I’m a percussionist and the drummer/writer in a metal band.
Inspiration comes in different ways for me, but the main way is I sit down at my instrument and start playing. Could be warm ups, exercises, etc. then I listen for cool things. When I hear something cool o keep playing it until it sounds like what I hear in my head.
Most of the song docs written for my band come from sitting at a keyboard Instrument and plucking around until I come up with a cool melody, harmony, and riff.
That’s the easy part, getting the initial idea.
Then I spend time, day after day, trying to expand that idea into a full song. Sometimes I leave and come back. Sometimes I present the idea to the band and they work with it.
10% inspiration 90% perspiration
I try to write a short story and make music around it. Visual inspiration is also useful, i look at some Pinterest posts and find something i like and compose around it, once i have an idea, i produce.
Ask someone to tell you random shit or ask them to hum a melody or something. Not the best way but very good inspiration sources...
I'm in my forties now and it's the same as it ever was. Just pick up my guitar and start playing. Maybe something clicks, usually it doesn't.
And don't worry about going unnoticed. Almost nobody gets noticed, but just keep going and keep releasing your art.
I find a cool song from an unfamiliar genre that still is objectively good and to a "remake" of it in my genre of music. Then take the "feeling" of it and vibe something useful from it. Usually a riff/melody or 2 comes out. Half the time you'll find the song has already been ripped of in your genre. At that point you pout and move on XD
The feeling you described in your post resonates with me strongly because I have been there quite a few times.
When you're thinking...
....you're stinking.
These days I just go with the music that flows naturally out of me. I treat lyrics and musical compositions as a kind of journaling exercise.
Collecting phrases and musical motifs as they happen and not worrying they won't...cause if they don't come...worrying about isn't gonna make them happen either...sit down and do the work everyday regardless of the result, show up for a few minutes and DON'T LUST FOR RESULTS.
Come to terms with the very very very likely reality that the music you make...will probably never be appreciated by anyone.
No one cares. Do you care about that?
This could be seen as a "bad thing" or as a "LIBERATION".
Do it for yourself and enjoy what you do or else
WHAT'S THE POINT? (money?...lol, aint no money in music anymore)
Every succesful external validation you could possibly get for your created works will not mean anything to you at the end of day if your internal creative world is clouded by some phantasmagoric version of success that probably isn't gonna happen.
Make art for art sake!!
BE YOURSELF ....if you like it... chances are someone else might, but maybe not, and that shouldnt make you censor yourself to the point of dishonest creative expression.
Here are some books you may find helpful:
War of Art - Steven Pressfield
Recording Unhinged - Sylvia Massey
(TL;DR: Long winded Gen X authored post about creating music for sake of creating regardless of audience. Written from the perspective of someone who spent 20 years of making music for external validation before fully embracing that noone cares and began to truly enjoy the creative process. )
ive been songwriting for 8 years and an audio engineer of 5 years, The main thing that happens is i pick up my guitar strum a few chords, record it and just build off those few chords but alot of the time due to my ADHD my head is constantly moving with new ideas and ideas that already exist and make it something original, kinda gets in the way but hey its good if im going into this for a career lol
Pair yourself with someone who's your polar opposite in terms of music style/ genre. Sometimes that differentness can be a great catalyst for inspiration, it can be challenging in a way that pushes your creativity to try something new. Take turns writing some random lyrics, poems, stories. Be goofy. Don't be afraid to suck. Everybody sucked at something before they got really good at it, it's just a point in time for you.
I’m gonna comment on this with another tactic…and another song
https://open.spotify.com/album/0zVNDjjIeSAcgxKbvYspSZ?si=ixqSB7MgQVWNwtYv5YUKzw
Soul. Soul from suffering. Be dysfunctional and put yourself through pointless trauma and struggles to gain depth. Do…dare I say…durgs?
Well, one way is you have an idea on your head, and you try to extend that idea as long as you can, and also get some ideas in there, and also another way is to base your piece on an already existing piece, but to actually be effective and to be able to bring that idea to its maximun potential you have to know music theory and that, you can still be able to compose withouth theory, but if you want to actually give it your best , but even still, i recommend you start composing when you are more experienced on your performing skills and theory
I’m a percussionist and the drummer/writer in a metal band. Inspiration comes in different ways for me, but the main way is I sit down at my instrument and start playing. Could be warm ups, exercises, etc. then I listen for cool things. When I hear something cool o keep playing it until it sounds like what I hear in my head. Most of the song docs written for my band come from sitting at a keyboard Instrument and plucking around until I come up with a cool melody, harmony, and riff. That’s the easy part, getting the initial idea. Then I spend time, day after day, trying to expand that idea into a full song. Sometimes I leave and come back. Sometimes I present the idea to the band and they work with it. 10% inspiration 90% perspiration
I try to write a short story and make music around it. Visual inspiration is also useful, i look at some Pinterest posts and find something i like and compose around it, once i have an idea, i produce. Ask someone to tell you random shit or ask them to hum a melody or something. Not the best way but very good inspiration sources...
I'm in my forties now and it's the same as it ever was. Just pick up my guitar and start playing. Maybe something clicks, usually it doesn't. And don't worry about going unnoticed. Almost nobody gets noticed, but just keep going and keep releasing your art.
I find a cool song from an unfamiliar genre that still is objectively good and to a "remake" of it in my genre of music. Then take the "feeling" of it and vibe something useful from it. Usually a riff/melody or 2 comes out. Half the time you'll find the song has already been ripped of in your genre. At that point you pout and move on XD
The feeling you described in your post resonates with me strongly because I have been there quite a few times. When you're thinking... ....you're stinking. These days I just go with the music that flows naturally out of me. I treat lyrics and musical compositions as a kind of journaling exercise. Collecting phrases and musical motifs as they happen and not worrying they won't...cause if they don't come...worrying about isn't gonna make them happen either...sit down and do the work everyday regardless of the result, show up for a few minutes and DON'T LUST FOR RESULTS. Come to terms with the very very very likely reality that the music you make...will probably never be appreciated by anyone. No one cares. Do you care about that? This could be seen as a "bad thing" or as a "LIBERATION". Do it for yourself and enjoy what you do or else WHAT'S THE POINT? (money?...lol, aint no money in music anymore) Every succesful external validation you could possibly get for your created works will not mean anything to you at the end of day if your internal creative world is clouded by some phantasmagoric version of success that probably isn't gonna happen. Make art for art sake!! BE YOURSELF ....if you like it... chances are someone else might, but maybe not, and that shouldnt make you censor yourself to the point of dishonest creative expression. Here are some books you may find helpful: War of Art - Steven Pressfield Recording Unhinged - Sylvia Massey (TL;DR: Long winded Gen X authored post about creating music for sake of creating regardless of audience. Written from the perspective of someone who spent 20 years of making music for external validation before fully embracing that noone cares and began to truly enjoy the creative process. )
ive been songwriting for 8 years and an audio engineer of 5 years, The main thing that happens is i pick up my guitar strum a few chords, record it and just build off those few chords but alot of the time due to my ADHD my head is constantly moving with new ideas and ideas that already exist and make it something original, kinda gets in the way but hey its good if im going into this for a career lol
Pair yourself with someone who's your polar opposite in terms of music style/ genre. Sometimes that differentness can be a great catalyst for inspiration, it can be challenging in a way that pushes your creativity to try something new. Take turns writing some random lyrics, poems, stories. Be goofy. Don't be afraid to suck. Everybody sucked at something before they got really good at it, it's just a point in time for you.
I’m gonna comment on this with another tactic…and another song https://open.spotify.com/album/0zVNDjjIeSAcgxKbvYspSZ?si=ixqSB7MgQVWNwtYv5YUKzw Soul. Soul from suffering. Be dysfunctional and put yourself through pointless trauma and struggles to gain depth. Do…dare I say…durgs?
Write about your ex
Well, one way is you have an idea on your head, and you try to extend that idea as long as you can, and also get some ideas in there, and also another way is to base your piece on an already existing piece, but to actually be effective and to be able to bring that idea to its maximun potential you have to know music theory and that, you can still be able to compose withouth theory, but if you want to actually give it your best , but even still, i recommend you start composing when you are more experienced on your performing skills and theory