“The ability to imagine things pervades our entire existence. It influences everything we do, think about and create. It leads to elaborate theories, dreams and inventions in any profession from the realms of academia to engineering and the arts. Ultimately, imagination influences everything we do regardless of our profession.” ~ Tao de Haas (psychotherapist, social ecologist, corporate trainer)
In interviews, Albert Einstein attributed his scientific insight and intuition mainly to the daily practice of music. Music worked for him as a brainstorming technique. His scientific ideas were often first created as images and intuitions and later converted to mathematics, logic, and words. Music helped him in this thought process, guiding him in new and creative directions.
Imagination is everything, it’s the preview of coming attractions. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand. ~ Albert Einstein
Imagination is what makes an idea or a solution stand out. Others might look at the same or a similar set of circumstances, yet they continually create the same challenges, problems, and experiences over and over again. No matter whether it’s a work-related situation, a business challenge, or personal issue, the ability to recognize patterns, to make new connections, and to offer imaginative alternatives is key to the advancement of our world. Imaginative alternatives are big picture. All the parts of an issue are connected to the whole and they work together to create something extraordinary. They are alternatives that wouldn’t be considered otherwise.
For example:
You may be aware of the music plagiarism cases that seem to be so prevalent nowadays. Several years ago, it was alleged that Led Zeppelin stole the opening bars of the hit “Stairway to Heaven” from Spirit’s song “Taurus.” And recently, Steve Ronsen claimed that Lady Gaga’s song “Shallow,” featured in her film “A Star Is Born,” plagiarizes his 2012 song “Almost.” The issues in these plagiarism cases—a descending bass line, a three-note progression, or other details—are most often considered as isolated from the essence of the work as a whole. What is perhaps more relevant is the imaginative use of the musical elements throughout the entire song—how they are used together, how they develop, and what kind of momentum and meaning they create as a result.
Leonard Bernstein addressed this idea of imagination and meaning in one of his 1950s Omnibus broadcasts. He mentioned how people have analyzed the famous first four notes of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, trying to determine their meaning and why they form such a powerful musical grouping. His explanation speaks to the genius of putting musical patterns together, developing them, and moving them through an entire composition in just the right way to create a masterpiece. In the following excerpt from his broadcast, Leonard Bernstein described Beethoven’s search for the right combination of musical elements, and the ultimate imaginative development of the first four notes that are so meaningful to those who listen even today:
…But none of these interpretations tells us anything. The truth is that the real meaning lies in all the notes that follow it, all the notes of all the five hundred measures of music that follow it in this first movement. And Beethoven, more than any other composer before or after him, I think, had the ability to find exactly the right notes that had to follow his themes. But even he, with this great ability, had a gigantic struggle to achieve this rightness: not only the right notes, but the right rhythms, the right climaxes, the right harmonies, the right instrumentation.~ Leonard Bernstein
To achieve the kind of rightness described by Bernstein, all the elements used are organized in an imaginative way. It’s the way those things are put together—and the relationships among them—that makes the difference and results in a solution that impacts you with a compelling message. The same is true for anything you choose to do in your work or life situations. When you’re willing to take things apart and look at the many ways those pieces can fit together—how they can develop and lead to something new—that’s when you can find imaginative solutions. Context and perspective are important in the process.
It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.
~ Jean-Luc Godard (French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic)
It does take work, and even courage in learning from failed attempts, to find just the right combinations that build imaginative results, but it is well worth the effort. While you may not be a well-known musician like Led Zeppelin or an amateur musician like Einstein, you can learn to use the inner workings of the artistic process. You can also help young people gain an imaginative head start by supporting music performance experiences that will stimulate and keep their imaginations strong throughout their lives. Besides Einstein’s belief in the power of music, there has been a great deal of research about the positive impact of music on the brain. Who knows? Maybe as result of your personal immersion in the artistic process—or through the efforts of one of today’s children who grow up having had significant experiences in music—a solution will be found for one of the many problems we face in the world today. In the meantime, you can certainly use your imagination and find creative solutions to improve your work and life.
Creativity takes courage.
~ Henri Matisse
Are you interested in how to use the artistic process to improve your life? Check out my online courses at https://artsawarenessexpressions.teachable.com (Ignite Your Life and Expand Your Creativity and Possibility Thinking)
Patricia Hoy