How to get inspiration?

[nobody]

I was just cleaning the kitchen in preparation for a house-sitter (who does not need to see our normal every day mess) who will be here while the better half and I blow town for a week. I guess those chemical cleaners are an inspiration because I just thought of this:

For lyrical/song inspiration, use the script of your favourite movie. So you could, using "Hollywood Homicide" for inspiration, have a song that goes:

Hey, cop! What about that house?
Still working on it!
I'll go 6.5!
Not a penny mo'!
*extreme guitar riff*
(chorus)
Not a pen-NEE MO'!
Not a pen-NEE MO'!
Not a pen-NEE MO'!
Not a pen-NEE MO'!

[Kruge]

Bloody hellfire!

I just noticed that I kicked of quite the busy thread with this topic, cool!

I'll have to sit down and read a *lot*, wow!

[monkeylizard]

Hello all. I hope you don't mind a n00b jumping in on the thread uninvited.

I have a similar problem to the one Kruge mentioned in the first post (which I hope is solved now seeing as that was over 5 years ago!). After reading all of the very interesting responses, though, I think my situation may be of a slightly different nature (but hopefully closely enough related not to take this off-topic).

I think I'm suffering from a lack of originality (or realistic expectations).

I can (normally) quite happily sit in front of my keyboard or with a guitar, make noises for a while and come up with something that I'm satisfied with. But sooner or later, the thought strikes me that what I've done is too derivative. I'm not talking about ripping off melodies or anything to that extent, but I always get the feeling that someone else has been there and done that already. Consequently, everything gets abandoned; nothing gets completed.

What I seem to want is for every time I try to create something for it to hit me with the same of wonder and astonishment as the first time I heard, say, Coil, Autechre or Aphex Twin. I appreciate that this is completely unrealistic as a) some artists are regarded as pioneers in their field for a reason, and b) not even they create something original every time.

Conversely, I'm afraid (maybe too strong a word but you get the idea) to try anything radically different from what I normally do in case it's a complete failure. It's got to the point where I (almost) don't want to make music (something I've been doing in one form or another for around 30 years).

I'm not asking for the Holy Grail of "How can I be more original?". I think what I'm asking is for thoughts as to how be a bit more realistic and (as difficult as it may be) accept that sometimes things are going to turn out more paint-by-numbers than Picasso.

Thanks for listening.

[Kruge]

[Antimon]

[seraph]

[mosc]

Monkeylizard, great post. It's almost as if I had written that myself.

I think Antimon and Seraph have some good points.

I think these feelings are lack of self confidence, and it works both ways. If you are trying to make music in a particular style, you might always judge the music as not good enough, not exactly right. Then if you try something original, you beat yourself up for not been all that original.

I may have mentioned this before, but what has helped me is to learn to appreciate other peoples' music, especially people who are involved in this community. My tendency it to find fault in other peoples' music as well as my own. For some reason, I've been able to let go of the criticism and really digg others' music, and to outwardly express my warmest appreciation.

Here on the forum and at the electro-music events, I try to encourage everyone. That has a selfish benefit of helping me appreciate myself.

The music industry has been very bad at this. They have hit parades, top 10, music awards, best sellers, hall of fame, American Idol, and all that shit. It is based on selling stuff to people who don't know what they like. It is so prevalent that we start to think that it is Truth. It's not, it's bullshit. I think it's harmful.

Our community is about making music for the love of it, not for profit, acceptance, or popularity.

If you can come to an upcoming electro-music.com event, I'm sure you'll pick that up and you'll start to appreciate your own music, and that of the rest of us. At least I hope so.

[JohnL]

I have been reading this thread for quite a while, and it is clear that it has lasted this long because every single one of us struggles with these issues. I haven't really felt I had anything new to add, but some of what monkeylizard wrote resonated with my own typical creative problem, which is that inspiration is fairly easy, but completion is hard.

[seraph]

[monkeylizard]

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to get back to me - it's very much appreciated.

I don't start any session with the specific aim of creating something that's never been done before. It's just that at some point in the process (anything from minutes to weeks) the feeling hits me that what I've done isn't good enough (for whatever reason).

I hope my last post didn't come across as trying to belittle what anyone else does. As mosc stated, what we do should be for the love of it and I sincerely hope that's what everyone gets from what they do. And that's exactly what I'm not getting from it at the moment which is why it seems pointless.

I just need to learn how to be less harsh on myself. Shame I have no idea how to do that...

[mosc]

[Octahedra]

[Acoustic Interloper]

How to get time to work on inspirations is the flip side of this problem. I suppose, if I had time to worry about it, I'd get writer's block. But by the time I have time to work, I usually have ideas to work on.

The Ellington quote is right. I had to perform two original Brazilian-patterned pieces on acoustic banjo, co-written with my university's world percussion ensemble, a Baion and a Bossa Nova. The Baion I had nailed from the start -- the fact that I was sitting outside one day playing this pattern without knowing it as the percussion prof walked by did not hurt. But I could not get my fingers and head to play the Bossa Nova.

Then we started running out of time, and the ensemble was going to be traveling and I wouldn't see them for a month, so I finally dragged a laptop in and recorded one of the practice sessions. I later just started free associating with the headphones on, and the piece worked out so well that the prof named it Parsonova in the concert program. What had been threatening to be the dud for me was perhaps the better piece, because the deadline forced me to get serious about it, the unfamiliarity helped make it fresh, and free association pulled the finger pattern, melody and harmony out of the air. Good old schedule pressure.

[monkeylizard]

Thanks again for all the thoughts - and apologies for taking this thread slightly off-topic and turning it into a personal therapy session.

mosc - the book looks very interesting. I intend to check it out as soon as possible.

Octahedra - I tend not to play any of my stuff to anyone, finished or not. Partly this is down to the fact that I do what I do to please myself and no one else. Although there's probably an element of wanting to avoid criticism in there as well (not that I'd want to admit that to myself, obviously).

Just reading over this thread a few times had helped a bit already. I made an effort to do a few things in the creative process differently last night. Not sure if I'd say the session was successful, but I haven't deleted everything from my hard drive... yet.

[mosc]

Well, posting music on the forum is going to provide you with maybe the most agreeable audience you might ever get.

[Inventor]

[monkeylizard]

[abreaktor]

i have yet to see that "most agreeable audience" ... hehe. maybe its because i dont deal in noodles. but ive got great feedback and direct help on other fora, and especially on soundcloud, so publishing your music is the way to go imho. in my case, it lead more or less directly to a contract with a berlin-based electronica label, ill spam ya with ads when the release is due. hehe.

anyway, that discussion about originality leaves me a bit baffled. i am now well 5 months in the "business" and at the beginning i sounded like another boards-of-canada-clone (lots of younger electronica artitst seem to start out that way, and a lot get stuck there). for some strange reason, i found my original style very very fast (after 3 months, methinks). even if i do a minimal track (not minimal music, minimal techno), it has a distinct abreaktor sound.

i dont WANT the tracks to be original in any way, they just turn out to be like that. otoh, if you DONT have a distinct sound/composition/whatever - well, i dont really have a question there, but it is kinda strange. does it make you more of an interpreter than a composer? (i only play instruments if the need arises, to resample them, so i dont really have experience in the problematics of rehearsing etc)

cheers!

edit @ acoustic interloper: i SO dont get your signature. help a non-anglophone out by explaining it?


edit2:

[Acoustic Interloper]

[JohnL]

Yes, "Ordinary Machinery" is a VERY nice piece that sounds like little else--a perfect example of how many influences plus personal creativity lead to something new.
--John

[abreaktor]

thank you for the explanation interloper! also, aver y enjoyable listen.

edit: great music there. also, i cannot reconnect to the chat. odd

[Acoustic Interloper]

[blue hell]

[Fernando]

I compiled a list of youtube available music pieces to explain friends what is electroacoustic music, XXth century contemporary music, etc.
and which kind of music composition I studied.
It may be inspiring for some:

~ Electroacoustic, electronic and (back then) experimental music from XXth century ~

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZtOH8oRctDVnmgqMo7fxLtA1LbpcoZIc

.

[Bertsbeats]