Sleep, Dreams, Creativity
Lucid dreaming has been a goal of mine since I found a website on it five years ago. I've made half-hearted attempts at exercises to induce lucid dreams with, surprisingly, no results.
The strongest advice on every website I've found is to keep a dream journal. I never tried it until earlier this year, then stopped when the shit hit the fan. My routine was pretty simple. Every morning, I'd write down everything I could remember from my dreams. It has to be the first thing I do, before my memory fades: shut off alarm, pick up pen and paper. I'd reread the most recent entry before sleeping each night. While I was keeping the journal, my dreams became more bizarre, and I could remember more details each morning. I only had fleeting moments of lucidity, but more often than ever before.
I've been wondering how I could put this to good musical use. Accessing my subconscious creativity will have nothing but good effects on my music, but I feel there's a more direct route.
Most nights before I fall asleep, there's some kind of music going through my head, usually something I've been listening to or practicing. But as I drift closer to complete sleep, the music often strays from the song I know, taking its own path through new harmonies, melodies, instrumentation, genres. It's all coming from my head, but it doesn't feel like I'm making it up. It's as if I'm passively listening to an unfamiliar piece of music. Tricky chords surprise me, increased tempos excite me, calm sections soothe me. I experience every emotion as if I'm a listener. I can still make conscious changes in the music whenever I want, and it's effortless. I can take complete control of an entire symphony without hiring any musicians and instantly transition to New Orleans jazz without missing a beat.
Every time this happens, it literally sounds like the best music I've ever heard. Nothing mediocre ever surfaces, and I can hear each distinct instrument as clearly as if it were solo. The musical style can be anything, but usually starts with what I've been hearing lately. Unfortunately, I've never captured even a bit of it. If I get up to write something down or plunk it out on my guitar, it's forgotten. If I let it ride, then I remember none of it by morning.
This has occurred more frequently over the last two years, and it's what inspired me to finally start that dream journal. If I can cultivate my ability to remember dreams, maybe I can harness that glorious music from before my dreams. I'll settle for the tiniest piece, as I know this will take a long time to master. In the meantime, I think my best approach is to keep trying to recognize a chord progression and write it down on the spot.
20lbCat is the Son of Dog (17 Jul 2008 at 8:40am)
>>It's as if I'm passively listening to an unfamiliar piece of music. ... I experience every emotion as if I'm a listener. I can still make conscious changes in the music whenever I want, and it's effortless.
Joe (17 Jul 2008 at 9:22am)
Yeah, thanks. I saw the contradiction before I posted, but it was late.
Here's what I meant. Imagine you discover you can move objects with your mind. Like Syler. When you send a glass flying across the room in this manner, you don't get the feeling of physically picking it up and throwing it. It just responds to your thought. It might feel like your thought and the action corresponded only by coincidence, because you know it shouldn't be possible.
That's the best way I can describe it. But I feel I can effortlessly drift between listening and controlling.
I got it! It's like there's a separate conductor leading an orchestra. I can listen when I want, but I can also step in front of him and send the music in a new direction. I can stay in front of him momentarily or as long as I want, and he'll pick up where I left off when I step down. So even when I'm controlling the music myself, I'm not responsible for keeping it going.
matt stevens (27 Jul 2008 at 9:11am)
From memery is really hard - had to do it when I studied a degree in music - I WAS RUBBISH
Very cool blog
Tony Hogan (5 Aug 2008 at 4:11am)
Lucid Dreaming was in the Castenada books
Lester (16 Apr 2009 at 11:23am)
Yeah, but the Castenada books promote the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms to evoke lucid dreams. That's not fair play.
Andrew (9 Dec 2010 at 4:34pm)
I'm a guitarist/music student myself and have an interest in lucid dreaming. There is a section in Stephen Laberge's book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming on utilizing dreams. The whole book is well worth the read.
Andrew (9 Dec 2010 at 4:37pm)
Should also mention, I completely relate to your experiences. I've had dreams where I heard music and thought, "This is better than most of what Nick Drake ever wrote." I've also been brought to tears by seeing people play live in dreams. I'm planning on developing both my transcription and dreaming skills this winter break.
Joe (9 Dec 2010 at 7:05pm)
Andrew,
Thanks for dropping by, and best of luck in your endeavors. Two years after writing this post, I still have no solutions for the music dreaming problem. Most of the great music I hear is just as I'm falling asleep, almost every night. If I try to get up and write it down I lose the moment, and of course I can't remember any of it when I wake up. I'd love to harness it someday, but I'm content with just being happy and enjoying it when it happens.
Joe