Inspiration, part 1

 

Sometimes I'm asked in interviews or by colleagues about inspiration.  Questions like what inspires me to compose, what inspires me for an album project, what inspires me for recording sessions, how do I get inspired, what or who inspires me, and so on.  Those kinds of questions always make me uncomfortable.  Not the actual questions, but how to answer honestly without sounding anything other than honest and sincere. 

The answer to all those questions is the same: I don't really believe in inspiration.  I just do the work when it's time.  In other words, I don't wait until I'm inspired for a recording session; I just book the recording dates.  I don't wait until inspiration strikes to compose something; I just decide I'm going to write something that day, then sit down and do it.

There are times when I'm practicing wherein I'll accidentally stumble across something and a composition comes from it.  For example, I might find a new chord voicing or inversion that really jumps out at me, and seems to contain a composition within itself.  It's my job to capture that composition on paper or on tape; to either write it down or record it.  I don't consider that inspiration; it's just part of the process.

I have had entire compositions just pop into my head; a complete piece, start to finish.  I try to write it all down before it escapes or evaporates.  That for me is not uncommon at all.  Yet I still do not consider that to be inspiration; it's just part of the process.  I may not be able to explain it, but I am certain that it's not inspiration.

To be able to just decide to compose something and sit down and do it is, in my case, a matter of flipping a switch.  The source of the music is always there for me.  I just have to turn it on and then start writing or recording.  Much like a lamp.  The lamp and the light bulb are always there.  When you want light, you turn on the lamp.  No doubt this could better explained, but that's the best I have for now. 

This week, I ran across this quote from Chick Corea that really sums it up more succinctly than any of my attempts. 

 "The advice I give to young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration.  Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of just show up and get to work.  If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work.  All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.   Things occur to you.  If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens.  But if  you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction.  Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive.  You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that's almost never the case."

Well-said, and I completely concur with Mr. Corea.   I believe the concept of inspiration is indeed deceptive.

I'd write more, but I need to get back to work.

-kk