TCS 2

Author

Luke Sipka
July 17, 2024

Back this week with some more interesting tips to be more creative and finish more music. Hopefully these help you feel a little less “tortured” in your creative process. 

Here we go:

Inspiration for creating in tough times

The past weekend was a bit…crazy. And when it feels like the world is ending, it is tempting to think “This isn’t the time to be making music. I’ll start when things settle down” 

But CS Lewis would probably disagree. In his essay “Learning in Wartime,” he gives a strong reason why waiting for the “right time” can be one of the worst options for anyone in a field that doesn’t feel essential.

“If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun. We are mistaken when we compare war with ‘normal life.’ Life has never been normal. Even those periods which we think most tranquil, like the nineteenth century, turn out, on closer inspection, to be full of cries, alarms, difficulties, emergencies. Plausible reasons have never been lacking for putting off all merely cultural activities until some imminent danger has been averted or some crying injustice put right. But humanity long ago chose to neglect those plausible reasons. They wanted knowledge and beauty now, and would not wait for the suitable moment that never comes.” 

The only “Composing rule” I like

There’s loads of “rules” for being more productive as a composer. And so many articles/videos talking about workflow and how to finish music. 


These can be super helpful, but there’s really only one “rule” that I like. One that has made me more productive and made the whole process significantly more enjoyable. While at the same time eliminating a lot of the guilt and pain that used to come along with the process of writing music. 

Powerful lesson from a composer that failed

I found this video super interesting. It’s from a composer that failed for a decade out of school and then eventually found success. He gives some interesting insights into what he would have done differently. And some great tips for succeeding today as a composer.

Quote I’m pondering

This one hit me right in the gut. If you’ve ever felt tortured as a composer, perhaps this has something to do with it…

“One of the most wicked destructive forces, psychologically speaking, is unused creative power …If someone has a creative gift and out of laziness, or for some other reason, doesn’t use it, the psychic energy turns to sheer poison. That’s why we often diagnose neuroses and psychotic diseases as not-lived higher possibilities….People who have a creative side and do not live it out are most disagreeable clients. They make a mountain out of a molehill, fuss about unnecessary things, are too passionately in love with somebody who is not worth so much attention, and so on. There is a kind of floating charge of energy in them which is not attached to its right object and therefore tends to apply exaggerated dynamism to the wrong situation.” 

Marie-Louise von Franz, Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales

Fun challenge I’m joining

There’s nothing like a deadline to get you moving. This awesome site itch.iohosts “jams” for game developers and composers. 

This week they’re hosting one just for composers. They give you an image and a title of a game and all the composers submit a soundtrack for an “imaginary game.” 

Always great to have a challenge and a creative prompt. And it seems like a great way to meet other composers and hear what they’re working on. 

That’s it for this week. Hit “reply” and let me know if you found any of this helpful.

Stay tuned next week as we dive into the “most tortured-est composer of all time” and I share a little file that could really help you move more quickly.

The world waits for your music…

Luke

At Tortured Composer's Society, it's our mission to create and provide a community that helps you live a more creative and fulfilling life as a composer. When Tortured Composer's Society was established, we wanted to make the community an inclusive, welcoming table where everyone can come to overcome their creative blocks and thrive as composers! We will always aim to get better at what we do every single day! In addition, our primary focus is on our relationship with you. This way every time you hang out with us, you end up getting an idea that takes your compositions to the next level. We particularly appreciate when our following provides feedback via testimonials, reviews, and comments left on our site or social media accounts. Because with that feedback, we can use it to make your next newsletter even better than the last! Since we put so much effort into the relationship with you, we hope that any investment in us is exactly the way you hoped it would be. Because by choosing to go with Tortured Composer's Society, it's our promise that we provide a community you will fall in love with over and over again. Now, as much as we care about making the world more musical and more creative, we also care about your privacy. We're committed to the right to your privacy and strive to provide a safe and secure user experience. Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, store and use personal information, provided by you on our website. It also explains important information that ensures we won't abuse the information that you provide to us in good faith. By accessing and using our website, you can trust that what you want to be kept private, will be kept private. If at any time, you would like to read our Privacy Policy and get a better understanding of your rights and liabilities under the law. Feel free to visit our site, find the privacy policy in the footer and read it. If there is something you are concerned about or wish to get more clarity on, please let us know by contacting us at [email protected]. The Privacy Policy also informs you of how to notify us to stop using your personal information. If you wish to view our official policies, please visit our website TorturedComposers.com