Regularly creating music can be hard. It’s like with any content creation, you hit a wall, and you’re unsure where to seek inspiration. Fear not, there are many ways you can be inspired ahead of your next release – just keep reading!
If you’re lacking inspiration, it might be time to find some other places to search for ideas. Not all come to your mind instantly. It can take some time to understand what your next track is supposed to be about. After all, writing with no feeling will show. Your music won’t feel genuine and from the heart if you haven’t put everything into it. Here are some ways we’d recommend to search for inspiration:
1. Life experiences
This could be your own, or someone’s close to you. Although, if you plan to write about someone else’s story, please seek their permission first. It might not take much for those who know both you and the other party to piece together who the story belongs to. You don’t want to out someone for something they’re not willing to share.
With that being said, many write songs for their friends and loved ones. This could be their way of expressing how they see that person throughout their struggles. It can help the person see another side of their problems. They see strength in themselves through others seeing strength within them.
If you plan to release music you’ve written about someone else, ensure they’re ok with these details being shared. Equally, you can write about your own personal experiences in life. The good and the bad. If something huge has happened, and it’s made you feel a certain type of way, get those emotions written down before you forget how you felt when it was raw.
For those who write lyrics, personal experiences are some of the best. They help your listeners relate to you. There’s nothing better than hearing a song and thinking “that’s how I felt in a certain situation”. Allow your listeners to connect with you. The lyrics should come easier too because you don’t have to make up any element of your story.
2. Nature
If you’re stuck for ideas, on any project, taking a hike can help. You need to forget you’re trying to be inspired if you can and just be with nature. Allow yourself to set your mind free because often when we’re stuck for ideas it’s because we have too much running around our mind, and we can’t focus.
Remove the distractions and encourage yourself to be completely empty within your mind. This might help things appear naturally. You might need to do this several times before you start to feel inspired. When you’re out, consider what you can see, how you feel and what you can hear. You might find your next track comes to you sooner than you thought.
3. Other music artists
Listening to other musicians is a great way to gain inspiration. Of course, you can’t copy their lyrics or sound like-for-like, but you can certainly use it to inspire the way you create future tracks. You might hear a new way of sound you haven’t heard before, or perhaps a variety of sounds together you wouldn’t have thought of using.
Taking parts from your favourite artists and turning them into your own could help relieve any block you currently have. Consider different ways of expressing yourself that you previously wouldn’t have. Take inspiration from the way other artists are their true authentic self and use this to better your own music.
4. Fictional books and movies
Fictional stories are a great way of finding inspiration. Whether your song has lyrics or is just sound. The way you interpret fiction will be different to those around you, and therefore even if all musicians took the same film or book, you would never have two tracks the same. Films and books make you feel a certain way.
Each person will have different feelings towards the story. It’s up to you as an artist to tell your version. You might find new ways of thinking or feeling about a topic you previously had no knowledge on. With it being fictional, there will be an element of drama and action. You won’t run the risk of stealing someone else’s story either because it’s all made up.
5. Sounds
Everyone interprets sounds differently. We all pay attention to different sounds too. You might hear a specific sound as you’re walking down the street and want to recreate it. The same sound you’re fascinated by, someone else might overlook. They’ll have their own view on which sounds pique their interest.
If you’re a music artist who creates tracks with no lyrics, try playing around on a synthesiser or any other equipment you have. Hear the sounds and allow them to direct you as to where to go next. All the best sounds often happen by accident, so as long as you can recreate it, you could find yourself knowing where to go next.
6. Places
Immerse yourself in new places, new worlds and with new people. You’ll often find you become comfortable in your surroundings and nothing ever grows from your comfort zone. You need to allow yourself to step out of your norm and experience new things. It could be going to a new place that you then write about.
You’ll experience different cultures, languages and people the more you travel. You don’t always have to go far, but the more you get out of the place you know, the more you’ll expand your mind. It’s likely you’ll feel inspired and have a new outlook which could be what you’re missing.
7. Those around you
Sometimes you need people around you to bounce off. They might provide you feedback from previous pieces of work, and you can ask them to listen to what you’re currently working on. Take their opinions on board, after all while they’re your biggest fans, they’re also your harshest critics. Listen to what they have to say.
They could give you a new angle or a new way of viewing something you wouldn’t have previously thought of. It could give you the spark you need to get back on track. If you find yourself lacking in areas, ask for help. There’s no shame in seeking guidance. You might find they have more ideas than you could have ever imagined.
