Perhaps one of the hardest things to do is find your own voice. It doesn’t always come right away. It develops over time.
When we start, we copy those we admire. Who doesn’t remember dancing around like Michael Jackson?
Whatever your art form the real joy comes from finding your own voice. It’s what makes you unique. It’s what makes you stand out. It’s how you take control of your work and grow as an artist.
Here’s a great example of copying vs. finding your own voice:
Now this may seem like a weird place to go for an example. But trust me on this one, the difference speaks magnitudes for the importance of making something your own.
Watch American Idol Lee DeWyze do a karaoke version of U2’s Beautiful Day:
Yikes. Bit of a train wreck. But only because Lee was trying to do Bono instead of being Lee. Somewhere along the line Lee realized the error of his ways.
Check out this version of the song:
Big difference. It doesn’t cause you to cringe. Lee takes ownership of the song. It’s no longer making you compare Lee to Bono. It allows you to judge on Lee’s rendition.
Always work toward finding YOUR voice
Don’t waste time. Get started. Create. Over time you’ll find the confidence to take ownership of your work. And when you do, we’ll be listening.
heh
Kind of ironic that that clip where he takes ownership of the song “has been removed due to terms of violation.”
I guess he didn’t own enough of the song…
🙂
–Ted
Lol. I guess not. Guess I’ll see if there’s another source.
Thanks for letting me know Ted. Appreciate it.
Dave
Actually, I think it’s an interesting (if unintentional) comment on how the music industry works, because I think they DON’T want originality.
Meanwhile, along similar lines, check out this minefield:
http://tinyurl.com/2aexrvo
Makes me feel a better that my drawings of chairs look like no one else’s (and sometimes don’t even look like chairs)!
HA!