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Opinions and thoughts on creativity?

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bordercity
bordercity|1064

So I was wondering about being creative, and limits on creativity. Personally I feel like my weak point is coming up with the initial idea. Coming up with a chord progression or a main sound or something which really stands out. Lots of people talk about limits improving creativity. Having less plugins or setting a boundary apparently forces the producer to think outside the box. I understand this - however personally I feel like dropping limits pushes the boundaries even further. My example would be if an artist were known as a "Dubstep Producer" he would feel like he had to produce Dubstep and he wouldn't be able to release ideas which don't fit his image or his genre. I wanted to know what everyone else thought about this. What do you do to feel creative and inspired? Any routines? Any times of day or places you like to produce? Thanks :)

chillproductions
chillproductions|216
In reply to bordercity:

I find that if it isn't coming then it's bad to try and push it. Do something else for awhile. Play video games, go outside, whatever. Just separate yourself from it and approach it another time. When I try to force a track it just ends bad.

gchiaren
gchiaren|37552 ADMIN
GEAR:
  • Fender Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar
  • Big Ear Pedals Woodcutter
  • HeadRush FRFR Go Portable Desktop Amplifier
In reply to bordercity:

What do you do to feel creative and inspired? Any routines? Any times of day or places you like to produce? Thanks :)

In terms of time and day, I don't care. Inspiration hits me randomly. As far as places go, I am very affected by my environment, so I need to be somewhere with a cool vibe. The vibe doesn't have to be that specific, it just has to feel right for me. It could even be a cool coffee shop, a spacious living room, who knows. The best is a music studio that is completely personalized, with awesome lighting (I'm a sucker for good lighting) and acoustically treated... but that's a luxury 😄

To get inspiration, I just play piano or guitar. I'll just mess around for a good 30 minutes, see if I land on anything that resonates or that I get excited about. If not, like chillproductions said, no use in forcing it.

GEAR:
  • Fender Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar
  • Big Ear Pedals Woodcutter
  • HeadRush FRFR Go Portable Desktop Amplifier
bordercity
bordercity|1064

Thanks you two - some good thoughts so far :)

I recently got my old lava lamp out on my desk but that's as far as "good lighting" goes for me!

I find it hard sometimes to get the spark that sets me off. I end up forcing it which we all know doesn't work. I don't play any instruments so I usually end up messing in some plugins until something hits me really.

Thanks for the response :)

simfonik
simfonik|2532

When I feel like I keep heading down the same path w/ my modular patches, I'll try recreating songs or parts of songs that I like and see where it leads me. It's also just a fun way of starting things off when I'm not really inspired to create something that's already in my head.

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