How do you come up with new music?

[AMPEEEM]

When your feeling jammed up or not able to come up with anything you like, what do you do to unclog the music hole?
I like using this, personally: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1auqWQ/www.drumbot.com/projects/key_chords/

[DigitalLemonClock]

thats a pretty cool thing, i usually just sit down at my piano start hitting keys with my head or something

[Insomnia]

When your feeling jammed up or not able to come up with anything you like, what do you do to unclog the music hole?

I write a lot, typically bit by bit over time, slowly polishing a song and experimenting with the chord structure, voicings, rhythms, slightly altering how the melody is played. Eventually, this leads towards having several versions of the same song, but you can pick out the bests parts and put them together. I do all this without the aid of chords progression books, not to say they don't have their place, but I feel they're nothing more than a trick.

The best thing I can suggest to you is to start improvising. I'd wager than at least 80% of all the notes I churn out are all improvised, a lot of it is recycled & altered material, muscle memory and the like, but between all that is where those fun little mistakes happen. I took 2 years of jazz improv at the local city college, and nothing could've ever been more helpful. It forces you to take that freedom of exploration, and confine it within a chord structure, almost like what you're using right now.

That being said, sometimes you will just be stuck in a rut. I've almost always been completely driven, as music is all I really want out of life, but there have been weeks where I went without touching an instrument. All the melodies and chords just seemed dull. Sometimes inspiration just isn't there, and all you can do is wait. Something will come along to kick you out of it eventually.

And then, there's cheating. Go buy a dimebag, smoke up, and start playing. Everything you play will be amazing, the ideas you have will break the boundaries and preconceptions you had about music or songwriting. And then you'll sober up. Try and remember those few shreds of good ideas and polish them up.

The second thing I really suggest you do, if you're not already, is play with other people. I played alone for at least a year and a half, but it was when I found my bassist that I stepped up my game. Playing with other people inspires you to work harder, their play style rubs off on you and vice versa, but most importantly, you have someone to bounce ideas off of. Someone to spin them, tweak them, or just flat out crush your soul by telling you it sucks. Sometimes the latter is for the better.

I would also suggest you learn another instrument, if you're able. If you're a guitarist, I'd really encourage learning piano, as it's incredibly helpful in constructing chords and finding those voices and inversions that really shine. It's hard transcribing from instrument to instrument at first, but the more you learn, the better you're playing will be.

The quick fix, though, is to go buy some effects pedal you've been drooling over forever. Nothing forces out inspiration like a Digitech WH-1 or a Zvex Fuzz Factory Ooo, ooo, or anything that EHX makes. Check out the POG2 or the HOG and just gasm all over the place!

TLDR;
Smoke weed 'urr day.

[AC Slater]

I tend to just play chords until I like a certain combination. Or an a new thing I've been doing which is kind of odd is going out and listening to sounds on the street or in parks.

[Poltergeist]

Man I don't even remember the last thing I wrote where I could tell you the chords.

[Insomnia]

Man I don't even remember the last thing I wrote where I could tell you the chords.

Is this because you don't know the name of the notes or chords you're playing, or because the chords are too unorthodox and hard to label? Or something else, perhaps?

If there's any interest, I could do a webcast sometime and give some examples of how I improvise, and reconstruct my material.

[BluezombieClock]

When i wrote music i'd never actually force myself. I'd just noodle around with simple chord progressions, and once i find a progression I like, then i start making the main melody around the notes on the same scale

[Topcatyo]

I dunno, to be honest.  Sometimes I'll just sit down and bang out a song in 3 hours or something.  Since I do my songs on the computer (since nobody wants to or is too busy to form a band), other times I'll just fuck around in Ableton until I get a really cool instrument or melody going. Sometimes I'll start something off and have it go well for about 30 seconds into the song, and then I won't know where the hell to go next.  Other times I'll sit down and have the song finished 3 hours later. It all depends on if I get lucky.  Also, the songs I end up finishing in 3 hours end up being miles better than any of my other stuff, so I'm always hoping that the next thing I start will be that.

Sometimes I'll get into a slump for months on end. I chalk it up to inexperience. Lately I've been overusing effects on instruments and whatever songs I try and make end up sounding like noise.  I'm trying to undo that and listen to how other bands layer their instruments so that they compliment each other instead of just adding noise to something.  Lately I've been really inspired by Sonic music (the Genesis ones) since those are actually some really goddamned good songs.

But yeah, I don't know how I really end up coming up with new music. I guess for me it's all just a matter of being lucky.

[Insomnia]

That luck you're talking about is epiphany. Not one person sits down and writes a full song. Instead, they take those 30 seconds of potential, and work off of it, get another 30 seconds, etc. The entire song becomes more polished over time as you start finalizing the pieces, the arrangement, etc. Never expect to bang out a finished song in a day.

[Topcatyo]

Had an epiphany this morning when I forced myself to have one.

Here is the result.

[Loki Clock]

I don't play into the hands of the corporations by "writing" music. I just get high and jam.