This is my daughter, Jennifer. She is two-and-a-half, full of life, and pretty much bonkers.
She loves to sing. In fact, she doesn’t just sing but yells songs at the top of her voice wherever she is and then falls onto the floor laughing.
Her other favourite things are:
* Dancing. Well actually, bouncing about ecstatically. Any music will do, from Blur’s Song 2 to the local Salvation Army band.
* Drawing. Scribbling furiously on large bits of paper – and off them too, to my wife’s dismay.
* Photography. Taking fairly abstract pictures, usually of the floor and her chin, and then looking back at them and knowing she created the pictures.
In fact, she takes to anything creative with abandon, passion and zest, just like most kids do.
She also comes up with some uniquely original ideas, because she’s not aware of any “rules” that have been set regarding creativity.
What makes me a bit sad is that she might not always be like this.
The way that the world works means that creativity is dampened down to make way for subjects that the current system deems important.
Even creativity comes with a whole set of rules that people are expected to learn and master before they’re taken seriously. Why?
Ken Dodd once said “Everyone is born with a ‘play’ gear; a part that is playful. But sadly, lots of people lose it.”
There’s also a great speech by Ken Robinson on the subject.
I’ve always been determined not to lose my creative side. I didn’t really have a choice as I’m not so good at anything academic, physical or practical!
Whenever anyone – teachers, other musicians – has said ‘no, you can’t do it like that’; it’s just made me more determined to do things my own way.
Because you can’t get results that are unique, magical and inspiring without being trying something new and being able to make a few mistakes along the way.
By Ben Haynes