How do you get into your creative mind and what is your writing process?

[Mikael Dez]

I do.

I think he definitely wouldn’t approve of your vibe, given what I’ve read about him at least (and of you!!). So nah, you don’t deserve him

 

[EOengineer]

Most of my ideas start as an iOS voice memo. I’ll periodically prune those and offload anything I think might have potential into a folder that I maintain and it acts as my idea pool anytime I need a part. I also have that folder shared with my vocalist, who will periodically shoot me a version of some riff with a vocal melody, and then things are really off to the races.

Software instruments have also been helpful in communicating guidance to other band members if I’m hearing a particular drum feel, or something needs to be in halftime, or whatever.

There isn’t much I enjoy more than finishing a tune I’m proud of.

 

[PLX]

I always start with a drum beat, then compose a riff off that beat.

Try to write an A part and a B part, so there's some movement.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I don't write any more, what with my focus being on becoming a better player for now, but when I did, I needed a collaborative environment.

We had a creative drummer, who would jump on his kit and start banging out a beat while we were tuning up, and a song would evolve as we joined in with him.

Or just having someone else to help out when I'd get stumped with having a place to take the riff I just came up with.

I'm just not a very creative person, unless I have others working it out with me.

And lyrics? Forget about it. I write like a 4th-grader.

But I have had some opportunities to "produce" others' material, and have gotten compliments with what I came up with, so I think I'd be good at that, if I ever came across additional opportunities to do that sort of thing.

 

[Jazz Padd]

Never had a knack for writing and recording original music, but I enjoy evoking creativity in the context of spontaneous musicking in the company of others. I participate in open jazz jams several times a month at various venues. There’s something about those old jazz standards that sparks creativity, maybe the process of navigating new pathways through their interesting, yet challenging, chord progressions. It’s a very satisfying experience, at the same time ephemeral.

Maybe that’s what gets me into a creative mind. Collective musicking, in the context of semi-structured improvisation, without a need to create something for posterity. It’s the joy of being in the moment temporarily, then letting it drift away, awaiting the next.

 

[JasonE]

There used to be a couple of pretty decent jam nights near me. COVID took them down. I don't think there are any jams around me now that are within an hour drive. Some of the jams were really fun.

 

[maddnotez]

Pro tip. Get your audio desk set up. Connect the interface, make sure everything is working. Get those monitors cooking......then.....turn everything off, turn on your tube amp and rock out.

 

[maddnotez]

I say it in a joking manner cuz im a docuhe but...real.

I use tonex to record, I've used the AX8 as well and had a Kemper. To each their own but for me digital is not inspiring. I robot times we are living in and im yelling at clouds.

For me nothing feels like a tube amp and a 4x12. That in itself can be inspiring after months of using digital gear or my cute little 1x12 Katana which sounds great BTW.

I guess the point is play in YOUR environment. If you grew up with a straw hat in the sun on a water logged porch that needs some paint, grab your acoustic guitar and play your soul out.

For me its a 4x12 in my face.

I definitely get blocks too, don't get me wrong. One thing I've started to do that has been working out extremely well....also something ive been against my entire life until last year is to use your favorite guitarists for inspiration.

I used to think nope, youre a copycat. Music must come naturally from within and there is no other alternative. But these days what ive started to do is learn my favorite riff and dissect it. See the notes they are using and the patterns, then use those same notes and patterns but change it up, make it your own. Since doing that i have been coming up with the best music I ever have in my life and it doesn't sound like a complete ripoff because I've changed it so much. Its just notes, scales serve a purpose and a mood, everyone uses the same notes it's just how we use those notes that separates us.

I suck at explaining things but could show a couple of examples if needed.

 

[JasonE]

I say it in a joking manner cuz im a docuhe but...real.

I use tonex to record, I've used the AX8 as well and had a Kemper. To each their own but for me digital is not inspiring. I robot times we are living in and im yelling at clouds.

For me nothing feels like a tube amp and a 4x12. That in itself can be inspiring after months of using digital gear or my cute little 1x12 Katana which sounds great BTW.

I guess the point is play in YOUR environment. If you grew up with a straw hat in the sun on a water logged porch that needs some paint, grab your acoustic guitar and play your soul out.

For me its a 4x12 in my face.

I definitely get blocks too, don't get me wrong. One thing I've started to do that has been working out extremely well....also something ive been against my entire life until last year is to use your favorite guitarists for inspiration.

I used to think nope, youre a copycat. Music must come naturally from within and there is no other alternative. But these days what ive started to do is learn my favorite riff and dissect it. See the notes they are using and the patterns, then use those same notes and patterns but change it up, make it your own. Since doing that i have been coming up with the best music I ever have in my life and it doesn't sound like a complete ripoff because I've changed it so much. Its just notes, scales serve a purpose and a mood, everyone uses the same notes it's just how we use those notes that separates us.

I suck at explaining things but could show a couple of examples if needed.

I think you explained that just fine. I am definitely a tube amp guy. I have a few of the digital devices as well. I can get along with them okay but they all are missing something for me. Where I really notice it is how they respond to the volume knob on my guitar. The amps are much more responsive to me. I can alter my tone with just changing my attack on the strings. The digital devices don't respond as easily. It takes much more volume reduction to get to the tone I am trying to get to. But, for playing into my recording computer I do like the digital devices.

I just got my new Mac. Man did that hurt the wallet. I am hoping I get 10 years out of this one like did the one I am replacing. I pushed the specs up on it a bit, which is why it was outrageously expensive. I am hoping that with the higher hardware it will make it last me longer. I started installing all of the software on it. I need to rearrange my whole recording desk for it because it is a different type of machine than the one I was using. This is going to derail me for a little bit.

 

[ian_dissonance]

I get rhythmic ideas all the time away from any music equipment so I’ll try to tap them out for later and then bring that stuff in when I’m sitting down to make noise. I like to give myself “drills” when I don’t have any new ideas, too. Like make myself write something that is in 9/8, or make myself write something that only uses X number of notes, or write something that omits X scale intervals just to stay away from repeating myself too much. A lot of times these exercises will lead to something that I want to expand on.

That or get hella baked on some Moon Rocks and watch shitty sci-fi and noodle.

 

[László]

I think Paul McCartney said something similar about how many songs he and John wrote and threw away early on.

This has to be true, because it mirrors something that my son heard from the man himself.

In an extremely lucky turn of events, he got invited to a pretty small (40 people) dinner party Paul and Ringo hosted on Grammy night a few years back. Someone standing next to him while conversing asked Paul the secret to creating so many great hits. Paul said:

"I get up every day and I write. I'm a songwriter, that's what I do."

There's more to this story, but I'll leave it at that. It's great advice.

I write music every day, but 99% of it winds up exactly where it belongs: In the wastebasket. This includes the majority of the ad music I come up with.

 

[mbenigni]

This has to be true, because it mirrors something that my son heard from the man himself.

In an extremely lucky turn of events, he got invited to a pretty small (40 people) dinner party Paul and Ringo hosted on Grammy night a few years back. Someone standing next to him while conversing asked Paul the secret to creating so many great hits. Paul said:

"I get up every day and I write. I'm a songwriter, that's what I do."

There's more to this story, but I'll leave it at that. It's great advice.

I write music every day, but 99% of it winds up exactly where it belongs: In the wastebasket. This includes the majority of the ad music I come up with.

Same room with Beatle(s) =

Should you decide to share any more of that story, I think I can safely say, we’re all ears. :)

 

[newholland]

i just treat it like play. start with warming up and scratch itches as they come up. need to dink with tones? okay... do sustained chording- rhythmic stuff? jam in some off kilter stuff. need nice melodies? dial down the vokume knob. all out destruction... totally game!(cranks gain up).

i think the great destroyer of creativitty is expectation of A result. you get MANY results you don't expect and follow them. expect to fail a LOT.. uts a process and NOT a linear one, but a synthetic one- and what i mean by that is, you assemble pieces. genius rarely strikes for long- so keep everything and get good at making stuff from your little fragments of genius.

 

[DrewJD82]

Just getting a guitar in my hands every day goes a LONG way because you might go a few days without anything cool happening, but all it takes is that one burst of “Oh I wanna work on this!” to get ya off to the races.

It was 10 months ago I made this post and I've had a guitar in my hands nearly every day for at least an hour for the last 6 months. A lot of that time I had parts to write for the band I just quit, but a lot of that guitar time was just playing and essentially falling back in love with playing. About 3 months ago I started noticing at work I was daydreaming about getting home and playing and I'm at the point where as soon as the dog goes for his afternoon walk I'm headed straight for the studio.

No pausing to think "Do I want to play right now?" or "Maybe I should clean this place up while I have the energy", it's just a beeline to the studio every single day. I took a good break from writing anything but parts for other people's songs and now I'm chompin at the bit to get back to my original stuff.

 

[Mikael Dez]

It was 10 months ago I made this post and I've had a guitar in my hands nearly every day for at least an hour for the last 6 months. A lot of that time I had parts to write for the band I just quit, but a lot of that guitar time was just playing and essentially falling back in love with playing. About 3 months ago I started noticing at work I was daydreaming about getting home and playing and I'm at the point where as soon as the dog goes for his afternoon walk I'm headed straight for the studio.

No pausing to think "Do I want to play right now?" or "Maybe I should clean this place up while I have the energy", it's just a beeline to the studio every single day. I took a good break from writing anything but parts for other people's songs and now I'm chompin at the bit to get back to my original stuff.

There’s just something about playing and getting the notes you wanna get out of the instrument that calms me right down, even if it’s just noodling. I have the privilege to work from home two days a week and those days I have a guitar in my lap half the time noodling while I’m working (IT, command line kind of shit and sometimes I’m waiting on things to finish their process. Might as well get some exercises in at the same time )

 

[Genghis]

There’s just something about playing and getting the notes you wanna get out of the instrument that calms me right down, even if it’s just noodling. I have the privilege to work from home two days a week and those days I have a guitar in my lap half the time noodling while I’m working (IT, command line kind of shit and sometimes I’m waiting on things to finish their process. Might as well get some exercises in at the same time )

I worked from home about the last 7 years that I was in corporate IT/ Programming and had a drum practice pad and a guitar near my workstation for downtime between calls. Made the job suck much less.

 

[László]

Same room with Beatle(s) =

Should you decide to share any more of that story, I think I can safely say, we’re all ears. :)

Here's the rest of the story.

Paul asked my son if he ever forgot a lyric during a performance. My son said, "sure." Paul said he forgot the lyric "to a song you're too young to have heard of," and then to make his point, started singing Penny Lane.

My son told me his knees were knocking the entire time and he could hardly speak afterward.

I asked if it was a sit-down dinner. Yeah, he said. Who'd they seat you with? "The Eagles."

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Here's the rest of the story.

Paul asked my son if he ever forgot a lyric during a performance. My son said, "sure." Paul said he forgot the lyric "to a song you're too young to have heard of," and then to make his point, started singing Penny Lane.

My son told me his knees were knocking the entire time and he could hardly speak afterward.

I asked if it was a sit-down dinner. Yeah, he said. Who'd they seat you with? "The Eagles."

 

[JasonE]

It was 10 months ago I made this post and I've had a guitar in my hands nearly every day for at least an hour for the last 6 months. A lot of that time I had parts to write for the band I just quit, but a lot of that guitar time was just playing and essentially falling back in love with playing. About 3 months ago I started noticing at work I was daydreaming about getting home and playing and I'm at the point where as soon as the dog goes for his afternoon walk I'm headed straight for the studio.

No pausing to think "Do I want to play right now?" or "Maybe I should clean this place up while I have the energy", it's just a beeline to the studio every single day. I took a good break from writing anything but parts for other people's songs and now I'm chompin at the bit to get back to my original stuff.

I have been experiencing a similar thing. I have finally figured out that I have been bored with what I was trying to do. It wasn't exciting. I have started into some new things and finding some challenges, which is a good thing. I get off of work an hour before my wife does. I have been heading straight home and dropping all of my stuff off then firing up the computer and playing until she gets home. I usually get in an hour to an hour and a half each day now. If I am really digging into something I will stick with it longer. This has been helping me find some excitement. I am setting here spending time playing today as I took a couple of days off of work to just do whatever I feel like doing. I have been playing all morning, to the point of all four of my fretting fingers being sore enough that I need to stop. :)

I am working on some things that I am probably going to put out for the world to see and hear. That is my goal at least. I think once I get this going it will be easier. I have never really been one to like seeing and hearing recordings of myself but I am trying to change that.

 

[László]

I am working on some things that I am probably going to put out for the world to see and hear. That is my goal at least. I think once I get this going it will be easier. I have never really been one to like seeing and hearing recordings of myself but I am trying to change that.

I can only encourage you to do exactly what you're planning. It's revelatory, a great learning experience in many ways when you know you're putting yourself on the line.

To a degree, I experienced this with ad music, but it intensified a few years ago when I decided to put an album of my electronica out there. I was terrified it'd be roundly rejected. I haven't ever promoted it, but did put it on Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon music. The work gets a smattering of listeners all over the world every month, in all age groups.

That, in and of itself, makes me think it's worth the effort. Not that there's money in it, you need a helluva lot more streams for that than I get. But at least it isn't completely ignored.