Restricting Creativity
I had a time slot to DJ at a local bar this past Friday. That is why I spent time speaking to other DJs in my music association. Over and over came up with the same question: how much should a DJ set be planned in advance? This question encountered very different answers. I will dive into the two radical answers.
First I will talk about a person who thinks that a DJ set should not be prepared and one should go with the flow as much as possible. This person has DJ'd in some of the biggest techno clubs in Lille and the way he put it is: "I will usually have 100 songs on my USB and just see what happens when I arrive at the decks." This person is somewhat of a purist in the sense that, to him, preparing a set in advance is cheating.
On the other hand, there is a person who feels like preparing the song order is essential to ensure that the mix is well structured and that the flow of the night is guaranteed. This person writes out the whole evening's tracklist in advance and then plays, in order, the songs.
Personally, I find that both are a bit too much for me. What I like to do is decide the starting song (and maybe the few that will follow it) and also decide which track I will use as the ender. This gives enough creative freedom to experiment with different types of songs and transitions but completely avoids the freezing effect of "what song do I start/end my set with?"
The reason I wanted to bring up this topic is that I find that this discussion can be generalised to other creative outputs. Comparing it to writing: having a few words already written or a really basic draft gives one the stepping stone necessary to ease into the activity. Some could argue that this kind of thinking is not creative since it is making creativity a routine and creativity is something that is spontaneous and unique.
Yet I believe that creativity can be encouraged in certain ways and it should be. For example, I find that having deadlines makes us more creative than having none. Time-related pressure, at least from a personal viewpoint, has helped me create so much more and narrowed my focus down to a T when necessary.
What do you think? Should we wait for the creative flow to suddenly overtake us? Is it cheating to try to create an environment that encourages us to be creative?
This Week's Suggestions:
📑 What Does Writing Smell Like?:
This a short story to illustrate the spontaneity and unicity of creativity. We read it in my English class and it really resonated with me.
This is a fast-paced remix of the song "Somebody That I Used To Know". It is a rather popular remix in my school's music scene. I find that it is a great remix because it manages to encapsulate the original whilst also creating something new. Check it out!
Have a lovely Monday morning!
Comments ()