Creative works often need a lot of effort. You need to come up with ideas to create something new every time, remix old pieces to make something different, and even get out of your comfort zone to explore new options.
Likewise, music is no different from that; Here, you may face creator’s block sometimes, disabling you from making a new song no matter how hard you try. This is something totally normal, and every musician faces this block once in their lifetimes. So how can you find inspiration for your music if you can’t generate new ideas?
This article contains fifteen tips that will help you find inspiration for your music. So if you’re looking for new ideas, follow through with our article and see which one works for you.
Play Around with Instruments
Play instruments with any undeveloped music idea you have in mind, or just play randomly. Strum on strings, press on the piano, beat the drums, or play any other instrument you know of. On the plus side, if you have a keyboard with the sounds of all these instruments, that should also work.
Different sounds can inspire you to create things differently. And if you feel lost with what to do, music sites such as EzMusicBox can guide you through. You’ll find themes to explore, lessons to learn, and even suggestions on various instruments.
Trying various instruments can expose your mind to different levels, making you try and explore untried things and add some spice.
Gather Inspiration from Other Artists
A great place to start an experiment with new music is by taking inspiration from other artists. They can be your favorite artists or those you usually don’t prefer listening to. Study the genre their songs are based on, and feel the emotions they’ve used in them.
Being a critical listener helps a lot to find inspiration from other artists. Start by using tunes from other songs as references. You can mix them up and create something you like or make something better from what you think those tunes lack. However, always make sure that your inspired tunes from other music shouldn’t fully reflect on your newly created music; otherwise, it will destroy your creativity and land you on copyright claims, especially if you upload it to digital sites.
Decide on a Theme
Themes make for an excellent start for every artistic creation. If you want to find a direction for the music you want to create, decide on its theme first. Is it happy, sad, vengeful, dark, romantic, or groovy? Do you want it to be soft music or something more metallic?
Before you decide on the theme, you need to remember that it’s not all about you. Instead, your music should speak to your audience with your voice, the notes, and the instruments. People should be able to connect to it on a deeper level, and the tune should be touching.
Study Music Theory
No matter how boring it may sound, music theory will help you understand the fundamentals of music, the advantages of learning how to play a musical instrument, how to mix instruments to create something delightful, and how to extract ideas.
Learning music theory will allow you to change the keys and experiment with scales, ultimately forcing you to create a potential masterpiece. You may even strike a chord you’ve never learned before, which may be the inspiration behind your next song.
Revisit Music Basics
Practicing basic music lessons can give you ideas for incredible music. You can randomly play with the notes and find something interesting enough to play an entire tune, leaving the lyrics for later. The tune may even make you figure out a suitable theme and lyrics.
Revisit the seven fundamental elements of music: sound, melody, rhythm, harmony, dynamics, form, and texture. Mix the elements randomly or by following the basic lessons, you may have the perfect inspiration you’ve been looking for!
Push With Time
Some people do better when they feel an urgency. And if you’re one of them, this can work well for you. All you need to do is set a minimal time and push yourself to write something or create a tune like your life depends on it.
What you’ll end up creating may not be good. However, it’s a starting point for you, and you can take time to review it later to understand how you can improve it. Professional musicians work against time, don’t wait for inspiration and fight through any resistance.
Take a Break
Sometimes, forcing too much may demotivate you to the point that you stop getting ideas and face a creator’s block. Take a break when this happens, and focus on another creative energy.
Watch movies that you love or something out of your comfort zone, or read books of any genre. You can take a walk, meditate, or review whatever you’ve produced. You’ll break the block and find your brain brimming with ideas.
Or you can even sleep on it and try it the next day with a fresh mind.
Read Something
Reading anything will help you open up your mind to new possibilities. No matter the topic or genre, books act like a portal between the real world and a world of imagination.
You’ll find new characters, plots, and scenarios in fictional books. Or you can just study non-fiction, something that’s a biography, books on practical life lessons, or even music books. Everything you read will give you an idea of what you want to create.
Listen to New and Old Musicians
Listening to songs across a timeline will help you explore different possibilities. Create a playlist of artists you want to listen to from various times and mix up the old and the new. This will help you understand how music has changed throughout time and how you can combine the two eras to create something unique.
You can utilize any time of the day to hear the playlist. Music often helps to stay productive, so you can try playing it when you’re working on something. You can also play it during the shower or when you’re cooking a hearty meal. Extract every bit of the retro and new songs, and you’ll find your inspiration.
Go on a Tour
Going on a tour can freshen up your mind and eliminate all the clutter. You can get closer to nature, watch people walking by or carrying on with their daily activities, and may even come across something you’ve never experienced before.
Touring a location you’ve never been to can give you creative ideas for something fresh. Add some emotions you’ve previously felt or still feel with the components you gather for your next creation. This will help you create something beautiful and may even be your turning point!
Go to a Quiet Place
You can also go on a tour in a quiet place and get in touch with nature deeply. Choose quiet locations where there will be nothing but you and the sounds of nature. Listen carefully to the birds, hear the leaves rustling, feel the wind, and pay attention to the waterfalls, if there are any.
If you can, record the sounds of all these things. Carry a recording microphone that is sensitive enough to record sounds from a distance. You can use those sounds, tune them to scale, and use them as unique components in your music. If you have digital samplers, synthesizers or loop machines, you can easily combine all these natural sounds to create effects and loops that incorporate embellishments in your music.
Besides, quiet places eliminate all the distractions from our surroundings, helping us focus on what we want to work on. So try traveling somewhere serene.
Journal with a Goal
Journal every day with a goal in mind. It can be your daily goal or a goal you want to achieve within a period.
Let’s say you want to create groovy music in two weeks because you’re in the mood for it. Start writing your thoughts and progress daily, note down where you have been lacking, and remember why you’re doing this. Reflect on your previous day’s progress, and you can move forward with motivation.
Record the Tune in Mind
If you already have something in your mind, go ahead and record it. Do it with just one instrument or a few, and mix it up later to see which way sounds more appealing. Or, you can just voice the tune to experiment with instruments and mix later.
Record the tune with instruments and listen to it critically. Make whatever edits you need, listen to it once again, compare it with the previous version, and repeat the process. You can even add new components to it. This way, with every correction, you’ll achieve your goal.
Jam With a Friend
Jamming with a friend who shares the same passion for music as you do will be very helpful. You can both play the same or different instruments in tune. Randomly strike chords and beats; you may find what you’ve been looking for.
When in confusion, take your friend’s help. They’re often the most significant sources of inspiration.
Think of a Familiar Emotion
Emotions have created great music historically. If nothing strikes a chord for you, try to delve into your feelings. Maybe you’ve been suppressing something for a long time. Now is the time to bring that up to enable new music ideas.
Whether the feeling is joyous or painful, sweet or bitter, these can bring out something deep in you. And if you’re in love, mourning, facing heartbreak, or moving on, you can use these emotions to give words and meaning to your new creation.
Final Thoughts
The key to getting new ideas for music, even when you’re facing a block, is to continue working persistently. You don’t necessarily need to work on a new song actively. Even detours can cleanse your mind and give you new ideas about your surroundings.
Playing around with music from different eras and genres can help you too. We hope you found these fifteen ideas helpful and will try them out. Make the magic of music work!
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