From his book 12 Notes On Life and Creativity
Excerpt pages 94-95
As I learned from my two mentors, Victor Young and Alfred Newman, it's important to "just write and turn the page. Never look back." This proved to be an important aspect of creating in the alpha state, because it's important not to block what your subconscious mind is trying to tell you. Sometimes it's difficult to get started, but you've got to stop overthinking and just begin, even if it's just a single word or shape. Before I pursued music, I explored various art forms such as drawing and painting, and I would always start with a charcoal sketch. Even if I didn't know what I wanted the end product to look like, I just put down a basic structure or contour. Then from there, I'd add watercolors and finally oil. When I started producing music, I used a similar process. That is, I tried not to get locked in right away with an expectation of a final product. Instead, I followed my instincts and translated them into a basic shape or sound. The, I built on top of it by defining dynamics, colors, density, and so on. Start with an image or melody, and let it out. And as the sketch or song takes shape, you can lay on the watercolors.
Creativity is informed by what you feel, not what you think, and learning to tune into those feelings is what is ultimately going to carry you through when distractions come. I've 100 percent relied on my instincts throughout my career; without doing so, I know I wouldn't have been able to create art that has stood the test of time, I recognize that it's easier said than done, but the next method I'm going to share with you is without a doubt the best way to do it.
And that method is "the Goosebump Test."
If the music I'm creating gives me goosebumps, odds are it'll do the same for at least one other person on this planet. But if it doesn't move me at all, and I'm trying to do it for the sake of getting a reaction out of someone else, I'll get stuck in a never-ending cycle of mediocrity. It doesn't work....."
