When facing a lack of ideas/inspiration, I usually just play the piano. Sooner or later, something happens and an idea unfolds. While playing it, I already think about the orchestration.
I had the most interesting experience this year: this year, for obvious reasons, has been one of the most stressful years since 2016. I have been dealing with bad insomnia and anxiety, especially towards the beginning of the pandemic (in the U.S.) back in March. I would wake up and feel a sense of dread every morning. But... April to July quickly became the most productive series of months I have had in literal years. In that span, I bought and learned how to use Cubase (I had been using FL Studio), I began learning how to read sheet music, I composed fifteen pieces of music, learned Music Theory (via ThinkSpace), took piano lessons, started learning the Ukulele, and every day would start with my cuppa while watching Guy's videos, Rick Beato's videos, Christian's videos, and Adam Neely's videos. It was wild. But amazing. I'm assuming that my brain was trying to find ways to keep me distracted from my fear.
That's what we all need to do -- keep learning. Not just now, in the midst of this wretched pandemic (both electoral and virological), but afterward too. Just waking up each morning and saying to one's self: "What new thing can I learn today?" -- sets the pattern for a productive day. May you have MANY of those, Joe!
@@elphenomen100 Hi Samu, I've been composing for about 15 years now (I started when I was about 17), though I went through a four year period recently where I walked away from it because of the loss of a family member. I rediscovered my love for composing last Summer though, around the time that I found Guy Michelmore's videos. And I've been going strong ever since.
I've only watched 45 seconds so far and I'm commenting already :) Discovered this channel about two weeks ago, and I absolutely LOVE these videos. Hugely entertaining and informative too. Particular favourites are writing music in silly places, but they're all superb. I've recently purchased a couple of ThinkSpace courses; can't wait to get started. More videos on how to play the piano would be excellent!
A few centuries ago when I was in college, my English teacher wanted us to write a story. English as my second language did not contain the vocabulary needed to translate my mother tongue’s imagination into a coherent sequence of events. So he said that writer’s block is easier to overcome than you think. He then asked us to (his words) “whip out a paper and grasp a pen. Then, I want you for five continuous minutes to attack this paper with your pens. Never stop. Never think. Don’t worry about grammar. Allow the pen to guide itself across the page. None sense is perfect.” ......He then told us to place this page in our drawers and forget about it for a couple of days to marinate. When he told us to look at it, it was hilarious but it wasn’t a waste of time, as it contained the sparks to ignite excellent stories from all the students and we all got A’s.
Wonderful watch, Guy. Thanks for this; every creative who’s feeling disheartened, especially during the current economic situation should watch this. I myself just spent a whole weekend working on something and then by Sunday night realised it was a load of codswallop so much I wanted to throw in the towel on composing completely. After a good sleep, I discovered that the reason why it wasn’t vastly different to anything else is because I needed libraries that weren’t orchestral! Also working on 8 gigs of RAM doesn’t help. I have ideas but always afraid the computer will go up. Sorting out the new setup before Christmas so my brain can just get ideas down quickly without checking the CPU monitor every 5 seconds.
"Music is emotion" - As a psychic, thats what spirit said, same is true for art. Politics is ego and life is realisation, but I'll let you work that one out.
Oh really?? Usually I'm too much into what I feel to be creative ... I find insipiration to be better during silence. Or maybe a better way to say it, is when my emotions aren't yet shaped to toughts or words if you know what I mean ?? edit : Oh sorry for your loss Mopsie :( yes it's the same for me when i'm too sad and heartbroken I can'(t do shit
Leonard commented it takes years, maybe even decades or longer to “really’ Finnish a song to ones own satisfaction ..on occasions he definitely had a point ...evidently true in some cases...halelujia..
I find that inspiration is indeed mystical. What works wonders is doing light physical labor, like taking a walk at a brisk pace. This way, your brain's attention is off the physical, and can think freely and spontaneously. I can think about an idea forever, but as soon as I take a walk, that idea is flowing so clearly through the mind that I often beg myself "please don't forget this, please", because SO much comes at once. The sweat part starts when you try to make the actual music sound like you heard in your head. Especially when you aren't deeply firm with music theory.... ahem
Interesting! I hadn't been watching for awhile (major project). I've been contending with just this issue. My comments of course wil come after the fact. (would have been fun over a bacon sandwich- though my commute from across the pond would be daunting.). My thinking goes something like this. We have a constant flow of ideas. Most don't reach the point of our focus. We have a visceral trigger which stops us and focuses our attention. At this point, we "see" through our sensory experience. This experience has been life-long and is built upon with each new day. The experiences are inter-sensory, synaestheic if you will. It is from there, we go to work. What we have paid attention to becomes the seed or nugget that we recognize as inspiration. As we work through our idea, it is our emotional responses to what we have produced relative to that unreachable pristine nugget that produces the nasty inner critic. It's all so schizoid.
Creation is complex indeed. Justin Hayward said he tends not to analyze the songwriting process because he doesn’t know where a song comes from, that it is like something from nothing. Back in 2019 string player Guinevere Twilight Norton-Radford, reportedly suffering composer’s block, came to me on social media, demanding to hear my work, and half a year later displayed a lovely, soaring little piece. Recently, four or five months after another case of block, she came up with an awesome piece that welled up from a chamber duet to a cathedral choir -- all within two minutes.
No word of a lie, after only watching the first 3 minutes of the video... An idea popped in to my head. Totally randomly. Time will tell whether it will lead anywhere but I have 8 bars of music in my head that I wouldn't have had otherwise! Thank you for the inspiration :-)
I have to say that I really like and enjoy it when you are doing those things you consider less straight forward. Well, I can only speak for myself, but I really find your videos like the one here to be a great addition to your regular course material (text and video, that is). While I wouldn’t call it accompanying, it feels like that extra bit of, well, inspiration and motivation, helping me to return to the whole thing, keep on working even with (at least felt) only minor progress … but progress anyway. Thank you for those ideas, thank you for your explanations!
Thanks Guy. I think that a sequence of not-so-good ideas can hold people back and get them frustrated. Great/good ideas are not the norm. If you can manage one great/good idea in every 8 or 10 ideas then you are doing very well. Don't let the not-so-good ideas get you down, just burn through them as there is a great idea on its way.
I’ve been writing for years, and have found that my ideas come from four “places.” From the earth, the ground of experience- definitely the most common , usually from listening all the time, absorbing and relating, creating and rearranging patterns, noodling, improvising. Second, from the water, the ocean, the subconscious- I’ve woken up with a song partly or mostly formed. These are kind of rare, but have happened. Third, from the air- they just drop out of the sky, and are the most rare. Some call is channeling or receiving a song. I could say it’s happened where I think back and have no sense of where a song came from at all. Then again, maybe looking into the unfiltered experience would explain exactly where these come from. I personally don’t live to destroy mystery. Lastly, are the songs that come from fire, the fire of extreme experience. I separate them from regular ground bc they carry an inner charge that is hard to replicate if you aren’t in that moment, and on some level they seem no longer a part of my ability to create them after that moment has passed. A personal example is a song that I wrote (and animated) a few months back after the death of both my father and sister. Guitar in hand on a porch, and suddenly felt the song appear but was so suffused with grief that I didn’t sit there picking it apart like I might otherwise. It just came in. If anyone’s curious here’s a vimeo link: vimeo.com/452471829 Guy, love your way of explaining things with sincere passion.
Wow, Guy. Thank you so much for this. I'm a high school teacher, and one of the courses I get to teach is Theory of Knowledge. This video is going to be an invaluable resource for those students, as well as for the ones in my Film and Media courses. I'm sure there will be a significant number of your subscribers who would prefer less of a thinking / process focus, so I felt compelled to write and let you know that I find this kind of access to the inner workings of creativity both fascinating and utterly invaluable. When I was a screenwriter in a previous career incarnation, I was very very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend three different workshops by an LA-based acting coach named Larry Moss. He too delved deeply into this internal process, and my takeaway from that teaching had a lot to do with how many barriers to creating freely are reactions to past experiences. (IE an actor who can't access the full range of their own emotional palette can't authentically inhabit a character experiencing that particular emotion.) It takes courage to make art, and your willingness to throw back the curtain on your particular process is going to help me try to guide a lot of young learners (some of whom aspire to be artists themselves) to at least get a sense of how to account for (and, hopefully compensate for) the first set of barriers. Again, thank you. You're a brilliant teacher, and have quickly become a powerful source of inspiration to me in that art form.
I think of it as "play" in the same way that children play. I pick up the guitar and play around. Come up with a few ideas, then select the best. The selection process is as important as the creative one, in my books!
There is a world of difference between music that "works" and something that is "inspired" or "inspirational." As a working musician you will develop the talent to accomplish the former "music that is nice and works." But, that is not quite the same thing as writing Clair de Lune, for example. To write music like that one needs to be able to look into ones soul, technique will not get you there. I always try to actually hear the music in my head/heart, before I touch any instruments. In the same way that "writing" is not typing, composing is not playing. Composing is listening. Find a quiet place and close your eyes...and listen. You might find a noisy building site and find your self syncopating an idea to the feel and sounds of industry, but "listen." I don't know whether the notes come from the cosmos or the collective memory of everything I have ever heard, but unless I listen, I cannot hear them.
Music is easy. You play a note. You let it last a certain time. Then you only have to worry about the next note. Thankfully, the next note can only go up, down or stay the same (it's stay the same that I usually forget, and stay the same is the most powerful, because rhythm is most easily there). Words are harder. Common idiomatic expressions are a good place to start. Happily, the heavy lifting has been done by those who collect common phrases in books directed at international travelers.
Thank you Guy! Yes, it is complex. You can work on yourself, your skills, your collaborations and your gear/environment. But the good news you can "practice in all the areas and improve. And also that it is not just down to one specific "thing". The word inspiration has often been a "catchitall" to simply the process of the work needed in the creative process. I guess the intention is to make it all easier by simplifying, but I think it has the opposite effect, and actually makes more people doubt themselves. Rather than thinking "I've got it!" or not, focus on the area you need more attention in. For example, you might be great at melodic ideas, but you can't play an instrument. Or vice versa. With this awareness, you will now have a stronger focus on what is mostly needed at the moment.
Hope I liked it? I LOVED it! That was a brilliant piece, Guy. You were talking about music, but what you said applies to SO many endeavours. I'm an engineer and love creative ways of doing things: all this applies 100%. Thanks. Excellent.
This was so good. I've been waiting for inspiration with my controll-filters on elleven. The image of trying to nurture a tiny spark is so true. Must build some shelter from the destructive storms.
I find it very operative what Joe Zawinul once explained about how he composed ... and it was like that ... he began to improvise for an hour on his keyboard - whatever ... he was recording everything - then in the afternoon I would listen to it and I missed little good moments achieved ... I missed them and wrote it ... and finally developed them ... finally I instrumented them .and that's it
I feel working with other people is the best way to tame originality. This little thing that one person may have, those littles mistakes one person may do might not pass a "brainstorming" process... But this little thing, those mistakes might just build something truly original... (Guy, I just quit you from one of your online courses, to relax, and here I am, watching you again ! Ok, now i feel you're the one I'm spending most of my time.)
He' Guy and others, thanks to all of us for creating this dialogue. As a multi media and medium specialist - I am an artist - both visual and audio as well as development of visionary abilities to delve beyond what is physically in front of us, using both created music and art to express ourselves. What you did for your Spitfire Xmas 5th day - I had a mysteriously similar compendium of same songs dancing in my head during those 5 days, thinking I should do this - and you nailed it! This simply supports how we can communicate both physically as well as spiritually - whoa! Keep up the great work as someone we can trust for vital and awesome ideals in music as well as ideas!
Wow! This Video really helped me out! I'm a beginner composer myself who struggles with having good ideas... It is really frustrating for me to the point where i cant stop telling myself that i am useless... Thanks for your Motivation and your help!
At my degree music school doing composition I procrastinated so much in the coffee bar and doing anything except composing (learning the trombone from scratch to conservatoire entry level in 2 years...) literally. I was always waiting for the mystical muse. Then I got some paid commissions through competitions, and the deadline was the best inspiration ever 😂
I have unlimited melodic ideas via generative tools. I let my DAW play random melodies (against a chord progression I come up with) and even random note lengths/gaps between notes. I can always find a motif to work with by doing this. I write a song almost every day.
Thank u Guy for this video. I think first of all, drinking a cup of coffee (or Tea) is the most important thing before you start !!! (personal experience) !!! and the second thing that affects me personally is that every day I change the background image of the operating system according to the mood and feeling of that day. and the third important thing for me is I prepare everything for my ideas and the music that is playing in my head and I do not limit myself to what I have now and I do not replace it with similar sounds and instruments. And the other important things I will do from now on are the things I learned in this video! Thx for that
Ideas? Take a little bit of what you like and mix it with another element. Brian Eno once said 'ideas or creativity' stem from influence of others, or the environment that surrounds you. Interesting, love what you're doing.
@9:43 - I'm surprised. It works absolutely the other way around for me. When my gf, who is currently 2000 kms away, asks what I've done that day, I have not much to mention. When we have a fight and she doesn't talk to me for two days, I compose 2 minutes of music, write 30 pages of a novel and make all one building in my 3D project. And I can't brag to her about how productive I've been...
I do most of my initial work on guitar. When looking for something new I deliberately put a finger on the strings in an unusual (for me) place and start noodling around. I sometimes do this by closing my eyes first then start from there. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but often it does. It works the same on the keyboard except there the particular sounds I'm working with also lead me in one direction or other. But once something catches my ear that's when the real fun starts...and work.
My ideas come to me in strange places such as the shower or in a coffee shop,and usually when I'm not thinking about it and when I'm nowhere near my keyboards .
Probably the most thought provoking analysis of the topic of inspiration that I have heard/read.......quite unique ..a learning ... it’s a subject deserving more than 16 minutes or so of consideration....it’s in fact a basic ..a process ..in relation to a more defined...mapped ...philosophy of music creation....🙏🎩👏🧩🎶
Often I get an ember of inspiration and creativity going when I'm randomly noodling, and I get excited and then I start actually recording it and my creativity dries up and I feel locked in with the little bit I recorded and can't even remember the other little bits I was experimenting with. I guess that's where having skill with your instrument and your tools helps (and also decent instruments and tools) so that you don't get bogged down with technicalities. Creativity can be very skittish.
I stumbled upon this channel a couple of weeks ago and each vid I watch opens my mind a little bit more . Full of useful information but delivered in a fun and entertaining manner. In terms of creativity, I find that a self imposed restriction, a little like 'direction' can help. Earlier in the year, I decided to create and record a new piece or song and put it out there every 7 days. That self imposed deadline kept me constantly on my toes and I honestly don't think I have been so creative and inspired for a long time.
Thank you Guy! This has become my new favorite channel. Love your insight and Excitement and Joy for creating and living. You are truly a blessing to many people! Keep up the good work!
You are so right about being more creative when constricted. Back when Reason opened up to VST's i bought Komplete Ultimate and it was so overwhelming that i think it even triggered a writer's block.
Thanks so much for all the inspiration Guy. Can't tell you how much I look forward to your videos. I seem to get a lot of ideas for tunes from conversations - an overheard phrase sticks in my head and sort of turns itself into a melody.
Guy, I thoroughly enjoyed your stream of consciousness! You have a great way of articulating something that a lot of people have thought about, but don't quite have a handle on how to express it! One thing that I've noticed for myself...... is "step away" from what you're working through, and temporarily distract yourself by doing some other activity that's completely different. Come back to what you were working on, and you may very well have a "refreshed" outlook and attitude to get it done!
I don't go anywhere near the DAW until some idea has arrived in my head/heart. The DAW is the same as a typewriter: Writing is not typing. Writing is thinking" or "feeling." and developing thoughts, not "typing." The "imagining" or envisaging" needs to happen in your head "before" you approach the DAW to try to type it out. Don't become a typist. Wait until you feel or think something.
Great stuff, Guy. Inspiration doesn't always arrive at the desk. Use your phone's sound recorder to make a note of inspiration whenever it strikes... Often it'll be nonsense, but occasionally it'll be the spark you were waiting for. I'm a poet and lyricist and recently a friend was talking about somewhere being the longest, tallest, biggest, shortest etc. and it sparked an idea about why does everything have to have an '...est'?' That'll be a lyric next week...
Hi Guy - thanks so much for posting this. A really interesting and useful breakdown of a topic which can so often be discussed in terms of "the gift chooses you, you don't choose the gift" (smoke and mirrors) way. Really helpful, clear and fascinating. :-)
In my own 'Bumbling' amaturerish way, I find that having a basic melody/motif' and building and 'Layering on that, is usually where I begin. Sometimes it works reasonably successfully and other times I bin it and start again!!! Interesting 'Vid' again Guy, Thank you.
love seeing your countryside; This made me realize that I do my best work under the problem solving category - when someone needs something from me. Thanks for the great insite, Guy
Woow Thank you so much for this; I enjoyed this big time; It always amazes me how you are always selective in using the right words in order to break it down straight forward to the point, you literally squeezed creativity that any musician is thrilled to have into a simple process; a process that enables creativity to flow at ease; let alone it is really hard to put in words an explaination that standardize creativity and processize it; Enable yourself to be creative by stimulas; ideas coming responds to novality, brain storming, different appraoches, dont settle for your security blanket, the more you know; the more you are fluent; the better, that enables the process of having ideas to flow smoothly.....................Guy, I think you should write poetry too :D
Unbridled madness with a healthy dash of naivity is probably quite helpful. I think part of the problem is the blurring of the lines between perception and performance. Let children loose with some crayons and a blank canvas and stuff happens. The problem with advancing years and greater technical awareness is that we often think ourselves into the dunce's corner which is often predicated on the desire for perfection. In all things, it seems, the routine graft behind the scenes forms the essential platform for that unconscious burst of random creativity. Do not despair. There is an old trick to get the juices flowing. Put on some music, switch up the volly a touch, retire to a safe distance, preferably next door or even better, down a corridor and let the wonders of transient harmonics transform the music before your very ears ... :)
Spitfire’s total performance cello is amazing. You would love it if you don’t already have it. Keep it up. You’re an awesome teacher. Your job is my goal.
For fellow instrumentalists: What I like to do, because I have too many ideas, is to record the ideas on my phone when I play at the piano and come back later when I finished a song I am working on. Usually I forget ideas very quick, sometimes I can't even play what I've played an hour ago. I like to compose songs at the piano and record each part on my smartphone while sculpting the composition and adding new parts. Trying out chord progressions in different scales definitely gives me more control of how I want it to sound and achieve better results. Have fun composing everyone!
That's interesting how you get ideas, most of mine are middle of the night wake up with tune in my head from a dream (usually orchestral full thing in my head or at least the main melody chorus), record it (whistle it) on Dictaphone quick or otherwise I forget it by morning. also dog walking when my mind wanders and can write to words sometimes. but I go through phases of lots of ideas then nothing for a while. It can be a bit weird!
This was very useful, because I often agonise over how I should start. Once I get an idea in my head I can, and have, write/written a whole concerto, but it's the getting the idea in the first place that I need to work on. BTW, I love the footage of the dogs. Awesome. tee hee.
Hey Guy! Hopefully now that you just released the video you may read this, I just want to say how amazing what you're doing is for the composer community! Having an absolute expert explaining things and ideas this way, being so honest is absolutely great. Thank you!
Thank-you Guy! An interesting topic, for sure and one that I have certainly given a lot of thought to over the years. When I started out, I knew that I needed to be able to understand how to compose without inspiration or else my career as a composer would be over before it started. I would also add that a useful habit to get into is to aim to finish most things that you start. That process of overcoming a creative roadblock ( 'There should be a middle 8 there, but I'll come back to it later') is the problem solving aspect of composition that needs to be practiced, like any other skill...especially if you're working to deadlines!! :-)
Guy, i am so familiar with the things that you spoke about them here, about how you wake up in the morning with a spark of an idea, and how you develop it to a piece of music. It is a magical process that we, as composers, can go through. If it is not a little idea that i am waking up with, sometimes it is the sound of the instrument i picked to start with, and the first touch on the keyboard that engage a new idea or cue to start and develop to a magical piece of music. Love your channel ‼️ Mickey (Israel)
Thanks for the video,its good to hear your thoughts, I have not been in touch with the people that I have these kind of discussions with for quite a while.
What a wonderful outline of creativity! This outline offers suggestions of where to turn if I get stuck. Thanks for thinking about it and summarizing the creative process so neatly.
Thank you so much, it’s a great format and It’s always interesting to hear about these kind of things from perspective of person with big experience like you!
Well, that was different.. refreshingly so I thought? I'd like to see more of these conversational videos mixed it with the usual practical work back at 'the office' actually. My approach is based on either hearing an environmental sound source that captures my interest or by loading up an array of amps or effects and throwing stuff about until I get something I perceive as being a bit different. I then progress it from there. It works but can be time consuming and therefore seeing how others create their embers is an intriguing topic.
In my opinion, it is often a good challenge, especially as a beginner, to "cover" an orchestral song that you like. However, I always notice how difficult it is to make a song sound really authentic and "beautiful" even if you have a good melody. Admittedly, I've only been composing orchestral music for a year, but it's often very frustrating to realize that you can't make the song sound like the original and that there are so many better composers out there.
For some people it's inspiring when they see a much better composer... for me (and probably for you as well) can be discouraging. But don't give up, I've come up with some very good ideas from time to time, just make sure you're not comparing yourself with other people with more experience.
You must create a video with Christian Henson : him like you has several dogs, both of you create amazing monologue video with impressive edit/cut, walking speaking in front of the camera, and the subjects of your video are similar ! And, you have a marvelous house with a separate studio like him LoL
Great video. Plenty to absorb and contemplate. I find if one is lucky, working for a creative, that can sometimes rub off and spark the platform from which ideas spring forth. The more inventive the better, as the challenge needs to be risen to. If it is for picture , there is often a temp or guide track which can be useful, or, often, a pain in the earhole. :)
A lot of my favorite soundtracks have been a collaborative effort, whether than be composed by one and orchestrated by another, or composed by multiple. Usually the output is, as you say “something one person could never come up with on their own”.
This was a really good discussion of inspiration Guy, very helpful. I'll be listening to it again to let parts soak in. Thank you! Was that the 'Stick of Inspiration' that your dog was carrying? ;)
Thank you so much for making this video. I feel this is the most critical aspect of songwriting and it is rarely addressed in the world of music theory. This was most helpful!
![One Motif - Three Arrangements [How to write music]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TIfcc5IZu-g/mqdefault.jpg)
That was an AMAZING, well documented vid!
When facing a lack of ideas/inspiration, I usually just play the piano. Sooner or later, something happens and an idea unfolds. While playing it, I already think about the orchestration.
I had the most interesting experience this year: this year, for obvious reasons, has been one of the most stressful years since 2016. I have been dealing with bad insomnia and anxiety, especially towards the beginning of the pandemic (in the U.S.) back in March. I would wake up and feel a sense of dread every morning. But... April to July quickly became the most productive series of months I have had in literal years. In that span, I bought and learned how to use Cubase (I had been using FL Studio), I began learning how to read sheet music, I composed fifteen pieces of music, learned Music Theory (via ThinkSpace), took piano lessons, started learning the Ukulele, and every day would start with my cuppa while watching Guy's videos, Rick Beato's videos, Christian's videos, and Adam Neely's videos. It was wild. But amazing. I'm assuming that my brain was trying to find ways to keep me distracted from my fear.
Christian who if I may ask?
@@marLamaDeo Christian Henson :)
That's what we all need to do -- keep learning. Not just now, in the midst of this wretched pandemic (both electoral and virological), but afterward too. Just waking up each morning and saying to one's self: "What new thing can I learn today?" -- sets the pattern for a productive day. May you have MANY of those, Joe!
Hi Joe, I just listened to your music. Really beautiful! How long are you now doing orchestral music?
@@elphenomen100 Hi Samu, I've been composing for about 15 years now (I started when I was about 17), though I went through a four year period recently where I walked away from it because of the loss of a family member. I rediscovered my love for composing last Summer though, around the time that I found Guy Michelmore's videos. And I've been going strong ever since.
I've only watched 45 seconds so far and I'm commenting already :)
Discovered this channel about two weeks ago, and I absolutely LOVE these videos. Hugely entertaining and informative too.
Particular favourites are writing music in silly places, but they're all superb.
I've recently purchased a couple of ThinkSpace courses; can't wait to get started.
More videos on how to play the piano would be excellent!
A few centuries ago when I was in college, my English teacher wanted us to write a story. English as my second language did not contain the vocabulary needed to translate my mother tongue’s imagination into a coherent sequence of events. So he said that writer’s block is easier to overcome than you think. He then asked us to (his words) “whip out a paper and grasp a pen. Then, I want you for five continuous minutes to attack this paper with your pens. Never stop. Never think. Don’t worry about grammar. Allow the pen to guide itself across the page. None sense is perfect.” ......He then told us to place this page in our drawers and forget about it for a couple of days to marinate. When he told us to look at it, it was hilarious but it wasn’t a waste of time, as it contained the sparks to ignite excellent stories from all the students and we all got A’s.
Great teacher
Wonderful watch, Guy. Thanks for this; every creative who’s feeling disheartened, especially during the current economic situation should watch this. I myself just spent a whole weekend working on something and then by Sunday night realised it was a load of codswallop so much I wanted to throw in the towel on composing completely. After a good sleep, I discovered that the reason why it wasn’t vastly different to anything else is because I needed libraries that weren’t orchestral! Also working on 8 gigs of RAM doesn’t help. I have ideas but always afraid the computer will go up. Sorting out the new setup before Christmas so my brain can just get ideas down quickly without checking the CPU monitor every 5 seconds.
Simply from emotions. I just realized that the other day. I realized that I am way more productive when I'm sad etc.
"Music is emotion" - As a psychic, thats what spirit said, same is true for art. Politics is ego and life is realisation, but I'll let you work that one out.
The opposite is true for me. My dog died and I can’t get anything done
Oh really??
Usually I'm too much into what I feel to be creative ...
I find insipiration to be better during silence.
Or maybe a better way to say it, is when my emotions aren't yet shaped to toughts or words
if you know what I mean ??
edit : Oh sorry for your loss Mopsie :(
yes it's the same for me when i'm too sad and heartbroken I can'(t do shit
@@Mopsie Oh, sorry :/
@@Aniki82 I got heartbroken yesterday. And after like three months of nothing I was finally able to write something again.
I for one really enjoy your videos that deal with the non-technical side of music. Don't be afraid to stray every now and then Guy, much appreciated!
Most easily "found" there. Leonard Cohen: "If I knew where the good songs came from, I'd go back there more often."
Leonard commented it takes years, maybe even decades or longer to “really’ Finnish a song to ones own satisfaction ..on occasions he definitely had a point ...evidently true in some cases...halelujia..
I find that inspiration is indeed mystical. What works wonders is doing light physical labor, like taking a walk at a brisk pace. This way, your brain's attention is off the physical, and can think freely and spontaneously. I can think about an idea forever, but as soon as I take a walk, that idea is flowing so clearly through the mind that I often beg myself "please don't forget this, please", because SO much comes at once.
The sweat part starts when you try to make the actual music sound like you heard in your head. Especially when you aren't deeply firm with music theory.... ahem
Interesting! I hadn't been watching for awhile (major project). I've been contending with just this issue.
My comments of course wil come after the fact. (would have been fun over a bacon sandwich- though my commute from across the pond would be daunting.).
My thinking goes something like this. We have a constant flow of ideas. Most don't reach the point of our focus.
We have a visceral trigger which stops us and focuses our attention. At this point, we "see" through our sensory experience. This experience has been life-long and is built upon with each new day. The experiences are inter-sensory, synaestheic if you will.
It is from there, we go to work. What we have paid attention to becomes the seed or nugget that we recognize as inspiration.
As we work through our idea, it is our emotional responses to what we have produced relative to that unreachable pristine nugget that produces the nasty inner critic.
It's all so schizoid.
Creation is complex indeed. Justin Hayward said he tends not to analyze the songwriting process because he doesn’t know where a song comes from, that it is like something from nothing. Back in 2019 string player Guinevere Twilight Norton-Radford, reportedly suffering composer’s block, came to me on social media, demanding to hear my work, and half a year later displayed a lovely, soaring little piece. Recently, four or five months after another case of block, she came up with an awesome piece that welled up from a chamber duet to a cathedral choir -- all within two minutes.
No word of a lie, after only watching the first 3 minutes of the video... An idea popped in to my head. Totally randomly. Time will tell whether it will lead anywhere but I have 8 bars of music in my head that I wouldn't have had otherwise! Thank you for the inspiration :-)
That was very thought provoking, and if I can keep it in mind somewhere, hopefully it'll help kick me off again.. It's been a while..
Yes enjoyed the walk too thanks guy
I’m exactly what you keep talking about. I can’t live with repeating sounds, chords or ideas. Glad I’m not the only one!
I have to say that I really like and enjoy it when you are doing those things you consider less straight forward. Well, I can only speak for myself, but I really find your videos like the one here to be a great addition to your regular course material (text and video, that is). While I wouldn’t call it accompanying, it feels like that extra bit of, well, inspiration and motivation, helping me to return to the whole thing, keep on working even with (at least felt) only minor progress … but progress anyway. Thank you for those ideas, thank you for your explanations!
Youre welcome
Thanks Guy. I think that a sequence of not-so-good ideas can hold people back and get them frustrated. Great/good ideas are not the norm. If you can manage one great/good idea in every 8 or 10 ideas then you are doing very well. Don't let the not-so-good ideas get you down, just burn through them as there is a great idea on its way.
I’ve been writing for years, and have found that my ideas come from four “places.”
From the earth, the ground of experience- definitely the most common , usually from listening all the time, absorbing and relating, creating and rearranging patterns, noodling, improvising.
Second, from the water, the ocean, the subconscious- I’ve woken up with a song partly or mostly formed. These are kind of rare, but have happened.
Third, from the air- they just drop out of the sky, and are the most rare. Some call is channeling or receiving a song. I could say it’s happened where I think back and have no sense of where a song came from at all. Then again, maybe looking into the unfiltered experience would explain exactly where these come from. I personally don’t live to destroy mystery.
Lastly, are the songs that come from fire, the fire of extreme experience. I separate them from regular ground bc they carry an inner charge that is hard to replicate if you aren’t in that moment, and on some level they seem no longer a part of my ability to create them after that moment has passed. A personal example is a song that I wrote (and animated) a few months back after the death of both my father and sister. Guitar in hand on a porch, and suddenly felt the song appear but was so suffused with grief that I didn’t sit there picking it apart like I might otherwise. It just came in. If anyone’s curious here’s a vimeo link: vimeo.com/452471829
Guy, love your way of explaining things with sincere passion.
Wow, Guy. Thank you so much for this. I'm a high school teacher, and one of the courses I get to teach is Theory of Knowledge. This video is going to be an invaluable resource for those students, as well as for the ones in my Film and Media courses. I'm sure there will be a significant number of your subscribers who would prefer less of a thinking / process focus, so I felt compelled to write and let you know that I find this kind of access to the inner workings of creativity both fascinating and utterly invaluable. When I was a screenwriter in a previous career incarnation, I was very very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend three different workshops by an LA-based acting coach named Larry Moss. He too delved deeply into this internal process, and my takeaway from that teaching had a lot to do with how many barriers to creating freely are reactions to past experiences. (IE an actor who can't access the full range of their own emotional palette can't authentically inhabit a character experiencing that particular emotion.) It takes courage to make art, and your willingness to throw back the curtain on your particular process is going to help me try to guide a lot of young learners (some of whom aspire to be artists themselves) to at least get a sense of how to account for (and, hopefully compensate for) the first set of barriers. Again, thank you. You're a brilliant teacher, and have quickly become a powerful source of inspiration to me in that art form.
Thank you delighted you find it useful
I think of it as "play" in the same way that children play. I pick up the guitar and play around. Come up with a few ideas, then select the best. The selection process is as important as the creative one, in my books!
There is a world of difference between music that "works" and something that is "inspired" or "inspirational." As a working musician you will develop the talent to accomplish the former "music that is nice and works." But, that is not quite the same thing as writing Clair de Lune, for example. To write music like that one needs to be able to look into ones soul, technique will not get you there. I always try to actually hear the music in my head/heart, before I touch any instruments. In the same way that "writing" is not typing, composing is not playing. Composing is listening. Find a quiet place and close your eyes...and listen. You might find a noisy building site and find your self syncopating an idea to the feel and sounds of industry, but "listen." I don't know whether the notes come from the cosmos or the collective memory of everything I have ever heard, but unless I listen, I cannot hear them.
Wow... what a comment ! Thanks
Music is easy. You play a note. You let it last a certain time. Then you only have to worry about the next note. Thankfully, the next note can only go up, down or stay the same (it's stay the same that I usually forget, and stay the same is the most powerful, because rhythm is most easily there). Words are harder. Common idiomatic expressions are a good place to start. Happily, the heavy lifting has been done by those who collect common phrases in books directed at international travelers.
Wow, i'm happy I watched this! Thank u for this profound information. My music career is gonna be bigger than I expected through this vid
I listen to white noise and I hear tunes. So filter, like you said is 🔑
Thank you Guy! Yes, it is complex. You can work on yourself, your skills, your collaborations and your gear/environment. But the good news you can "practice in all the areas and improve. And also that it is not just down to one specific "thing". The word inspiration has often been a "catchitall" to simply the process of the work needed in the creative process. I guess the intention is to make it all easier by simplifying, but I think it has the opposite effect, and actually makes more people doubt themselves. Rather than thinking "I've got it!" or not, focus on the area you need more attention in. For example, you might be great at melodic ideas, but you can't play an instrument. Or vice versa. With this awareness, you will now have a stronger focus on what is mostly needed at the moment.
Those were great little pieces of music for the dogs. Perfect fit.
Hope I liked it? I LOVED it! That was a brilliant piece, Guy. You were talking about music, but what you said applies to SO many endeavours. I'm an engineer and love creative ways of doing things: all this applies 100%. Thanks. Excellent.
Perfect video for my birthday!!! Thank you for being you, Guy!
This was so good. I've been waiting for inspiration with my controll-filters on elleven. The image of trying to nurture a tiny spark is so true. Must build some shelter from the destructive storms.
I find it very operative what Joe Zawinul once explained about how he composed ... and it was like that ... he began to improvise for an hour on his keyboard - whatever ... he was recording everything - then in the afternoon I would listen to it and I missed little good moments achieved ... I missed them and wrote it ... and finally developed them ... finally I instrumented them .and that's it
I feel working with other people is the best way to tame originality. This little thing that one person may have, those littles mistakes one person may do might not pass a "brainstorming" process... But this little thing, those mistakes might just build something truly original...
(Guy, I just quit you from one of your online courses, to relax, and here I am, watching you again ! Ok, now i feel you're the one I'm spending most of my time.)
I really kinda like that simple, charming, lo-fi thing going on around 0:38.
He' Guy and others, thanks to all of us for creating this dialogue. As a multi media and medium specialist - I am an artist - both visual and audio as well as development of visionary abilities to delve beyond what is physically in front of us, using both created music and art to express ourselves. What you did for your Spitfire Xmas 5th day - I had a mysteriously similar compendium of same songs dancing in my head during those 5 days, thinking I should do this - and you nailed it! This simply supports how we can communicate both physically as well as spiritually - whoa! Keep up the great work as someone we can trust for vital and awesome ideals in music as well as ideas!
Wow! This Video really helped me out! I'm a beginner composer myself who struggles with having good ideas... It is really frustrating for me to the point where i cant stop telling myself that i am useless... Thanks for your Motivation and your help!
At my degree music school doing composition I procrastinated so much in the coffee bar and doing anything except composing (learning the trombone from scratch to conservatoire entry level in 2 years...) literally. I was always waiting for the mystical muse. Then I got some paid commissions through competitions, and the deadline was the best inspiration ever 😂
I agree with most of what you say. The other thing that I would suggest is great for creativity is the pressure of dead lines.
I have unlimited melodic ideas via generative tools. I let my DAW play random melodies (against a chord progression I come up with) and even random note lengths/gaps between notes. I can always find a motif to work with by doing this. I write a song almost every day.
Thank u Guy for this video. I think first of all, drinking a cup of coffee (or Tea) is the most important thing before you start !!! (personal experience) !!!
and the second thing that affects me personally is that every day I change the background image of the operating system according to the mood and feeling of that day.
and the third important thing for me is I prepare everything for my ideas and the music that is playing in my head and I do not limit myself to what I have now and I do not replace it with similar sounds and instruments.
And the other important things I will do from now on are the things I learned in this video! Thx for that
Ideas? Take a little bit of what you like and mix it with another element. Brian Eno once said 'ideas or creativity' stem from influence of others, or the environment that surrounds you. Interesting, love what you're doing.
@9:43 - I'm surprised. It works absolutely the other way around for me. When my gf, who is currently 2000 kms away, asks what I've done that day, I have not much to mention. When we have a fight and she doesn't talk to me for two days, I compose 2 minutes of music, write 30 pages of a novel and make all one building in my 3D project. And I can't brag to her about how productive I've been...
Thanks Guy, enjoyed this a lot, nice to see someone talking about “tricky” subjects like this that seem ephemeral, but are actually “all in the mind”.
This video makes me feel so understood by someone who doesn't even know that I exist lol
Creating is beautiful. It's a mind of it's own 🎶
I do most of my initial work on guitar. When looking for something new I deliberately put a finger on the strings in an unusual (for me) place and start noodling around. I sometimes do this by closing my eyes first then start from there. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but often it does. It works the same on the keyboard except there the particular sounds I'm working with also lead me in one direction or other. But once something catches my ear that's when the real fun starts...and work.
My ideas come to me in strange places such as the shower or in a coffee shop,and usually when I'm not thinking about it and when I'm nowhere near my keyboards .
Amazing as usual Guy...! Thank you very much🙏🏻. Greetings from Mexico..!
Greetings!
Probably the most thought provoking analysis of the topic of inspiration that I have heard/read.......quite unique ..a learning ... it’s a subject deserving more than 16 minutes or so of consideration....it’s in fact a basic ..a process ..in relation to a more defined...mapped ...philosophy of music creation....🙏🎩👏🧩🎶
Often I get an ember of inspiration and creativity going when I'm randomly noodling, and I get excited and then I start actually recording it and my creativity dries up and I feel locked in with the little bit I recorded and can't even remember the other little bits I was experimenting with. I guess that's where having skill with your instrument and your tools helps (and also decent instruments and tools) so that you don't get bogged down with technicalities. Creativity can be very skittish.
But you also need some kind of workflow or discipline that helps you keep the creativity going while also recording it so you don't forget it.
I stumbled upon this channel a couple of weeks ago and each vid I watch opens my mind a little bit more . Full of useful information but delivered in a fun and entertaining manner. In terms of creativity, I find that a self imposed restriction, a little like 'direction' can help. Earlier in the year, I decided to create and record a new piece or song and put it out there every 7 days. That self imposed deadline kept me constantly on my toes and I honestly don't think I have been so creative and inspired for a long time.
Thank you Guy! This has become my new favorite channel. Love your insight and Excitement and Joy for creating and living. You are truly a blessing to many people! Keep up the good work!
You are so right about being more creative when constricted.
Back when Reason opened up to VST's i bought Komplete Ultimate and it was so overwhelming that i think it even triggered a writer's block.
Thanks so much for all the inspiration Guy. Can't tell you how much I look forward to your videos. I seem to get a lot of ideas for tunes from conversations - an overheard phrase sticks in my head and sort of turns itself into a melody.
Guy,
I thoroughly enjoyed your stream of consciousness! You have a great way of articulating something that a lot of people have thought about, but don't quite have a handle on how to express it! One thing that I've noticed for myself...... is "step away" from what you're working through, and temporarily distract yourself by doing some other activity that's completely different. Come back to what you were working on, and you may very well have a "refreshed" outlook and attitude to get it done!
Very true
I don't go anywhere near the DAW until some idea has arrived in my head/heart. The DAW is the same as a typewriter: Writing is not typing. Writing is thinking" or "feeling." and developing thoughts, not "typing." The "imagining" or envisaging" needs to happen in your head "before" you approach the DAW to try to type it out. Don't become a typist. Wait until you feel or think something.
One of the best videos of this channel!
Great stuff, Guy. Inspiration doesn't always arrive at the desk. Use your phone's sound recorder to make a note of inspiration whenever it strikes... Often it'll be nonsense, but occasionally it'll be the spark you were waiting for. I'm a poet and lyricist and recently a friend was talking about somewhere being the longest, tallest, biggest, shortest etc. and it sparked an idea about why does everything have to have an '...est'?' That'll be a lyric next week...
Hi Guy - thanks so much for posting this. A really interesting and useful breakdown of a topic which can so often be discussed in terms of "the gift chooses you, you don't choose the gift" (smoke and mirrors) way. Really helpful, clear and fascinating. :-)
In my own 'Bumbling' amaturerish way, I find that having a basic melody/motif' and building and 'Layering on that, is usually where I begin. Sometimes it works reasonably successfully and other times I bin it and start again!!! Interesting 'Vid' again Guy, Thank you.
Very worthwhile!
love seeing your countryside; This made me realize that I do my best work under the problem solving category - when someone needs something from me. Thanks for the great insite, Guy
Thank you for this wonderfully insightful, comprehensive and articulate presentation.
Woow Thank you so much for this; I enjoyed this big time; It always amazes me how you are always selective in using the right words in order to break it down straight forward to the point, you literally squeezed creativity that any musician is thrilled to have into a simple process; a process that enables creativity to flow at ease; let alone it is really hard to put in words an explaination that standardize creativity and processize it; Enable yourself to be creative by stimulas; ideas coming responds to novality, brain storming, different appraoches, dont settle for your security blanket, the more you know; the more you are fluent; the better, that enables the process of having ideas to flow smoothly.....................Guy, I think you should write poetry too :D
Unbridled madness with a healthy dash of naivity is probably quite helpful. I think part of the problem is the blurring of the lines between perception and performance. Let children loose with some crayons and a blank canvas and stuff happens. The problem with advancing years and greater technical awareness is that we often think ourselves into the dunce's corner which is often predicated on the desire for perfection. In all things, it seems, the routine graft behind the scenes forms the essential platform for that unconscious burst of random creativity. Do not despair. There is an old trick to get the juices flowing. Put on some music, switch up the volly a touch, retire to a safe distance, preferably next door or even better, down a corridor and let the wonders of transient harmonics transform the music before your very ears ... :)
Excellent vid. So many resonances for me. Thank you, Guy!
Spitfire’s total performance cello is amazing. You would love it if you don’t already have it. Keep it up. You’re an awesome teacher. Your job is my goal.
For fellow instrumentalists: What I like to do, because I have too many ideas, is to record the ideas on my phone when I play at the piano and come back later when I finished a song I am working on. Usually I forget ideas very quick, sometimes I can't even play what I've played an hour ago. I like to compose songs at the piano and record each part on my smartphone while sculpting the composition and adding new parts. Trying out chord progressions in different scales definitely gives me more control of how I want it to sound and achieve better results. Have fun composing everyone!
That's interesting how you get ideas, most of mine are middle of the night wake up with tune in my head from a dream (usually orchestral full thing in my head or at least the main melody chorus), record it (whistle it) on Dictaphone quick or otherwise I forget it by morning. also dog walking when my mind wanders and can write to words sometimes. but I go through phases of lots of ideas then nothing for a while. It can be a bit weird!
This was very useful, because I often agonise over how I should start. Once I get an idea in my head I can, and have, write/written a whole concerto, but it's the getting the idea in the first place that I need to work on. BTW, I love the footage of the dogs. Awesome. tee hee.
Hey Guy! Hopefully now that you just released the video you may read this, I just want to say how amazing what you're doing is for the composer community! Having an absolute expert explaining things and ideas this way, being so honest is absolutely great. Thank you!
Thank you!
Hi Guy! Id love to see you do a video on Shepard tones! Keep up the amazing work!
One of the best videos so far. Really interesting thoughts. 👍🏼
That was really interesting to listen to. Thank you for sharing it all!
Thank-you Guy! An interesting topic, for sure and one that I have certainly given a lot of thought to over the years. When I started out, I knew that I needed to be able to understand how to compose without inspiration or else my career as a composer would be over before it started.
I would also add that a useful habit to get into is to aim to finish most things that you start. That process of overcoming a creative roadblock ( 'There should be a middle 8 there, but I'll come back to it later') is the problem solving aspect of composition that needs to be practiced, like any other skill...especially if you're working to deadlines!! :-)
Guy, i am so familiar with the things that you spoke about them here, about how you wake up in the morning with a spark of an idea, and how you develop it to a piece of music. It is a magical process that we, as composers, can go through.
If it is not a little idea that i am waking up with, sometimes it is the sound of the instrument i picked to start with, and the first touch on the keyboard that engage a new idea or cue to start and develop to a magical piece of music.
Love your channel ‼️
Mickey (Israel)
Thanks for the video,its good to hear your thoughts, I have not been in touch with the people that I have these kind of discussions with for quite a while.
What a wonderful outline of creativity! This outline offers suggestions of where to turn if I get stuck. Thanks for thinking about it and summarizing the creative process so neatly.
You're an absolute treasure, Guy. Thank you for sharing your insight and experience. Your videos are pure gold.
Thank you so much, it’s a great format and It’s always interesting to hear about these kind of things from perspective of person with big experience like you!
Thank you Guy. Very helpful.
This video is gold ! thank you so much for sharing these inspiring ideas!!
Love all your videos! Makes me explore my creativity with more gusto! Also, I really loved the b-roll with the dogs happily carrying their sticks. 🙂
Great episode, great location, reminds me of Beaulieu, solent area 👌🏻
I appreciate your videos so much coming from a hip hop background.. respect.
For me inspiration comes from working with others and them putting you in a place you are not comfortable with and forcing you to be creative
Thank you, Guy. Really interesting.
Well, that was different.. refreshingly so I thought? I'd like to see more of these conversational videos mixed it with the usual practical work back at 'the office' actually.
My approach is based on either hearing an environmental sound source that captures my interest or by loading up an array of amps or effects and throwing stuff about until I get something I perceive as being a bit different. I then progress it from there. It works but can be time consuming and therefore seeing how others create their embers is an intriguing topic.
I find that listening to other artists is my main source of inspiration. If I don't know what to write, I will stick Spotify on for half an hour.
I think playing around and using different scales for an idea at the piano is great.
In my opinion, it is often a good challenge, especially as a beginner, to "cover" an orchestral song that you like. However, I always notice how difficult it is to make a song sound really authentic and "beautiful" even if you have a good melody.
Admittedly, I've only been composing orchestral music for a year, but it's often very frustrating to realize that you can't make the song sound like the original and that there are so many better composers out there.
For some people it's inspiring when they see a much better composer... for me (and probably for you as well) can be discouraging. But don't give up, I've come up with some very good ideas from time to time, just make sure you're not comparing yourself with other people with more experience.
Thank you for your videos, they inspire me and make music creation accessible and wonderful. Big Hug 🥰🥰🥰
Ideas come from the spirit. they dont have to come from anything and the more they come from thinking the less esthetic they are.
You must create a video with Christian Henson : him like you has several dogs, both of you create amazing monologue video with impressive edit/cut, walking speaking in front of the camera, and the subjects of your video are similar ! And, you have a marvelous house with a separate studio like him LoL
Yes. Enjoyed this.
Great video. Plenty to absorb and contemplate. I find if one is lucky, working for a creative, that can sometimes rub off and spark the platform from which ideas spring forth. The more inventive the better, as the challenge needs to be risen to. If it is for picture , there is often a temp or guide track which can be useful, or, often, a pain in the earhole. :)
A lot of my favorite soundtracks have been a collaborative effort, whether than be composed by one and orchestrated by another, or composed by multiple. Usually the output is, as you say “something one person could never come up with on their own”.
Thank you guy
This was a really good discussion of inspiration Guy, very helpful. I'll be listening to it again to let parts soak in. Thank you!
Was that the 'Stick of Inspiration' that your dog was carrying? ;)
Thank you so much for making this video. I feel this is the most critical aspect of songwriting and it is rarely addressed in the world of music theory. This was most helpful!
Love the t-shirt, very inspiring !
Excellent - thanks so much.
Ideas come from... Guy's wonderful and musical mind :-)
Thank you
Great video. I like this different type of reflexive videos.