All composers internalize the musical ideas of other composers and infuse them into their own original work. But the fear of being labeled “derivative” causes most composers to shy away from talking about these influences openly and directly. In Austin Kleon’s book, Steal Like an Artist, he faces the issues of influence and imitation in a deliberately self-aware fashion. The principal objective of this thesis will be to internalize the musical ideas of other composers and infuse them into an original musical work of my own, entitled Kyros. By articulating the exact way in which I am using the work of others, I will be demonstrating one of the most important and vulnerable acts in the creative process, which is attempting to create something unique, and serving as a real- world illustration of the concepts espoused in Kleon’s book.
","abstract_html":"<p>All composers internalize the musical ideas of other composers and infuse them into their own original work. But the fear of being labeled “derivative” causes most composers to shy away from talking about these influences openly and directly. In Austin Kleon’s book, Steal Like an Artist, he faces the issues of influence and imitation in a deliberately self-aware fashion. The principal objective of this thesis will be to internalize the musical ideas of other composers and infuse them into an original musical work of my own, entitled Kyros. By articulating the exact way in which I am using the work of others, I will be demonstrating one of the most important and vulnerable acts in the creative process, which is attempting to create something unique, and serving as a real- world illustration of the concepts espoused in Kleon’s book.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Schulze, Dustin"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Music","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"School of Music","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Stephen Lias","Dr. Courtney Carney","Dr. Gregory Grabowski"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-05-09T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-05-09T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:30Z","subjects":["Kleon","creativity","musical ideas","music evolution","Steal Like an Artist","Composition"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/290","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Stephen Lias","Dr. Courtney Carney","Dr. Gregory Grabowski"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Schulze, Dustin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-05-05T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Music"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Music"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Kleon","creativity","musical ideas","music evolution","Steal Like an Artist","Composition"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/290"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["All composers internalize the musical ideas of other composers and infuse them into their own original work. But the fear of being labeled “derivative” causes most composers to shy away from talking about these influences openly and directly. In Austin Kleon’s book, Steal Like an Artist, he faces the issues of influence and imitation in a deliberately self-aware fashion. The principal objective of this thesis will be to internalize the musical ideas of other composers and infuse them into an original musical work of my own, entitled Kyros. By articulating the exact way in which I am using the work of others, I will be demonstrating one of the most important and vulnerable acts in the creative process, which is attempting to create something unique, and serving as a real- world illustration of the concepts espoused in Kleon’s book.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["CREATIVITY AND THE EVOLUTION OF MUSICAL IDEAS: PUTTING THE CREATIVE PRINCIPLES OF AUSTIN KLEON TO WORK"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Stephen Lias","Dr. Courtney Carney","Dr. Gregory Grabowski"],"dc:creator":["Schulze, Dustin"],"dc:date.available":["2020-05-05T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["All composers internalize the musical ideas of other composers and infuse them into their own original work. But the fear of being labeled “derivative” causes most composers to shy away from talking about these influences openly and directly. In Austin Kleon’s book, Steal Like an Artist, he faces the issues of influence and imitation in a deliberately self-aware fashion. The principal objective of this thesis will be to internalize the musical ideas of other composers and infuse them into an original musical work of my own, entitled Kyros. By articulating the exact way in which I am using the work of others, I will be demonstrating one of the most important and vulnerable acts in the creative process, which is attempting to create something unique, and serving as a real- world illustration of the concepts espoused in Kleon’s book.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/290"],"dc:subject":["Kleon","creativity","musical ideas","music evolution","Steal Like an Artist","Composition"],"dc:title":["CREATIVITY AND THE EVOLUTION OF MUSICAL IDEAS: PUTTING THE CREATIVE PRINCIPLES OF AUSTIN KLEON TO WORK"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Music"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Music"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:30Z"}