Resonant Researcher

Introduction

After viewing Everything is a Remix by Kirby Ferguson (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJPERZDfyWc), I was struck by how relevant its core message is to both music-making and music education. The video offers a compelling argument: nothing we create is entirely original — all creativity builds on what has come before. Ferguson outlines three essential techniques of creativity: copying, transforming, and combining existing ideas.

As a music educator, this challenges me to rethink how we talk about creativity in the classroom. Rather than viewing remixing or borrowing as inferior forms of music-making, we should embrace them as essential to the creative process.

Remixing as a Natural Part of Music History

Music history itself is one giant remix. Across cultures and generations, musicians have borrowed ideas, rhythms, and styles from others. In Western classical music, J.S. Bach was known for reworking existing hymns and themes. Jazz musicians regularly reference other tunes during improvisation. Even folk songs are shaped by oral transmission — evolving through countless interpretations.

Ferguson’s video illustrates that remix culture is not a modern phenomenon born from digital technology — it’s part of how art and culture have always functioned. Sampling in hip-hop, mashups in electronic music, and covers in popular music are modern expressions of this age-old practice.

Implications for Music Education

Ferguson’s ideas raise several important questions for music educators:

• How do we encourage students to value remixing and borrowing in their creative work?
• Are our classroom assessments and projects structured to reward creativity as transformation rather than isolated originality?
• How can we model for students that copying and building on others’ work is not plagiarism, but participation in a larger musical conversation?

I believe music educators should explicitly teach the role of remixing in musical creativity. Assignments might include:

• Asking students to create mashups of two contrasting songs.
• Encouraging students to rewrite lyrics to a familiar tune.
• Analyzing how modern pop songs sample older recordings.
• Studying musical borrowing across history and culture.

Remixing and Digital Tools

Technology provides endless tools for remixing and transforming music. Apps like GarageBand, Soundtrap, or BandLab make it easier than ever for students to manipulate audio, layer sounds, and experiment with musical ideas. Rather than discouraging students from using loops or samples, educators should guide them to be thoughtful and creative in how they transform pre-existing material.

Moreover, digital platforms provide new opportunities for collaboration — another key component of remix culture. In a connected world, students can remix not only sounds but also ideas, working together across distances to create something new.

Final Reflection

Kirby Ferguson’s Everything is a Remix ultimately affirms that creativity is a collaborative, evolving, and communal act. For music educators, this is an empowering message. Instead of pressuring students to produce work that is “completely original,” we should help them see themselves as part of a larger musical ecosystem — one where creativity comes from participating, borrowing, transforming, and sharing.

In this sense, remix culture is not a threat to music education — it’s a natural extension of it.