How do I get inspiration for making songs?

  • Thread starter Thread starter John Lennon
  • Start date Start date
J

John Lennon

New member
My music taste varies from classic rock to heavy metal, at the moment i'm into Electronica and Synthpop.
I love playing the synthesizer but I can't seem to get any inspiration for music.

On a daily basis when I try to make a song, I sit down behind the keyboard, kinda clueless, hit random notes, try to make it sound right, yet most of the time walk away in disappointment.

I learned scales, and improvisation hoping that would help me.
I also listened to various artists, and tried to figure out the structures of their songs as a foundation for myself.

Can anyone help me? I don't want to give up making music.. but i keep doubting myself.

Thanks Guys, Means a lot
-Dennis
 
But aren't you John Lennon??? :D


I find a good method for getting inspired is to go do something that I've never done before. Having a new experience or meeting new people gives good inspiration!

Also, if that is out of the question, then I love to read a good book or watch a deep movie and get inspiration from that! It only works if you get really into it though. I like it because those books and movies put stuff in my imagination that I would never experience in my normal-dude life :)
 
You'll find that most love songs are written about bacon. :p


But in all seriousness if you try 'too hard' to make a song it generally disappoints.

So
-relax (maybe take a few days break from playing)
-play for enjoyment

and you'll be writing songs in no time :)
 
Playing with other ppl is terribly underrated. This is something i stress to all my guitar students. Start a band with ppl, no matter whether its your style our not. You'll learn more in three months than you did in your previous six, i promise. And you'll be forced to try things you'd never have thought of on your own.
 
Thanks so much guys, your responses really mean a lot to me!


I'll watch some movies, maybe that will give me some intuition, or improve my creative thinking.

Gonna lay of the strict "force myself to play everyday" policy, and relax a bit. Play when I really get that sense of inspiration.

And I will play with my friends, never really tried cause when it comes to genres, were not even on the same planet. Dunno about meeting new people to play, that could be kind of intimidating.. but ill definitely work something out between my friends.



Thanks again guys, I really appreciate it!
 
Movies and television are NOT good ways to get musical instpiration - they require your attention visually and aurally (sight and sound). Books are better because they let your mind THINK while you read the words. Going for a walk and looking at nature, or the people who you pass by, lets your mind THINK of all sorts of things.

I'm afraid that today's youth, with their constant sensory input from iDevices is going to lose the ability to create real art/music/substance because they will have lost their ability to imagine things.
 
In my opinion, inspiration is not something that you can conjure up from movies or anything at all really... if it's there, it's there; it'll hit you if it hits you. Sure we could all force ourselves to write songs we have no passion for and produce infinitely bland, generic, nickelback-esque rock albums... but I think you just have to let it happen.

Sometimes, Ill be really creative for a week and write 3-4 awesome songs in that week... then I could lose it and not be able to write anything for 3 months... then.. ill get hit with inspiration again. If you stress about not being able to write anything good in those 3 months, or however long your dry spell is, then you'll become unhappy.

Just try to get used to the fact that you cant always be inspired on demand and you cant expect to just "insert inspirational movie here" and write something from that. accept that it comes and goes when it will, you cant control it... and you will produce truly inspired music everytime it comes around to you.

PS. not saying inspirational movies dont help... just dont expect to pop one in every time you're down on creativity and expect magic :P
 
Since you are John Lennon....you know that writing songs is not really about getting inspiration. It's more about having imagination.

You should be able to hit 1-2...3 chords and "hear" a melody or the beginnings of one in your head. There could be endless possibilities from the same chords, but you have to "hear" them, or at least one.
You could also be listening to something as basic as ambient traffic around you...and maybe a few notes of a melody pop into your head or some kind of rhythm. It's all about having an over-active imagination, and that's something most people can develop.....I think.
If you're not hearing anything...if you are not imagining....inspiration alone will not help you.

Ideas for songs come real easy to me....it's almost too much at times as I can't keep up with them, and I end up scribbling little notes, but then they pile up if I don't get back to them, and then they fade away.
They are not always complete songs, sometimes it's just bits-n-pieces, the seeds for imagination....and then after that it just takes work to actually end up with a finished song. Pencil and paper at the keyboard or with guitar in hand...and work it out.

Maybe you're expecting an entire songs to just pour out of you just 'cuz some beautiful babe smiled at you or some such nonsense....but that's rarely how it goes. There are occasions for entire songs to just pour out...but it's not the norm.

Take one chord and just play it a few times...play it a few different ways....and really LISTEN to it, the song idea is there. What are you hearing...what is the emotional feeling from that one chord....what is floating around in your head when you hear it....?
Just open up your imagination and let it come out.
 
Watch Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind

maybe that's a bad idea

do you have a cat? a cat might inspire you. You could always have it walk across the keys and use that for inspiration.

if you have learned scales and improvising then that's pretty much all you need I would think.

Every time I learn a new keyboard scale I always end up making a melody with it. Try picking 4 notes from a scale and force yourself to work with 4 notes -

or the cat thing - try the cat thing
 
I don't know why, but i always find myself really inspired when i play someone else's guitar. I think it's probably a psychological thing; i'm so used to how mine feels and have battered away on it for the past 12 years that it sometimes feels more like a crutch than a thing of passion. But even picking up a guitar a guitar in a shop to mess around on, within minutes i've usually gotten some kinda cool chord progression/riff worked out and a melody in my head to go with it and i run home and get to actually writing it on my guitar.

Otherwise, i'm fairly melancholic anyway so find myself inspired by issues surrounding either my own life or people close to me going through turmoil (cheery right!? :D)

I kinda agree with mjb about being more inspired by what i read than what i watch, but then again i think it depends on how much it draws you in and how much it engages your imagination. For example, after watching "the blind side" (cracking film!) it left me thinking about a whole bunch of stuff and was compelled to write (but, then again, i work with kids from similar backgrounds so related on a very personal level to the film). However, 4 series of "The Big Bang Theory" has probably distracted me from writing for x amount of hours!

the big thing with reading, whether it be fact or fiction, is that alot of the time it forces your imagination in to gear to bring the words to life and, with some things, those thoughts or feelings carry on after you've finished reading. Again, as another example, the singer in our band wrote a very dark song (which was quite unlike him, he openely admits to wanting to be brian wilson back in the beachboys heyday) and it wasn't until we recorded it and really heard the lyrics that we decided we really had to ask what on earth it was about. turns out he'd read an article written by josef fritzl's daughter about her captivity and escape and it had struck a chord with him so he laid pen to paper.

All of that aside, and maybe i've missed it, but the OP hasn't said whether it's an issue with writing lyrics, music, melodies, or the whole shebang! Again, as an example that many will be familiar with, i've got a shed load of incomplete songs where the music is ready but i've never found the right melodies and lyrics.

If it's an issue with writing the actual music then, as elbandito said, playing with other people can be an amazing way of helping to take basic ideas and gel them into something. Otherwise, learning covers of songs you like can help identify types of chord progressions and patterns, and even teach you new chords or new voicings for chords you already know.
 
I think inspiration is one thing you simply can't have a manual for it. What might inspire me may not inspire you at all. I enjoy creating stuff. It might be actually the one thing I enjoy most in life. I've told my wife, if for some reason I loose my metal faculties, please kill me. What I'm about to say serves as an example to any type of creation like music, writing or even game developing.

Inspiration triggers imagination. They are bound together. It is funny, my inspirations reach their climax in winter. For some reason, the cold, rain and clouds trigger my inner melancholy. A movie or a song might also grant me inspiration and that's only because I get emotionally attached to it. I had inspiration peeks simply by watching people outside going about their lives. What I mean is that you should search among those things that you feel connected with. Usually, artists are very sensitive and can feel connected with the simplest things that most may find uninteresting. They have this disposition to see things beyond their raw essence.

So, what do you enjoy in life? Search for something that may fuels what are you after. For example, If you enjoy classic music, use it to express yourself. Creating a story, a mood or a situation in your mind and transform it into music. Do you have wishes or objectives set? Transform those into melodies.
 
John Lennon said:
On a daily basis when I try to make a song, I sit down behind the keyboard, kinda clueless, hit random notes, try to make it sound right, yet most of the time walk away in disappointment.

I learned scales, and improvisation hoping that would help me.
I also listened to various artists, and tried to figure out the structures of their songs as a foundation for myself.

Can anyone help me? I don't want to give up making music.. but i keep doubting myself.
Click to expand...
All the things you've mentioned will sooner or later fuse together and you'll create songs. It'll be largely unconscious. But the statement about doubting yourself, that is key. That's what you need to get past.

ConnorRegan said:
In my opinion, inspiration is not something that you can conjure up from movies or anything at all really... if it's there, it's there; it'll hit you if it hits you.


Just try to get used to the fact that you cant always be inspired on demand and you cant expect to just "insert inspirational movie here" and write something from that.

not saying inspirational movies dont help... just dont expect to pop one in every time you're down on creativity and expect magic
Click to expand...
I agree with this largely. But paradoxically, I also think "inspiration" is a cross between a myth and a much misunderstood notion. While some rely on and believe in the "bolt out of the blue" as inspiration, as far as I'm concerned, songwriting is a craft {or becomes a craft} that one can access with experience. I mean, that's what songwriters/composers have always done. Many of the classical composers composed their works on commission from nobles and royalty. Many of the hits of the 50s and 60s were not performed by the writers ~ rather, they were custom written by men and women whose job was to write songs. And so on......So it doesn't need "inspiration" as such. Actually, writing songs isn't difficult. Writing enjoyable, original ones may be !

How do I get inspiration for making songs?
Click to expand...
Live. Read. Listen {with both ears}. Observe. Think. Consider. Conclude. Take musical risks.
Then just do it and hang the consequences.
Unless it's rubbish.
 
First off - it sounds like the original poster is confusing playing an instrument vs. composing music. I beleive that playing an instrument every day - even for a while simply allows more opportunity for the muse to find it's way. At worst, it will continue to improve chops - and with improved chops comes a better understanding of melody, harmony & rhythm - and at best, it results in the desired inspiration for "making songs".

So I would suggest not "forcing" yourself to play every day is not in the best interest of your personal improvement. Candidly, if indeed you do have to "force" yourself - perhaps you need to rethink if being a musician is truly what you want.

I completely agree that playing with other people if by far the best way to progress as a musician - and keyboard players are always in demand.

While I do agree that outside stimuli (books, movies, meeting people, etc.) can provide inspiration ......... they is nothing better than continuing to play, experiment with harmonies and rhythms - while in turn will help you hear melodies - and soon, ideas will be flowing.

I do have to agree (to a point) with the poster who suggested that if you have to ask .......... perhaps you are not really ready.
 
Drum grooves. Period. Drum Grooves.

I almost can't listen to drum loops without starting to hear a jam to go on top of it. When I'm lacking for an idea, I just cycle through some drum loops until something hits me.
 
I think no matter how much we all know that sitting down and saying "I'm going to write" almost never results in writing anything worthwhile we still do it.

With that said, I think after 7 years of music-ing I have recognized that my biggest inspire-er (yeah. i make up words.) is sonic spontaneity.
Nothing like noodling around with a new tuning, new guitar, new guitar picks, drum sticks, cymbals, VSTi, or something that makes a sound that inspires a melody/rhythm that inspires a song.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top