Tuesday, June 10, 2008

beat street

i've found that the majority of the music i write tends to originate in little riffs i hear when i'm walking. when a rhythm is forceful and persistent enough to feel hard-wired without my having to do anything to help it along, and when i'm lucky enough to have a relatively clear, unfocused mind, the beats just kind of send notes pinballing around in my head. this tells me i need to get a little tape recorder to preserve such spontaneous ideas (it also proves to me, if nothing else, that i'm a pretty steady walker).

somewhat jealously, i wonder whether melodies and harmonies come from a place that's somehow more ethereal.

under what kinds of circumstances do you hear those special musical nuggets that are distinctly yours?

3 comments:

WoodshedFitness@Gmail.com said...

definitely get a little tape player. it can come in very very handy.
or just make use of your cell phone's taped messages function.

pre cell phone, i would occasionally use pay phones to call my office voice mail and sing to it.

Beanie said...

You could also use the voicemail of Forbes, as he uses yours for that...

jesse said...

I never get my own nuggets, I'm forced to cobble together my life's soundtrack with pre-existing tunes.