I started this blog a while ago to try to get out ideas that I had for different things, but I found I’ve rarely used it. I’m going to change that today.
I think it’s important for people who want to be creative to just start putting things out there. I’m not an expert on textbook creativity by any means, but I have been creating for a long time.
I may not write here every day or even every week, but I’m going to semi-regularly share things that seem important to what I do. Hopefully someone out there can use it, but if not, it’s enough for me to put it out there.
With that in mind, I’m a composer and music teacher. I often struggle to come up with full fledged pieces of music. Sometimes I’ll have a great idea for a start, and I’ll write it out but then get stuck after that.
Having my own dedicated space at home where I can work has helped. I have my instruments close at hand and I can pretty quickly make whatever sounds I need to make to keep my creative energy going.
I think putting limitations on yourself can help sometimes too. For a while, I used a dictionary app to give me a random word, and then I gave myself one week to write a short piece representing that word. I could do anything I wanted in that piece, but after a week I had to be done. I think sometimes having constraints can help get creativity flowing. It gives you a starting point, or at least a list of things NOT to do. Sometimes that can be even more valuable.
I’ve seen this with my students too, especially the youngest ones. They don’t know where to start if you just say “be creative!” and having some guidelines really helps them.
Hopefully that idea can help you too.
Sam Adams Studio 