Blog #16–3/15/21

Today I liked to talk about something other than a daily update of the work I’ve been doing recently. Although I will be uploading updates later this week, I though this would be an interesting and thought provoking blog centered around a subject matter I’ve been fighting against. That thing to which I refer is creative block.

I think I am confident enough to say that every musician on this planet has gone through this phase at some point in their life. It’s never a fun thing to endure and it only leads us into frustration and hopelessness. Sadly, I’ve been experiencing this for awhile now. In the beginning of the year, I started off strong and eager to record music for my friend’s games. After completing the music for his horror game, I began working on another project of his. At that point I still felt motivated to keep on recording music. Later on, I began losing that drive.

A lot of it had to due with the fact that it felt like I hit an imaginary wall. It became difficult for me to formulate new ideas and create new parts for the music of my friend’s game. I tried forcing myself to compose something new each day, but simultaneously, I began to feel drained. The parts that I created did not feel genuine and rather sounded like filler. It was at this point that I had to step away from my friend’s game for a bit and try to figure out a way to overcome this creative block.

I talked to my friend of the dilemma I was facing and funny enough, he was also in a similar position. He too lost the drive and energy to work on his game. We decided to share our work with each other. I sent him the music I made so far and he sent me a file of his work.

Hearing him praise my work really helped left my spirits up and helped motivate me a little. When I played his game however, everything changed. This isn’t to say that I didn’t play his horror game before it was completed but it was essentially closed to being finished and I had recorded practically all the music when he let me play it. This time it was different.

Seeing what the game looked like revigorated my motivation and creative mind. Since January, I only knew what the music for my friend’s game was suppose to sound like based on his explanation through text. Although, his descriptions were detailed enough to the point where I knew what kind of music I should be making, seeing the game with my own eyes helped the direction I should be heading with regards to the musical composition.

To any musicians who may be struggling to come up with new material, while there are many routes or different approaches to getting over creative block, what personally helped me was seeing my friend’s game visually. This journey made me realize how our eyes play a significant role in the way our minds perceive everything which ultimately helps us create music and art. If anyone is having trouble coming up with material for a musical score, painting, or story, try looking at something visually like a photograph or going outside and witnessing the scenery and environment around you. It may help spark some new ideas.