SeanKelly

Yeah symphonius, for a couple years there I think I could relate to what you're saying. Like theres not much to you, so theres not much to what you have to say. I can assure you however, that everyone is an individual and absolutely does have something to say and contribute, you just have to re-connect with that deep part of yourself ("Your inspiration IS within you" quote that HBS gave for example). Its only now that I'm beginning to get a hang of this. Before, I felt like I was just stumbling around taking whatever ended up naturally and randomly inspiring me in my day to day life, and usually those things were good for a decent song or two, but it was so few and far between. It didn't consistently have that powerful emotional connection to myself and others like you are talking about, though from a musical construction standpoint it was good. I've really made it a point to be intentional and decisive about getting inspired, no matter what it takes. I am not picky. I'll take it anywhere I can. And honestly, in the process I have been learning a lot about myself. Another major thing that helped make the whole process a lot more simple was thinking to myself, "when I was younger, even before I started getting serious about this music stuff, what inspired me? What brought me to life and made me light up?". A few more things just popped into my head: being outdoors; painting/drawing and looking at art, cooking, reading plays and going to theatre performances and symphonies, concerts etc... also, I think a major part of your inspiration is this willingness one must have to go to those places that scare us, make us sad, etc... whether its talking to that girl you keep wanting to, or doing that thing you've always been afraid to, or rekindling that relationship with that important person in your life, working through deep issues, etc... That type of stuff absolutely gives rise to emotional opportunites to write about. THAT kind of stuff, people can absolutely relate to. I think the key is that whenever you are doing these things, don't even think about your songs. Do them because you are trying to connect with yourself, and its that connecting with yourself that gives birth to your songs. And its about way more than the music here. Trying to reconnect with myself, and the city and the people around me has done wonders for my individuality and happiness beyond just a songwriting stand-point. And if you keep that up for a few weeks, before you know it you'll see something and be like "holy crap, I could write an awesome song about this". And you'll just start singing, and the ideas will begin to flow, and then your craft and technique will take over, and before you know it, everything will have paid off. (Side note, if you check out my latest song "Lonely Love" on the lyrics critique section of the forum, this is the first song I have written as a result of everything I am talking about. I had been downtown about 3 nights in a row, and doing other things to catch inspiration and I noticed one thing every night: multiple beautiful women, out walking- alone... and the hook just fell into my brain "Why do you have to be such a lonely love?". I'm really pleased with it. ::selfish plug:: haha) It sounds like you know whats going on man, and you're on your way- I'm stoked for that

What's up everyone, As of late, I have been really focusing on my craft of music and songwriting and learning all the technicalities and rules, etc... that are involved with it, and I have been improving; which has been awesome. In my studies to get better I came across a songwriting series on YouTube from Berklee University done by John Mayer and I highly recommend the whole thing. The first video of eight is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUwPB6bHpF8 One of the major things I latched onto in the things he said about writing and music and the creative process is that you have 2 seperate parts of your craft: The Information and the Inspiration. The jist of what I got from it was "Learn all you can about your craft, your writing and your instrument: the theory, the techniques... develop your skill... but the goal is to get all of that INFORMATION to meet up with and marry with your INSPIRATION, then you're songwriting!". Inspiration is the flip side of information, in the double-sided songwriting coin, and I for one have HIGHLY neglected that; although inspiration is the heart and most important part of a song. So, What inspires you? Walking downtown? Watching a movie that moves your heart? Meditation? Sports? Travelling? He said that if you really want ideas and inspiration you have to know yourself, and know what is important to other people: love, emotion, events, places, people, etc... The goal is to get as much information as you can, which is easy enough: read books on songwriting, watch videos on how to get better, go to a workshop etc... and then get as much inspiration as you can: he uses the example of him being a college student in Boston, and one day he just gets out and starts walking around town to discover the city: who are the people? what does he see? hear? experience? And in those magical moments, the inspiration he was getting from the city began CONNECTING to the information he was learning in class as a songwriting student; and thats how solid songs are written that really connect to yourself and others. "Generally, what connects with other people, is you connecting with yourself" -John Mayer I would also add "and connecting with whats around you". So I wanted to ask you guys: what do you do to "feed your inspiration monster"? I live in Charleston SC, so there are tons of things to see and do. I go to the beaches and people watch; I go downtown in the evenings and people watch. I listen to the conversations in the bars. I also am trying to start reading more fictional books that have themes across the things that I like to write about. Currently I am reading "South of Broad" by Pat Conroy, which is about the city of Charleston, so that is another thing that I am linking up with getting out into the city. I really want to connect with the people here specifically, with my music by writing about things that they know and care about. As far as musical inspiration, I have been listening to lots and lots of classical music. Even though I do not write in that style, classical music stretches my brain to hear melodies and harmonies and rhythms that are so complex and deep and intricate, that it has helped flesh out what I think my own songs are capable of musically. I also have begun simple meditation, taking care of my body and health, and making sure I get enough sleep at night (haha). Those are some things I have been doing lately to feed my inspiration and creativity and it has been paying off BIG TIME. So I was wondering... How do you guys feed your inspiration monster... and are those things playing into your writing?? How??