This is an article I recently read that I thought was interesting and another way to break out of what some call "writers block". All my life I have done several art forms and tend to cycle my interests through them. I keep all of them sort of going, but two may be low on the back burners while I'm cooking on high on one or the other. But I find it interesting that they all seem to complement each other in ideas and progression of skills, even if I'm not practicing them at the time. My primary focus was on dance for a long time and when I came back to painting it was as if I'ld never left and my skills had gotten better. I find it amazing that they all have the common threads of creativity such as being entertaining, how to add interesting variations, how to be unique, etc.
Where do musical ideas come from? I like to think of ideas as coming from a well, or a pool, within our imagination, and every time we write, we dip into that pool to find our ideas.
But if that metaphor works, we still need to ask: where does the water in that pool come from?
The most likely source for musical ideas -- the "water in the pool" -- is the music that has surrounded us our entire lives. From the time we're born, music is around us. At first, it's music that our parents and siblings listen to, along with the music we hear in our daily lives: background music for television shows, music on the radio, and so on.
Eventually you develop your own tastes, likes and dislikes, and the pool keeps deepening. Every time we hear something, we are, in a sense, adding to that pool of music that we then draw on when we create our own music. You can take that analogy quite far, and it still works: if you don't feel that your songs are creative or unique enough, the pool of ideas is likely too shallow.
So the obvious solution to that is to put more water in the pool by broadening our listening habits. Listen to more genres, more songwriters, more good bands, more good singers. And you'll be deepening the pool and adding water with every experience.
But there's even more you can be doing:
1. Branch out into different art forms. Listening to music is only one way to expand your musical imagination. If you then turn your attention to other forms of creative art, such as dancing, painting, poetry, sculpture, and so on, your musical mind can and will take those experiences as metaphors for what you might do musically. It really does work.
2. Do carpentry or other forms of craft work. Designing simple furniture (bookshelves, tables, lamps, etc.) gives you an opportunity to add your own artistic flair in a way that's almost completely different from songwriting, but still requiring your imagination and the need to make artistic decisions. The pool deepens!
3. Help other songwriters. Sometimes the best way to improve your skills and deepen the pool of ideas is to help other up and coming songwriters. You get to help others solve problems, and in so doing, you may actually wind up helping yourself. You hear possibilities as revealed in someone else's songs, and your imagination gets to work.
4. Produce someone else's album. When you produce, you get to craft someone else's musical efforts. It allows you to be objective in the sense that it isn't your own song that you're working on.
Creativity is your ability to put musical ideas together in a way that makes a good song. But if the pool of ideas is limited in the first place, you may find that the problem isn't your level of creativity -- it's the pool of ideas -- your imagination -- that actually needs the help.
That pool isn't a set quantity; you can increase it if you take the time to broaden your interests and move beyond your own personal musical experiences. Involve yourself in as many creative endeavours as you possibly can.
And the great thing is that artistic experiences from outside the music world will in fact create musical equivalents that you can then tap into as you write new music.
Interested in what others think, feel or do on this topic?
This is a thought inspired by the topic and not necessarily my thoughts on the topic as a whole, but this kind of reminds me of when an artist or band starts off in one genre, gathers a following and then "suddenly switches" genres. Makes me wonder if they just found inspiration or refilled their pools as it were with other genres that spoke to them at that particular point in their lives.
Really thought provoking. Thanks for sharing!
Last edited by Ember - PG Music; 04/27/1912:16 PM.
Yes Ember I totally believe that. I'm sure many musicians listen to lots of other artists for inspiration and new material. There's an old saying the best artists steal, but make it their own. I remember Bob Dylan when he switched to country music and a lot of his fans didn't like it but that was a deeper well for him at the time. Lynda Ronstadt started performing classical and Mexican music, I don't think it was as popular but I'm sure she was looking for something new and different. I'm sure there are lots of others out there, many someone else will mention them.
I like #4. There's a lot about doing "this" solo that I don't find much fun or creative. I don't like the act of recording, for example. But I do it because I can't get to what I do like without that. The "producer" hat is the one I most enjoy wearing, after writing. If we limit the thought to what most internet independent artists that I've met or heard over the years (that is, I'm not qualified to produce an album, and nobody I know could or would let me) I'd love to be in the same room when tracks are being laid down and assembled. I'd love to suggest a better way to sing a phrase, or tighten up a line of lyric before it's "too late" (that is, already recorded and probably mixed).
I like to come up with bits of the song in assembling it in DAW that maybe never occurred to me when I was building the basics in BIAB, and I very often "hear" ideas that I can't (or can't yet) realize in the software, but maybe can in producing the mix. This goes beyond performance. Sure, producing can involve wringing out or choosing the best performance possible...but I think producers really shine in other ways. It also goes beyond sound engineering, though that can be a strong component in lifting the piece to a higher level. The Beatles are a prime example. They may have been a fine rock-and-roll band doing good live shows and recording their sets, but George Martin (along with their own wild creativity) made their studio songs something beyond.
I've heard Film Directors say a similar thing about their art and craft. The film, action, and dialog are recorded...but the movie is made in the editing room.
Even though I can't really do that (produce others) in all practicality, the conscious thought of how I might have preferred something be done seems to stick around in my own head, at least for a while. So that's some water in the well or pool, maybe.
So good to know some people enjoy the production part as for me not being that technically savvy so I find it somewhat frustrating. I supposed if I learned it better then it would be easier and I agree so necessary that it's the part that really polishes ones creativity.
I'm a creator and mostly enjoy coming up with new ideas especially lyrics and melodies. I do all different forms of creativity and alternative through them so I never feel I'm blocked or have no more material. I mostly write everyday, some days I write poetry, some days songs or pieces of song ideas. Some days I dance, paint, sing make jewelry or dance costumes, but always doing something creative everyday. I do creativity exercises and take creativity herbs. Ha! Ha!
Very intriguing perspective on the creative process Belladonna! Its amazing how there are about as many processes people use for the creative process as there are people.
Elizibeth Gilbert did a ted talk on another way to harness creative energy (for lack of better term). Its about 20 minutes long and quite interesting.
Yes Ember I totally believe that. I'm sure many musicians listen to lots of other artists for inspiration and new material. There's an old saying the best artists steal, but make it their own. I remember Bob Dylan when he switched to country music and a lot of his fans didn't like it but that was a deeper well for him at the time. Lynda Ronstadt started performing classical and Mexican music, I don't think it was as popular but I'm sure she was looking for something new and different. I'm sure there are lots of others out there, many someone else will mention them.
I really appreciate your posts. They are always so thought provoking and this has certainly given me some things to ponder on. Thanks!
Joe - TED Talks have some interesting people. I love the concept of a genius or sometimes I have called it a muse. And sometimes songs do show up that way which is amazing. The rest of the time it seems like hard work. But when it happens sometimes for me it's usually after I've taken a walk and I go lay down to rest and a song starts coming and I have to get up and start writing and then I try to rest again and another line or so will come and I get up again and it keeps happening. It's usually a much better song than the ones I am slaving away over. Keith Richard said he got up in the middle of the night hearing the rift in his head "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" and recorded himself before he went back to sleep and it became a really big hit. So where did that come from? Hmmm!! I'm sure this happens to many people time and time again. Do songs really float around in the universe and we just have to be open to receive them. And it's so true, if you don't immediately stop and write it all down it quickly fades. I remember someone saying if you want the breeze to come in your window, you have to open the window. Yes, we do our part and then there can be the potential of magic from a well that was tapped and was divine. Nice listen.
Joe - TED Talks have some interesting people. I love the concept of a genius or sometimes I have called it a muse. And sometimes songs do show up that way which is amazing. The rest of the time it seems like hard work. But when it happens sometimes for me it's usually after I've taken a walk and I go lay down to rest and a song starts coming and I have to get up and start writing and then I try to rest again and another line or so will come and I get up again and it keeps happening. It's usually a much better song than the ones I am slaving away over. Keith Richard said he got up in the middle of the night hearing the rift in his head "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" and recorded himself before he went back to sleep and it became a really big hit. So where did that come from? Hmmm!! I'm sure this happens to many people time and time again. Do songs really float around in the universe and we just have to be open to receive them. And it's so true, if you don't immediately stop and write it all down it quickly fades. I remember someone saying if you want the breeze to come in your window, you have to open the window. Yes, we do our part and then there can be the potential of magic from a well that was tapped and was divine. Nice listen.
Absolutely! Do the work and the muse will show up when its ready
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