Experimenting with different instruments can often introduce a variety of methodologies for creating music which challenges the process and often retains an element of excitement.
There are a lot of educational resources out there that actively dissuade people from the pitfalls of GAS, and discourage splashing out on shiny new gear but very often new instruments open new possibilities which brings a level of excitement and creative engagement and subconsciously curates a creatively nurturing environment.
I believe that by understanding why that is it can allow us to chase that feeling a lot better and utilize it in our creative process.
For example, even if our hypothetical shiny new toy offers new features from our existing toolbox, it unknowingly sets us with a limitation, a subconscious design brief, and encourages stretching the possibilities from that limitation.
When we first sit down with the new instrument/pedal/software, we often use it, and only it, intensively for a duration of time to get to terms with how it works and how it sounds. With real world instruments, everything has inherent design limitations, and by testing and challenging these it nurtures creativity by problem solving and exploring.
These limitations set a clear set of margins for us to work within, and challenge us to explore its uses; maybe it’s a particular chord voicing or fingering, maybe it’s an instrument that only has 4 voice polyphony, maybe it’s a 5 string Bass with a high C which offers an additional chord tone.
These give us clear boundaries to work within, while exploring the ‘What if’, and removing ourselves from what would be considered the standard of live performance, of good technique, and stepping away from any pressure to “write something” or “be good at” this new instrument.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that creating music is some sort of continuous subscription or pay-to-play process, but by understanding this, and the reason why we get such a creative buzz from a new instrument, we can intentionally curate this environment either in our own practice or in the classroom.
Set the margins to work within, remove the pressure of writing something, or having a complete product at the end of the day/session, explore shapes and textures, and avoid the pressure of having to do something that is good or the right way. By focusing less on the result and more on the process this lends itself to a much more freeing, inventive and tactile creative process.
These limitations can be anything once they are clear and don’t carry an expectation or external pressure – create a dice game & only use the 3 lower strings on your guitar, use open tunings and only move within minor 3rds or less, arrange a Led Zeppelin song for minilogue & body percussion.
One last thing to note because I feel this is important.
Our musical voice isn’t the end result. It’s the individual way in which our creative brains problem solve and ask questions. The end result, the finished work or the live show, that’s the result of the individual way in which we have allowed our creative brain to problem solve and ask questions.
A Study in Audiosynthesis 