Here’s a quick creativity exercise that my dad taught me:

When my sister and I were little, my dad would put on a record (yes, vinyl) of some jazz or classical – I always preferred jazz – and ask us to close our eyes and let our minds wander, to let the music form pictures in our minds. I was always taken away and came up with the most crazy dreamlands. Unfortunately I was never encouraged to write what I saw – that would have been something to dig up though…

I never thought this was a creativity booster until I realized this is what I do when I need a little inspiration. These days, however, the music is more rock than classical or jazz. I’ll play some Miles Davis tonight when I’m in my studio & see what happens!