I use three main methods;

1) Work with others.

This works exceptionally well, if you find someone that you can "spark" off. The best way to work with others is to listen a lot and hold back as much as you can - until real inspiration hits!

2) Play along with records/CDs.

I think just about everyone does this - but it's amazing what can happen simply by pinching a lick or two from a recording. I tend to end up incorporating certain licks into what I like to think is my own style and generally people don't seem to notice...

3) Study music in depth with a tutor.

This option can take the rock'n'roll out of it if you're not careful, so you need a tutor who is sensitive to your learning needs. There is always option 3a), which is learn a different instrument or a different aspect of music with a tutor - it's amazing how inspirational this can be.

Finally, just listen to lots of music - live as well as recorded - and try not to limit what you listen to. The broader your musical base, the more varied your style is likely to become.  

But you don't need anyone to tell you to do that, now...

My own methods of composition are varied - I like writing scores (generally starting with piano reductions, then expanding them for whatever resources I can get to perform them), but I much prefer the rock'n'roll style of just going into the studio, cranking up the axe and noodling around (with the computer in Record mode!) until something drops out that I like. I then build on that as intuitively as I can - only resorting to analysis once the inspiration has run out.

Generally I go into a studio with a particular style in mind - a kind of anchor post or a framework, not a rigid plan. I always seem to end up cranking out a 3-chorder, however...  Still - it's amazing what you can do with a couple of effects and a keyboard or two.

Playing with yourself just doesn't get it. You should always play with others.  My wife and I play with each other at least two or three times a week. One must always ask permission before playing with others outside of marriage. You just don't want any misunderstandings.

Always run a tape if you are trying to formulate ideas, they tend to escape quickly, especially as you grow older. When working on lyrics.... always write 'em down immediately. Keep a pen and paper or tape recorder nearby, even at night. It's amazing how useful things just come from nowhere. 

Great tip, Danbo! - The number of times I've kicked myself for not writing a lyric idea down as soon as I think of it....

According to legend, Freddie Mercury had a piano as the headboard for his bed, so that he could immediately play ideas he had during the night. I also understand he taught himself to play it whilst lying on his back.

John Cage came up with some similar methods back in the 1930s - he stuck tape at different levels to a goldfish tank. If a goldfish went to a particular level, he used ideas associated with that level. If it stayed there for a long time, he expanded the ideas for a long time.

For a simple example, you could decide that each piece of tape represented a note. If the fish swam to a particular level quickly, the music would ascend quickly. The possibilities are... daft

Jim Garten wrote: Certif1ed wrote: According to legend, Freddie Mercury had a piano as the headboard for his bed, so that he could immediately play ideas he had during the night. I also understand he taught himself to play it whilst lying on his back There must be a joke there somewhere, but I'm not looking for it

Lol, I thought of a joke but I had better not say it, very lol after a beer or 10.

As a guitar/music theory tutor, I would agree with all the posts above. The hardest part is developing your own style. To learn techniques you need to learn them from other players first, otherwise its a boring way of learning, at the end of the day, you learn an instrument from influence from the music you like.

Learn other players styles/techniques and through improvisation you will develop your own way of doing it.

When I am in a different state of conscienceness, I will post some more!!

In my early days of drumming I actually had two teachers, from very different styles of play.

One was a jazz theorist, who taught me fundamentals of jazz and basic techniques and the other was a friend of the late John Bonham, named Troy Harms, who oddly enough played in my mothers church band. It was he who opened up my mind to White, Peart, etc, even taking me to the Yes "Big Generator" Concert.  I took with me the foundations of these teachers and  together with my own influences ( Toto, Boston, Rush, Queensryche) I developed a jazz based rock style that worked extremely well during my band days in the '80's.

My best ideas come at night when I let my mind wander as I drift into sleep. They're usually full-band out-and-out instrumentals which are brilliant but never to be seen or heard from again. Kind of like a good dream...

I'm trying to learn to read music right now, and I've laid out a chart and labelled each fret and its corresponding line or space on the bass clef. Any tips for learning to read music?

Didnt read the above, but in terms of personal inspiration when i sit down and think "I want to write something" it usually means something to me. I never bring it up when "jamming" with my fellows. These things i write on my own i feel as if i need to be in complete control of them, down to the last note. Its like doing the parts of a painting im capable of and then hiring different artists to do exactly what i tell them. I suppose for that stuff i need to learn a lot of intruments.

But for the sessions, we go in with ideas or just a lick or riff. We play and then just go from there, we take the bits we like and hammer them out, perfect them if you would. I find this kind of thing very spiritual personally. You interact with these people on a level that is rarely encontered in the human experiance. you are trying to work as a single entity lending what you can to the whole. I love it. Just playing what fits the mood and what the group is doing.

I dont know if this will help, most, if not all, has been posted before. But here i go:

Play constanly. I have found that playing alot really helps. Start with a basic "beat" and go form there. Just play around with the music. Let it lead. Try new things when playing, if there bad, just go back and try again. If there good, go with it. The main thing is to have fun with it. It is wise to take breaks and do other things. You never know what can give you inspiration. I've been influenced by movie lines, conversations with people, and other various, random things that i ran into in my everyday life.

Listen to music, and alot of it. I spend alot of hours listenign to music. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as you like it. I have had some of the best jam sesions after listening to music. It is always good to incorporate what you've heard into your music. As the others have said, play along with the music. That is one of the best ways to learn different ways of playing.

Carry paper and a pen around at all times. Things will come to you at the oddest of times. WRITE THING DOWN. I know it has been said, that is some of the best advice you can give anyone. You will forget things. It sucks, but it will happen. It's happened to me alot, and i hate it when it does. Some of my best material comes when just thinking/singing randomly.

Think about it often. I am always singing and thinking about various riffs and such. Hum, sing, dancem do whatever is nessacary. When I just babble on and on, i come up with the best lyric and beats.

Don't put pressure on yourself. Don;t make yourself think of something. Let it come naturally. Go with the flow, they say. It's good advice. Explore, explore, explore.

A few of those things may be extreme, but hey, they help. Believe me. I hope i was of some assistance to you in your musical journey.