What inspires you to be more creative?

[TritoneAddiction]

And by creative I mean actually creating more music, not just fantasizing about making music. I only say that because sometimes I've seen people buy new gear/REs/VSTs thinking they will make music with it, but they actually don't.
So just make sure you're honest with yourself here.

What kind of things inspire you to create more?

[EdwardKiy]

responsibility and discontent are the first two that spring to mind, in that order

[TritoneAddiction]

responsibility and discontent are the first two that spring to mind, in that order

Interesting. I get the "discontent" part. Would you like to expand on the "responsibility" aspect a little. That one is not as clear to me.

[EdwardKiy]

Would you like to expand on the "responsibility" aspect a little

Sure, but I'm only speaking for myself though, mind.

Ideally, I want to do something that I like. What I like is not random - it's something I believe I can do good with, something that can serve others, will help me procreate and it also befits my capacities, whether it's boxing, medicine, music or anything else, but these three things - serving others, procreation and fitting personal capacity are the most important aspects. Of them, procreation is the least important, but helpful. Holding in view the brevity of life, becoming proficient and acting on your choices automatically becomes the responsibility we (I) take on before ourselves and the world, and when slacking on that responsibility for too long, we (I) accumulate anxiety and become mentally unhealthy, degenerate in all domains, unless I squeeze that sunnuva like a pustule and out pours creativity - that's a borderline defensive reaction we are all equipped with, like if someone has sleep apnea, the brain will wake them up to take a breath when CO2 blood level becomes critically high. Relying solely on this reflex is unproductive and exhausting, so it's better to have method. What works for me is to amp up the responsibility, by understanding that I am not only letting down myself and the world that could have benefitted from my work, but also letting down the people that depend on me directly, if, say, I have made music or anything else my profession which feeds my family, which creates another loop of reinforcing self-responsibility, because the family and friends is not just other people, but also my way of procreating and leaving genetic material - the sum accomplishment of all the people who came before me topped with my own accomplishment. I can then take this understanding and loop and reinforce self-responsibility ad inf., lowering the excitation levels for my brain to "spill out creativity" in a suitable counterbalance to my current level of comfort in a particular moment in time. Sounds a bit wacky and grandiose, but I think in principle that's what it is.

[motuscott]

Whoa.
And here I thought you was just some meme posting cretin.
Now I know for certain.

[motuscott]

I meant that in a positive way

[Quarmat]

I want to write music I like and I am proud of. I know the music I like lies somewhere inside my brain, i hear it in my dreams, I hear its echoes on other artists' works, I sometimes feel like it's just next to me, about to be crystallized into notes on my keyboard. Every track I work on (every idea worth developing, I mean) has some hint of it. It is good but it is not quite there. I am sure next track or the one after will be more quite there, a little bit. That's what pushes me to write, to be creative: to advance in this path. I think it would be a shame to die before having reached my music, or at least been trying to all the time.

[EdwardKiy]

Whoa.
And here I thought you was just some meme posting cretin.
Now I know for certain.

can’t hide anything from you man )

[plaamook]

For years the drive was to find my voice (so to speak) and work out what I wanted to make, how I wanted to make it, to get the nebulous forms out of my mind and into the world.
Now that I've cracked all that I just make music for the sheer joy of it.
And the money.
What drives all this is a kind of feedback loop between music and diving, but at this point it's so internalised I no longer know what that means entirely. It's just a kind of dance between my mind and the outside world.
Pretty amazing really.

[TritoneAddiction]

Would you like to expand on the "responsibility" aspect a little

Sure, but I'm only speaking for myself though, mind.

Ideally, I want to do something that I like. What I like is not random - it's something I believe I can do good with, something that can serve others, will help me procreate and it also befits my capacities, whether it's boxing, medicine, music or anything else, but these three things - serving others, procreation and fitting personal capacity are the most important aspects. Of them, procreation is the least important, but helpful. Holding in view the brevity of life, becoming proficient and acting on your choices automatically becomes the responsibility we (I) take on before ourselves and the world, and when slacking on that responsibility for too long, we (I) accumulate anxiety and become mentally unhealthy, degenerate in all domains, unless I squeeze that sunnuva like a pustule and out pours creativity - that's a borderline defensive reaction we are all equipped with, like if someone has sleep apnea, the brain will wake them up to take a breath when CO2 blood level becomes critically high. Relying solely on this reflex is unproductive and exhausting, so it's better to have method. What works for me is to amp up the responsibility, by understanding that I am not only letting down myself and the world that could have benefitted from my work, but also letting down the people that depend on me directly, if, say, I have made music or anything else my profession which feeds my family, which creates another loop of reinforcing self-responsibility, because the family and friends is not just other people, but also my way of procreating and leaving genetic material - the sum accomplishment of all the people who came before me topped with my own accomplishment. I can then take this understanding and loop and reinforce self-responsibility ad inf., lowering the excitation levels for my brain to "spill out creativity" in a suitable counterbalance to my current level of comfort in a particular moment in time. Sounds a bit wacky and grandiose, but I think in principle that's what it is.

Wow. You sure expanded on that one. Thanks for taking the time to write it out. Seems like you've thought this through. Good for you man.

[EdwardKiy]

Wow. You sure expanded on that one. Thanks for taking the time to write it out. Seems like you've thought this through. Good for you man.

What's yours?

[EdwardKiy]

For years the drive was to find my voice (so to speak) and work out what I wanted to make, how I wanted to make it, to get the nebulous forms out of my mind and into the world.
Now that I've cracked all that I just make music for the sheer joy of it.
And the money.
What drives all this is a kind of feedback loop between music and diving, but at this point it's so internalised I no longer know what that means entirely. It's just a kind of dance between my mind and the outside world.
Pretty amazing really.

pure sublimation, then. Beautiful!

[TritoneAddiction]

Wow. You sure expanded on that one. Thanks for taking the time to write it out. Seems like you've thought this through. Good for you man.

What's yours?

I tend to get inspired when I build my track around some form of idea. Usually some form of direction or limitation. Making projects only using one certain synth for example. It becomes a curiosity. "What happens if I only use this?" I often feel a boost of creativity when I've bought a new RE too. If I spend money on something I want to make sure that the thing I've bought somehow ends up in at least one finished piece of music. That's how I justify buying stuff.

But lately the "direction/idea" hasn't come from any synth. It's come from a person. As you may know I've been chatting and collaborating with Mr TeflonTomb for a while. So that has sparked some new ideas for me to try out. You've already heard my "Don't lie to me" song. The idea behind that was to take some of his melodies/lyrics and turn it into something new.
Another track that I'm currently working on has some typical Teflon traits that I'm trying to incorporate. For example: Note clusters (having notes ring together with smaller intervals), deep chords (same here, chords with tighter intervals making them more like a cluster of notes rather than friendly sounding triads), resonant filter bass lines. So I'm taking these influences and using them in a way that fits my way of writing. It's a way of exploring some new territory.


To hear some examples of these Teflon traits that I've mentioned. I'll post this clip.

So as you can hear the point is not to copy someone else. It's simply a way to try out new ideas.

[guitfnky]

curiosity. simple as that.

there’s literally no limit to the options available to try out. this is why the widespread belief that writers block is a thing is so baffling to me (don’t worry, I won’t argue here why anyone’s wrong about that—we’ve beaten that dead horse enough ). if we can’t find something interesting to try, we’re not trying at all. doesn’t mean we always end up with something usable, but learning whether/when/how something works or doesn’t is still progress, and has the added benefit of satisfying that curiosity.

[Steedus]

Usually hearing new music, maybe a whole new band/artist, or just a new album. Particularly if it's a new genre/sub-genre.

[BRIGGS]

"What inspires you to be more creative?"

FUN

If it's not fun, it's not happening.

[TritoneAddiction]

"What inspires you to be more creative?"

FUN

If it's not fun, it's not happening.

Good answer.
So in what ways can we make music making even more fun? Can you make some concrete examples of how you do it?

[BRIGGS]

"What inspires you to be more creative?"

FUN

If it's not fun, it's not happening.

Good answer.
So in what ways can we make music making even more fun? Is there a way to enhance the fun?
"Fun" is a rather abstract word which can mean many things. Can you make some concrete examples of how you do it?

Are you asking me, how to have fun?

[TritoneAddiction]

Good answer.
So in what ways can we make music making even more fun? Is there a way to enhance the fun?
"Fun" is a rather abstract word which can mean many things. Can you make some concrete examples of how you do it?

Are you asking me, how to have fun?

Yes Regarding making music, not in general of course.
Just trying to extract some concrete advice from this thread.
So, what's your answer?

[TritoneAddiction]

curiosity. simple as that.

Yep I can relate.

[TritoneAddiction]

Usually hearing new music, maybe a whole new band/artist, or just a new album. Particularly if it's a new genre/sub-genre.

Yeah I should do this more.

[Dante]

DO a follow up of Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon, which they never did coz they got sidetracked by Syd Barrett.

[BRIGGS]

Are you asking me, how to have fun?

Yes Regarding making music, not in general of course.
Just trying to extract some concrete advice from this thread.
So, what's your answer?

It depends on your personality.

I'm an extreme introvert(see: INTJ)...soooo

For me...I live in a world of ideas, so coming up with new strategies and new ways of working, is always, and will always be 'fun'. This applies to my music, and life, 'in general'.

And, yes, this is all "abstract".

It's what I do.

I do "abstract".

[integerpoet]

Sometimes I've seen people buy new gear/REs/VSTs thinking they will make music with it, but they actually don't.

I'm kind of dodging the question here by turning it into my own question, but…

For those of you who don't develop preset packs or otherwise do sound design for its own sake, do you often find a new synth inspiring? I see ads for them all the time and they make me yawn. Partly it's that I'm spoiled by Reason Suite, I know. And I "get" how something like Friktion could create some excitement — they're trying to do something new-ish and unqiue-ish. But that's a rare exception, and the market is positively lousy with Yet Another Synth which seems to offer nothing three-dozen others already do. Are they labors of love or are people actually buying them? If you're a serial synth buyer, why? This is not a rhetorical question. I want to understand what I am missing.

[guitfnky]

Sometimes I've seen people buy new gear/REs/VSTs thinking they will make music with it, but they actually don't.

I'm kind of dodging the question here by turning it into my own question, but…

For those of you who don't develop preset packs or otherwise do sound design for its own sake, do you often find a new synth inspiring? I see ads for them all the time and they make me yawn. Partly it's that I'm spoiled by Reason Suite, I know. And I "get" how something like Friktion could create some excitement — they're trying to do something new-ish and unqiue-ish. But that's a rare exception, and the market is positively lousy with Yet Another Synth which seems to offer nothing three-dozen others already do. Are they labors of love or are people actually buying them? If you're a serial synth buyer, why? This is not a rhetorical question. I want to understand what I am missing.

it’s an expected byproduct of the phenomenon of Gear Acquisition Syndrome. they sell because there’s a market for it. I’m sure some of them are quite good.

but at the end of the day, Tritone is right—buying gear or software doesn’t fuel creativity, although it can get you to show up for a few days, before the allure of using “the new thing” wears off—which it will.

it sounds like you’ve crossed the threshold from acquisition mode into “want to get stuff done” mode. welcome!—it’s a nice place to be.