How to Write Music When You Aren't Inspired

"I can't write any music right now, I'm just not inspired by anything". A familiar phrase?

Think about any time you have to wake up in the morning to go to school or work. If you don't feel like going, you have the pressure of owning up to a boss, getting a lower paycheck, and possibly getting fired, so you do it.

But what about music?

When it comes to doing work, music gets the short end of the stick.

How often do you actually sit down and write something when you don't feel like it? Not very often I suspect.

It all boils down to a matter of pressure. If you don't start writing, there are no immediate consequences. You don't have a boss looking over your shoulder, you won't lose anything.

But the truth is, you really are losing something.

You are losing out on your future (That is, if you want to do music for a living).

How about a different situation? You're sitting on the couch with your girlfriend, and you've planned an evening together with her (not a very good one if you are sitting on the couch, but an evening nonetheless).

This is not the time to say "Oh I should be working on music right now" and bolt out the door like a woman afraid of pickles on Maury.



But say you are sitting home on your computer, you say to yourself, "I should write something, but I don't feel any inspiration, so I'll just leave it for later".

STOP! This is the perfect opportunity to write something decent, all you lack is the means to inspire yourself, and that's what we are going to learn here.

Well why the bloody rhinoceros hell do you think I would know? Everyone is inspired by something different, you just may not know what it is yet, so lets get to it then.

To help give you an idea of what to look for, here's some things that I use to inspire me:

• Real Life

I don't know if you noticed, but some of the very best Lyrics and Music comes from peoples Real Life Experiences. Perhaps there has been something in your life that has affected you greatly, or you just have a very strong opinion on a particular subject.

Music IS about expressing what you think a believe through the song, so why forget this method of writing? Often if you have good story and lyrics lined up, the Music behind it will come quite easily.



• Other Music

It is an especially a good idea to use music that is beyond your reach. One particular song that that has inspired over half a dozen of my own songs would be "Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus" By The Mars Volta.

If there were ever a time that I wanted to write music, but had no inspiration I would definitely go to that song, or the entire "Frances the Mute Album" if I was having a particularly difficult time.

A question you should ask yourself is, what Band inspires you?



• Pictures

Do you find that beauty of nature breathtaking? Does A spectacular (possibly cliche) shot of a sunset help you appreciate Gods creation? Use it.

If you enjoy the world around you, find a photographer that takes pictures that are right up your alley, and return to their website when you are in need of a little "Inspirational Pick Me Up".




A Truly Inspiring Creation

• Poetry

Yeah perhaps it is a little emo (It won't be if you stay away from teenage angst poetry), but good poetry can really take the Inspirational Choke hold off some people. Once again, if you find something that you really like, find out about the author, and read some more of their stuff when necessary.


• Nature

Maybe you are the type of person who likes spending time outside. Do you have a forest or River/Ocean nearby?

Perhaps a walk out with mother nature will bring your inspirational senses to their right state of mind.

If you think Kristal is the right choice for you, check out it's better alternative REAPER


~Plain Old Paper~

Being the cheaper alternative to Guitar Pro, if you are the type of person who likes to write it down with your bare hands, this would be for you.

Although I should let you know that this is only for the "Chuck Norris" of music composers as you have no automated tools to help you hear rhythms and such.

He Must Have Read this Article

If you haven't done so already:

(That's A Clue!)

Do you have any tips on what inspires you?

You now have a chance to make your voice your opinion, whether you just have a line that just really gets you, or an entire song interpretation.

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