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Inspiration - where it comes from (and where it goes to?)
StoreTags: inpsiration, ideas, focus, time
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The "how many hours a week do you spend on music" post had me thinking about the nature of inspiration- why it comes, why it goes, and how to work through the periods where you aren't very inspired.
I've been having a hell of a time getting back on track musically this summer. Part of it is doing stuff like gigging, finding people to remix stuff from my last record, emailing people- where I don't feel too guilty about it, but there's still time in there I could be writing.
But a lot of it is just getting easily distracted. On a given evening I'm way more likely to meet a friend for a beer or watch a movie with my girlfriend than I am to sit down and just write music in the last few months.
Personally I find that what inspires me is when I'm "on a roll" - I wrote 4 tunes that were the core of my last album over the course of maybe 6 weeks, and that just sort of snowballed into the entire record... there were a few bumps along the way where I didn't write, but overall it was sort of like I had already established something, I just had to see it through.
But when I'm sort of between projects, I spend a lot of time thinking about the "sound' I want , getting frustrated with my tools, fucking around on the internet downloading free plugins, petting the cat, or whatever. And lately when I do write, I get stuck in a trap that I think a lot of electronic musicians do - I get some kind of cool little 4/8/16 bar loop building up, but there isn't much of a real "idea" behind it, and it's tough to turn that into what I call a song.
Thoughts? How do you get back on track? | |
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08/22/06
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airliner
i kind of have long unproductive (or slowly productive) periods, punctuated by short bursts where i get lots done. it's all about finding a way to keep doing someting useful during those long stretches, even if you spend an hour or two playing around and only end up with a usable sound or loop or idea...at some point all those little usable fragments will snowball into something you can use, or a least show you a new direction to try.
i hear you about distractions. between girlfriend, video games, friends, shows, netflix, the internet, etc, it' a wonder i get anything done!
08/22/06
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p
seconded airliner...I spend alot of time just making synth patches or msp stuff...then when the inspiration comes I've got stuff to use.
I think the summer heat is getting to us...I've heard too many people (locals and on the internets) talking of unproductive summer.
and I totally understand getting frustrated thinking about your sound.
08/22/06
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emulsion
The advice to just build patches and stuff is definitely a good one. I tend to write all my patches on the fly as I work on tunes (everything is INIT PATCH) but when I used hardware, I used to screw around making cool sounds in my microwave xt, nord, etc, so I could just call them up while writing. I've been thinking it would do me good to just sit down and try and learn the Logic synths better, write some cool patches on 'em, for instance. Sampling stuff when you're low on inspiration is good too. I make drum kits, synth patches, recordings from vinyl and store them away on my computer for later.
08/22/06
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skab
i found having a notebook in my pocket helps when i have an idea at work - i can just write it down and try it when i get home. inspiration rarely comes when i'm actually sitting in front of the computer
edited: Aug 23 2006
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cbit
a working knowledge some kind of modular environment has been a great source of inspiration for me.. and a source of sleepless nights too (new routing possibilities pop into my head while i'm trying to get to sleep).. what i tend to get excited about is building very simple processors that are designed to enhance existing devices. eg. at the moment i'm working on a reaktor unit that senses transients in in the incoming audio and randomises assignable parameters when it does (eg. some parameters of a delay unit that the audio is also being fed to).. just messing with these work-in-process devices has been the source of a lot of interesting audio, and that makes writing tracks a much less painful process for me.
08/23/06
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bsr
when i'm feeling uninspired i just listen to some jessica bailiff to get me back on track.
08/23/06
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yghartsyrt
inspiration comea and goes.
sometime the gaps are shorter sometimes longer.
the more you worry the longer it takes.
08/23/06
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quip
i have had a shit time of it lately cos i had to move out of my comfy studio and put all my gear in boxes. depressing. also i been doing loads of gigs and getting wrecked and that puts me in this cycle where i just can't sit down and write. i wrote a tune on the train to london the other day and its cool but needs loads of work doing and i haven't even got speakers to listen back to it.
i am just looking forward to moving (again) and setting up all my gear and getting down to it. i think sometimes spells away from doing what you do are as creative as actually doing. i have been picking up my guitar again and also getting into writing about stuff. i wrote loads last night about the past six months and about what i am doing. basically i have done loads of gigs and see no end - i got gigs till december. i should be grateful. i am lucky. but i just need a rest. this is what is known as burn out....
08/23/06
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astroid
cbit said: "a working knowledge some kind of modular environment has been a great source of inspiration for me.. and a source of sleepless nights too (new routing possibilities pop into my head while i'm trying to get to sleep)."
exactly. i patch in my brain as i'm trying to sleep. i've started carrying around paper for little melodies that get stuck in my head.
mostly, though, i'm not inspired. i just keep working. inspiration then feels like a certain "happiness" with what I'm working on. too often have i been in the situation where i would get inspired about something, and then uninspired during the long slog to fruition. better to stack and store your inspirations, catalogue them so you're not time dependent upon something fleeting.
08/24/06
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adcBicycle
Anytime except summer is good for creating.
There's too much going on the summer, plus it's too hot and stuffy (even up here in Canada, I don't know how you Americans make music at all).
08/25/06
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kidko
I think going to see shows is an inspiration. Also visiting other people's studios. I recently visited a studio where 4 guys cut localized audio for Japanese anime and video games and left with tons of inspiration.
08/25/06
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astroid
going to shows is almost too much inspiration!
i know it's essential to stay on top of things, but i'll get sidetracked anytime i hear something new-either wanting to imitate it, or wanting to purge myself of it. seems like it makes me lose track of myself.
08/25/06
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Artsigreg
Lyrics:
I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
and stops my mind from wandering
where it will go
I'm filling the cracks that ran though the door
and kept my mind from wandering
where it will go
08/25/06
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GregTArtZ
Wow, great song Greg, Thsi Greg loves it too.
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