Originally Posted by: looneytunesI am inspired to write, I don't use anything or any structure or sound or style from anyone (other than songwriters format). My stuff is all original.
No it's not. Not in the you mean anyway. My stuff is original too and I make it a point to listen to a lot of other music.
We all have ideas about what music sounds like and thats how we decide to write our music. Our ideas are all based on other music we have heard over the years. All the music we have heard is compressed down into an idea in our head which coordinates the way we create music. You aren't being more original by ignoring what other people are doing. I would actually propose that you are limiting yourself by not listening to lots of music, because you are drawing on a much smaller pool of ideas. This isn't necessarily true but it is possible.
It isn't a great idea to listen to only one band all the time, or just a few but it listening to a lot of music and really listening to whats going on is a great way to learn songwriting. Obviously then you have to take that theoretical knowledge and apply it to your songs and in doing so you learn more and grow as a songwriter. Maybe not everything you hear and love can be assimilated into your music the way you think it will but it will teach you about not only music but yourself as a musician.
If you aren't paying attention to what other artists around you are doing then you missing a great opportunity to learn. No one has all the answers by themselves and I know I am not anywhere near as talented or experienced as any of my idols or many other people so to not take the opportunity to learn from them and their hard won wisdom would be silly.
Looney I am not talking to you specifically. You have your way of doing things and if it makes you happy then thats fine, but for any young musicians, listening to a ton of music can really help you keep moving forward and evolving. Plus it isn't like listening to music is a hardship. Loving music is a prerequisite to writing good music.
