Re: What do YOU do when creativity dries up?

[william middlemiss <billymiddlemiss@gmail.com>]

In all seriousness- when the 'organic' element leaves my work, or when 'I' am not present in my composing, I do math, and I serialize variables and proceed forward until a form presents itself. My being a former engineering student with a proclivity for working with patterns gave me a history of where to look, and what math to do, but it has become automatic. Completely to the point of 'doing it in my sleep.'

Unfortunately, this has backfired and Ive had bouts of sensory overload and recognition of patterns in my daily life to the point that its debilitating, and it interferes with day-to-day life, but most people don't work with them for extended durations (and I'm mildly autistic.)

-Make a list of 'safe areas' and proceed outwards, look for the inverse, converse, or other tangential relation to the safe areas.... work in retrograde, from top down, bottom up, front to back, and never store presets (find out how it works, so you KNOW what makes the sound, but dont save it.)

Listen to old works, or dont listen to any of your own work for extended durations. 

Its all a slow process of moving forward. 

Oh, look for themes, and if repetition bothers you (haha, repetition bothering a looper's mind....I guess you'd be in the wrong field then....ha) then move as far away from the themes as possible. 

And the most fun one- put a movie on 'mute' and compose an original score, improvised, on the spot. 

Cheers

Billy

On Mon, Oct 17, 2011 at 5:44 PM, bill bigrig <billbigrig@yahoo.com> wrote:

Howdy,

Or just sit down to a early-mid 80s polysynth and twist a bunch of knobs, or throw some sliders about in a haphazard manner. Then hit the button that says, "front panel controls", or "preset off".

---

From: Louie Angulo <louie.angulo@googlemail.com>
To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Sent: Monday, October 17, 2011 2:41 PM

Subject: Re: What do YOU do when creativity dries up?

i dont know about you but lately i find that i can hardly be creative
by sitting in front of a PC or screen,by the time i turn the PC on
there is something distractive right away some damn update or emails
though sometimes i ve even come up with bits and ideas by watching TV
late at night and not concentrating specifically on the guitar or even
whats going on TV,just fiddling around,i think sometimes the images
will inspire something unconsciously,like nature channels,devastation,
news,etc.
here are some:
walk alone when is full moon when everyone has gone to sleep
go to the movies alone and watch a good film
yes a good book!
or take the road through the forest from the pub late after midnight
i love walking through the corn fields here in my surroundings while
the horses, sheeps and cows ares still out eating,sit down and observe
them
go jogging in nature
winter is perfect,chop wood and build a fire if u have a
fireplace,open up a beer take the acoustic guitar and paper and sit by
it when everyone else has gone to sleep
i find the kitchen inspiring lately,when everyone is gone to
work,there is no PCs or aynthing there and the space acoustics of the
room resonats better when im playing guitar than at my cellar,so get
out of your cave and change enviroments if possible
light up candles and spend sometime alone at night
turn off all cell phones and stay away from the PC at least for an hour
take a swim in the morning and watch the sunrise or just about dawn
and watch the sunset when there isnt anyone
sit donw at a café by yourself and observe a beautiful female,bu dont
forget ot put your sunglasses on;-)
let some mistery and uncertainty in life,get out of the confort zone
life gives us so much, is up to us to write about it...
Luis





On Mon, Oct 17, 2011 at 11:00 PM, william middlemiss
<billymiddlemiss@gmail.com> wrote:
> I usually talk to myself. then hike in the woods. then sleep. I usually,
> actually, RUN AWAY from the hot bitches. odds are that theyre just gonna add
> more dirt on an already stifling pile of neuroses.
>
> On Mon, Oct 17, 2011 at 3:53 PM, Phil Clevenger <phil.clevenger@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> I think that is in the Oblique Strategies already :)
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> On Oct 17, 2011, at 12:31 PM, Elmer Fuddski <jakebrakesrule@yahoo.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> I like to head to a bar and pick up a hot bitch.  Now THAT can be really
>> inspiring!
>>
>> From: andy soto <musicalmexicana@gmail.com>
>> To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
>> Sent: Monday, October 17, 2011 4:36 AM
>> Subject: Re: What do YOU do when creativity dries up?
>>
>>
>>
>>  Be interested in EVERYTHING.
>>
>>  Inspiration can come from every aspect of life.
>>
>>  Andy
>>
>> On Sun, Oct 16, 2011 at 11:39 PM, Ingo Ito <ingoito@itofarm.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Brian,
>>
>> I had this situation many times and established some sort of "catalogue"
>> for me, what could be done against this:
>>
>> 1. Oblique Strategies - always a good first choice.
>> 2. As a guitarist, try different tunings, especially ones, which you never
>> have tried before.
>> 3. Listen to some of your old stuff, which you never have continued,
>> because at that time you didn´t had any ideas for it - maybe now´s the time.
>> 4. Establish a "Composing Hour", which means that every day at the same
>> time (that´s best, though different times of the day also work), you sit
>> with all your equipment (guitars, keyboards, computer, software, boxes - all
>> that you have) and force yourself to DO something for one hour - then stop
>> and don´t think about the music until you sit there again the next day. When
>> you have a new idea, just record a short sketch of it. Keep away from
>> starting arrangements, into deep sound tweaking etc. - keep it fast and
>> simple and move on to sth. else. There might be little to none output at the
>> beginning, but the continuity of everyday´s working rhythm will get you on
>> the track again. After one month you listen to your recorded material and
>> then start to add more arrangements, sounds etc. (I got this idea from a
>> very good book on this subject: "The Art & Craft of Writing Music" by
>> Matthew Nicholl,
>> http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/art-and-craft-of-writing-music/16071216 ,
>> which was originally recommended by Robert Fripp)
>> 5. Read a book. Try subjects that are not your favourite crime reading
>> etc., but sth. new to you.
>> 6. Go to the cinema. Try films that are less action and more to
>> contemplate about afterwards.
>> 7. Go to a concert. Especially with music, that is not your favourite
>> band, but somebody you just have read about in the papers or sb. had told
>> you it´s interesting.
>> 8. Go to a museum or exhibition. If you have talent in doing sketches,
>> take some paper with you and try to make a sketch of one piece of art, which
>> you liked very much. Put this sketch on the wall where you work on your
>> music. Let it inspire you, watch it while you play your instrument, let your
>> musical thoughts meander into every possible direction and do a simple
>> recording of what you play
>> 9. Leave all your musical stuff completely untouched for at least one week
>> (or two, or three...) and DON´T worry about it.
>> 10. Okay....buy a box ;-). This one looks interesting, too:
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7-f-t28GOM&feature=BFa&list=PLA548FE27426F8D8C&lf=mh_lolz
>>
>> Hope this helps a bit :-)
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Ingo
>>
>>
>> Ingo Ito
>> www.itofarm.com
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: BC
>> To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
>> Sent: Sunday, October 16, 2011 6:30 PM
>> Subject: What do YOU do when creativity dries up?
>> I'm sure this has been covered in the past before my time here. Perhaps
>> it's
>> a good thing to take a fresh look at the phenomenon and coping strategies
>> from time to time.
>>
>> What do you do when the creative flow diminishes into a creative drip and
>> then seemingly dries up completely? You sit at your instrument to come up
>> with some new ideas and......nothing!
>>
>> You have a vague sense that your passion is just not there. You might even
>> feel "cludgy" and awkward at the instrument. Aside from letting time pass,
>> would anyone like to share their strategies for minimizing time spent in
>> the
>> creative desert?
>>
>> Brian
>>
>>
>>
>
>



--
www.luis-angulo.com