So recently, I’ve been thinking more and more about what inspires our music. And I want your answers! So you fool around in your DAW until a cool sound gives you a whole track? Or is it a bit more.. abstract?

I’ll go first, because my inspiration is definitely more on the abstract side. I think well in terms of the abstract… each song of mine is basically a reflection of one moment where I was in a vivid emotional state. Everything I was seeing and feeling goes into the music as best I can convey it. And I’m also trying to find the melody in everyday places and things around me.

SO. What about you guys??

for me, i'd say my process is similar to yours. of course for me although it's usually emotions, it could also be a dream or daydream, a sound or image in my mind, a metaphor, or just a general mood or vibe

sometimes yes i do experiment in my software, often i try to experiment with sound design or replicate the mood or timbre of some other song. i try not to do the latter too much anymore because i want to make something more original

usually for this approach i do something more jam-oriented where i come up with some sections and string them together in a musically satisfying sequence. for my "abstract" approach often i work beginning to end or start with a climax and work towards it

inspiration can strike anytime and i always try to capture it when i can

I assume child's pose, nude obviously, then recite;

"I offer my hands to the muse,

Yin,

Goddess of the screaming abyss,

Speak through me,

Create through me,

Act through me!"

As I finish the incantation, I simultaneously boof 70 micro grams of LSD and snort a line of crushed ibuprofen.

Honestly at this point I can't even call what I make my music... it's her music.

My first contact with music for which I felt great inspiration happened when I was really young, I think it was at an event for families with young children to meet new people. Even though my consciousness was in early development, I remember the style of the music someone was playing very vividly and I was completely overwhelmed by it.

Of course I wouldn't have the ability to describe the style of this music in that age but after doing reseach for many years I could describe it in great detail and it still appears to be exactly the style of music I like the most and what I'm trying to create as well, together with some variations and other preferences I've discovered over the time. Sure, I already knew what music is because my parents were listening to radio all day but before this occasion I was seeing music with different eyes and this event definitely had a big impact on my overall view on music today. Interestingly, I always thought that everyone liked this music the same way I did because it blew me away so much but because such music wasn't played everywhere and people seemed to like tracks I personally didn't like, it probably meant this kind of music just interatcs with my nature very well. Over the years I've discovered many songs on the radio and later on the internet which shaped my sense for own preferences and when I came across videos about creating own music with DAWs I knew I have to give it a try.

Often I'm just playing around with synthesizers until I like the sound before I start to create loops with it. Or sometimes I just take old projects I like the sound of and start creating different melodies with preexisting synths until it's developing into something bigger but I don't upload every little track because I don't think there is always someone who will befinit from doing that. Nowadays, if I feel the need to find new inspirational music, I'm just looking for playlists with favourited but also unknown tracks or I'm listening to music from the time when music began to play a bigger role in my life.

I look at my Spotify playlist as a moodboard, choose chords cycle I made and fix it. And then build over it

That’s really cool, finding inspiration from daydreams and metaphors is an interesting idea. I dont think you’ll ever have to worry about not being original, btw. I actually start with the first drop and then build a song around it usually, start to finish sounds tough.. neat!

Oh of course, surrendering yourself to the muse via psychedelics to open up your mind for possession of the Goddess! That’s a classic. I had a cousin who did that once, he always told me it’s more effective with a hint of human sacrifice. Cool little ritual!

Amazing that you were exposed to that music that clicked with you at such a young age! It’s taken me quite a while to find that style of music for me, but I think I’ve finally found it. When I get my music setup I’m making some indietronica baby

It’s awesome how big of a role music has had in your life, I hope you continue to let it inspire you!

”Simple, but effective” type approach. Good to have some other music to use as a reference!

But sometimes I do something similar to you, based on memories and stuff like that, everything with the correct mind can inspire

My brain

Now really, I usually just play around with my keyboard. I play more often when there's a competition or a collab I want to participate in (that's why I participated in so many collabs since I joined NGAPCC).

A brain? What a luxury… that’s fair as well, I get more than a few musical ideas from the keys. Yeah I have noticed you’ve been really active in collabs lately, I understand now!

Literally anything I'll think would be worthy to make a song about ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Well, that makes sense

the shower

Art is definitely something that I can get inspired by, as well as just going through Spotify and actively listening to songs that I like. Other times it’s a form of expressing emotions, playing around with chords or melodies, or even just humming something random.

Art translates really well to music, considering music IS art, but in audio form. Listening to songs you like is a great way to get inspired, especially on what style to have for a song. Humming is REAL too

My way is a bit similar when it comes to reflection but more physical and in the moment. For example my most recent song (I haven't published) has SFX that sound a lot like a train passing by in the end result. I didn't realize this at first but I noticed afterwards that it might have been because I've been walking next to a train yard the past month lol.

Thats really interesting, will you be releasing that song anytime soon? There is definitely a subconscious aspect to that reflection, many times the music we make is more aware of our thoughts and surroundings than we are.

@OVERSCORE You already know it! :) But for anyone else, I find my best ideas when improvising for a while and then reaching a kind of meditative state of mind while playing. Then magic happens! It helps to get ideas that emerge straight from the subconscious this way, creating mindful music that I can connect with on another level.

Otherwise if I go for a more conscious, mathematical or technical approach to generate ideas I tend to get less interesting stuff. Music that may still sound okay, but that doesn't connect the same way. I encourage anyone to try improvisation! It's such a nice way to start the composition process! Once a good idea comes, I work on it more consciously until I get a final result that is satisfying enough.

Well no unfortunately as it is part of a larger project.

Also subconscious is a way better word to describe what I was trying to say, thanks lol.

Environments and the workings within them.

If you're talking about chord progressions, I come up with whatever sounds good to fit the mood of the thing I'm conveying.

Melody comes from lyrical prosody, and if the melody ever comes first (and I don't know where that comes from), then I make sure the lyrical prosody fits.

Most of my stuff comes from lived experiences, from trauma and grief.

My mind just plays music inspired by songs I previously listened to and doesn't exist for about a quarter of the time I'm awake and I try to recreate it.

It comes from practically everywhere, when I'm eating, studying, when I'm just doing nothing... it's always good to write everything down so I don't forget later.

My biggest inspiration is undoubtedly my childhood, because most of the time I think about making songs that my 4-year-old self would like.

My song ideas come from a lot of places:

* My environment - Often I will find something in my environment, physical or not, that lends itself well to a song. Most often this is a certain natural image, but other times it can be an emotion or an event. I try to channel it as much as I can into the melody and harmony and instrument choice.

* Other songs - Also often I will write songs based on how I'm feeling after I listen to other music (sometimes my own), regardless of the environment I'm in.

* The time signature - Being strongly active in unusual time signatures, sometimes I even write something just based on a certain time signature I wish to write in.

There are others, but these are probably my big three.

My musical inspiration comes from a number of places, be it an emotional moment in time or someone's art. It's hard for me not to imagine a musical accompaniment when I look at art.

Emotional moments are great as I find the music writing process to be therapeutic. It helps me sort out those emotions.

In terms of composition or writing the music; I usually will noodle around on my guitar every so often until I stumble across across an idea that intrigues me. Usually it's just a couple notes in a particular order that sparks something.

Sometimes I'll play around with the settings on my pedal to emulate certain types of atmospheres or emotions, etc. Honestly, from there, it usually flows out once I get some traction. Once I get a pretty solid riff that I'm happy with, I'll plug into my DAW and record a scratch track to revisit later, or build off of.

When it comes to writing lyrics;

My absolute FAVORITE thing to do with music is tell a story or try to invoke/portray an emotion. The EP I'm working on, which started out as an instrumental, relied heavily on building a story through the music.

When I'm writing lyrics, I either close my eyes and listen to the song and try to write something that tells a story that fits the vibe of the song OR I'll already have a story in mind that I want to tell and will work on piecing it together. I like trying to find a balance of, "this is clear to ME what the story is" and it leaves enough vagueness for the listener to interpret their own version of a story.

I don't know if that answers the question the way you wanted, but I hope that resonates with some other creatives on here :D

Basically, there's 2 ways for me to get inspired

I have heard something cool and want to make something similar (the track is not necessarily someone else's)

or

I experiment with melodies or sounds until it will sound good, and then write a song

But, only 10-25% of my inspirations reach completion. but sometimes a miracle happens and I finally complete some of my old unfinished ideas, like my recent tracks.

I basically just jam on the piano and improvise whole songs while I'm recording. Then I layer on instruments, effects, and all that. I never run out of ideas, I've never experienced writer's block. All the songs on my profile were fully composed on the spot. I'm a terrible pianist, but I make it work, and thank God for my DAW because I miss a lot of notes. I don't have time to practice, no music education, and zero music theory (I hate jazz, it's gross). I just know the basics. So yeah, basically when you enter to my profile you are listening to things I did without thinking too much about the result. If it sounds good in my head, it sounds good in reality. Some tweaking here and there, designing some sounds on synthesizers, choosing the right drum sounds, maybe someone loves what I do maybe someone hates it but I enjoy the process and that's all that matters. I don't care if I have low scores here, I know I did my best effort. The trick to never having writer's block is recognizing the patterns that make songs appealing to the public, we love what is familiar to us and we dislike what breaks the pattern, that's just human nature. Don't try to reinvent the wheel, don't make it complicated, stick to the basics and add your personal touch.