I recently discovered free software on my laptop that would allow me to create music, videos, and images. I was excitedly telling a friend about it, explaining how I could record from a keyboard, add instruments, compose melodies, etc. As I waxed poetic, she said, “Or you could just get a CD.”
I was dumbfounded. It was so wrong, on so many different levels, that I couldn’t speak. That was probably a good thing.
This woman is a good person – kind, gentle, caring. She’d never deliberately say anything hurtful. She wasn’t trying to be cruel. She just couldn’t see any point in going to all the trouble to create music, when you could easily get a CD. The CD would be professionally recorded, performed by experienced, professional musicians, and would sound better than anything I could create.
She didn’t say any of this, of course. She didn’t have to. It’s all true. Nothing I created would be of professional quality. It would lack polish, would sound amateurish. It should; I am an amateur. No one is likely to hear anything I’ve created. It isn’t going to pay off in money, fame, or anything practical.
This is something you can’t explain. It’s like asking why someone likes pizza. There isn’t a rational reason – they just like it. Similarly, making music is just something I want to do.
Her sentiment isn’t rare. If you’re trying to be creative, people are likely to think you’re wasting your time. It’s hard work. Why bother?
I don’t have a good answer, but I’ll do it anyway. To avoid hurtful comments from Dream Crushers, maybe it will be my dirty little secret…