Composing : Creating music isn't just "thinking" music. by Walder Martinez

Musical composition is a creative and technical process that involves different skills and tools depending on the case.

Academic composers use musical scores and pencils; more modern composers may use Sibelius or other software on an iPad or computer. Still others simply open their favorite DAW, load a virtual instrument, and start playing.

However, composing music isn't the same as creating music.

The creative act can happen at any time, and with no other tool than our own imagination.

If I had had the opportunity to record all the melodies I've created throughout my 50 years of life while I was in the shower, I would surely have a huge collection of compositions because, of course, ideas must be captured in some form.

Creation is something innate. As artists, we are capable of creating whatever we do at any moment, without thinking or planning.

A photographer sees art practically every time he opens his eyes: landscapes, people, objects, all the life around him is his backdrop. The same with a painter.

A writer imagines stories from a word, a phrase, a conversation, a sound, or a situation.

Those of us who create and compose music live surrounded by symphonies.

I often read articles—well, actually, just the titles—about "how to get inspiration"... Wow! Go outside! Listen to the wind, the voices, the noises, the sirens, the horns, the rain, the sounds of construction, the train passing in the distance, the birds, the people walking, the kids playing in the park, or even absolute silence!

If at any time, for whatever reason, you feel lacking inspiration, remember that music is nothing more than "the art of combining sounds."

And sounds are all around us all the time.