Five Ways I use memories as a creative tool:Revisiting old mix CDs I made as a teenager: I love to listen back to these mixes and find what inspired me then. What is it that I learned from liking these songs, what are the common threads that I can trace in music I like now? Keeping every idea: I like to track or journal every creative idea I have even if I think it sucks at the time. I may hate it now but it might find its purpose later. As much as you can grow out of styles, you can also grow into them. Using all the senses: When working on sounds, sometimes I will channel specific memories by evoking the other senses that were present at that time. What were the colors I saw? What did it smell like? What did things feel like when I physically touched them? What sounds do I hear when I smell, see and feel this? Mixing both old and new tools: I like returning to more “primitive” tools I used when I started making music, like recording using my Tascam 4 track. Relearning how to use these machines reminds me of what it felt like using them the first time. Using my hands to physically shift knobs versus a click on a computer helps unlock different creative energies inside me. Remembering: Nostalgia is never cheesy if it comes from a genuine place.
Five Ways I use memories as a creative tool:
Revisiting old mix CDs I made as a teenager: I love to listen back to these mixes and find what inspired me then. What is it that I learned from liking these songs, what are the common threads that I can trace in music I like now?
Keeping every idea: I like to track or journal every creative idea I have even if I think it sucks at the time. I may hate it now but it might find its purpose later. As much as you can grow out of styles, you can also grow into them.
Using all the senses: When working on sounds, sometimes I will channel specific memories by evoking the other senses that were present at that time. What were the colors I saw? What did it smell like? What did things feel like when I physically touched them? What sounds do I hear when I smell, see and feel this?
Mixing both old and new tools: I like returning to more “primitive” tools I used when I started making music, like recording using my Tascam 4 track. Relearning how to use these machines reminds me of what it felt like using them the first time. Using my hands to physically shift knobs versus a click on a computer helps unlock different creative energies inside me.
Remembering: Nostalgia is never cheesy if it comes from a genuine place.