Lewis Wilson
Nov 4 · 5 min read

The Golden Hour

So you’ve been mulling over a killer line in your head all day, be it a groovy bass line, a tasty lick or a solid beat and you’re dying to materialise it. You get home from work, turn on your audio interface, load up your DAW, pick the nearest suited plug-in and away you go. You’re flowing, your’e in the zone… You’re in that precious golden zone, hell, you’re even convinced that this is so good you might even make it (there’s nothing wrong with ambition kids).

After a night of sporadic productivity you shut your lid with a smile on your face thinking ‘I can’t wait to finish this off over the next week’. Day light comes and you’re thinking of it as soon as you wake with excitement, that time of day eventually comes back around. You fire up your interface, pick up your instrument and then…nothing. One hour later, nothing. Two hours later…yep, you guessed it and you know it…nothing. Where has it gone!? How do I get it back ? This is the typical starting point of what I guess is the equivalent of writer’s block for musicians. Then, slowly begins the descent into a world of nihilism, existentialism and many more depressing philosophies that basically translate into you being pissed off that you can’t finish this song. Well, there are some things that can help along the way.

  1. Firstly, accept that music is a form of art. Generally speaking, the more time you put into this piece of art, the better it will be. Song writing is often a process that takes a lot of patience and, if you rush it, it won’t be as good as it could’ve been. So, unless you’re messing around and want to write a two chord song about how much you hate Brexit, accept that this will take time. Think of it like a huge painting, this would’ve been done in stages but the end product will no doubt look great. Well…Subjectively.
  2. Secondly, make sure you’re in the right mood. Writing music, like any other art form, is a form of expression. Whatever you have already written or might be about to write will be something inside of you that pours out into whatever instrument it is you will be using. Put it this way, if you start writing a song about how you’re really lonely, no one loves you and you feel isolated from the world you see (come on guys don’t act like you haven’t felt this) and then you meet the love of your life a week later, when you return to the song it might not flow out as well. So, if you really want to re-harness that song make sure you are feeling it.
  3. Clear your mind. I’ve recently started trying, emphasis on trying, to meditate and I find that this helps with the process. There are an unbelievable amount of things these days that bring much stress and distraction to our brains and drain/block our creative energy. Some of you might think this is hippy dippy rubbish, but don’t knock it until you try it. You could have hundreds of amazing ideas in that brain of yours that are waiting to be unleashed, but you might not have the clarity to work them out. Being in the zone is also a reference to a moment of brain activity that is not interrupted by the outside world, it’s your brain working purely and creatively on its own. So, take at least 15 minutes before you start to relax and clear that head of yours. Alas, I won’t give you a lesson on mindfulness, there’s plenty of that stuff online that you can look up.
  4. Play it to a friend. There’s no better feeling than coming up with everything yourself and feeling like you’re the man, or ‘person’ if we’re to be politically correct. However, a suggestion from a fellow friend or musician could give it that taste, that flavour that opens up a barrel of ideas.
  5. Always ty to be envisaging the song as a whole. Generally, I find that if you can hear the rest of the accompanying instruments playing behind it in your head then you’ve hit the jack pot. But, whatever stage you are at always play the song from the beginning to where you are now in order to get the feel, the flow and the build up of the song. I like to start it from the beginning and pause it just before it ends, close my eyes and attempt to hum what might naturally come next. It also helps to think of the song in layers, as sometimes a single melody or lick might sound boring on its own, but once it’s combined with some drums or an extra layer from something else it can work wonders. If you have a DAW, always experiment with this. If you are just jamming on a guitar looking to bring ideas to a band, maybe invest in a loop pedal, or even load up a drum beat on YouTube and jam along.
  6. Don’t expect it to always be amazing first time around. Worst comes to worst, get something down, even if it sucks. It’s a lot easier to listen back to a section or idea that is wrong and correct it, than it is to create a masterpiece first time. Think of it as a draft, sometimes you have to sift through a lot of crap before you find what you really want, you’d be surprised how many pieces of paper artists admit to throwing away before the final piece.
  7. Have a break. Naturally the harder you work at something the better it will turn out. But, there is a balance to be struck. If you try too hard and push it then you will soon become sick of your song, think it’s god awful and uh oh, here comes the self loathing and nihilism again. It’s good to take space, clear your mind and come back to it with fresh ears.

8. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try things you might not otherwise have thought could work. All is takes is that one small trigger to throw you back in the zone. All amazing eras of music were created through moments of thinking outside the box and breaking conventions. Admittedly, there isn’t much that’s new under the sun. But, there is only one you, and your expression will be unique once you find your voice, so to speak.

9. Try not to have expectations. By all means try to get into that flow again, but trust me on this one, it doesn’t always go to plan. I have spent days drinking loads of water, eating healthily, exercising and sat down with a guitar for 2 hours and got nothing. Whilst other days I’ve been incredibly hungover with just about enough energy to pick up a guitar and have gained some great inspiration. Yet, it has also worked the other way around too.

10. Lastly, always stay inspired. Listen to new bands, learn new styles of music, even if it’s just a new scale, this is all part of the language that you speak within your music. Look at new pieces of art work, take walks in nature. Sometimes inspiration will find you, but sometimes you have to find it. New equipment also helps, go on, go and buy yourself something new and see what happens.

Lewis Wilson

Written by

Huge music enthusiastic trying to make something out of nothing. You never know until you try.

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