Inspiration vs. Habit

Are you looking for that one thing you can do to be a better composer?

You may think the key to that is having more inspiration. We need inspiration, don’t we? To know what to write about, to get emotion across in our music?

Well, yes, and, no.

Inspiration helps, and when it strikes, writing music becomes a lot easier because you know exactly what shape the music will take. However, the problem with inspiration is that it’s not always there. It’s not something you can switch on and off, it just happens when it happens.

There is something else you can do, though, that will expand your abilities to be creative, write more, and make you a consistently better composer.

That would be to form a habit.

Rather than waiting to write until inspiration strikes, focus on the habit of writing every single day.

It doesn't have to be a grandiose work of art - it doesn’t even have to sound good.

It doesn’t have to be for five hours - it can even be 20 minutes.

But here are some of the things forming a habit like this will do:

1. There’s less pressure: when you write every day, there’s less pressure for the piece you write to be perfect. It allows you to sketch out ideas, have a better feel for what your sound is, and help you feel more confident when you do need to write for a specific project.

2. You’ll harness inspiration: when we create habits, our brains start to know when to turn on and when to turn off. With time and consistency, you’ll actually be able to turn on inspiration in the time you set yourself to write music.

3. You get better, faster: as you stay consistent, you’ll start to see where you can improve, and set yourself new goals and challenges that you’ll actually be able to achieve because of the time you’re giving yourself to write.

So, think about it. What’s one tiny habit you can set yourself this week? Maybe it’s to write for just 20 minutes a day. Maybe it's to sketch out 8 bars of music, no judgment on how it sounds. Or maybe it’s to record one voice memo a day. 

Whatever you decide, the most important part is to stick to it. 

This is something I attempted to do, at a much higher level than necessarily needed, for my challenge of following old famous composers’ routines and weird habits. If you missed out on watching that video last time, here it is now:

If you’ve made it to the end of today’s newsletter, I have one more request from you. 

I’m trying to help this newsletter grow so that more composers, writers, and fans of music can enjoy it. 

If it’s something you like reading and find helpful, feel free to share it with others you know would too!

Until next time,

Nadia