The following contains excerpts from the book, inGenius (Tina Seelig).
At our Find the Best Music School Odessa Texas we believe that creativity is foundational to a successful artistic career and in life.
This book’s subtitle, ‘a crash course on creativity,’ is appropriate, as the author demonstrates a remarkable knowledge on the subject. Her much research, combined with her own classroom experimentation on the subject, gives her substantial credibility.
From a philosophical perspective, she formulated a diagram of the key ingredients to creativity, those on the ‘outside’ and those on the ‘inside’. The inside ingredients are: 1) Imagination, 2) Attitude, and 3) Knowledge. The outside ingredients are 1) Culture, 2) Resources, and 3) Habitat. She concludes the book by discussing how all of these are inter-related.
“Until recently, prospective students at All Soul’s College, at Oxford University, took a ‘one-word exam.’ The Essay, as it was called, was both anticipated and feared by applicants. They each flipped over a piece of paper at the same time to reveal a single word. The word might have been ‘innocence’; or ‘miracles’ or ‘water’ or ‘provocative.’ Their challenge was to craft an essay in three hours inspired by that single word…For so many of us, this type of creativity hasn’t been fostered. We don’t look at everything in our environment as an opportunity for ingenuity…Without creativity we are not just condemned to a life of repetition, but to a life that slips backward. In fact, the biggest failures of our lives are not those of execution, but failures of imagination.”
The author discusses the normal education track in our society. “We give up on playing and focus on producing, and we trade in our rich imagination in order to focus on implementation. Our attitude changes and our creative aptitude withers, as we learn to judge and dismiss new ideas.”
“Successful scientists and innovators in all fields move back and forth between discovery and invention, using both scientific and creative thinking processes.”
At our Find the Best Music School Odessa Texas we help students discover their own creative track as they follow their own artistic desires as well as imbibing the creativity of other successful artists.
Overview
Seelig gives her diagram of creativity:
“The three parts on the inside of your Innovation Engine are knowledge, imagination, and attitude:
- Your knowledge provides the fuel for your imagination.
- Your imagination is the catalyst for the transformation of knowledge into new ideas.
- Your attitude is a spark that sets the Innovation Engine in motion.
“The three parts on the outside of your Innovation Engine are resources, habitat, and culture:
- Resources are all the assets in your community.
- Habitats are your local environments, including your home, school, or office.
- Culture is the collective beliefs, values, and behaviors in your community.
Reframing
One of the most important aspects of creativity is learning how to reframe how we view things.
“All questions are the frame into which the answers fall. And…by changing the frame, you dramatically change the range of possible solutions. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, ‘If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first fifty-five minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.’”
“We are creating frames for what we see, hear, and experience all day long, and those frames both inform and limit the way we think. In most cases, we don’t even consider the frames- we just assume we are looking at the world with the proper set of lenses.”
One of the most important things we can give students in our Find the Best Music School Odessa Texas is perspective. Helping them to frame what they see in a positive attitude is key to a successful future.
Another important aspect to creativity is putting things together that don’t normally go together. “Connecting unexpected people, places, objects, and ideas provides a huge boost to your imagination.”
Brainstorming
Brainstorming with other people, bringing people from diverse backgrounds together is strategic to creativity. Seelig gives a comprehensive set of guidelines in how to brainstorm successfully:
At our Find the Best Music School Odessa Texas we place an emphasis on collaborative efforts, through ensemble participation. Learning to make music with others develops life-skills of cooperation and empathy.
What does the room look like in advance?
“First, there has to be room for people to move around. In addition, just like dancing, brainstorming needs to be done standing up. This point is not trivial. By standing up instead of sitting, the group is much more energetic and engaged. Standing allows for quick changes in the flow of people and ideas…The people invited to a brainstorming session should have different points of view and expertise on the topic. Keep in mind that this is not the same group of people who will make the final decisions at the end of the brainstorming session.”
What is the brainstorming topic?
“The framing of the topic is a critical decision…The question you ask is the frame into which the solutions will fall.”
What else should be in the room?
“It is helpful to fill the room with things that will stimulate the discussion…a three-dimensional prototype often communicates much more than words or a two-dimensional drawing.”
How do you start a brainstorming session?
“People have to switch gears from their everyday word mode, where their focus is on execution, to a brainstorming mind-set, where there isn’t a clear destination.”
What are the rules for brainstorming?
“Real rules exist for effective brainstorming- the most important of which is that there are no bad ideas. This means that the participants aren’t allowed to criticize ideas. In fact, no matter how strange the idea, your job is to build on it. The key is to embrace all ideas that are generated and to work with them for a while. Brainstorming is a way to explore all the possibilities, whether they are inspiring or insipid. This is the ‘exploration’ phase of a project, which needs to be distinguished from the ‘exploitation’ phase, where decisions are made and resources are committed. There should be a clear wall between these two phases, so that your group doesn’t fall into the trap of eliminating ideas too early. This is the biggest challenge for most people- they feel a need to evaluate ideas as they are generated. This alone will kill a brainstorming session.”
We endeavor to give students a comprehensive viewpoint in their study of music and the arts at our Find the Best Music School Odessa Texas. As we encourage them to share their own ideas and creativity, they gain confidence to hear other artistic voices in their community and beyond.
What is the brainstorming process?
“Only one conversation should be happening at a time…studies have shown that the farther away you get from your current place and time, both physically and mentally, the more imaginative your ideas.”
How are ideas captured?
“Make sure that everyone has a pen and paper or sticky notes…When everyone writes, you avoid the ‘tyranny of the pen,’ where the person with the pen controls the flow of ideas and what is captured…if everyone has a pen and paper, they can write or draw in real time, without having to wait for a hole in the conversation…a nonlinear way to collect ideas… Starting with a central topic on the board, you draw lines to words or drawings with related information, and then add details to those on smaller branches.”
At our Find the Best Music School Odessa Texas we teach students the value of ‘capturing their ideas.’ The phrase, “On to paper, out of mind” frees the student from having to try to remember every idea and helps them approach creativity with openness and clarity.