11 replies to this topic

[Marky]

Howdy

I'm frustrated. Being allowed to play music at work is great, but I find frequently inspiration strikes while at my desk and an idea pops into my head. Problem is, the ideas don’t stick. By the time I get home they are forgotten.

I sadly lack the perfect pitch skills or musical experience to note down melodies/basslines.

Can’t really record into a dictaphone in an open plan office. Nor run to the bog every time an idea pops into my head (or else people would seriously question my intestinal health).

The best I can do is write an email to myself about what the track was I was listening to at the time, and then use that as a prompt when I get home. But it’s never quite the same.

How do you remember those flashes of inspiration?

[dylab]

luckily I have ableton installed on my work machine
if you have iphone why not use one of the simple seqeuncer type apps to bang out the idea in real rough shape
or try www.audiotool.com or another online sequencer to jot ideas real quick
or invent your own scale you understand - up down etc and get down ideas on paper

[Luka]

what!! you have ableton on your work machine ?!?!??!?
how does that happen

internet is a bad enough distraction for me - messenger services and half of the web is blocked and i still manage to shirk about 1-2 hours of the day

[Luka]

i usually get inspired by certain chord progressions or by textures in music

when i get inspired by a certain song or sound or something i load lots of that stuff onto my ipod and just immerse myself in it
after a while you cant get it out of your head - it is almost like you are hypnotising yourself to remember it
then when you get home just dive in

[dylab]

Luka, on 08 January 2011 - 11:54 AM, said:

what!! you have ableton on your work machine ?!?!??!?
how does that happen

I have a license so I installed it - also use it for audio production for some of the things we do at work when soundtrack pro doesn't quite cut it

[bmuso]

If it's a melodic line, I try to make up random lyrics to it just so I will remember until I can write it down later.

"Banana's hold their umbrellas upside-down" was one. Just as an example.

[Cheyne]

You could also use something like Evernote. Evernote does the normal note taking with text etc, which will syncronize with every machine you have it installed on, but the evernote iPhone app also has a "voice" note feature. You could simply walk outside and hum a few bars , then save it to your "Track Ideas" notebook.

I do this for everything ... code snips, design ideas, shopping lists etc ... I have a notebook in evernote for just about everything.

[Linda]

Yes, e-mail is good. I find paper is handy too - jot it down while it's fresh in the mind.

[patrick1992]

I know what your talking about when you say you come up with a great song and can't remember it later
the secret is to keep repeating it over and over in your head so when you get home you will have it stuck
in your head and If your in the office why don't you keep a note pad or something to write the tune of
the song in, it might help you remember

[blu3arrow]

Something that you might find helps is including as much as you're able to about the notation in that e-mail to yourself.
Just little things like the speed of it or the key signature (dependant on your knowledge of theory of course). Sometimes it helps to associate it with what you think it sounds like too. For example a fast moving piece that is going down in pitch might be connected to waterfall. Probable not going to be the best thing to compare it to since it sounds like you play guitar/bass but that's just an example.

[kuj4z]

Well you could get keyboard app if you have some sort of phone, and when you have an idea just play the melodies a you have in your head on the keyboard. I'm not sure what kind of app I would suggest, but I guess try finding one that saves what you play.

[Belle]

these are all great ideas! i agree with jotting it down...anything and everything that will help you remember!

But also do you listen to music at home and get ideas then as well? Because maybe you shouldn't dwell too much on the ideas you get at work... maybe one day they will pop back up but i'm sure you have many more to come!

One important thing i've learnt through arts is that you need many ideas to have a great idea. not all of them stick and lots pass by! i mean how often do you start on a song and never finish it? well, maybe it's just me but i do that a lot theres always more where that came from