The Blank Slate

I listen to alot of music. To output you have to input.

I also play alot of music. Sit down on the piano, and play a bunch of songs and pieces I like til my fingers just happen to play something thats interesting and then I begin to write.

 

It can be daunting to write without a goal in mind. If writing for a specific style, mood, etc., then reference tracks can help a lot, but you still need your own vocabulary of devices and chord progressions, as well as instrumentation (for different genres if that's the case) to make it into reality. I never just write for nothing, but if I would, I would probably naturally gravitate to piano + orchestral or whatever I'm listening to a lot in that particular time frame.

 

Great points! I'm on board with Dillon -- if I feel dry and uninspired, it means I'm not exploring enough -- nature, music, art, etc. But especially music. I don't understand people who write music but rarely listen to it (they tend to stagnate over time).

Jure: That's an interesting point. What kind of goals do you use? I often use story ideas, or simply atmospheres and emotional "concepts" within the context of a story for inspiration (i.e. travelers on the beginning of a journey they don't realize will be very difficult and trying [so some degree of motion, adventure and hope but with elements of uncertainty and dread underpinning the piece]; morning sun rising above a snowy horizon, turning a land of desolate snow into one of beauty and grandeur [so something kind of cold and stark that "warms" up with further colours and tones); etc [these are off the top of my head]), and without these I often feel dry, but it seems a little limited sometimes.

 

Most of my writing is for libraries (production and trailer music), so they are looking for specific styles of tracks. What I absolutely love about it that I learn so much about the different genres and my vocabulary for all these genres grows with each day. I don't compose just for "nothing", so that makes it easier. Always A/Bing, seeing what I'm missing in terms of production, instrumentation, etc. If you compare any genre with orchestral music, it's so similar. They all have their devices, their instrumentation. And what I'm learning from Mike (and others here) is about the music itself, and how to incorporate it into these genres, so the tracks are actually meaningful, and always include some melodic and harmonic development, in one sense or another.