Has creativity reached its limits?

I have an old television production book from the 1950’s that showed both microphone placement and camera angles for many musical instruments. When it got to the chapter on the piano, there were numerous places to place microphones, with varying types of sounds to be recorded.

Before the text talked about camera shots and angles for the piano, it had a simple and straightforward statement. The old production text said:

There are no new ways to shoot a piano.

From overhead boom shots, to those through the raised lid, to an extreme close-up of the pianist hands, they have all been done. I remember reading that all those many years ago, and pondering what the author was saying. I think it figured it out.

Rather than spend time trying to come up with a new angle to shoot a piano, why not seek out a fresh sequence of shots. Let the music dictate what should be pictured, and don’t depend only on some special camera angle no one has thought up yet. Sequence the shots in a meaningful and fresh way, and you will capture the spirit, the energy, and maybe even the beauty of the music.

I have often applied that to creativity in general. To my knowledge no one has created a new note. (Well, I did have a tenor in a church choir who came pretty close to inventing a new one.) We still work with the same 7 basic notes in a scale. Add in sharps and flats, and there are a few more. But that’s it.

Yet, every year, thousands…maybe millions…of new songs are written. Not one is exactly like the other. Someone took the same “old” notes and sequenced them in a fresh, new way. And…voilà…a new song was born.

My contention is that the Lord, our creator God, has not stopped the creative process. Poets use the same words we may use in conversation, but come up with amazing verses that inspire us, enlighten us, or make us smile. Artist use the same basic colors on their palate, yet paint masterpieces by applying these old colors in new ways with new designs.

My application: You may not need to invent a new program type, just put together the various elements in a fresh and meaningful way. Your program can inspire, enlighten, bring a smile…or even bring someone to the throne of Grace, to make an eternal difference.

[blockquote author=”Isaiah 43:19 NLT” link=”” target=”_blank”]For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.[/blockquote]

Be creative. Make a difference.