INSPIR Paper by ELPHNT, © 2017

INSPIR Paper
By ELPHNT

WHAT IS INSPIR?
INSPIR is a tool to help you overcome creative blocks while producing music - it gives you random,
musically relevant suggestions to try in your Writing, Arranging, Sound Design or Mixing.

HOW IT WORKS
Choose the area you are focusing on; Writing, Arranging, Sound Design or Mixing and go to that
page in this document. Use a random number generator to generate a number within the range of
suggestions1, for example the Writing category has 48 possible suggestions so generate a number
from 1 to 48. Whichever number you land on, try implementing that suggestion in your music.

Example
You are stuck in the writing process so you use Google’s Random Number Generator to generate a
number between 1 and 48. You get 20, so you go to the INSPIR Writing Category and see that
suggestion #20 is “POLYRHYTHMS : Use polyrhythmic elements”. Therefore you attempt to use
some kind of polyrhythmic elements in your music.

The idea is to force yourself to try and implement that particular suggestion. What I find is that by
simply suggesting something I might not have otherwise thought of I’m pushed into thinking
creatively and discovering new ideas. If the suggestion isn’t yielding any results or you’re not sure
how to apply it, that’s fine, try generating a new one.

So that’s it, INSPIR is very simple to use. Once you’ve used it a few times you won’t need to refer to
this intro again. I hope you find it useful in your music production. Please feel free to get in touch if
you have any questions or ideas.

Enjoy using INSPIR!

Cheers,
Tom aka ELPHNT

P.S: If you’re using Ableton Live Suite there is a MaxForLive version of INSPIR that integrates directly
into Ableton Live! Go to elphnt.co.za/inspir to check it out.

HINT: Why not print this document out and leave it near your production setup for quick reference.

1 Conveniently, Google has a built-in random number generator, just search for ‘random number
generator’ or click here. There are also plenty of iOS or Android apps to generate random numbers.


INSPIR Paper by ELPHNT, © 2017

 Writing Suggestions
48 suggestions

01 : STACCATO 02 : LEGATO 03 : ACCELERATION

Use short notes Use longer, sustained notes Increase the speed with which
the phrase is done.

04 : DECELRATION 05 : ACCUMULATION 06: AUGMENTATION

Decrease the speed with Sequence elements Lengthen the time values of
which the phrase is done by repeatedly starting at the some or all of the elements
beginning, i.e. 1 : 1, 2 : 1, 2,
3 : 1, 2, 3, 4 : etc.

07 : DIMINUTION 08 : DEVELOPMENT 09 : INSERTION

Condense the time values of Reuse an aspect or aspects Splice new material into a
some or all of the elements of a phrase with new phrase
intention

10 : INVERSION 11 : MIRRORING 12 : REPETITION

Reverse the pitch order of the Repeat a phrase but with Repeat a phrase
notes being played the repeat reversed

13 : REVERSE 14 : TRANSPOSITION 15 : IMITATION

Reverse the order of a phrase Raise or lower the pitches of Repeat the same musical
a phrase phrase using a different voice

16 : THINK SMALL 17 : FEEL IT 18 : LOUD

Use short loops Turn the metronome off Turn up the volume

19 : SOFT 20 : POLYRHYTHMS 21 : UNSYNC

Turn down the volume Use polyrhythmic elements Use loops not synced to the
tempo

22 : BREAK IT 23 : FLIP IT 24 : FLIP IT

Misuse your tools Use rhythmic inversions Use chord inversions

25 : ADD LIMITS 26 : ADD LIMITS 27 : ADD LIMITS

Use only 2 chords Use only 2 chords (with Write a melody that moves
inversions) only in 2nds (up or down)

INSPIR Paper by ELPHNT, © 2017

28 : ADD LIMITS 29 : DISTORT 30 : UNFAMILIAR
Write a melody that moves Add distortion / saturation / Use a plugin / device you’ve
only in 3rds (up or down) overdrive / etc. never used before or don’t
use often

31 : PRESET 32 : TIME 33 : SAMPLE

Use a preset Change time signature Use a sample

34 : FOUND SOUND 35 : FOUND SOUND 36 : ARPEGGIATE

Use a found sound as Create a melodic instrument Use arpeggios
percussion from a found sound

37 : MAJOR 38 : MINOR 39 : PERCUSSION

Use only major chords Use only minor chords Use only percussion, even for
melody

40 : STEAL 41 : TEXTURE 42 : DIVERSIFY

Use an idea from another
piece of music but make it
your own
Add in a layer of texture, i.e. Use a typical / defining
a pad, noise or field element from a genre you
recording would otherwise never use
(e.g. a dubstep wobble bass,
a drum n bass ‘amen’ break
or a glitch hop stutter effect)

43 : SUBTRACT 44 : BREAK 45 : SAMPLE

Remove all but one element Take a break Sample something from a
Youtube video

46 : FILTER 47 : FILTER 48 : SHOW SOME LOVE

Add a filter to remove all the
high frequencies - does that
change how you’re hearing
things?
Add a filter to remove all
the low frequencies - does
that change how you’re
hearing things?
Stop what you are doing and
consider sharing something
about INSPIR on Twitter or
Facebook! Be sure to tag
@elphntx

INSPIR Paper by ELPHNT, © 2017

 Arranging Suggestions
30 suggestions

01 : BORROW 02 : WORROB 03 : ALL CHORUS

Use the form of an existing Use the form of an existing Start the song with a chorus
song song, but in reverse

04 : ONCE 05 : BE SUCCINCT 06 : PROGRESS

Use each section or phrase Make a short song, stick to 1 Create an arrangement by
only once, i.e. don't repeat a or 2 min max and get your gradually bringing in parts
section message across in that time and building to a climax

07 : ACCUMULATION 08 : SUBTRACT 09 : SUBTRACT

Sequence parts by repeatedly Remove all but one element Remove an element
starting at the beginning,  i.e.
A : A, B : A, B, C : A, B, C, D :
etc.

10 : BRIDGE 11 : CHORUS 12 : BREAK

Write a bridge section. If you Write a chorus section. If Take a break
already have a bridge section, you already have a chorus
write a variation section, write an alternate
chorus

13 : FADE IN 14 : FADE OUT 15 : TEXTURE

Start your arrangement with a End your arrangement with Start your arrangement with
fade in a fade out noise or a field recording and
fade other elements in

16 : COPY 17: COPY 18 : DON’T REPEAT

Copy the arrangement of one Copy an existing part or Never repeat a part / loop for
of your favourite pieces of section and change the more than 4 bars
music using the existing parts sound. Use the new sound
of your song as an alternate section

19 : PICK FAVOURITES 20 : FILLS 21 : TRANSITION

Whats your favourite section? Add drum fills between Use a white noise riser to
Start with that sections transition between sections

INSPIR Paper by ELPHNT, © 2017

22 : BE MINIMAL
Use only a few elements at
any given time
25 : SUBTRACT
Take all your parts and lay
them out across the timeline
for the entire length of your
song. Now create an
arrangement by removing
elements
28 : FILL IN THE BLANKS
Use Markers / Locators to lay
out a song structure then fill it
in with your existing parts. If
there are parts missing, write
more
23 : BE MAXIMAL
Layer multiple elements
together
26 : POP
Use a typical pop structure
(INTRO, VERSE, CHORUS,
VERSE, CHORUS, BRIDGE,
DOUBLE CHORUS, OUTRO)
even if your song is not a
pop song
29 : RANDOMISE
Give each of your sections a
number. Write the numbers
down and put them in a hat
then draw out the numbers
in a random order to create
your song structure
24 : ADD AN EFFECT
Apply an effect to an entire
section of your song - maybe
drown your chorus in reverb
or filter all the bass out of
your verse
27 : WRITE MORE
Write some more parts
30 : SHOW SOME LOVE
Stop what you are doing and
consider sharing something
about INSPIR on Twitter or
Facebook! Be sure to tag
@elphntx
INSPIR Paper by ELPHNT, © 2017
 Sound Design Suggestions
38 suggestions

01 : PRESET 02 : BREAK IT 03 : RESAMPLE

Use a preset then tweak to
taste
Use an instrument, sample
or preset in a way other
than how it is meant to be
used (i.e. play a bass patch
like a chord or an FX like a
lead)
Try sending something out
of your DAW into the real
world (through a speaker)
and then recording it back in
(via a microphone)

04 : BREAK 05 : SUBTRACT 06 : ADD

Take a break Use subtractive synthesis Use additive synthesis

07 : MULTIPLY 08 : GRANULATE 09 : SAMPLE

Use frequency modulation Use granular synthesis Use a sampler to create an
synthesis instrument from audio

10 : VERB 11 : DELAY 12 : DISTORT

Use reverb Use delay Add distortion / saturation /
overdrive / etc.

13 : WOBBLEOBBLE 14 : LAYER 15 : MOD

Use an LFO Layer 2 or more sounds to Use a modulation effect
create a composite sound (phaser, flanger, chorus, etc.)

16 : SIN 17 : TRI 18 : SQU

Use sine waves as the basis Use triangle waves as the Use square waves as the
of the sound basis of the sound basis of the sound

19 : SAW 20 : COPY 21 : BE NATURAL

Use saw waves as the basis Copy a sound from one of Listen to a sound in nature.
of the sound your favourite songs Let it inspire your sound
design

22 : BE SMOOTH 23 : BE SMOOTH 24 : GET PADDY

Use a sound with a long Use a sound with a long Use a sound with a long
attack release attack and a long release

INSPIR Paper by ELPHNT, © 2017

25 : GET PLUCKY 26 : WOWOWOW 27 : MAKE SOME NOISE
Use a sound with a short Add filter modulation to Add noise
attack and release your sound

28 : RESAMPLE 29 : ARP 30 : HARDWARE

Resample something Use an arpeggiator Find and use a piece of
multiple times. Apply FX hardware to recreate one of
between each resample your existing sounds

31 : FLATTEN 32 : NATIVE 33 : 3RD PARTY

Flatten a MIDI track to Audio Use only native DAW Use only 3rd party plugins
and then process it devices for your sound for your sound

34 : START FRESH 35 : SIMPLIFY 36 : GO ANALOG

Taking an existing part and Use a sampler Use an analog modelling
delete all instruments and synthesizer
FX but keep the MIDI
information. Now create a
whole new sound for that
part

37 : GET PHYSICAL 38 : SHOW SOME

Use a physical modelling LOVE
synthesizer Stop what you are doing
and consider sharing
something about INSPIR
on Twitter or Facebook! Be
sure to tag @elphntx

INSPIR Paper by ELPHNT, © 2017


01 : ITS THE 60s
Hard pan something (or
everything!)
04 : DO IT OLD SCHOOL
Use no automation, only
manual control and fader
moves (record them in)
07 : VERB
Use reverb
10 : EQ
Use only 1 band of EQ
13 : AUTO PAN
Use Auto Pan
16 : HANDS ON
If you have a hardware
controller consider turning off
your computer display and
mixing without the visuals
19 : PERSPECTIVE
Listen to your mix through
some really bad speakers /
headphones and see if it
changes your perspective
Mixing Suggestions
21 suggestions
02 : AUTO
Automate something
05 : BREAK
Take a break (your ears
probably need it)
08 : DELAY
Use delay
11 : EQ
Use an EQ plugin you’ve
never used or haven’t used
for a while
14 : MOD
Use a modulation effect
(phaser, flanger, chorus, etc.)
17 : TURN IT DOWN
Listen to your mix REALLY
soft
20 : GET AN OPINION
Send your mix to someone
who has no music or
production experience and
get their opinion
03 : PAN IT
Pan something
06 : SLAM IT
Compress something WAAAY
too much
09 : EQ
Use a simple 3-band EQ
instead of a paragraphic EQ
12 : COMPRESS
Use a compressor plugin
you’ve never used or haven’t
used for a while
15 : COMMIT
Commit to all the processing
on your tracks (use Freeze
Track) and then start mixing
again if necessary
18 : PERSPECTIVE
Listen to your mix from the
next room and see if it
changes your perspective
21 : SHOW SOME LOVE
Stop what you are doing and
consider sharing something
about INSPIR on Twitter or
Facebook! Be sure to tag
@elphntx
INSPIR Paper by ELPHNT, © 2017
If you have any questions or issues please get in touch at tom@elphnt.co.za

INSPIR Paper is made by Ableton Certified Trainer Tom Glendinning, also known as
ELPHNT. For more devices, tutorials and free music production resources visit
ELPHNT.co.za

INSPIR Paper by ELPHNT, © 2017