My problem is that I have very little time to work on music (running my own company, etc.), just a few hours each week and those hours aren't even consecutive most of the time. During those sporadic hours, I have a hard time choosing something to start with. Analysis paralysis, and all that. And when I do pick out a synth, I don't really get to the point where it inspires me to actually start to work on an idea. I simply don't get the spark, especially as time is sparse and after some doodling around, there is not enough time left to actually get somewhere. Or at least it feels that way.
Back to the spreadsheet idea. I came up with several lists; main synthesizers, secondary instruments, drum machines, sequencers/players and special FX. Secondly, I found an app for my phone that randomly picks one item from a set of lists, and put everything in there. So now it gives me combinations of two synths/instruments, a drum machine, some sequencer and a special FX. This is incredibly inspirational, as it takes me out of my comfort zone and makes me directly think of how I can combine those, sometimes pretty strange, combinations into a track. The very first combination it gave me, turned into a great track-idea within 15 minutes, and I'm looking forward to the next few hours when I can work on it further.
So maybe someone else can use this idea, or build on it, or whatever
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