# Starting something new



## BVMusic (Jun 5, 2022)

Have you ever felt that you may be sitting in a comfort zone and where you need to make new music different from what you previously made? Have you lost inspiration?

What would you do to your studio, or what do you do to start making different music?

Brian


----------



## el-bo (Jun 5, 2022)

BVMusic said:


> Have you ever felt that you may be sitting in a comfort zone and where you need to make new music different from what you previously made? Have you lost inspiration?
> 
> What would you do to your studio, or what do you do to start making different music?
> 
> Brian


One idea is to use a DAW that forces a different workflow to what you're used to. A good example would be that if you're normally a 'traditional' linear DAW kinda guy, then trying Bitwig or Live might be all that's needed to shake things up. If that's not hardcore enough for ya, try Renoise or Usine HollyHock 4.

Keeping with the self-contained theme, you could look to experimenting with software modular and generative music. Or perhaps grab yourself an iPad. This can really open up a whole new world (🎶A whole neeew wooooorld...🎶). Perhaps avoid the trap of grabbing something familiar like Cubasis, and check out Drambo, MiRack, Samplr and Borderlands etc.

I guess it depends how different you want to get. But even if you're not going to go deep into modular grooveboxes or trackers, maybe just flirting with them (even just listening to the music artists create with them) might be enough to spark a whole lot of inspiration


----------



## TomislavEP (Jun 5, 2022)

I must admit that I prefer sticking with my comfort zones whenever possible. My main scopes are music for solo piano, and hybrid arrangements involving pianos, synths, and guitars. I often use orchestral elements in my work, but I'm yet to start venturing into this domain "on its own" more extensively. I sometimes have a "clean slate" problem when opening a template full of orchestral instruments. Having a bit of a hard time separating all these elements that I'm otherwise used to playing "all at once" on a piano, synth, or a fingerstyle guitar. However, more and more I tend to notice similarities and common elements that only have to be slightly adjusted accordingly.

Also, when thinking about all these libraries that I've invested in over the years, I tend to feel a bit guilty for not exploring all these possible styles and options much more thoroughly. Thinking about all these simply as "sound colors" also helps.


----------



## tressie5 (Jun 5, 2022)

The kind of music I create these days, ambient, is probably not by choice. For the past 30 years or so, I'd been a rock/reggae/ska guitarist and pop music songwriter. My current living condition is that I don't play my guitars anymore and have to wear noise-canceling headphones all day because my neighbors are noisy. Since I don't socialize with anyone anymore, playing in a band is out of the question. That leaves me doing my solo thing. My choices were dance music (I'm not interested anymore since I don't go to clubs), jazz (I'm not good enough) and classical (I'm DEFINITELY not good enough). Sorry, I don't have advice about how to change work ethics as it was forced on me!


----------



## Nimrod7 (Jun 5, 2022)

BVMusic said:


> What would you do to your studio, or what do you do to start making different music?
> 
> Brian


Yes I do,

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by choices. They take away inspiration.
What I am intending to try:

- Get out of the studio, go somewhere else, with a laptop, a 25 keys keyboard and a single generic library. Write music.

- Pick a synth, that will be the foundation of the track. Start creating a library of sounds based on a theme you have in mind. After that write a soundtrack using those sounds.

- Totally change the style. If I am writing orchestral, switch to hybrid. If you're writing Hybrid, go full synths (aka Bladerunner). Write a soundtrack for a game / show you have in mind.

- Go out in nature, with a portable recorder, and sample the wind, the sea, create sounds by hitting objects together. Come back process them, use them as an inspiration to write a new track.

- Collaborate with someone that you never met, local preferably. Put a post in a local fb group or something. Get together, write something.

- Dont do anything. Shut down the studio. Force yourself to take a break even if you want to return. I am indenting to do it for at least a month. However if inspiration hits, whistle or hum in the mobile voice recording app to keep it once you return. So something random that you never did before in the meantime.


----------



## jononotbono (Jun 5, 2022)

I just do something totally different (as in, not writing music). So in recent times, I've been learning how to make a Touch Screen controller for music production. I've also been learning about Indie Video Game development and slowly learning how to make a game. Then when I do write music, I'm thinking differently than I was before. Something about stepping away from the music gives me more ideas to write music. Its easy to get "tunnel vision" when you never have a break and sometimes (most times) I come back to what I was working on and with fresh ears think "What the fuck was I thinking?" 😂


----------



## samphony (Jun 5, 2022)

- travel
- don’t use your well established workflow
- use one or multiple different DAWs than you currently use
- collaborate
- use tools that allow randomization
- learn something new
- shift focus away from music
- read
- exercise
- travel

And with travel this can be anything from walking through the park to visiting another country/ culture = learn something new/ about yourself


----------



## Arbee (Jun 5, 2022)

BVMusic said:


> Have you ever felt that you may be sitting in a comfort zone and where you need to make new music different from what you previously made? Have you lost inspiration?
> 
> What would you do to your studio, or what do you do to start making different music?
> 
> Brian


What comes out is the result of what goes in, so I start by totally immersing myself in music that I'd love to write which is different to what I'm doing. Or I change my workflow and my daily routine to shake up the creative process and try to approach composing from a different perspective. We naturally gravitate to what we grew up with and/or were taught along the way, so it's not easy.


----------



## BVMusic (Jun 5, 2022)

el-bo said:


> One idea is to use a DAW that forces a different workflow to what you're used to. A good example would be that if you're normally a 'traditional' linear DAW kinda guy, then trying Bitwig or Live might be all that's needed to shake things up. If that's not hardcore enough for ya, try Renoise or Usine HollyHock 4.
> 
> Keeping with the self-contained theme, you could look to experimenting with software modular and generative music. Or perhaps grab yourself an iPad. This can really open up a whole new world (🎶A whole neeew wooooorld...🎶). Perhaps avoid the trap of grabbing something familiar like Cubasis, and check out Drambo, MiRack, Samplr and Borderlands etc.
> 
> I guess it depends how different you want to get. But even if you're not going to go deep into modular grooveboxes or trackers, maybe just flirting with them (even just listening to the music artists create with them) might be enough to spark a whole lot of inspiration





TomislavEP said:


> I must admit that I prefer sticking with my comfort zones whenever possible. My main scopes are music for solo piano, and hybrid arrangements involving pianos, synths, and guitars. I often use orchestral elements in my work, but I'm yet to start venturing into this domain "on its own" more extensively. I sometimes have a "clean slate" problem when opening a template full of orchestral instruments. Having a bit of a hard time separating all these elements that I'm otherwise used to playing "all at once" on a piano, synth, or a fingerstyle guitar. However, more and more I tend to notice similarities and common elements that only have to be slightly adjusted accordingly.
> 
> Also, when thinking about all these libraries that I've invested in over the years, I tend to feel a bit guilty for not exploring all these possible styles and options much more thoroughly. Thinking about all these simply as "sound colors" also helps.


@TomislavEP - and do you feel that you have to change libraries one day, to spark new inspiration?


----------



## BVMusic (Jun 5, 2022)

tressie5 said:


> The kind of music I create these days, ambient, is probably not by choice. For the past 30 years or so, I'd been a rock/reggae/ska guitarist and pop music songwriter. My current living condition is that I don't play my guitars anymore and have to wear noise-canceling headphones all day because my neighbors are noisy. Since I don't socialize with anyone anymore, playing in a band is out of the question. That leaves me doing my solo thing. My choices were dance music (I'm not interested anymore since I don't go to clubs), jazz (I'm not good enough) and classical (I'm DEFINITELY not good enough). Sorry, I don't have advice about how to change work ethics as it was forced on me!





jononotbono said:


> I just do something totally different (as in, not writing music). So in recent times, I've been learning how to make a Touch Screen controller for music production. I've also been learning about Indie Video Game development and slowly learning how to make a game. Then when I do write music, I'm thinking differently than I was before. Something about stepping away from the music gives me more ideas to write music. Its easy to get "tunnel vision" when you never have a break and sometimes (most times) I come back to what I was working on and with fresh ears think "What the fuck was I thinking?" 😂


@jononotbono I like that - doing something else, even by just focusing on one good synth for sound design, which may then spark inspiration. And yes variety in life is key like many others pointed out here.


Arbee said:


> What comes out is the result of what goes in, so I start by totally immersing myself in music that I'd love to write which is different to what I'm doing. Or I change my workflow and my daily routine to shake up the creative process and try to approach composing from a different perspective. We naturally gravitate to what we grew up with and/or were taught along the way, so it's not easy.


@Arbee I like your quote "What comes out is the result of what goes in"


----------



## BVMusic (Jun 5, 2022)

tressie5 said:


> The kind of music I create these days, ambient, is probably not by choice. For the past 30 years or so, I'd been a rock/reggae/ska guitarist and pop music songwriter. My current living condition is that I don't play my guitars anymore and have to wear noise-canceling headphones all day because my neighbors are noisy. Since I don't socialize with anyone anymore, playing in a band is out of the question. That leaves me doing my solo thing. My choices were dance music (I'm not interested anymore since I don't go to clubs), jazz (I'm not good enough) and classical (I'm DEFINITELY not good enough). Sorry, I don't have advice about how to change work ethics as it was forced on me!


perhaps the style, like ambient, offers a lot of possibility and diversity by finding a good synth for example which can create unheard sounds with it. But imagination is key, as one could sample noises and reshape them into unheard sounds.


----------



## BVMusic (Jun 5, 2022)

Thanks all for your input. This is really a place where sharing is key and helpful from real people.
- brian


----------



## Saxer (Jun 6, 2022)

In lockdown days during the last two years there were a few support offers for artists by the german state. Not a lot of money but enough to motivate people to start small projects. These projects had to be documented and presented with a final result. Some bands recorded studio demos or videos, others wrote songs.
I used this opportunity to do something different. I sampled a vocalist I'm working together with since ages in different bands. She sang for hours a lot of uhs, ahs etc, but also words and lyrics and noises. From there I composed six tracks using only this prerecorded and sampled vocals but with a lot of Melodyne and other efx. It was a massive amount of work but it was really something different.
Another project was a short video series I made together with a friend/bass player/composer. Kind of strange and funny things and experimental too. A lot of green screen things and everything low budget.

Both projects were very refreshing for the brain. And as they had to be documented and presented there was the need to finish them. Often ideas are there and that's it. It's important to have a result at the end.

Both projects are in German but I link them here anyway 


Die_Innere_Stimme


----------



## TomislavEP (Jun 6, 2022)

BVMusic said:


> @TomislavEP - and do you feel that you have to change libraries one day, to spark new inspiration?


This is an excellent question. For a long time, my main motive behind most new library purchases was the hope of possible inspiration. However, I now try to seek motivation in developing new skills, learning new concepts, and other creative endeavors first, especially since I'm not in a position to invest in new software as much as I was able to in not so distant past. Also, having too many choices to decide between was always a creative hindrance to me rather than a benefit. This also applies to the world of quality yet free sounds, which is at its peak today. It is so easy to get lost in all this, but drawing a line is often easier said than done.


----------



## PedroPH (Jun 7, 2022)

Just try to make a piece of music in a genre you never work with. I made a kind of tropical, "Caribbean" sounding piece once. It was great fun.


----------



## BVMusic (Jun 7, 2022)

TomislavEP said:


> This is an excellent question. For a long time, my main motive behind most new library purchases was the hope of possible inspiration. However, I now try to seek motivation in developing new skills, learning new concepts, and other creative endeavors first, especially since I'm not in a position to invest in new software as much as I was able to in not so distant past. Also, having too many choices to decide between was always a creative hindrance to me rather than a benefit. This also applies to the world of quality yet free sounds, which is at its peak today. It is so easy to get lost in all this, but drawing a line is often easier said than done.


yes, I think in the end, it is a combination of many things that can create something new in our studio. And immersing oneself not only with inspirations online but also in the real world. For example, this came into my mind today - What would one prefer - to visit and enter a medieval museum in person for example, when possible, or explore it with a mouse and a screen in his/her room? Nothing wrong with the latter idea, unless there is a balance between offline and online, and who knows with a recorder in hand while we are outside, we can prepare our own library of sounds. Just a thought 

And yes I know what you mean, especially nowadays with too many toys (plugins) listed in one's DAW. Which can be helpful as long as you identify the ones that you know are going to give you what you want.

When I started, I squeezed my JD990 and my other two hardware synths for my debut album in the 1998 Album Beyond. I was limited and it helps this way. In fact, the result was good, because it was nicely welcomed by some music reviewers. But this is perhaps another topic.


----------



## BVMusic (Jun 7, 2022)

PedroPH said:


> Just try to make a piece of music in a genre you never work with. I made a kind of tropical, "Caribbean" sounding piece once. It was great fun.


I know the fun in this, I once composed different genres during my time with TAXI.com and it was fun and refreshing.


----------

