I can TOTALLY relate to Brynn's comment. That's part of the reason I created 52 Ideas. Any time I would compose before this year, I would get frustrated that what came out sounded so much like someone else's music, or like something I had written before. Or sometimes the work would evolve to the point that I would just start playing and singing the song I already knew....thus ending any originality for the day.
My thought this year while I've been composing goes like this: if it sounds cliche, go ahead and write it. If it's showing up in my head, it clearly needs to come out, so let it. And there's always next week! I've got 52 chances to write something original!
So I'd like to take this moment to honor my favorite cliches! NONE of us can escape our influences and musical history. As much as I wish some of these influences weren't here, they are part of me. So I'd like to show them some love.
Influence: Chris Rice
Influence: Opera
Influence: Choral Music
That brings us to this guy:
Influence: Eric Whitacre
So those are probably some of the biggest "friends" that keep showing up in my writing time.
When I think of being a COMPOSER, the picture that comes to my head is this:
Mad Scientist Composer
I am social by nature and interactive. And I'm much better on my feet and moving than sitting still. Perhaps in some ways I'm less of a composer and more of an improvisor. I need to DO IT, not just think it.
The other image I'm haunted with is this:
Struggling Singer-Songwriter
So I'm ready to create a new definition of what "composer" means to me. I am ready to claim a new identity for myself.
These are some of the identities that want to emerge.
Emerging Identity: Recording Artist
In a related category:
Emerging Identity: Electronic Musician
Emerging Identity: Producer
Emerging Identity: Ringleader
For now, I'll just keep writing new music every week. Onward and upward!