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inspiration?

Started by February 12, 2006 04:47 AM
7 comments, last by evesira 18 years, 10 months ago
hi ya'll. im a newer member to game-dev. im a composer/producer/sound designer/musician. i was just wondering what you guys do for inspiration for your composition. for example, ill tell you what i do. i take a walk (pretty simple huh. ill just start randomly whistling. pretty soon ill whistle something i like. when that heppens i turn around and go back and write it out. that or ill start analyzing a piece of music i have (if it is raining hard outside).
Well, I usually just... have it. Sometimes the project itself lends a particular theme or style that I just have to play with and it works out. Other times, I'll just see or hear something that clicks with me. Most of the time, I screw something up in a great way and use the new, accidental creation as inspiration!

...Seriously, I screw up a lot.



Oh, and welcome!
gsgraham.comSo, no, zebras are not causing hurricanes.
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I have to force it out, either through some sort of method that I've heard used elsewhere, or through repeated improvisation until I hear something good. Music almost never just 'comes' to me.
I tend to do nothing. I just sit down and doodle. If you think too much about music it starts to become not as natural. too much thought takes away from powerful moving music.

Check this piece out I was working on it last night. I sat down and started working on it, I wasnt in the mood to write so I started thinking about stuff. I got the background layed down the simple 3 cord chage. then got sick of it, I wanted to end it with maybe the idea of using it for a demo piece, so the last 3/4 of the song I told my self whatever it is I play (by pulling it out of my butt) I'd keep it and go with it. I hit record and using the strings layed down the cord change and just went with it. 5 mins later I have what you hear now.

turns out I might make a whole song based on that since I think its nice.

keep in mind this clip has zero editing, just what came out.

http://www.jeffnortham.com/mp3/feb11.mp3

as you can tell from what I've said. I dislike thinking about music, I'd rather let it come out on its own while Im sitting down on the keyboard.

On another note, things that make me want to write music is movies like LOTR and things like braveheart. not so much for ideas of music but to get me to want to make music for movies. it helps getting me into the mood to want to sit down and play.




When im feeling very creative, its a bit like channeling, for both programming and music. It's allmost like being in the zone, and you hit all the right notes or whip up what you imagined quickly without many mistakes or effort. The emotions flow allmost directly into what you play, with little or no need for corrections or alterations.

Thats when its most fun, it doesnt allways go that way for me. I nearly never write out the music i play though.

I found this got better as i learned new techniques for expression, its frustrating when you cant express an concept or emotion ( musically or in your game/creation ) because you cant find the right sound or progression or the right look and feel.

Other times, i will get bits and peices i like or have played before and know to "work" and put them together. Its not as fun, but its generally more structured.

I generally play badly :P but enjoy it.
Inspiration is something that is uncontrollable! Thats why its sometimes important to be very organized so that when inspiration comes, one is able to harness it in the necessary way so that it isn't forgotten and doesn't go to waste. Everyone develops a different method for dealing with this...I might be at work, when all of a sudden, I hear IT...or I could be opening the door to my car...or I could be walking through a forest...I bring along a notepad (since a recording device is sometimes not a choice) and try to write down the rhythm on a napkin or any other piece of paper that will be able to hold the percussive qualities of the theme. If its a good enough theme, I will remember the melodic qualities automatically when I take out my napkin for the purposes of transcription. This does one of 2 things, eliminates any themes that perhaps weren't strong enough to be re-remembered in the first place, helps me to create a better floodgate from the wee moments of inspiration to the beginning stages of the compositional process. The quicker your processes become, the less you have to worry about forgetting where that wee bit of inspiration came from and why it left so soon.
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Inspiration is something that is uncontrollable! Thats why its sometimes important to be very organized so that when inspiration comes, one is able to harness it in the necessary way so that it isn't forgotten and doesn't go to waste. Everyone develops a different method for dealing with this...I might be at work, when all of a sudden, I hear IT...or I could be opening the door to my car...or I could be walking through a forest...I bring along a notepad (since a recording device is sometimes not a choice) and try to write down the rhythm on a napkin or any other piece of paper that will be able to hold the percussive qualities of the theme. If its a good enough theme, I will remember the melodic qualities automatically when I take out my napkin for the purposes of transcription. This does one of 2 things, eliminates any themes that perhaps weren't strong enough to be re-remembered in the first place, helps me to create a better floodgate from the wee moments of inspiration to the beginning stages of the compositional process. The quicker your processes become, the less you have to worry about forgetting where that wee bit of inspiration came from and why it left so soon.
I can't seem to get away from inspiration. I write and write and write with as much time as I'm allowed. I'm usually on several projects at once, one needing dialogue, others SFX, and obviously some require music. So if I ever feel I'm losing the grip of a piece/project...I have plenty of other things to work on so I just go and do one of those.

Just keep moving, keep working. It's all about momentum. Practice an instrument everyday!

General inspiration, both motivational and for content? Classical music! You don't have to like it or even understand it, but listen to it for a while and you get clear sense of themes, pace, and even dialogue! The medium is so archetypal, it helps to clear the mind of clutter and focus on what you should be saying, versus what you could be saying. The structure lends itself to almost any genre you may have to write in.

I've been lucky to have an almost infinite level of inspiration, not all of it for music. But it's kind of a curse too. I may have dozens of high quality songs and projects done, but I have hundreds of ones that I haven't finished yet. I get to them, but in a round robin kind of way. I do end up surprising myself finding old pieces that I never finished that I feel I really can now.

I could use better organizational skills, but inspiration comes naturally.

(show off!)

It's true!

Tony
___________________________
http://www.anthem-audio.com
Knowing and playing the game you're writing for helps get into the mood, style, and setting. It can often be inspiration itself.

But I believe one can never force it. No matter when it happens, write down a tune when you hear it. Later you can come back to use and refine. I do it all the time.

Very diverse and profound subject though.
-Vincent Rubinetti
VincentRubinetti.com

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