Inspiration, in a rut, need help.

I seem to be in a SEVERE state of non-inspiration for some reason lately and I thought I'd ask for help on this one. This really isn't like me, and for some dumb reason I think it has to do with the fact that I'm finally happy with my studio for once....but I don't know why that would cause this feeling. I started playing when I was 14, now I'm 34, so..20 years of playing. I don't know what I'm getting at..but I know this isn't like me.

I seem to be in a SEVERE state of non-inspiration for some reason lately and I thought I'd ask for help on this one. This really isn't like me, and for some dumb reason I think it has to do with the fact that I'm finally happy with my studio for once....but I don't know why that would cause this feeling. I started playing when I was 14, now I'm 34, so..20 years of playing. I don't know what I'm getting at..but I know this isn't like me.

 

Inspiration comes and goes, maybe you are in a spot where internally you are working on something. Anyway, you could always get inspiration by listening to a big variety of music (that's why I like eMusic and eclectic radio stations such as KFJC (available on iTunes, the Goodwrench Electronica show is just amazing). Or get inspiration by looking at movies, reading books, visiting new places, meet new people, and so on.

 

Or maybe you need do do very different kind of music for a while.

 

--Kent

I can sympathize. I've been struggling with inspiration and motivation since getting my music degree over 12 years ago and taking a different career path.

 

I had a good run a few months ago by imposing a weekly deadline on myself. I did it by starting a podcast on my blog and posting a snippet of whatever I'd finished by Sunday night. Sometimes it was 30 seconds, sometimes 2 minutes. Sometimes it was crap, sometimes it was pretty cool. But that was the point for me: my main inspiration killer is perfectionism. Forcing myself to focus on quantity over quality short circuited that part of my brain. I pretended I had an avid listenership and didn't want to disappoint them. I started with a menu of 10 or so ideas and just moved through them each week. The variety was another way to short circuit the perfectionism. It was also helpful to come up with the ideas away from Logic or my guitar or keyboard: just from my imagination.

 

Unfortunately I took a trip and fell off the wagon for a while. I've been slowly getting back to it. I think the weekly deadline was maybe unrealistic with my day job and other interests (life, girlfriend, etc.). I got some new sounds a couple of weeks ago (Garritan Jazz and Big Band) which always is stimulating for me.

 

I read a quote recently: something like "limitation is a great source of inspiration." I wish I could remember who said it. Anyway, try setting up some arbitrary rules for a piece of music, like avoiding thirds, or creating all the sounds (drums, pads, etc.) from processing guitar samples. Or map names and birthdays to notes and/or rhythmic values to generate themes. Or go all John Cage and literally leave your decisions to chance by throwing dice (that's my second Cage reference this week... I wonder why he's on my mind).

 

I'd second what Kent said about internally working on something. Maybe now is actually a time where you should leave it alone for a time. Work on learning Logic better or getting your finances in shape or write your mom a letter or take a long weekend trip to the seaside. I'm sure that every creative person goes through this to varying degrees. It goes with the territory. 20 years is a damn good long run. The tap hasn't run dry. Maybe you just need to let the well refill. I feel like I'm giving myself this advice right now. I hope it helps you in some way. Good luck.

Make sure you also check out that thread!

 

http://www.logicprohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=6073

 

for some dumb reason I think it has to do with the fact that I'm finally happy with my studio for once....

Inspiration is sometimes easier to find when you are limited. It's much easier to "write a 2mn song for drums, bass, piano, guitar and vocals, before Friday", than to "write anything, whenever you want"!

 

If the lack of limitation in gear is endangering your inspiration, try to put other limitations on yourself?

 

Finally, when I really have no inspiration left in me, I just spend time learning a new instrument, acoustic or software, and in the process sometimes I find a cool sound or a cool channel strip setting to save, and sometimes, I even find a cool riff or groove... and inspiration comes back!!

 

Best of luck to you!

I really, REALLY appreciate the suggestions and your personal experiences guys. Some things I've never really thought about before here. It's kind of relieving to know that other people have felt this way, about gear and about 'limits' etc. I'm also a perfectionist like Tonecluster, and lately everything is *perfect* which I guess freaks me out a bit. But again, thanks a lot for the responses and that link, David and all.

 

p.s. I've always had a day job, or some other responsibilities to keep me from devoting myself completely to music. Now I can do just that, but I think I'm encountering the pressure of expecting mega-hits out of myself too (as silly as that might sound )...I feel very blessed right now, but also feel like i need to do great things right now and maybe I'm a little skeered.

we all go thru it, pal. I'm 48, and have been doing this since I was 16. Don't know anything else.

 

Like David, I get new inspiration by diving into a new sound/intrument that I haven't played with. Even more than that, I get inspired by getting OUT of my studio, and over to someone ELSES!

 

perfect example..I've got a little project to do that mostly calls for acoustic guitar. Non-melodic..just rhythms and grooves to a nice beat..perfect for voice overs.. Sure..I could use my Real Guitar plug in (seriously..it sounds pretty damned amazing)..but, instead, I called a bud up and went to his place...

he's got 50 something different guitars. I just picked one (his Taylor 12 string), picked a funky little groove at 125bpm, and said 'play this like you'd play your funky stratocaster". He looked at me like I was nuts, but started wailing away anyway!!

 

and don't ya know..he played stuff on it he'd never thought to play before. I saved 5 little two minute takes, and now I'm cuttin' and splicin'' and adding bass and clavinet and funky ass EV88 sounds, and who knows what I'll end up with! I sure like it. I'm inspiried, I got to hang with a bud, and some spontaious insanity insued!!

 

 

(ps..I sure hope the client likes it..LOLOL).

BT said something interesting on this topic last year. He said:

 

"I have a solution to the problem of writer's block: just keep writing. Don't worry if what comes out is utter crap, write anyway. Sooner or later, something good's going to come out".

 

I also read an EXCELLENT piece of advice from John Braheny, songwriter. it was about lyrics, but I believe it can be true about any creative process. He said: if you're writing lyrics, just write. Don't judge, write. Write anything that goes through your mind. The next day, look at it and judge, edit, rearrange, organize, find a rhyme, construct, build... but the first day, just write.

 

You wouldn't believe how much it has helped me writing lyrics (some good, some bad!). Instead of writing three words, scratching them, writing 4 more, scratching 3, and so on until I eventually scratch everything away... I would just write a bunch of sentences, full verses, or even just words that sounded cool, or sometimes just ideas of topics to talk about in that song. The next day I would have so much material to work with, I couldn't care less if I was still inspired or not: I was just working!

play this like you'd play your funky stratocaster

Reminds me of Brian Eno's oblique strategies! As a producer, he would have a deck of cards and pull one and give it to a musician before a recording. The cards would read stuff like:

 

Use an old idea

Remove ambiguities and convert to specifics

Dont be afraid of things because they're easy to do

 

...and so on. Inspiring!

 

Here's a random generator: http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/oblique/oblique.html

Good thread! My way to avoid problems is to constantly compose 40-60 minute pieces of music, good or bad, just continue. Then later I chop up parts and clean them up, and make them to releasable tracks. But just having to write lots of music, not worrying about this or that, helps concerning any doubts about being or not being creative. I think doubt kills creativity, indeed. --Kent

Dont be afraid of things because they're easy to do

 

I should have this tattooed on the inside of my eyelids.

Here's a random generator: http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/oblique/oblique.html

 

I'm going to consider it complete KARMA that the very first thing that came up when I clicked on the generator was "USE FEWER NOTES".

 

finer words were never spoken

Let's see what my Karma does for me?

 

 

..-> Cascades

 

Huh?

 

OK, let's cancel my last draw. I'll try again.

 

..-> Is the information correct?

 

Huh?

hahah...too funny. What information?