The Creative Process: 7 Tips for Improving Your Music, Tapping Creativity and Increasing Productivity
This post helps you get started, but that’s only the beginning. My Artist Sanctuary Monthly Membership will take you step-by-step through the artist development process to build your artistry and career–the same process I’ve used to help my clients win Grammy Awards, get featured in Rolling Stone, secure major licensing deals, get signed to management and labels, and live the dream. What would it feel like to be regularly performing to thousands of people singing the words to your songs and supporting your career by the end of this year? Come join our Artist Sanctuary and find out how.
Today’s blog explores easy and quick ways to tap the muse, nurture your creativity and keep the fountain flowing. Creativity is about your relationship to the world and to yourself. How you see yourself, how you see the world and the music that flows from that.
Here are my top 7 Tips to Improving Your Music, Tapping Creativity and Increasing Productivity
1. Finding time for creativity + tapping the muse in small bites
Creators need time to create! Music needs time to incubate—but in this busy world time is a commodity. There are clever ways to tap the muse every day in small bites to keep things flowing.
Tapping your creativity in small bites daily will actually nurture your creativity and tap the muse on a regular basis making songs flow and making progress on artistic development.
Daily Journaling 10 minutes a day: a quick and easy way to stay connected to your music is to keep a daily journal. Jot down song concepts and lyrics. Record thoughts about your career, things you’d like to do.
Daily Vocal Practice 20 minutes a day, 5 days a week. I have organized vocal technique practice into 20 minute sessions in my Singers Gift Vocal Warmups. Once I made my vocal practice non-negotiable I experienced amazing results. Just 20 minutes a day, 5 days a week is proven to transform your voice.
Evenings and Weekend Warrior: Evenings and weekends are a perfect time for more extended sessions of songwriting or recording. Schedule time in the evenings and weekends to work on your music.
2. Making space for creativity
Creativity needs space. Making a physical space in your apartment or in a designated room in your home can help to stimulate your creativity. Add mood lights, art and photos of people who inspire you. Add a few plants (plants love music and emit love :)). Make the space somewhere you want to be even if it’s just a corner of a room.
If your space is a bit cluttered, take some time to declutter. Clutter makes an environment harder to work in.
If you share a space with other people, then schedule time in your space that you can count on to be yours. If you are a parent, have a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door and let your kids and partner know that they can disturb you in the event of an emergency (and define exactly what designates an event to be an “emergency”.
Because music may not be your main business, it’s easy to brush off it’s importance and feel guilty like you are indulging yourself—but that’s not true. It is an investment that you need to carve time and space for to manifest. You’ll want to teach others in your life to respect the time you set aside for your music.
3. Creative boundaries
Again, because music is not a job that requires your attendance, it can be easy to just do it when you feel like it or to do it if you get to it. But that won’t give you the results you want.
Many times there are obligations in our lives that pull us away. Friends, family members, responsibilities can easily pull at you and distract you from your work. And there are times you will need to respond. But getting clear about your boundaries will help you and others in your life know when they are over-stepping or keeping you from your dream.
The more you can set boundaries for yourself and your music and the more you treat your music like a job— the sooner it will become one.
4. Stimulate the muse
- Reading books
- Exploring
- Documentaries
- Film
- Music
- Art
5. Managing expectations
We all want it yesterday. But that’s not how this world works.
One thing to try – maybe lower your expectation of yourself during harder times? It’s often the pressure we put on ourselves and our expectations that cause extra stress making it even harder on us. When we accept things as they are – the difficulties become hills, not mountains :).
The other thing is to remember that once you are an artist, you are always an artist. It’s not something you COULD walk away from even if you try. Being an artist is not something you can just box up and put away. Maybe for little bits of time— but it will continue to nudge you because it’s a part of the tapestry that is you. So a certain amount of humility in accepting the path and letting it unfold in it’s own time can make it easier. Practice trusting in life to reveal the path to you and don’t be in such a hurry.
6. Being a good critic of your own work
One of the toughest things is being a good critic of your own work. It’s almost impossible to be objective of your own work. Because we are so close to it we can lose perspective. Once you can separate yourself as an artist from you as a person it makes it easier to view your work as not connected to your self esteem which makes it easier to be a good judge of your music. Until then, find a mentor and a community to get honest but helpful feedback from. See #7 below!
7. Mirroring + feedback
If you have no one being a mirror for you then you’ll stay stuck with only your own opinions to judge your work on and will easily miss out on improvements that could move you forward. Every artist needs a team to help them navigate the many roles you play as an artist: singer, songwriter, producer, branding, marketing, promoter etc.
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Looking for inspiration and a community of artists to build your sound and strategies to succeed in music? Join our Artist Sanctuary Membership for Musician and get the support you need.
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Hi, I’m Cari Cole.
You’ve got talent, but you want to become great at it. You’re in the right place! My mission is to help you refine your unique artist vision to bring to the world.
About Cari Cole
Cari Cole is the CEO / Founder of caricole.com and CCVM: Label Without Walls. She is a Holistic Vocal Coach, Artist Development Expert, A&R Director, and Songwriter based in New York City helping artists for the past 38 years. She is a mentor for Women in Music and The Association of Independent Music Publishers.
Her latest venture, CCVM a label services company, provides artists with a seamless path from creation to completion. After 30+ years of observing the overwhelm and challenges that artists face, Cari pulled together the best top creative professionals and designed a new approach to supporting our artists.
Disclaimer:
The information provided on Cari Cole's website is informational only and should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on Cari Cole's website. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately.
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