How to be More Creative in Music Production
Most music producers know the feeling of staring at a blank DAW session and wondering why it feels so tough to come up with a new idea on some days. Then on other days, inspiration and flow state just happen. When you talk to people about it, sometimes they will try and be helpful with advice such as “Try and be a bit more creative with the ideas”, “use your creativity”, “be innovative”. I find these to be kind but ultimately unhelpful words.
Therefore, this blog aims to provide useful insights and tangible methods for developing creativity and innovation in music production. However, I hope it will be useful to a range of artists even outside of music.
How Can I Be More Creative? - Define your version of Creativity
The first step to being more creative is taking some time to define your own version of what creativity means to you. Take a moment to think about what your definition of creativity is. (It is helpful when defining something that the main word ‘creativity’ or any variations of that are avoided in your definition.)
My definition of creativity is: the creation of something through imagination, problem-solving, originality, and pattern recognition. I will expand on each of these elements to clarify.
Creative Imagination
Imagination is the ability to think of things that don’t exist yet or put new twists on existing ideas, such as musical parts, textures, sonic soundscapes and arrangements - the ability to hear your ideas before they are physically brought to life. Part of imagination is adopting a playful, childlike curiosity and mindset. As children, a cardboard box, for example, could be a spaceship, a rollercoaster, a basketball hoop, a football goal, a home for stuffed toys, a platform to practice breakdancing, raw materials for crafts, a 3d canvas, a hiding place and a tool to get cookies from the counter. This process has a name in the grown-ups world called the Alternative Uses Test, and it is a practical way that you can measure your growth and progression. J.P. Guilford, in 1967, designed this test where you think of alternate uses for a brick. For example, build a BBQ, a weight for bicep curls, use it to make foley noises for sampling, make the indent of the brick a bowl for industrial soup, round down the edges and make a rolling pin, etc. Then you can measure your answers in different ways:
Amount - The number of answers that you could come up with
Flexibility - The number of different groups or tags of answers (smash an egg, smash a mango, smash a TV) would only be counted as 1 answer when grouped ‘to smash’.
Originality - Is linked to the rarity of answers, so check your previous attempts or measure against a reference set of answers that you have not seen before the task (maybe ask a friend to help). If you have many of the same answers, this ranks lower. Answers that are not shared score higher in divergent thinking.
Elaboration - The amount of detail given for each answer is considered.
Having an actual task to do and metrics to measure your development against is a good way to practice imagination and divergent thinking, which is a part of creativity.
To apply this to music production, consider swapping the ‘brick’ example for a sound sample, an instrument, a DAW function, an effects unit, or even a practical process inside mixing or mastering. Then, using this one small area, make the biggest list of things that you can use it for. Be as childlike, playful, mischievous, fun, daring, exhaustive and imaginative as possible. You can practice this as frequently as you need to give you a pool of ideas to draw from when you feel a lack of inspiration. If you are a tad competitive, you can try and beat your previous scores from last time and stretch your imagination each time you practice.
Creative Problem Solving
Creative problem-solving is the process of finding solutions to problems in imaginative, divergent and inspired ways and implementing them effectively. Focus on external works of art, music, workflows, and methods that have some shortfalls or errors. Then, solving that problem with your art is the main process.
The creative problem-solving process has 4 main steps:
Clearly, accurately and in detail find and define the problem you are trying to solve.
Generate a wide range of all potential solutions to the problem without judgment (be childlike and imaginative)
Evaluate the potential solutions for strengths and weaknesses
Pick the best solution and implement this practically.
Here are some examples of music production creative problem-solving:
Creative Problem Solving example 1 -
When I DJ, I normally have a few batches of songs that I know work well together and flow well. I have the mix prepared, and it allows for a blend of preparation and spontaneity that I am really comfortable with. However, sometimes two tracks don’t seem to work together, and they need a transition track to go between them. This is a great opportunity for creative problem-solving.
To bridge those two tunes, I would import them into my sequencer and leave an approx 2-3 minute gap between them.
Then my work would begin with my intro layered under the outro of track 1, and my outro under the intro of track 3. Leaving some space for me to make something in the middle, which blends with both. This technique works because it stops the problem of having a blank screen and replaces this with a concrete problem that needs solving.
Creative Problem Solving example 2 -
Sometimes I listen to the top 10 on Beatport or look at the current trends in the music area I am working in. I will then ask myself, “What don’t I like about this?”, “What are my criticisms?” and “What are the problems here?”
There could be an immense amount of answers here, but some of the things I think about are, this music lacks transients, too much is going on all the time, and melody plays too big a part in the music. Now that I have completed this list, I have a plan for what I can write that does the opposites or tries to solve some of the problems I heard, for example, a piece that accentuates rhythmic transients, with a minimal aesthetic and a focus on harmony and chords.
Creative Problem Solving example 3 -
When I used to get stuck with a mixdown, I would remember that it is a problem-solving process and I would take the tune away from the studio and listen on headphones or in a studio where I couldn’t work on the mix. First, I would listen through with an audience member mindset, then on a second listen, I would write down the problems that I heard. Then you solve the problem in your mind first and come up with a bunch of solutions. So that when you get back to the DAW and mix, you just need to implement the best proposed solutions.
So if you ever find yourself criticising a YouTube video, a piece of art or music, a workflow or something else entirely. Make a note that this is something that you have an opinion about, and the problem. Do the process we discussed above. Then, when you get back to the studio, put your creativity in full swing and solve that problem.
Creativity and Originality in Art
In my opinion, almost nothing is original. We have all been inspired and influenced by our natural environments. With this in mind, when people say something is ‘original’, this is what I think it means:
The artwork has such a diverse range of influences (that have been expertly combined), making it difficult to distinguish each separate influence and its role in enabling the final work.
Practically, with this definition in mind, being more original means to expose yourself to new and more varied sources of inspiration, so that you have a richer pool of experiences to draw from. This could be books, music, film, web, games, art, documentaries, websites, cooking, architecture, magazines, comics, maths, sciences, languages, etc. The list is extensive. As you are getting out there and broadening your pool of resources for inspiration, you can take notes of both what you like and what you don’t like. Use what you like to inspire your work. Use your dislikes to problem-solve a creative solution. This leads us nicely into the next idea.
Examples of Pattern Recognition in Music
If originality is bringing lots of different sources in for inspiration, we also need to link them together with pattern recognition. Pattern Recognition is the skill of identifying patterns, themes, similarities and repetition in something that already exists and then seeing how this could be used in a new way or in a different context. The process is first identifying and analysing a pattern, then practically applying and combining these patterns to make something different.
Example of Creative Pattern Recognition 1: The Hero’s Journey.
This is a well-known tool used in storytelling for novels and books. The hero leaves to go on an adventure, they face challenges along their journey, and they normally overcome these trials and return home transformed by the experience. If you think about this pattern, it is the basis of many films and books. If we recognise this, we can then apply it in a new way, for example, a musical arrangement.
Example of Creative Pattern Recognition 2: Tension and Release.
This is an important tool in film and is used by the three-act structure. The set-up, confrontation and resolution. Films set the foundation of the story, introducing the characters. Something will happen that will create confrontation, friction, upset and ultimately tension. Finally, at the end, things get resolved and everyone is better off for the experience - this is the release. We can see this pattern in film and consider how we could apply it to music. We could again apply it on a macro scale for arrangement. However, we can also think of this on a small scale, in drum grooves, for example. To read more about this, see my post on Drum n Bass Drum Patterns.
Example of Creative Pattern Recognition 3: Fibonacci Sequence.
The band tool saw the pattern of the Fibonacci Sequence and used this in a variety of different ways. One number in the sequence is 987, and this is reflected in the time signature changes. Inspiring some of my time signature work and giving us some amazing grooves that move between 9/8, 8/8 and 7/8. The lyrics’ syllables also follow the pattern. This is more of an example of recognising how an established pattern can be implemented creatively, but it still holds up here.
That summarises my definition of creativity and the breakdown of each keyword. The main point I wanted to express is that creativity is not a single moment, but a skill that can be developed. It is helpful for me to think of creativity as a process. If I get into the habit of sitting down every morning at 6 am to make music, somehow inspiration and creativity keep turning up at 6 am too. To expect to write incredible things every time is foolish. By the nature of the word, most things you write are going to be average, because that’s what average is. Some will also be rubbish. Most importantly, some of your work will be your best work. I find that writing a large amount of music and then looking back helps me keep perspective on all of this.
Techniques for Creativity
1 - Let yourself be bored more.
This is my number one tip for getting more creative ideas.
Most people look at their phones frequently, myself included. If I have to walk somewhere, I put on some music. If I have to wait at the train platform, I check my phone. Tip number one is simple to say, but super difficult to put into practice: put your phone away and keep it there.
The initial response of your brain will be screaming from boredom, and every cell in your body will want that dopamine hit from looking at the phone. However, if you can get past these uncomfortable few minutes, embrace the boredom and lack of entertainment. Slowly but surely, a stream of new ideas will start to emerge. When I have tried this in the past with students, it takes varying amounts of time per person, but I am certain that this works. You might ask yourself, “If it is so good, why doesn’t everyone do it?” The answer is simple. It is hard. You need self-control, motivation, and to face boredom head-on and be alone with your thoughts.
2 - Free Writing
One technique that I see people talk about less often is free writing, old-fashioned style, with a pen and paper. The aim is to write for 10 minutes straight, and the only rule is to keep writing until the 10 minutes are up. This could be ideas for new music, write them all down, the silly ones, the variations, the repetitions. It is just about sticking with it. Over time, you get better at idea generation and drawing on your inspirations. This used to be a big part of my own practice, and it is a skill I need to bring back into the rotation.
3 - Build a habit, starting with small wins
Habits and systems seem dull at first, but they really are power tools for progress and development. The way to make habits stick (I learnt from Atomic Habits, which is a great book) is to start your habit small. Something that you can’t mess up, this helps build momentum, confidence and collect a bunch of mini-wins at the start. One example is if you want to start running, make the first habit simply putting your trainers out the night before. For the first week, you don’t even have to run. Just put the trainers out. Then it will naturally grow from there. I am convinced that music-making is the same. If you show up, results follow.
4 - Collaborate
Sometimes, when you are stuck creatively, having a collaborator to help can be really useful. We all go through ups and downs in creativity, and it can be nice to have each other to balance things out. It can also be good to hear from another person some instant feedback on the ideas. This is another way we can improve by getting feedback on our work. If you are interested in getting feedback on your ideas, you can use my feedback service here.
5 - Switch up your workflow
I wrote a bunch of prompts that can help with switching up the way you start music to help make space for inspiration to flow. You can check out the Song Writing blogs here: Ideas 1, Ideas 2, Ideas 3 and Ideas 4.
I remember an old hip-hop video saying, “If inspiration doesn’t find you, go out and find it”. So that is my conclusion. Creativity isn’t about waiting for the music. It is about building a habit, workflow and system to make things happen.
I would love to hear your comments on creative tips, hacks and ideas. Please leave a comment, and I will be sure to try out the best ideas myself.
If you want to improve your creative music production skills, you can book a 15-minute 1-to-1 consultation session with me to discuss your music and innovative approaches using the service below.
Matt Chapman14th November 2025