Do real-life emotional experiences affect one's creative ability?

Question

I have heard people say that music only flows from a broken heart. But I have never yet in my life been heartbroken in a big way.When I sit down to write music, not one melody comes out from me that isn't similar to something that I have already heard before.Do real-life emotional experiences contribute to one's ability to create music? Is a good set of emotional experiences necessary for the creative process?

Answer 1

YES! Having lost most of my family (I’m 71, so …) my emotions go directly into my hands and I work through my emotions playing for hours. AND. I compose expressing my emotions accordingly. I am currently working on a composition that will probably become a requiem for those lost to COVID , including my ex girlfriend. Let’s your emotions rule! It is the greatest expression of who you are through your music!

Answer 2

This is a good question. When it comes to creating music, we often start off sounding like things you know. It takes time to build a personal style. Learn what you can from what you like and do what you can to understand why you like it from a musical standpoint. Learning a bit more about theory is very helpful in this light. While heartbreak is a common place to write from, it is hardly the only place to write from. Joy, curiosity, wonder, pain, sadness, nostalgia, reverence, ect. are all places to create from. Our experiences definitely can impact our creative process. If you are having trouble lyrically, I would suggest studying poetry or other lyrics to see more of how certain experiences are described by people. This can help get you thinking about how you might describe a similar event, feeling, ect. I hope this is helpful.