Inspiration. Creation. Expression.

Late again, ugh. Really hoping this doesn't become a habit.

I thought that today I'd like to explain a little quote of mine, which is the title of this blog. Those three words are what I think is so important and unique about music. Strangely enough, though, it actually works backwards - it's oriented this way because it works nicely as an acronym. ICE.

Music starts with expression. Arguably, you could probably say it starts with inspiration - but I think that's just the idea. The actual music starts with expression. A person, expressing their emotions, through composition. That's the first part. This bit is in most creative arts, so in this, it isn't really unique. That doesn't make it any less important though.
Though there are some, as a matter of interest, who try to take this part out of music. Personally, I think it's near impossible. And, even if there is no emotion (though I don't really think it's possible to be completely void of emotion) in the creation of the music, people will hear emotion in it. People always hear it.

Then you have creation. The creation of music, the embodiment of the composer's expression. Whether it's a good embodiment or not is very much up to the skills (or lack of) from the composer. Or, sometimes luck. Sometimes people just happen upon a good way to do it. Creation can be very difficult. It's one thing to have an idea, quite another to actually form that into something usable. More difficult if you don't want it to sound like someone else's piece of music, or other ones that you've written.

Then there is inspiration, what music does. When it is performed, music inspires others. Though, notice, it is not inherent in the meaning of inspiration that it is always necessarily "good" inspiration. Music has a lot of power, and that can be used in both bad and good ways, and has been. But music can inspire people to any goal. And, often enough, not exactly the one the composer was thinking of. Because everybody's different, so everybody will take something different from a piece of music. They may take something special from that second line of the third verse, while you were really focussing in on the chorus.

This, I think, is how music is unique. You can see these three in other things than music, true. Things like poetry, fiction, drama, many of these. But it is my opinion that none of these have the scale, reaches the same audience, that music does. Music unifies people, like other things can't. Music can go through barriers and break them down. Music is amazing.

Inspiration. Creation. Expression.