The Reversal Method

A while back we looked at using the SCAMPER method to improve your songwriting.  Today I want to look at another business method of improving products and services, and see if we can adapt it to songwriting as well.

The method is called Reversal.  I read about it here.

The basic idea is that you take the problem you want to solve, and you ask it in the opposite way.

Here’s an example from the page I linked to above:

Imagine that you want to improve the response of a service center. Using Reversal you would ask ‘How would I reduce customer satisfaction?’. After considering this question you might give the following answers:

• Not answering the phone when customers call
• Not returning phone calls
• Have people with no product knowledge answering the phone
• Use rude staff
• Give the wrong advice

After using Reversal, you would ensure that appropriate staff members were handling incoming phone calls efficiently and pleasantly. You would set up training programs to ensure that they were giving accurate and effective advice.

So, how do we apply that to songwriting?

Well, maybe you would ask yourself:  “How do I make my music sound less interesting?”

Perhaps you would list some things like these…

• Use the same predictable chord changes through out
• Use the same instrumentation styles
• Use the same tricks and sounds when I’m adding layers
• Use very common and ordinary drum beats

Then you could use those items as a check list to make sure you were not doing any of them in your actual song.

Do you think this could be a useful method for improving songwriting?

Can the SCAMPER Method Be Used For Writing Music?

Recently I was reading about some ways to improve your thinking and your ability to come up with new ideas.  Specifically I was reading about something called the SCAMPER method.

The SCAMPER method was originally created by a man named Bob Eberle, a man who writes books mainly aimed at teachers for helping students learn to solve problems creatively.  However, several businesses have adapted the method as a way to improve their products and services.

SCAMPER is an acronym that is supposed to be used to re-evaluate the current situation to figure out new ways of thinking about it.  Here’s what it stands for:

S – Substitute

C – Combine

A – Adapt

M – Modify

P – Purpose (Put to other use)

E – Eliminate

R – Reverse (or rearrange)

Of course, being the kind of person I am, I immediately started to think about that in musical terms, and I think it could be a great way to spice up songs to make them sound more musically creative.

Substitute

If you take a look at the song you’re working on, what can you substitute in place of things that are already there.  Maybe it’s a matter of chord substitution to make the accompaniment sound more interesting.  Maybe it’s a matter of substituting a part of the arrangement with a different song part, meaning maybe you can remove an instrumental break that sounds too predictable and insert some kind of bridge instead.  Maybe it’s just a matter of substituting worn out cliches and boring adjectives with more descriptive language.

Combine

If a song or arrangement isn’t grabbing you, take the time to search through some old ideas that you’ve had.  Maybe you’ve had an idea in an unfinished song from the past that you can put into the new song you’re working on.  Maybe there’s a riff from a different piece that would lay over top of your new piece perfectly.  This is a great example of why you should make note of EVERYTHING that you create.  You never know when something might fit together where you least expected it to.

Adapt

Adapting in this sense means changing the initial problem or task to fit the product.  I can explain this best as an example from my own experiences.  The first time I wanted to make a full album on my own where I did everything, including writing lyrics and singing, I started out wanting to write a somewhat-heavy rock album.  I wrote a song, and I liked it.  It fit the initial goal.  I wrote a second song, and it didn’t really fit, so I set it aside.  I wrote a third song, and it sort of fit the initial goal, but it seemed to fall in line more with the second song that I had just set aside.  I realized that my writing was taking me in a different direction than I initially set out, so I modified the “goal” to fit the songs that I was producing.

Modify

Maybe you set out to right a country song, but no matter how much you try to “southern it up”, it’s still coming out more like a Top 40 Pop song.  Maybe you’re really trying to nail that classic rock song, but it’s sounding too bluesy.  Modify your initial thoughts and ideas to fit the direction that the music is taking you.  If the song is ending up as a Top 40 pop song, then strip out all of the fiddles and banjos and add some canned beats and layered sound effects.  Don’t be afraid to change your initial idea.

Purpose (Put to other use)

If you’re writing something, and you like it, but it doesn’t fit the rest of the song… don’t throw it away!!!  Set it aside and put it to use later.  This one relates to the “Combine” step.  Nothing that you write is “useless”… it is just perhaps useless to the particular song you’re working on.  I’ve had some great ideas come from scraps of other songs.

Eliminate

Get rid of parts and layers that don’t work for the song.  If each individual part, from sound layers to rhythm instruments, to lead fills, to solos, to vocal melodies, to backup harmonies… if you put it in and it doesn’t improve the song, pull it out.  This was a hard thing for me to learn… ESPECIALLY once I got my hands on multi-track recorders.  I wanted to layer stuff until it was crowded and muddy… just because I kept coming up with all these cool parts and ideas.  Sometimes, less is more.  Don’t be afraid to thin out the sound from time to time.

Reverse (or Rearrange)

If you’re listening to your new song, and it just doesn’t sound right… take it apart and put it back together differently.  Maybe you can double up a verse somewhere.  Maybe you can change the location of the bridge.  Maybe the intro part can become a reoccurring post-chorus line.  Shuffle the parts and see if you can come up with something better.

This could potentially be a handy little checklist for fine-tuning songs.  It’s a good way to keep your mind fresh and to keep from getting frustrated when a song isn’t falling together just right.

Don’t always be so quick to ignore mistakes that you make when you are playing music.  Sometimes those mistakes can lead to something that you’ll end up liking when you’re finished.

I’ll give you an example.

My wife is a piano player, and a much better one than me.  A couple summers ago she decided she wanted to take some lessons to learn a different style, just as an addition to her musical tool box.  The style she was learning was a chord-based technique, but she was learning to walk through chords in a more arpeggiated fashion than what she usually does.

I learn most of my musical technique really from looking over the shoulders of others.  That’s how I’ve picked up most of my guitar technique, most of my bass playing technique, and almost all of my piano playing and drumming technique.  With my wife taking lessons I saw an opportunity for myself to learn some new things as well.  I would occasionally sit in the room with her as she practiced, and she would show me what she was working on any time she started a new song.

One day when she wasn’t around I decided to try the technique myself.  I got my hands in the wrong position and hit some wrong notes, but I loved the sound of what I did.  It was a mistake, but that mistake inspired me to write a song

Here’s  the song if you’re interested.  It’s not elaborate by any means, but I love how it turned out.

This song is called “A New Beginning”

So, if you’re playing something new and you make a mistake, don’t ignore that mistake right away.  You might end up stumbling across something that inspires a new song.

Previous posts in the series:
Why Do You Create Music (Part 1)
Why Do You Create Music (Part 2)

Why I Create Music

Over the past couple of days I’ve been looking at the topic of why musicians create music.  I’ve  posted comments that I received as an answer to the simple question “Why do you create music” on a couple forums that I read often, and I’ve let those answers pretty much speak for  themselves.

Now I will take the time to address the subject from my own point of view.

When I began creating my own music, I was in a band.  I was determined that I was going to be a rockstar someday.   Well, that’s how I talked, but really I just wanted to spend my life getting paid for writing and performing music.  At the time, that was my sole driving factor.  Everything I wrote, everything I created, was to improve my chances of becoming a full-time musician.

As the years passed, those dreams faded, but the drive to be creative did not.  I had over the years played around with creating odd sounds and some simple songs that I knew wouldn’t fit with the sound my band had formed, so as I spent less and less time working with a band, I spent more and more time on these random songs and sounds that I was creating.

It didn’t take long for me to figure out that it was a good feeling to know that I had created something new.  Most of the time it didn’t matter to me if other people had or would hear what I created… I liked it, and that was all that mattered.  It was somewhat of a rush.  It was definitely a feeling of creative release.  It took my mind away from every day dull happenings and gave me somewhat of a sense of purpose.

Luckily for me I have a couple friends who have very similar feelings about creating music.  Like me, they’re not so worried about the whole world hearing what they’ve done.  They just want to create something that they can be proud of.

Music has literally flooded into pretty much every aspect of my life at this point.  I like to write, so I have this blog to write about music.  I like football and I have a Minnesota Vikings Blog, so I figured out ways to be able to create music to promote the blog.  I have recently started a Minnesota Twins blog, and I am already planning some music for that one as well.  I go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays, and I’m part of the music team.  I even married a person who enjoys playing music, and we’ve written songs together.  I get together with two of my friends (who I hope to have write on this blog sometime in the very near future) every week, and we create music.

When I’m at my office, I typically have music playing, and often times my playlist is filled with things that I’ve created… not because I’m arrogant, but because I’m proud.  It feels good to create something that I enjoy.  If no one else ever decides they like my music, I’m still proud of it, because I like it.

I create music because that’s who I am… a songwriter, a musician, and a creative artist.

Why Do You Create Music (part 2)?

Yesterday I started an article entitled Why Do You Create Music? In it I stated that I started out this process by trying to decide what drives me to be creative, and why I keep creating music even though I don’t really have any goal of that music ever bringing me money or fame.

I ended up asking the question in a couple of forums with the intention of compiling the information and summarizing them into a blog post.  Instead I felt that everyone who responded brought something interesting to the table, and instead I decided to just quote what they said.  Yesterday I took the quotes from forum.cockos.com. Today the responses will come from homerecordingconnection.com

CptTripps (homerecordingconnection.com)

Why do I write music?

Because I hate playing cover songs!!!

Honestly though I think it applies to all things art. It is just awesome to create something from nothing, to mold something exactly the way you want it. It is also a nice release for me, If I’m down I get sappy which to me is like getting it of your chest. If I’m pissed or having a bad day I can pound out some punk and have a great release doing so.

In the end though, I write music because I love it more than most things in life. To me it’s like eating or drinking, it’s a necessity in my life and I would go into withdrawls if I avoid my instruments too long. It’s my drug of choice

I think this sums up things pretty well, and fits in with a lot of what was said yesterday, too.  It’s a way of expressing yourself, and it’s something that we often just feel like we need to do.

Deon (homerecordingconnection.com)

I ask myself that question from time to time.
I can only really say i feel i dont have a choice. I just have to do it. i feel im meant to be doing it.

Fragile (homerecordingconnection.com)

For me, writing isn’t much of a release really. Its grueling. Music is a release. letting it all just take me over and wash away whatever emotion i was feeling replacing it with the vibe of the music. Thats a release. But thats the finished product. And if i’m angry at someone, nothing relaxes me better than pounding the snot out of my mesh drum heads until i can’t move my arms. But thats more physical than mental. Actually writing a song takes too much effort to be something i can be “lost in the moment” or truly passionate about the entire time. There are definitely quite a few nice moments of passion in there. But a lot of it is just work to get to that next passionate moment. Something inside me just feels like this is something i should be doing. Like i just have to or i won’t be happy ever.

I can’t say that I feel like this all the time, but I certainly have from time to time and I understand it.  There are moments when I don’t want to be working on music, but I have to pound through it to get to that next amazing moment.

crux (homerecordingconnection.com)

Let me jump on the “I have to” wagon. I really do, not just write music, but be musical in general. Mine is the classic highschool dork story who sought refuge in music but now as an adult i cant get through a day without doing something musical.

I have so many more reasons, but their more of a case by case thing, such as the feeling i get from playing in a band, its a kind of connection and human honesty i think u cant get doing anything else, its almost supernatural as well as seeing great live bands play. I mean those kinds of bands taht transcend playing “well” and seem like their generating an energy of their own beyond music. Thats the closest thing in the world i think u can go to seeing “magic”.

But the overarching reason is music is more or less my religion

Quincysan (homerecordingconnection.com)

To communicate with an audience.

I’m not entirely sure what Quincysan meant (perhaps if he reads this he will respond in the comments), but I could take it 2 ways.  #1, it could be a more general sense meaning “whoever listens” being the audience, or it could mean that he is creating music that he performs.   When I was playing in bands, the audience was certainly a driving force in my creativity.

DeftonedRyan (homerecordingconnection.com)

I love playing music, it grows and festers in my brain until i have to let it breathe.. lol. the drive to do it for me is that i believe that i have been given a gift with the ability to play music and that i should use it for the benefit of others, as well as myself. what is art or music other than an individuals self expression in an attempt to connect with others, in music’s case, connection with the listener.

i do write fun songs, sweet songs and other stuff. most of my stuff though, its kind of like this: when you see someone walking down the street, and you know that they NEED something whether it be advice, encouragement, or maybe just an outlet to let it go; what would you say to that person and how would you use music to express and completely envelope the idea that you are trying to present to them? how would you grab their emotional and spiritual being? music is the best way to do that.. i write music because there are things i need to say and things people need to hear and music is the emotional conduit. what if the song you have playing in your head but didnt write was the song that someone else could have heard when they decided not to commit suicide? what if the song you didnt write was the one that kept someone hopeful when the were in their worst state? I love creating music, but i think that being able to create music is a powerful thing, because if you are good, people listen.. the ability to create is a gift, and for as much is given, much is required..

RockWood610 (homerecordingconnection.com)

I write music to get thoughts and feelings out, mostly anger through my metal tracks. My last band called Light the Shadow had a pretty cool song called ‘Die Alone’ witch is a whole 5+ minuets about my biological father who was no father at all.

It was a huge release to get it on ‘tape’ (even though it was recorded to hard disk of course) but it was even a more release to get it out there for free online and play it out to hear the response of it.

Now, I RECORD music for a lot of reasons, some being the same as why I write music. Like Tripps said, its just amazing to take from ground 0 and build a whole project from the ground up. I think thats why so many of us come here day after day to find help and ways to do it better (and some of us like yours truly who works a crappy fast food job and goes more in debt every day getting better gear). But honestly, to me, the debt is well worth it if I know my results will be better or are constantly getting better.

When you can take 20 to 40 seperate sounds and ideas and blend them together to make one, no only is it a since of creative power, but a release. And honestly, I don’t think its something that any non-musician will 100% full understand…

I have to be honest, I’ve been blessed with a pretty good life without too many life-changing things like RockWood mentioned about his father, so it’s hard for me to really relate with getting out thoughts and emotions.  I really wish I could personally do that better.  Not only that, I’m not an overly emotional person by nature, so those emotional feelings don’t really stick with me very long.  A couple of the lyricists that I’ve been in bands with have been so good at pouring their emotions and feelings into their songs, and to be honest, I think my songs lack some of the feeling and passion that theirs had.

J-bot (homerecordingconnection.com)

Hmmm, you know, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked “why” I write music. Honestly, there’s probably more reasons than I’m aware of. I think the primary reason though, is that I like the feeling of the accomplishment of getting a song, or other piece of music done, and having people listen and enjoy the music. Now, granted I’m not a prolific writer, but the feelings are there all the same.

On the recording and mixing end. I’d say the driving force for me, is to get a studio up and going so that I can help bands get their music out there without having to go through the hell of the music labels. I mean major labels look like they make things an absolute chore. Like the artist HAS to be there so that the record label can make their money. I want to keep things on the friendly side, and show that recording, mixing, working with bands; it can all be a very fun and pleasant experience. I wouldn’t want an artist to feel like they’re chained to me, I want them to have options. Also knowing the fact that it would help bands get their tracks together and out there to distribute or take it to the next level, whatever that may be, leaves me with a very good feeling.

Granted I’m still saving up to actually build a studio, and that’s a long way off yet, my ideals and goals are very much still there.

Izzy Dutch (homerecordingconnection.com)

For me it’s a combination of different things. I’ve always had the need for a creative outlet since I was a kid, I used to draw alot and when I started playing guitar it became writing music. In my mind I’m always writing, over the years it has changed more from ’stumbling on a riff’ to hearing complete songs in my head, with vocal melody and drums. The trick is to work out the details and try to get it sound in real life as it sounds in my head. But sometimes it’s just a phrase or something that can be inspiring. Sometimes even a word, which becomes a song title and lyrics follow. It can go any way.

After I write or record I just feel good.. satisfied, proud sometimes. It just gives a kick. There’s nothing, you start something, it’s an open canvas and you build it up to whatever you want until you like it. It’s a kick when either you create something you hear in your head, or how it ended up better then expected. Some days when you play guitar nothing works and other days it’s like magic.. when you’re recording one of those magic days or moments, it’s just really awesome. When I record something I have the basic song down, but mostly never actually played that part fully before to practice or something. It’s all determined on the spot in no more then 3 takes. And since I usually record in the style of ‘rhythm guitars-left panned of 12 songs on a saturday, bass guitars of those songs the next week, rhythm guitars-right panned the week after’ it stays pretty fresh and you build it slowly each week, while it all unfolds after it’s completed.

There’s also a side about keep doing it better or going into new territory. Which for me isn’t really to try to write ‘the best song ever’ or something. Cause for me when it’s good it’s good and otherwise it sucks. But when I started out I just wanted to have atleast one song done where I could listen to it and say ‘if every other song I do from now on is crap, atleast I’ll have this song sounding good’. Then when I got to that point it changed to making sure I’d have a whole cd with good songs, sounding good instrumentally and production wise. When I was satisfied with that I started to concentrate more on vocals to get them to sound decent. There are always challenges to be found.

Like yesterday, every one of these answers makes you think.  I really appreciate the people that took the time to respond to me on these two forums.

The final part (part 3) of this article is found here:  Why Do I Create Music?

Why Do You Create Music (part 1)?

At one time I had dreams of being a Rock Star!  Well, sort of.  That was the term I always playfully gave it, but it wasn’t really the fame or the fortune that I was chasing.  It was the fact that I wanted to play my music for a living.

As I got older, I started realizing that the chances of that happening were getting slimmer and slimmer.  But, I never lost the passion to create music.

Recently I’ve been thinking about these things and wondering what drives me.  Why do I want to spend so much time creating music if it isn’t for some kind of financial or career goal?  Why do I put so much effort into making cool sounds if no one but a handful of friend and family members are ever even going to hear them?

I decided that those were interesting questions that may not have a direct and concrete answer, but I thought it would be interesting to see what some other musicians think.  So, I decided to go to my two favorite songwriting/home recording/music creation forums, forums.cockos.com, and homerecordingconnection.com and ask the musicians at those sites about their thoughts.

When I first asked the question I had the idea that I was going to compile the list, analyze it, and turn it into an article based on my summaries.  To be honest, I had a hard time doing that.  Many people who answered said very similar things, but at the same time they all gave their own twist and I didn’t really want to lose the essence of what anyone said.  So instead I am just going to lists the responses and maybe add my own comments here and there.

I got a lot of responses to the question, so I’m going to split it up into two posts.  Tomorrow afternoon I will post part 2.

manning1 (forum.cockos.com)

done over 300 songs in my life..
from easy listening thru blues n rock n heavy metal.
why do i do it ??
simple answer…I LOVE THE FUN OF IT !!

I think the simple answer “I love the fun of it” is something that is important not to overlook.  While it’s true that a lot of us are driven by creativity, if we forget about “the fun of it”, I’m not sure it can ever be as good.  If as songwriters we lose the feeling of having fun, it’s hard to pour ourselves into our music.  I know I’ve fallen into that trap before.

toyhouse (forum.cockos.com)

When I made my first mulitrack and heard the parts come together it was life-changing. I knew at that moment it was something that would always be a part of me.

Now, 30+ years later, it’s the same. Pure nirvana when I hear a piece come together.

I can completely relate.  When I made my first multi-track song, it was on someone else’s recorder.  I immediately started saving money for my own.

pac-man (forum.cockos.com)

Being creative is kind of the only thing i’m really good at. And it shows, people love me when i do stuff… maybe not the “results”, but it feels like i become a better person in the process.

GermanFafian (forum.cockos.com)

I do because I can.
There is something that drives me to it and gives me great satisfaction when it is done.
I guess in my case it is a selfish situation as I make artistic things to amuse myself.

jopatius (forum.cockos.com)

My main reasons for creating music, when I last thought of it, are:

1) It is a way for me to define who I am. On monday I am “person A”. On tuesday I write a song which hits the nail for me. On wednesday I am “person A who has created this nail-hitting song”. I like myself on wednesday more than I did on monday.
If I try to tell somebody who I am, I oftten try to do it though these nail-hitting songs then.

2) It is a way for me to live though this life in a self-fulfilling, most satisfactory way.
When I am “on the roll”, the last thing I do before going to bed is to sit on the piano/PC to work with some song. Even for a couple of minutes only. Then typically the first thing I do on the morning is to fill in something new which has found its way to me during the night.

Having this mode “active” is like having two engines running within me all the time (instead of just one). Very fun!

3) It is a way to synchronize with other people for me.
Music, especially my own music, often serves as a “catalyst” in human communications for me. “cutting the bullshit and getting to the point”.

Artbay (forum.cockos.com)

i get a kick out of creating something new and never seen or heard before. an additional and somewhat contrary aspect for me is sometimes to mimic other music. early on it was more as a tribute to artists that inspired me (larry fast of “synergy” first), and only recently as parody, like i attempted in this song. i never want to copy a song exactly though, just to adapt its “essence” into my own style.
www.valtraxysblue.com
www.reverbnation.com/valtraxysblue

I understand this angle of it.  I also enjoy making something that nobody has ever heard before, but at the same time I like trying to put in the feel of some of my favorite music from time to time.

Carbon (forum.cockos.com)

I create because it’s the way I can check myself – do I still exist?
Also I like to explore new paths and ways that make music.
Performing on musical instruments – guitar, keyboards, fx, equipment – is a bit like meditation. It’s a big part of the addiction.

When I get the ingredients right, something other-worldly happens – the sounds that make a piece of music stop just being sounds, they become a dreamlike space, journey or because it’s so difficult to describe, perhaps rather a feeling.

I think I’m hooked on that feeling. I’m continuously looking for it and finding it in my music, other artist’s music and even in musical instruments, equipment and software.

Like a calm yet mysterious refuge from the petty everyday problems of the world.

kindafishy (forum.cockos.com)

If I was asked in a casual conversation, I would probably talk about the satisfaction that comes from working out a heavy groove or an infectious riff, but in thinking about it, I have come to realize that there is more to it. What I just described is just the end result of us having the ability to reach beyond our material perception. There is something much bigger at play here.

There are inexplicable things that we as humans experience that are an extension of life, nature and our unimaginable existence. I often think about the unlikely occurrence that we represent and the wonderment that we experience because we are so intelligent and acutely aware of what is happening around us. Despite our intelligence and awareness, there is a magical unknown side to our existence that is all around us.

I think that human artistry is a way for us to tap into the unidentifiable things that surround us and everything we do. Dance, music, film, photography or any other kinds of visual or aural arts are a way for us to express that which cannot be expressed through any other means. I am a very small part of something I don’t understand, and having the ability to tap into what surrounds me and express it though creating beautiful, sad, harsh, aggressive, mellow or otherwise emotionally charged sound is satisfying and fulfilling beyond anything else I have ever experienced. It is addictive and consuming and there is literally no end to the creative obsession.

I create because I am lucky enough to have an awareness of the hidden spheres of our existence and the ability to both express and share it with those who don’t.

dazzathedrummer (forum.cockos.com)

I don’t know why I do it, I mean, I absolutely love doing it – but I don’t know why I love doing it.
I supose it’s what I was cut out for in a way, I never get bored of music, I enjoy doing other things, but I get bored of other things and need to walk away from them, that doesn’t happen with music – it’s a truely ‘for beter or worse’ relationship.

I just don’t know why!

If won the lotery, I’d buy more audio equipment and spend my time really mastering the instruments that I play, I suppose it’s an obsession. Several times I have only eaten beans and rice for a month just so I can by some new piece of audio technology.

Crazyness – some people are equally passionate about watching football, or going out drinking with their mates – I always say at least I get paid when I go to the pub

kelldammit (forum.cockos.com)

i just always have done it in some way shape or form…it’s hard for me to understand how people just DON’T.
i do it primarily for my own enjoyment. when something comes together and just works…the feeling is unreal. i love being able to just enjoy something i did six months ago…again, it’s just an amazing feeling. when friends and family also seem to get enjoyment out of it, well…bonus!

it’s also constructive therapy, like someone else said. you can voice things that bother you, and the process itself seems to help put things back in order, however metaphorically. i’m also ocd about cleaning when i get upset…so i guess it makes sense in a psychotic sort of way. at least the results of dealing with hard times are something positive, beyond the character building!

The Great Dictator (forum.cockos.com)

Sometimes creating music, whether writing it, or interpreting it, can be unbelievably frustrating. I’ve thought about giving it up more times than I can count. But something drives me forward. I can’t stop consuming information about music. I literally my every waking moment with music. Whether I am participating in it, or just thinking about it, I’m always doing something with it. I wish I had a good answer for you, but there is no good answer. I create because I have to. I create because it’s who I am. I’ve been resistant to it at times. The drive however, is greater than myself. It’s something deep, and primal. At times it’s a spiritual experience, especially in improvisation. It’s a sort of meditative one. Other times, it’s more scientific. Contemplating harmonies, attempting to learn to compose on paper and create something bigger than my self. And sometimes, it’s just fun. I think about music all the time. I dream in music. The art consumes my every waking and dreaming moments. Have you ever sung to a car alarm? I do it all the time. There’s a pulse to it, and a defined pitch. It serves as a wonderful ostinato. I can’t help it. It’s an immediate response. Music for me, is instinct.

Very good thoughts from everyone.

Part 2 to this story can be found here:  Why Do You Create Music (part2).

If you want to check out the conversation on the forum, HERE is the link.

Do you remember the first set of lyrics or piece of music that you ever wrote?

Maybe it was the first riff or chord progression you ever made up by yourself on your new guitar, or on the family piano.  Maybe it was a set of lyrics that you wrote in an old raggedy notebook during study hall in your junior year of high school.

I remember my first piece of music that I wrote on my own.

It was a very simple chord progression in the key of G that I wrote on my acoustic guitar.  I was sitting in my apartment on the edge of my bed.  I was probably 19 years old.  I had just learned a new chord turnaround, and I wanted to play around with it until I got it down.  I ended up making up a chord progression around it, at first mainly so I could practice using it with different chords.  Before long I realized that I was playing the same patterns over and over, and it was something that I made up myself.  I didn’t even realize that I had written a song!

Years later, I am a much better guitar player, and a much better songwriter than I was in those days, but I would often go back to playing around with that first song… not really because it was good or amazing (in fact, it was very simplistic and un-noteworthy), but because it was my first song, and in a weird way I was proud of it.

I ended up marrying a very talented singer who was interested in writing lyrics, but had only written a few songs before we got married.  We always talked about wanting to write songs together, and the first song we wrote together was written to that very first piece of music that I ever wrote… but that’s a story for a different time.

For now, the point is, even though I knew that piece of music wasn’t spectacular, I was proud of it because of the story behind it, and because of the sense of accomplishment that it brought at the time it was written.

The other day I was digging through some of the traffic statistics for this site, and I saw that one of my posts from several months ago entitled Write a song with an instrument that you don’t know how to play had gotten quite a bit of traffic from StumbleUpon (if you don’t know what StumbleUpon is, look into it at your own risk… you WILL waste lots of your time playing with it)

In that original post I had not only given an idea to expand on musical creativity, but I had posted a link to a song I had written that was an example of the topic I was talking about.

I decided to check out StumbleUpon, and see what people were saying about that post.  The comments weren’t pretty.  I’ll share them here:

dude, your song sucks.

He experimented to find a good tone… and that’s what he calls a good tone?

I love the thought process this guy has. I feel the same way and collect rondom shite too. That said I cant condone his song, not trying to be offensive but its just horrible… sorry.

Obviously these comments weren’t exactly what I wanted to see, but to be honest I have pretty thick skin, and they rolled off of me pretty quickly.   After all, I spent this past football season writing off-the-wall song parodies (and accompanying YouTube music videos) for every game of the Minnesota Vikings season.  Vikings fans usually loved the songs, and fans of the opposing teams typically HATED them.  I spent most of the football season being ridiculed for lack of talent, and even for a several personal outward-appearance flaws.    That’ll toughen a guy up pretty quick… I even grew to look forward to the trash talking between nice and loving fans and the mean and hateful mockers.

Anyway, I wasn’t too worried about these comments…

…but they did get me thinking a little bit, which in my opinion is always a good thing.

Why do I strive to be creative in my music?  Why do I search for new ways to write music?  Why am I not interested in following the tried and true methods of songwriting that seemingly 99% of the songwriters who get their music on the radio follow?

Really, all those questions could be tied into a question that is important to the existence of this site itself… Why do I care enough about musical creativity to actually want to blog about it?

The answer is really pretty simple.

I do it for me.  I do it for my own personal sense of accomplishment.  I do it for my own satisfaction.

I know the song that I linked to on that original blog post wasn’t the greatest song ever.  I know that if someone else had written that song and played it for me, I wouldn’t have been completely impressed.  It’s not a song that I would play continually (if even at all) if someone else gave me a CD with it on there.

But none of those things were the point of me writing the song in the first place, and none of them were the reason I linked to it from this blog.

The real reason I wrote it was to see if I can.  I wanted to pick up an instrument that I had never played before in my life, and write a riff that I could build an entire song around… and I did it!  I was proud of that, not because it was a spectacular song, but because it was an accomplishment!

I posted the song on the blog not because I was trying to show off my amazing ability to play the mandolin, but because I wanted to show people that with a little creativity, you can write a song based around an instrument that you’ve literally NEVER played before.

This blog isn’t about writing music that will earn you money, or fame, or even recognition from your peers or friends (although if you’re able to use any of these ideas for those purposes, more power to you!!!!!)

This blog isn’t for the people who want to turn themselves into a major music star writing songs that everyone will be trampling through the music store (do they have those anymore?) to get the latest CD.

This blog is about stretching your own ideas of musical “norms”.  It’s about getting outside of your own musical boxes and boundries.  It’s about writing things that you’re proud of, even if you know no one else is going to like it.

This blog is for the people who want to be proud of music that they write, not just because it’s spectacular, but because it’s a personal accomplishment for themselves.

After all, shouldn’t your music be all about expressing you?

Today I stumbled across a site that allows writers to post articles for use in other blogs and websites, so I decided to look through it.  I found that they have all sorts of great articles on creativity and musicianship!  I was really impressed!  I also found out that as a blog owner, I’m allowed to share these articles with my readers around a couple times a month, so I think I’m going to plan on taking advantage of that from time to time, starting today.

This article isn’t necessarily about “music”, but rather about creativity in general.  I think there are some interesting points made, and things that as musicians and songwriters we can use to stretch out our own creativity a bit.

Let me know what you think of not only this article, but the idea of searching the web for things that other people want to share… Oh, and don’t worry, reprinting other people’s articles is not going to make up the entirety of my blog! 

Are you as creative as you’d like to be? Are you able to think creatively and use your imagination to think of original new ideas? Do you have the ability to recognize opportunities others fail to see? Do you find you’re able find creative, ingenious and innovative ways to solve problems?

Your ability to think creatively can be improved dramatically by making use of certain exercises and techniques.

Here is one way you’ll find very effective indeed. You’ll experience an immediate improvement in your creative imagination and your creative thinking.

YOUR CREATIVE IMAGINATION.

In order to become more creative you first step is to improve your creative imagination. Creative imagination is the mental faculty that enables you to create mental images and visualize situations or conditions you have never actually experienced.

What is the value of exercising your imagination?

People with highly developed creative imaginations have the ability to extract features of their experience and re-arrange them into new forms. All new inventions are discoveries; artistic creations – and even new ways of doing business – are based on this form of creative thinking.

By using certain exercises to develop your creative imagination – and giving your imagination a “work-out”- you’ll find you’ll experience a tremendous improvement in your ability to think more creatively.

Even if you have no interest in Art whatsoever, one useful strategy that will make an enormous difference to your ability to think creatively is to visit an Art Museum.

If this is not convenient and there is no Art Museum in your area, get a book from the library that features illustrated paintings by impressionist and abstract painters.

Impressionism is a form of art that deals with the effect of an object rather than a photographic representation of the object.

Find a detailed book of modern art that features paintings by artists such as Monet, considered one of the founders of Impressionism. Also examine the painting of Degas. Renoir and Pissaro.

Instead of a photographic likeness of a scene you will find that the artist has attempted to reflect an emotional reaction to the scene.

For example, when Monet first exhibited his painting entitled, “Impression. Rising Sun”, viewers to the gallery, where the painting was exhibited, expected to see something that resembled a rising sun. Instead they were presented with a painting that bore no resemblance whatsoever to sunrise.

Monet’s explanation was that it was his impression of “the fugitive changes of nature”.

Examine examples of the works of abstract painters like Kandinsky, regarded as one of the initiators of abstract art. Here again it is difficult to understand what the artist is attempting to depict. The painting is a form of personal experience rather than an accurate picture of a scene.

In an essay “Concerning Form” describing abstract art Kandinsky wrote: The art of today embodies the spiritual matured to the point of revelation…”

In examining these painting it is important to remember that this is not an exercise to try and establish what the artist is trying to express. The purpose of the exercise is to PRACTICE USING YOUR OWN CREATIVE IMAGINATION TO FORM IMAGES IN YOUR MIND OF WHAT THE PAINTING REPRESENTS TO YOU!

The accuracy of the images you create in your mind is not important; neither are the emotions you experience.

The object of the exercise is NOT TO INDICATE EITHER TO YOURSELF OR TO SOMEONE ELSE THAT YOU ARE A SERIOUS AND A PERCEPTIVE STUDENT OF ART. It is a valuable exercise in developing your creative imagination.

The same exercise can be carried out with all forms of music; beautiful, harmonious, melodic music written for example, by composer like Chopin and Tchaikovsky, and the modern discordant music by Stravinsky, Bela-Bartok and Schoenberg.

Even though you may not find the music of Arnold Schoenberg appealing make a point of listening to it as an emotional experience. His music is regarded as a typical example of what is known as atonality. It is completely without melody or harmony.

As you listen to the music try and form images in your mind that relate in some way to the sounds you hear and the emotions you experience.

Listen also to the strange rhythms and discordant sounds of music composed by Stravinsky and Bela-Bartok. Here again attempt to create visual images. Perhaps you may form images in your mind of huge waves crashing on to the rocks or perhaps a noisy street filled with the sounds of motor horns blaring and tires screeching.

Close your eyes and try and form as vivid and as clear images as you can.

Contrast these images with those created when you close your eyes and listen to the gentle, melodious sounds of a cello recital of Sain-Saens “The Swan”. In this case it is easy to imagine a graceful swan floating effortlessly across a placid lake. It arouses emotions of peace, tranquility and calm.

Discordant music obviously arouses quite different emotions and the images created in your mind are quite different. But here again, this is not an exercise in musical appreciation, it is a very useful and effective way to develop your ability to use your creative imagination.

The more often you make use of this simple method to improve your ability to think creatively, the greater will be the improvement you’ll notice in your ability to think more creatively.

Dennis Fisher is managing director of financial and investment Companies. In addition to his involvement in many different fields of business, his interests include an in-depth study of various schools of practical psychology, with special emphasis on the development of creativity and creative power.
To find out more about powerful techniques that will enhance creative power go to his website:
http://www.creativemindpowers.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Fisher

Tip for writing creative music:  Write with an instrument you can’t play

A bunch of you now think I’m completely nuts, huh?

If you could see my music studio in my house, the first thing you’d notice is “this guy has a lot of instruments!”  The thing is, I don’t really know how to play everything I have.  I play the guitar, the bass, the drums, and the piano… but in my studio you’ll also find several different kinds of hand percussion, a bohdran, harmonicas, several different kinds of flutes/recorders, a mandolin, a ukulele, a mini glockenspiel (like, the plastic kind), train whistles,  rain makers, triangles, cowbells, woodblocks, and several other things that I’m probably forgetting.

One thing I should note… when I don’t know how to play an instrument, and I plan on buying it anyway, I buy the cheapest version that I can.  Those of you who really play the ukulele would laugh at the $20 version I have.  You Mandolin players out there probably wouldn’t even want to pick mine up because you’d fear the sound that would come out of the instrument. 

But I buy them anyway, because it’s a good way for me to experiment to see whether or not I like the instrument enough to invest in a better quality one.  Any time I make a purchase at a music store, whether local or online, I tend to look around for cheap instruments that I can tack onto my purchase.  I also often hit up the toy departments when I go shopping, just to see if there are any instruments or noise-makers that I can add to my collection.

But besides testing the waters looking for my next instrument obsession, having these things around can lead to musical creativity from time to time as well.

I’m going to give an example.

I wrote a song once called “Amazing And True”.  You can click HERE to listen to it if you want to.

I wrote the main riff by picking up my newly acquired Mandolin.  I had no idea how to play the Mandolin (still don’t), so, my only option was to start messing around looking for a good sound.  Since I’m a guitar player, I started looking around for guitar-like arpeggio riffs.  I ended up writing something that sounds like… well, it sounds like a guitar player messing around with a Mandolin… but my point is, because of the tuning on the Mandolin, it’s something that I probably would not have written on a guitar, and it gives the song a different feel, since the Mandolin strings have a completely different sound than guitar strings would playing a similar part.

So my tip to you today… go to toy stores, thrift stores, garage sales, and buy up all of the instruments and noise-makers you can find.  Then take them home, and instead of trying to learn the “right” way of playing them, just start trying to make music.

If you come up with something, send it to me!