Inspiration needed.

[lionscub68]

I'm in that lull that happens every now and again, that crappy biorhythm-type low point and calendar coincidence where I actually have a ton of spare time to compose, diddle, or otherwise play, record, or practice with what I consider my awesome studio setup. Awesome I say, because everything works, there's no conflicts of software updates, all the hardware is working (mostly), and it feels like I have unlimited potential capability just sitting in all that pile of steaming technology.

But I'm just not in the mood.
I'd rather play Halo 1 on my old iMac lately.

I can't figure it out. It's so against my normal instincts and sense of time management. What the heck's wrong with me?

Maybe it's the empty-nest syndrome kicking in (my only kid went off the freshman year of college, I'm in my mid-forties), and the stress level is snapping back like a rubber band from the last 6 months?

Maybe it's the sense of "gee whiz I got fat, I need to get up and do something about it" but not attracted to anything remotely physical-activity-related?

Maybe it's the having way too many starting points, musically; all the technological limitations are removed, so I don't have a starting point, a concept to grasp onto thematically?

Back in the late 80s to the early 90s, my options were two synths (Roland Juno-1 and Kawai K1-II) and an old drum machine (or two, Tr-505 and ST-305), plus my electric bass and 4 guitar pedals. Plus a 4-track Yamaha tape deck. That forced me to work with those limitations. Now the limitations are gone... maybe that's the problem?

Man I just don't wanna think about it anymore, I just want it to happen.

If I'm not playing Halo, you can find me playing a stack of two pads with character from my Virus Classic and Omnipshere, one or two notes at a time, and the other hand on the mod wheel, droning for an hour at a pop. That's my therapy for now.

Have you ever been at this point here?
Did you wait it out or do something to snap out of this funk?
What did you do?

[xNiMiNx]

Maybe it's the sense of "gee whiz I got fat, I need to get up and do something about it" but not attracted to anything remotely physical-activity-related?

Two birds one stone? I know walking doesnt sound like fun, but lots of studies show that it helps the brain. Might be just what you need. You may see/hear something along the way that inspires a song idea too.

If you doubt what i say, just search 'benefits of walking on the brain'.

Good luck getting out of the funk!

[robogone]

Also, if you play any very portable instruments - take them out for a walk too!

[Sendy]

Impose your own arbitrary limitations. One thing I like to do is limit myself to a few types of instrument, like some Roland boxes (303, 101, 808), a couple of soundchip emulations, a few samples, and something weird for pads. Even if you're using software there's nothing to stop you pretending that it's hardware in your mind.

Once a kernel of an idea has germinated, you can relax the restraints if you like, for example, to fill out the background of the track.

[robogone]

Maybe learn a new instrument. That always works for me as it's a totally new approach. Still learning to play the trumpet now, and it's really making me think differently about melody and color.

[lionscub68]

Of course, if you're into this kind of thing, this funk I'm in makes perfect sense now, in light of the following analysis provided below.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/j3lp9zmm4zjv8 ... 1%20PM.jpg



Which means, in a week I'll be ready to kick ass and take names, musically.

[chaosWyrM]

the ideas here are good...if they sound good to you.

personally, im in a similar situation as you...the main difference is i have an 11 month old baby (im a stay at home dad), so most of the scarce free time i have i just want to sit down and veg. in the last year ive only been able to complete 2 tracks. when im in a creative funk, i generally just do whatever it seems i feel like doing at the moment. in your case, its playing halo. so i say...play halo.

perhaps your brain just needs that kind of stimulus, so let it have it. it sounds like youve been doing this long enough to realize that no matter how deep the funk is...its temporary. the inspiration will come back and hit you like a truck. dont worry about it, and dont force it (unless forcing it works for you...then force it).

[funky lime]

go do something new.
on your way to work or the store or whatever, take a different route each time.
break your routine on purpose.

learn a new instrument as robojam said above. if you have the opportunity to do that, it helps a LOT!

art is like a reflection of life experiences, a means to communicate the otherwise-incommunicable aspects of reality.
-> if you aren't experiencing life, then you will have nothing to write about.

i can sit in the studio all day, everything on, lights flashing, coffee hot, joint lit, and nothing will happen. but the moment i step outside and talk to a stranger or watch birds or go for a walk or call an old friend or read a book or go someplace i haven't been before, the ideas start pouring out.

then it's just a matter of maintaining that new-found sense of creativity once i get back to the studio...

there is the technical side that will flourish by doing stuff. you will get better at recording by recording more, better at guitar by playing more, etc.

but technicality and creativity often do not go hand in hand. this is why it is common for a home recording artist to actively SEPARATE the songwriting process from the mixing process.

you don't need an EQ to write a song. ---> you don't need an instrument to come up with ideas.

today is my free day this week to work on music. i think i'm going to go for a nice long bike ride

[sbrennt]

I hate it it when the inspiration drought hits. I do either one, or a combination of a few of these to help me get de-funked:

1) Write music with other people. If you've got someone you could write with, that could give you a system reboot. About 6 months ago I was super stuck on music, but then I asked my buddy if I could work on a track with him. I let him start it, which kind of got the initial drudge of starting a track, and I was able to start writing music again because I had a starting point. Its honestly more fun too.

2) I go for walk. this helps with the little droughts, not necessarily the super long droughts.

3) I try a new genre, or writing on a different instrument. For example, I had been writing all my music using midi keyboards and software, but then I decided to buy a crappy upright piano on craigslist for 100 bucks. He even delivered it to my house, and put it in my garage! since then, I've been writing lots of my melodies and progressions on the piano, and I can safely say my best chord progressions have come from sitting in front of that piano, and its so easy to use those progressions and melodies in my electronic productions.

this is just what I do. I don't know if it'll work for you, but I thought I'd just throw it out there just in case.

[offthewall]

When I hit this point, just over a year ago, someone here pointed me towards Kompoz.com

It's been the busiest year I ever had, musically. In that year I've been involved in over 100 projects. It can get totally mad.
Inspiration ..... haven't got time for it now!


James

[SelectorSeekrits]

Maybe it's the having way too many starting points, musically; all the technological limitations are removed, so I don't have a starting point, a concept to grasp onto thematically?

Back in the late 80s to the early 90s, my options were two synths (Roland Juno-1 and Kawai K1-II) and an old drum machine (or two, Tr-505 and ST-305), plus my electric bass and 4 guitar pedals. Plus a 4-track Yamaha tape deck. That forced me to work with those limitations. Now the limitations are gone... maybe that's the problem?

This.

[lionscub68]

The dry spell has been broken.
I just visited my son at his college (I'm a recent empty-nester) and delivered some goodies (he's an hour away); got home, sat down with an opened quality beer, turned on/loaded just two(or three) things -- PianoTeq 4 and my Access Virus Classic/B running through Live, with Eos as the reverb.

This happened in the first few minutes (I record while I play around, to catch these ideas). It's a great leaping point musically for me, it's got several branches to go to like a tree, and it's developing nicely.

So, the drought's officially over.
It took some good living in the real world, plus an awesome frosty malt beverage, plus some limitation on how many instruments to use as a starting point to snap out of it.

Thanks for reading!


https://soundcloud.com/robertdorschel/a ... m-the-muse

[jancivil]

Good for you. It's a kind of mental health thing sometimes, isn't it.

[Frantz]

I'm in that lull that happens every now and again, that crappy biorhythm-type low point and calendar coincidence

If you actually believe in biorhythms, then use your favorite biorhythm calculator to determine when your emotional and intellectual cycles peak. At the peak, run into the studio and switch on the synths.

Here are some devices you may find helpful:







Or if you prefer analog:

[lionscub68]

I'm in that lull that happens every now and again, that crappy biorhythm-type low point and calendar coincidence

If you actually believe in biorhythms, then use your favorite biorhythm calculator to determine when your emotional and intellectual cycles peak. At the peak, run into the studio and switch on the synths.

Here are some devices you may find helpful:

LOL
Thanks for the chuckle

Although, I think you're on to something...
Maybe I need to get 3 Korg monotrons and three CV generators, and set them to biorhythm data... and see what we get!