Unleash Your Creative Superpowers!

[christineanderson]

Unleash Your Creative Superpowers!

It's not out yet, but I've got a book on the way! These are excerpts from You Better C# Or You'll Bb: The Maestro's Guide to Inspiration and Unleashing Your Creative Superpowers. A lot of you have asked for tips on how to get inspired... I hope this helps.

1. Inspiration/Idea
2. Surrender
3. The Creative Variable
4. Time

INSPIRATION/IDEA: You start with your initial idea - the inspiration - and you play it over and over with the intention of becoming lost in the music and letting it take you away. Even if it's just a few measures, play your idea repeatedly, like you are chanting a mantra. Be sure to relax, and don't worry about making mistakes. You don't have to force yourself to hit the "right notes," because Inspired Songwriting writes itself, through you, and the notes can change at any time, many times, very much like a seed changes on its way to becoming a fruit bearing vine. Your initial idea is the seed from which your song will grow. But just like a grape seed doesn't turn into a fruit ladened vine overnight (no matter how good a farmer you are or how good the seed is), crafting an inspired song is a process. Changes transform the seedling many times before it is mature enough to bear fruit.

SURRENDER: Once you have the initial idea, or "seed" that Inspiration has planted, you have to Surrender to your creativity. This is the hardest part to explain, but the most essential element of my process, where your subconscious mind overpowers your conscious mind, and the world of dreams and your imagination collide to send rhythm and pitches to your brain. For me, the less I think about what I'm doing, and the more I feel and trust (read: surrender), the better I play and write. I just try to relax and let the music take over me. For many artists, consciously manipulating their ideas through intellect and discipline is the hardest habit to break, but if you want to become a truly Inspired Songwriter, you have to stop fighting for control and allow your creativity to work its magic.

THE CREATIVE VARIABLE: When you allow your creativity to take over, you are opening yourself up to infinite possibilities: as you play your idea repeatedly, little things can and will start to happen. They can be very subtle (an unintentionally hit note can turn a simple left hand cadence into a more interesting, syncopated progression) or not-so subtle (you separate Major sixths into two separate notes, then turn a progression of quarter note diads into a fluttering series of broken eighth note pairs), but the bottom line is that something will happen to your original idea, if you play it enough times, and it will mutate. This is a result of what I like to call the Creative Variable. So remember: instead of stopping when you hit a "wrong" note, keep playing! Little accidents happen for a reason, and they can change a song for the better. You want to open yourself to all the possibilities.

TIME: Although I compose a ton of songs impromptu, the updated versions that I develop later always make better songs than the first-draft "stems." That's because a good song needs time to evolve. If you have a million dollar idea, let it evolve naturally. In my experience, the very best ideas can take a long time to ripen, so don't force things. Play your idea enough times to allow its natural evolution to take place. Over time, your ideas + the creative variable will make for a great song. Just be patient with yourself, and continue to stimulate your inner artist with walks through nature and creative visualization. Practicing the Orange Method twice a day (once before songwriting and once before bedtime) helps promote creativity in a huge way, and it also prepares the mind for lucid dreaming. Fun stuff!

[GregK]

Christine,
Thank YOU!! This is GREAT information! As I have writen in another post, I've had difficulty trying to get the inspiration "flowing"- I guess it's like inertia.. difficult to start and then once it starts it is difficult to stop! After tryin different things I kept geting ideas for a couple new instrumental pieces- but nothing for my lyrical works. I decided to go with the flow and work on the instrumental pieces because they are foremost on my mind. Also, I've played the bits and pieces of these works over and over -each time coming up with newer ideas of "oh..I could throw in THIS or do a funky- staccatto" alsways coming up with some newer exciting ideas! Many times over I realize that if I get the basic "idea" and then run with it- and go with my feelings and intuitions and kind of "stop really thinking about it" the end result is far better! An example of this would be my song "Leaving Samsara"- I had the basic background music- and stopped thinging, closed my eyes- picked up my guitar and the solo that made it on the recording is improvised- pure heart and emotion.. when you do this it is SO WILD..hope more folks read what you have written and give it a try- it's pretty cool! Thanks again and keep up the GREAT work!- Greg K.

[christineanderson]

RE: Unleash Your Creative Superpowers!

Thank you, Greg! I really hope it helps.

Christine Anderson
www.christineanderson.net

[rockthebox]

yes, I agree. I've been composing for years now...and the best thing NOT to do is force it. Let it flow and take your time

[Reconsiderate]

[Fire]

I cant force it. Ive tried. When it comes to me I have to takes notes on a voice recorder quick or I will forget. The thing about it is sometimes it will sound goofy to me later. I have to put my mind back into perspective of what was surrounding it in my head and it all comes back. 9 out of 10 times that gets my creative juices flowing again and you just have to keep up with them.

Some of my favorite stuff I have come up with came in my sleep or really near to sleep. It certainly has interrupted my nights on too many occasions but I make myself get up and lay some stuff down.

Bottom line is I cant force it. Very rarely anyways to be totally true, but for the most part no.

Whether its driving and hearing a rhythm of the street below me, sleeping, pissed, crying, taking a walk or in a meeting when you cant F'ing leave or whatever-its the little uncontrolled, natural surprise kickstart that gets me rolling. Then its only cramming everything down as notes or crappy recordings quickly so as not to lose anything. Go to work on them later? yep, kicks starts you again.

Familiar?