Composing can be an isolated and insular activity. So change it. Get outside for a walk. Get out of your usual surroundings, even if only to recharge your batteries. It will be good for your health as well as for your music.
Each week, I like to get outside into the countryside one way or another. If I'm planning my week, I'll try to find time between clients and deadlines to go for a walk. I decided some time ago to use photography as a career as well as being a composer. That gives me something to do when I'm outside. Nature is refreshing. Mind you, if I lived in a rural setting, I'd probably want more civilisation instead as the refresher.
Even so, sometimes I'll go out and not take a camera, deciding to just relax and enjoy the moment. I find that an hour walk is sufficient to introduce me to a new perspective on any existing project.
I don't see that as wasted time; it's useful since I will work quicker when back with my keyboards and guitars. Better still, I'll have a batch of images to process. Even without them, there are still some tasks you can do outside.
1) Take a camera - and take photos of natural items or architecture that inspire you as you walk. Use them as inspiration back in the studio.
2) Take a notepad - there's a lot you can do with pen and paper outside. Benches half-way around your walk are great for this.
i) write lyrics
ii) write your plan of action for the following week
iii) decide on your aims and objectives for the next year
iv) brainstorm your current projects
v) decide on how you will improve your own skills
vi) decide what you're going to compose next
3) Read a book or magazine
4) Listen
i) listen to the difference in sound
ii) listen for sounds you can use (think the Lark Ascending, or Summer In The City)
iii) listen for sounds you can try to describe in your music
iv) listen for the silence - you'll never find it - but I find I have to get used to listening at different volumes to normal.
Personally, sitting next to water is the best recharge for me. Doesn't matter if it's coast, river, lake or reservoir. Must be because I've been a city-dweller for all of my life
Part of a series by Award Sounds offering a selection of creative ideas to kick-start or rejuvenate a composition.