I spend 3 hours a day (collectively) working on sounds (mixing,blending,experimenting) and redoing songs or elements in songs that I take interest in. Most of the time I;m doing this away from via laptop and midi controller.
Why remake songs? Well you gain a lot from them not only composition but arrangement, mixing templates and patches for later use in your own creations. A lot of people knock this method wanting to stay original or what have you but it really does pay off in the long run.
REMAKE!!!
I have always liked the "remake concept" but always shyed away from it in fear of losing originality or becoming less creative. But ofcourse that is a ridiculous mindset, because there really is little that has not been done before. It always is a reinvention of an old idea or concept.
learning from others however, in a creative way is important especially as it has been the foundation of a lot of really good artists. Singers like Beyonce sung other people's songs in church for years before coming out on their own. One of the greatest guitarists ever,
Eddie Van Halen learnt all of Eric Claptons guitar solos by the time he was 14! The same can be seen with other great instrumentalists and singers. They did not just resing, or replay, they gave their own interpretations too.
A key benefit from using this idea is learning the "vocab" of music. Hmm I can a long winded post coming out of this so I will stop here and see if I can develop something decent out of it. Good idea Nnxt.