We had a handpan player on the podcast this week.
The instrument was only invented in the last 20 years or so, which makes it one of the very few new instruments of the 21st Century so far.
In stark contrast to, say, the piano. It’s been round for years. If you’re a piano player and you want to make yourself feel redundant, take a minute and think of all the people who have played piano over the years all around the world, and all the songs, chords and notes they have played.
So the chances of you doing anything new with it are, unlike Dan above, slim to say the least.
And therefore if it’s true innovation you’re looking for, let’s be honest, you’re fighting a losing battle, and some people I know take the view that as a result there’s no point writing music, because it’s bound to sound like something that has happened at some stage before.
And that’s fine.
But an alternative view is that there’s only one of you, and although what you play and write may and will be influenced by things that have gone before, no-one will do it quite like you. And what more reason do you need?
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