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The fun for me musically is that you never quite know what works and why. So why pretend you do? Why not just put things together and discover, in the creative process, if and why they work? That approach has served me well.
Thomas Newman
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Creativity often involves experimentation and discovery rather than strict adherence to rules.

This quote by Thomas Newman emphasizes the unpredictable nature of creativity in music. It suggests that instead of trying to force an understanding of what works and what doesn't, artists should embrace the process of exploration and experimentation, allowing new ideas and combinations to emerge naturally, which can lead to innovative and surprising results.

Themes

CreativityMusicDiscoveryExperimentProcess

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about artistic innovation, one could use this quote to inspire musicians to embrace experimentation.

More from Thomas Newman

You want to say as little as you can and get the most punch out of it, always with the knowledge that people are not in the theater to listen to your music so much as to respond to the movie. You're a part of that experience.
Thomas NewmanRead
Music is one of the last elements in the creative process. It can and hopefully should tie a bow around an artistic concept, how a story moves forward, the pace of that storytelling.
Thomas NewmanRead

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