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Re: Spawning musical ideas?



On 7/22/64 11:59 AM, Gmail wrote:
How do you guys start your loop sessions? Where do you get your musical 
ideas? I often have tons of trouble thinking of any kind of melody or 
chord progression before actually playing, especially when performing. Its 
like a consistent mind block that occurs every time. Any tips? BTW I loop 
on a keyboard connected to my laptop.
I've gotten into starting 'performances' coming from different places and rotating
these approaches to try and get diversity.

I usually arrange my set list according to timbres of instruments.

from there I have the ability to
start with

1) an ostinato rhythm either on percussion, bass or other melodic instrument.

or

2)  a chord progression

or

3)  an ambiance (pad) that is not rhythmically oriented

Additionally, if I'm having problems on the day of a gig, I"ll write out a set list
with starting point notes.

********

When you practise, try playing percussion first.........then do a track starting from a bass line.... ...then do a track starting from a chordal instrument (once with a single line ostinato, another time
with a progression).

A good thing to remember is to make really, really simple loops. This will give you a lot of space
to work with as you 'populate' your piece.

I tell my beginning looping students to set an alarm clock for 5 minutes and force yourself to play for one solid half hour, making sure that each piece begins and ends in exactly 5 minutes. This means you are forcing yourself to play 6, 5 minute pieces in 30 minutes.

Try that a few days in a row and watch what happens to your creativity.

Good luck.

Rick Walker