Frequently used methods
It’s pleasurable to maintain a routine when I’m passionate about something. I’ve never regarded practicing or composing music as a chore. There are other things I would rather do less frequently, but they still have to be done. It’s all part of the grind of survival.
There again, some practices are not easy to fit into a regular schedule, even though I like them and find them to be beneficial. If only time was like play dough and could be bent into accommodating shapes and forms.
If this was the case, I would find more time to do some work on myself. Keeping silent and still for reasonable periods on a regular basis has opened up new vistas for me. It is helpful in letting me hear the voice from within that guides me in a constructive direction.
At one point, I discovered that musical practice opens up a part of me that is willing to play, imagine and create new things. In an ideal world, I would work like this before composing, but then, there is the possibility that the ideas will start taking on a formulaic energy, due to the frame of mind I get into during practice.
Meanwhile, it is possible that completely different ideas could arrive as a result of doing cardiovascular exercise, or walking. Mixing and matching seems to be the way to go.
