The Thinker?
Everyone has a way they approach songwriting, pre-production, album artwork, etc. The creative process is how we go from idea or spark of genius to a first draft or even finished product. Everyone approaches it differently, even if we some have similarities, our individual personalities and experiences make the creative process unique to each of us. Guidelines or ideas are very helpful to some of us who have trouble getting started. I give a few pointers in my free e-book “6 Steps to Creating Your Next Album”. Here are what other artists have to say about approaching the creative process.
Chris Brown
I usually use a “Groove-based” approach. I start with a basic rhythm/drum track, fit a tight bassline over the top of it, then build the rest of the instrumentation and arrangement over and around that 
Janet Lynne MocarskyI sit at the piano and doodle around until a melody comes to me. Then I build around that. But I’m mostly classical..
Butch Berry
i hear a melody, find the chords on my guitar to match it, and let the structure flow and clean it up after the initial idea comes to me.
Dan HurdMost often I’ll do the composing in my head for a few hours. Then I’ll work on the rhythm bed. Then a … vocal arrangement that I can develop the rest of the instrumentation off of. When everything is done I go back and do the vocals all nicelike. Finish off with effects, mixing and mastering. Then copyright it, register it with ASCAP…
Andy ArdI just recently started doing the Immersion Music Method, and started a lodge in Denver. In short, you lock yourself up for 12 hours and write-record-write-record-repeat with goal of 20 songs. The goal is quantity over quality, but you demolish creative block and get some great song starts that you might otherwise never see. Sometimes it’s a phrase that pops up, and it needs to be sung a certain way. Other times it’s a melody that needs words to match. Either way, it’s a good bit of learning how to play by ear what you’re picking up from some otherworldly radio station.
Andi Starrgreat question! i do my best to get out of my head and go for a walk, sit under a tree, let the ocean and nature inspire me… then write fervishly with my piano and guitar close by, letting anything and everything come out… new melodies, new words… and with wikapedia close by to play around with antonyms and synonyms… ahhhh, good times, i just LOVE the creative process** it’s just endless…
David Jonssoni just live life and when a feeling overwhelms me I allow myself to be a conduit for the creative energy and start strumming some chords and spill out a few lyrics to express the essence
Andre DonawaIt all depends. Right now I’m working on my 2nd Island Funk project and trying to keep the music in a particular style. This feature’s a lot of bass and drum grooves and most of my ideas come from just picking up the bass and jamming for a bit to see what happens. At this stage everything’s game and I just try to let the creative juices go. I usually come up with some interesting bits and then try to get them to work together. This is quite different from most of my guitar/song based music. For this I usually hear a melody while in the shower or cleaning dishes in the kitchen,and make a mad dash to the computer to record the gist of it before it’s gone. I’m guessing that doing these tasks allows my subconscious to take the drivers seat creative wise. I’ll come back to it later and work on it with just guitar and vocals till it’s finished. Of the two I find the first one the most challenging, as I tend to have more instruments involved and sometimes get stuck in deciding what direction I should take when it comes to production. Truth is I find the creative side really easy, it’s the production and mixing of my own material I find challenging. My Kingdom for a set of fresh ears.
Bob StoneSometimes I get a phrase stuck in my head that carries an emotional response so, I elaborate on it. I’ve had this chromatic melody stuck in my head for years and I can’t get it out of my head but, it’s elusive enough to stop me from transcribing it. It’s going on my Halloween episode.
Christian DeArmondFor me it usually begins with a good lyric. If I get a cool hook-line in my head, or run across a a cool idea -write it down! Or sing it into your cell phone- anything, but hang on to it. Then I just let it stew around until something else fits. When I have 2 or three lines that actually stick in my head, then it’s time to get to work finishing the thing. This can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 10 years.
Daniel James MartinusenMost of the time when it comes to writing a song, at least for me, it’s not about taking any particular steps, but being taken captive by inspiration. It seems alot of times that that inspiration comes at in-opportune times, but there is a relentless drive to find a place to go to capture what is in my heart before it gets away.
Jonah KnightAs a former playwright, I start with story and atmosphere, then try to find a sound that doesn’t right away remind me of the last thing I did, usually capoing on a strange fret. The music serves the mood.
Brian TheoretInspiration tends to come along at inopportune times. It can be any time of the day and because of that I always have a pen and paper handy. I often find myself jotting down ideas on Post-it Notes or anything I have around me at the time. Ideas can come from anywhere, whether it’s the reversing “beep” of a semi, or a bird flying by my head, listening to NPR, or even just the wind hitting me in the face as I walk down the street. I tend to write lyrics first trying to keep to some sort of poetic form, other times I write in free form pouring everything out of my head as fast as I can to get all of the ideas in there out onto paper. In terms of the music and melody itself, I find the best way to create them is by playing around with what I know on the guitar, making up new phrases in my mind, applying them to the fretboard, using my knowledge of music theory to come up with chord progressions that emphasize a sweet spot in my voice. I like playing around with time signatures as well and try to make them as unique as I possibly can. Utilizing unusual time signatures has always been a means for me to try and stand out and sound just a little different. It tends to create a tension and release sort of feel in my creations. There has never been one standard way in which I approach the creative process. It’s something that everyone does differently and I’m always intrigued to hear how others find their inspiration.
Bobby MartinIt usually starts with a lyric idea or a musical idea, either way I sit down with one of my acoustics and start playing around until it starts coming together. I’ll sit with my acoustic and a pad of paper and work on it. Sometimes it happens quickly and is finished in an hour or two, sometimes it will take a couple of days or weeks. I just keep going back to them and work on them, if progress is being made I stick with it until it’s done or I’m getting nowhere, and then I’ll go back to it some other time.
Heath CloseThanks to everyone who got involved. If you haven’t already, click here and let’s hook up on facebook.
