Idea(s)

Here is something I have been thinking about concerning creativity and idea generation. As well as my creative process from a strictly mental and preliminary stage. I believe it also holds true for any procedural attempt at forming ideas; whether it be in music, science, visual art, mathematics, etc:

I do not come up with these ideas, I receive them. And they come from wherever; from the way someone walks next to me, from how coffee tastes on a given morning, or from how a person gazes at you from across the room. Sometimes it's overwhelming and you don't know what to do because it's all just too much for your mind to grasp. That is when you choose to either block it all out and throw it away, or take it and run. Create what is already trying to be created but through your own eyes. That is where your originality comes through; not in the initial stage of developing ideas and/or idioms. The thing is that everyone has it (this ability), but some just don't know what to do with it or how to channel it. And that is where innovators and artists come from. Nothing truly original can ever be created. One the greats, John Lennon, said something (and for the life of me, I can't find the actual quote) along the lines of 'It's not who you copy, it's how well you copy them.' This is perhaps an extremely blunt version of what I am trying to say. What I am referring to is in no sense "copying," but it is a good point. This concept can be completely subconscious, and you may never notice it but it's there. 

When I am working on a project, sometimes the origin of the idea is conjured from a direct influence; something like a song I just heard, or a movie I just watched (something thats intention is to bring forth some kind of emotional response). That process has a defined source-point or epicenter. But there are other instances where I just sit down in front of my computer, open up Digital Performer or Ableton Live and things just happen. Sometimes it feels like the track is writing itself and music just pours out onto the screen. How does that happen? The inspiration had to of come from some external source, but what that source is is intangible. How can one know what they're doing, but at the same time have no idea what is going on? This borders on Zen philosophies. 

I know everything about what I am doing, and nothing at the same time. 

Listen.

AUTOGFTK