How do you STAY inspired?

[Geoff Grace]

I find that getting inspired is rarely a problem; it's staying inspired that can be difficult as the demands of the day grab you by the scruff of the neck.

 

What do you do to stay inspired?

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[Gus Lozada]

I keep being in love.

So, I need a new girlfriend very often.

 

[nat whilk II]

I have to collaborate with people or else ennui sets in.

 

No matter how hard I try to be, wish I was, pretend I am, decide I must be, swear to myself I will faithfully follow the path of, etc., a solitary arteest, I eventually need other people and/or a specific project (people are waiting for) to enable me to catalyze my creativity.

 

nat whilk ii

[Bookumdano2]

stay 20.

 

Works for me.

[the stranger]

It seems to me if you get inspired, you should be taking immediate action, which should in effect keep you inspired until you manifest the inspiration at hand.

 

or maybe frequent breaks?

[Lee Flier]

Keep hanging around with inspiring people.

[guitarflyer]

I listen to my music, and I am inspired to play even better, to improve myself.

[techristian]

 

How do you STAY inspired?

 

 

I read my bible but ,somehow, I don't think that's what you had in mind.

 

I have forgotten more songs ideas than I have written. I think the key is to save ideas when them come to you.

 

I think the other key, is having your recording device set up and easy to power up, when you get an idea. If you have to search for that ONE SPECIAL SYNTH SOUND before you start, for 15 minutes , the inspiration may be gone before you start.

 

I have built songs around a single SOUND but a real strong song is a song that will hold up no matter what instrument plays it.

 

Dan

[ggm1960]

 

What do you do to stay inspired?

 

 

That's a great question.

I don't waste as much time searching for the perfect synth sound or guitar tone as I used to. With the 1000's of sounds available in my vast array of hardware and software synths I just decide which device I will use and then zone in on the category of sound I'm looking for, find one that works and move on to the next track.

 

POD Farm, Amplitube 3 and the Digitech GSP1101 have been a real blessing for finding the guitar sound I want quickly and accurately without having to worry about mic placement, room reflections or phase cancellations and I can get down to business laying down guitar tracks within moments.

 

Later after I've got my song essentially mapped out I can go back and search for better sounds if I really think I need to but 9 times out of 10 I'll stick to what I was using.

 

A change in mindset I made a few years back also did wonders to keep me inspired. I used to worry that the songs I was writing/recording wouldn't be playable by any band I could put together. It was extremely liberating to decide that the only rule in my song writing was that there were no rules, after all, I never expected anyone else to care about the songs I create and so I only have to live up to my own standards.

[Gus Lozada]

Ok, time for a serious answer:

 

When I HAVE to compose something, I just keep going.

You know, that feeling of "Hey, you wanted to be a producer, right? Now go ons and produce a finished good".

 

And if I'm composing something "for me", then I just keep inspired until I finish, because I'm into something I like.

[UstadKhanAli]

I try and work with inspired people.

 

I listen to a bizarrely wide variety of music. My friends sometimes say that my music collection looks as if you asked 30 very different people to bring their 30 favorite CDs over and combine them. This keeps me inspired like you have no idea. An idea from one of my Javanese gamelan or African field recordings CDs might inform my psychedelic music project, or listening to gnawa music might give me an idea for one of my droney electronic pieces.

 

I do a lot of things. I record people. I play guitar and keyboards. I do photography. One inspires the others. A lot of cross-pollination. Taking photographs might make me think of a keyboard idea. There's a lot of similarity in the arts, including (especially?) in the processes.

 

I find that if I don't feel constrained or locked in a box, I have inspiration for days.

[nat whilk II]

 

I try and work with inspired people. I listen to a bizarrely wide variety of music. My friends sometimes say that my music collection looks as if you asked 30 very different people to bring their 30 favorite CDs over and combine them. This keeps me inspired like you have no idea. An idea from one of my Javanese gamelan or African field recordings CDs might inform my psychedelic music project, or listening to gnawa music might give me an idea for one of my droney electronic pieces. I do a lot of things. I record people. I play guitar and keyboards. I do photography. One inspires the others. A lot of cross-pollination. Taking photographs might make me think of a keyboard idea. There's a lot of similarity in the arts, including (especially?) in the processes. I find that if I don't feel constrained or locked in a box, I have inspiration for days.

 

 

 

Yeah, variety of interests helps me a lot also. I'm much happier if I'm always in the middle of 2-3 books, listening to new music, poking around subjects in which I'm ignorant, and playing multiple instruments on a project -

 

or you might say I'm chronically disatisfied...either way:) Motion is lotion.

 

nat whilk ii

[Ernest Buckley]

Inspire=In Spirit

 

When we are truly ourselves, we are inspired. Living from that perspective, whatever it may be for each individual is when we feel most in flow with life. Being around people who have good energy is inspiring. Reading a book or watching a movie that uplifts our humanity is inspiring. Challenging yourself to expand who you are musically is inspiring. This can be a variety of things to listening to a great piece of music to trying to mimic another artist in style or composition. When we are living our purest self, we are living in spirit and are therefore inspired.

[Kendrix]

I think you just need to feel it deeply.

True inspiration cant be manufactured.

However, you can do things to nurture it if it exists.

 

Just listening to /connecting to great recordings can often be sufficient.

 

Learning a new song /technique or finding a new tone can be very inspirational.

 

New gear can sometimes do it.

 

The simple fact that I now have the tools to create fantastic recordings inspires me.

 

Hearing some other musician whose skills are superior to mine can be inspiring (and/or depressing).

 

I find inspiration sometimes runs in natural cycles.

If the fire dies down sometimes its best to give it time to come back on its own. Forcing things through while in an uninspired state is not something I need to do-thankfully.

[Lukenskywalker]

crack cocaine, Red Bull, cheap vodka, oxycontin, and floozy women.

 

 

Oh, watching Myron Floren from the old Lawrence Welk Show 'shred' on the accordian.

[Notes_Norton]

How do you stop being inspired?

 

Really. I put the sax or wind synth in my mouth, or the guitar in my hands, or any other instrument (including the computer) and it is difficult to not make music.

 

Notes ?

[MikeRivers]

Unplug your Internet connection and turn off your cell phone.

[Anderton]

There are some great comments in here. You guys are so cool.

 

If I ever win the lottery, first thing I'm going to do is put together an SSS party and fly everyone out.

[Geoff Grace]

 

I read my bible but ,somehow, I don't think that's what you had in mind.

 

I didn't mean spiritually, no, but I did mean the question in a broader sense than just musically. Don't get me wrong; I was looking for music answers as well. However, I'm also looking at all of the other things involved with taking it to the next level -- which is where inspiration is needed most.

 

For example, maybe you don't have the energy to make music after a long day at work; and this inspires you to get on an exercise program so you'll have more energy. Maybe you then exercise for a day or two based on that initial burst of inspiration, but how do you keep going?

 

Or maybe you really want to get your music "out there." You're inspired to post something on YouTube, MySpace, etc. Do you make the time on a regular basis to place your music? If so, what keeps you going?

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[UstadKhanAli]

I didn't mean spiritually, no, but I did mean the question in a broader sense than just musically. Don't get me wrong; I was looking for music answers as well. However, I'm also looking at all of the other things involved with taking it to the next level -- which is where inspiration is needed most.

 

If it's more along just staying inspired in general, well...

 

Traveling. Nothing does it for me more than traveling. It can be within the state (going to Sequoia and Yosemite this year, for example) or going to other countries. But meeting new people, seeing incredible things that are very different from what I normally see, and seeing the whole parade of humanity on a different level is really inspiring to me. I love it.

 

When I am home, as you can probably tell by my photography posts this year, I go around Los Angeles quite a bit and see all the different sites. I visited and took photos of this incredible mural painting in Boyle Heights, visited art deco buildings twice, went to Angeles Forest and checked out the waterfalls, and went to the beach. That's inspiring. It's amazing that in a city that everyone always criticizes for being ugly, one can find so many beautiful things.

 

Seeing art of different kinds is really inspiring. Go to wherever there is great art. Museums, sure, but the art deco buildings and the Casa Del Mexicano in Boyle Heights were really inspiring as well. See fantastic bands. A lot of people don't even bother going out to a live show anymore, which to me is very strange...but that's where I get a lot of fantastic inspiration. I saw Konono No 1 at the Santa Monica Pier this summer as the sun was going down with a bunch of people grooving to the music. Try replicating THAT on a DVD.

 

And finally, learning new things. This year, I learned a bunch of new techniques on a camera. Flash photography. I never used an external flash before. I never owned one. I learned that. New horizons. I learned how to do long-exposure photography this summer as well, taking photos of star trails in Joshua Tree for over half an hour. Fantastic! That's inspiring, seeing that your efforts come to pass...book learning how to do it and then going out in the desert, watching the machinations of the universe unfold before you, and magically capturing some of it in a camera. Wow.

[the stranger]

I'd like to add that I'm down with everything Ken says. You can never get too much "input". I've been in full agreement with every post he's made in this thread. I'm always seeking out new things, art, music...and even the photgraphy and hiking (which pretty much go hand in hand)...history, news, it all helps fuel the creative juices. And if you are truly inspired, I don't think the daily grind is gonna stop you. It might slow you down a bit, though.

[Brandenburg]

Well.. A necked women on the edge of my bed gets me inspired.. Not sure about keeping me inspired..

 

A few nights ago the wife was listening to me and I played descent for a change.. Main difference was that she was necked....

 

Well.. sorta trying to be funny:facepalm: but this really happened

[UstadKhanAli]

I'd like to add that I'm down with everything Ken says. You can never get too much "input". I've been in full agreement with every post he's made in this thread. I'm always seeking out new things, art, music...and even the photgraphy and hiking (which pretty much go hand in hand)...history, news, it all helps fuel the creative juices. And if you are truly inspired, I don't think the daily grind is gonna stop you. It might slow you down a bit, though.

 

It gets in the way and slows me down a lot, yes. Even if it inspires me sometimes.

 

Thanks!

[Lukenskywalker]

There are some great comments in here. You guys are so cool. If I ever win the lottery, first thing I'm going to do is put together an SSS party and fly everyone out.

 

See, Anderton actually listened to my advice...Oxycontin DOES have that affect on first time users....you take it...get that great 'I have Cancer and I'm gonna die' vibe... but I love you world, I love you God!

 

 

EVERYBODY, come out to my house....really! C'mon...REALLY ....really

[Lukenskywalker]

Well.. A necked women on the edge of my bed gets me inspired.. Not sure about keeping me inspired.. A few nights ago the wife was listening to me and I played descent for a change.. Main difference was that she was necked.... Well.. sorta trying to be funny:facepalm: but this really happened

 

Wow, 'necked' and 'descent' ....'Spell Check' should be your new friend ...

 

Hope you eventually got 'layered.'