays Bad Note

The Comfort Zone that One Develops is Dependent on:

• How one discovers & learns an instrument

• Where one is from

• The music one listens to

• Lessons: learnt scales & chords

Creativity Inside of these Zones

• Familiar/Comfortable Shapes & Familiar/Comfortable Patterns

• Preference in Techniques

One shape per chord

The same piano concept on guitar

Recycling Patterns

• Inside playing – Only playing notes inside of the given chord(s)

Creativity Outside of One’s Comfort Zones

Outside playing :

• Freeform – Think Freeform Jazz

• Tension

• Pushing on Potential Techniques(new)

Outside playing

Inside/Outside playingBenefits

• Fresh sounds produced by raising and reducing tension.

• Allows someone who has no idea what he or she is doing and still sound like he or she does. (Refer back to “musically competent.”)

Greg Howe’s Dynamics

Greg Howe and Dynamics

• Build awareness of different styles of playing

• “Organize” these styles

• Or pick one and build intensity/tension

Application