I made mistakes in my album release process. This is a post in a series of blogs to help you avoid those mistakes. This one is about maintaining your inspiration and health while getting ready to drop your new tunes.
People often ask me either “What inspires you to write music/songs?” or “How do the songs come to you?” I think these are awesome questions that open me up to inspiration.
The answer to that second question is: sometimes they come to me instantly and spontaneously. “Dance This“ is an example of a song that came all at once and required no edits afterwards.
Other times, I have to go after the song. I can feel it on the edge of my imagination, but getting it to sound and feel right takes time and effort. Besides taking a while to write the music for it, the lyrics to “Mountain Rose” took about a decade to formulate.
Your Inspiration
I won’t assume that your songs come to you the same as they do to me. I can tell you that even if you make your album in 77 hours like Esmeralda Spalding, you will need to seek out some inspiration along the way.
So, think about it now before you get immersed in process of creating your album: how will you stay inspired? Will you need to have times where you go off by yourself to stay steady and motivated? Or do you need to connect with a certain group of friends in order to keep things going?
Is your main source of inspiration nature? Better make plans to be out in it. Is your inspiration a friendship? Make sure it’s a friend you can call on the spur of the moment or get your meet-ups on the calendar early.
Your Well-being
Especially if you chose to budget more of your time in order to cut down the costs of the album, you also need to pay attention to your health. Hopefully, you already know what sorts of things keep you healthy. If so, keep those on your radar during the entire album process.
Either way, make extra sure that you are eating right with good food, plenty of vegetables, and balance. Hydrate well every day. (Seriously, coffee and booze don’t count.)
If you don’t have a workout routine, now’s the time to get one. You want to keep your body invigorated and healthy. Without it, your mind and creative juices will suffer as well.
OK. Now that you’re of sound mind, body, and creativity, it’s time to arrange and record your songs. Get ready.