The other day, something happened to me that made me think in a different way. I was in the student union building at the University of New Mexico, sipping on my coffee and pondering about the massive amount of studying that I would have to do (finals week). Out of nowhere, some friendly looking girl pointed to my chest and said, “Nice choice.” Taken aback, I looked downward, seeing that I was wearing a t-shirt upon which was printed the face of my favorite musical artist. I assumed she was referencing this, and quickly replied with a thank you. She followed up by stating that this particular artist had inspired her to learn how to play the guitar. I then explained that the same artist had caused me to start writing my own music. All seemed well in the conversation, until she asked me why I liked making music. I could not help but think about how out of left field this entire discussion had been. To ask me why I like doing what I do seems so forward, even a little bit strange. Perhaps, though, I only found it to be strange because I did not exactly know how to answer the question.
I suppose I know why I like making music. I think I like that it allows me to do whatever I want in a way. There are no true rules, just guidelines. Preference is as important as anything else, and I get to make music that I like. It is the ultimate expressive form.
I like that I can always challenge myself with music, because it is such a broad topic. If playing chords and picking on a guitar gets too easy, I can pursue another subtopic of music. For example, my pursuit of learning about music production has been very challenging, and very rewarding. I started out with no clue about it, but now I can kind of get the sounds to become something that I sort of like. This is the epitome of creation, where we have the ability to take our thoughts and ideas and perfectly convey them in a unique medium.
I suppose that is why I like to make my own music. Of course, none of that came to mind in our conversation, and I gave a somewhat dead end answer. At least it got me thinking about why I love the thing that I love.