Inspiration and Struggle of Travel in Music
It may get unclear on what this blog is about, is it advise for musicians? My personal journey in music? This is me and my journey, sharing what I learn with my instrument whether it be general or specific. So, yes, it is both! It's also for personal documentation, even if nobody reads these posts, (which I have no idea who does, if anybody.) I would like to record how far I've gone and it's good to look back at how much I progress over the years.
With that said, let's get into it! I'm beginning to realize the big struggles of travel for drummers, I think (for comedic effect o.0) that it's best explained in an infomercial-like theme: is your instrument bigger / more expensive than your own car? Do you drag around 1,500 backpack-sized bags of heavy musical equipment? Don't you hate it when you have to set up and tear down every 2 hours? Are you ready to play, meanwhile your bandmates haven't even considered tuning yet? Is asking for musical equipment for Christmas a joke because the only viable budget-friendly item are a couple of sticks? Is there no such thing as "off key" for you? If yes, congratulations, you're most likely a drummer! In the musical department, drums are among the least portable instruments out there. Other musicians have it easy, I'm looking at you vocalists, but drummers gotta bring at the very least 6 instrument pieces which collectively are heavier than you, that's excluding stands, pedals, tops, sticks and other equipment!
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I'll stop complaining and get to the point here, inspiration. I've noticed over the past couple of months that inspiration for musical themes, chords, measures, lyrics and names and beyond are almost always spontaneous. It's always good to keep a notepad or device with a note app close to you at all times. The worst part about inspiration, whether musical or not, is that it comes and goes, fast! So if you think of some really good lyrics while cleaning the kitchen, chilling in the living room, eating at the dinner table, at school or doing other chores, stop what you're doing and write it down somewhere, don't waste time! I once thought of something really good for song lyrics in the kitchen and was going to write it down but by the time I had the chance, I forgot it completely and I still don't know what it was. Have a notepad by your bed, with you in school, around the house, or simply on your phone and keep it with you. . . The absolute WORST place to get musical inspiration is in the shower which, by the way, is also where inspiration strikes most. You can't have physical notes, electronics are a no no, and your only hope is repeating it until you're ready for the insane asylum.
So far (since I starting writing down inspiration notes) I have nothing for the drums. I have themes, names and mostly lyrics which come easy. Things like song names and album cover ideas are all in my notes. I think the richest and purest source of musical inspiration comes from dreams, they're so creative and never thought of naturally. If you want to get into technicality, the part of your brain that conceives, calculates and determines what is logically correct is turned off while you're asleep, which is why your dreams make no sense. But because of this, I think your brain has more freedom to think of creative things that are usually locked off while your awake. Dreaming theories and testing them lead to the discovery of things like the chemical structure, the atom structure and the DNA structure. Things like the sewing machine, Paul McCartney's 'Yesterday', and even Einstein's theory of relativity came from a dream! Thing is, inspiration from dreams are really rare, and even harder to remember.
But I've learned to write down musical inspiration either on paper or electronically, and it really helps to record creativity. I'd heavily advise for other musicians to do the same!
~ Levi, the geek
