Inspiration for improvisation?

David writes:

I've noticed that a lot of things you just sort of make up as you go along. I haven't listened to nearly as many songs as you have, and I'm not sure where you are pulling from when you make those improv little pieces when you demo out a software. Do you advise learning Music Theory first? Or just learning to play what I like to play? I feel that learning theory at least would help me make sense of why a composer thought of using this set of notes as opposed to just blindly copying. What are your thoughts on it?

Improvisation is doing what you don't know based on what you know. I grew up learning classical music theory (via the Royal Conservatory in Canada) but eventually found it too rigid, and like any self-respecting autodidact does, I dropped out. You might say I learned it up to where it was useful, because I'm a big believer in applied theory. The classical foundations teach a lot about writing contrapuntal parts, but little about improv, so I had to head towards jazz to get a "groove".

"Pulling from" includes listening to as much music as I have the slightest inkling of curiosity about — and it's especially potent when I don't understand something, because my emotional reactions will tell me a lot about where I might eventually go, when I get used to it: "What's this sound? How was it played? How was it processed? Why do I like the 5 seconds of this song so much, even tho the rest sucks?" Analysis helps to solidify your understanding of such concepts.

Like, if you watch a lot of kung fu movies, then you know all the clichés, idioms, tropes, and so on of the genre. It becomes predictable, but within that, it becomes comfortable. Operating at this higher level, you can pick apart scene by scene, deconstruct the works, and understand how it's put together. Same thing if you listen to a lot of Philip Glass… or romantic piano…

But yeah, you need to be passionate about what you're playing to get the most out of it. There's no such thing as a profound life moment you didn't pay attention to.

Furthermore, understanding chord structure/progressions are important. For example, there's the old joke that you can hit the black notes on a piano in any which way and it'll sound good. Well, how come? It's a pentatonic (5-note) scale, and each key is harmoniously pitched with all the others. So knowing the reasons why is essential. Just as in science. And there are certainly a few chord progressions I favor; it's like women and their clothing (or some men, nowadays…) — you may have a big collection but some signature "looks", or in this case, "sounds", get attached for various reasons. (Maybe you got complimented a lot, maybe it reminds you of a happy moment in childhood.) While I have futuristic ideals, I'm drawn a lot to retro sources, not all of them but VHS tape noises and chipsounds (I just bought Plogue's Chipsounds plugin, infact), so when I play piano, it leans in those directions because of my roots. AND MY ROOTS SHOW.

Investigate and followup on as many unfamiliar ideas, concepts, terms, etc. as you can. If an idea is useful, I use it. Don't be dazzled by wordy B.S., some musicians will try to intimidate you by spouting nonsense. Always be an openminded skeptic, and always be bold to learn so much in one day you feel you're going to burst, then you have a contented sleep and wake up anew, hungry for more.

But yeah, having a rich, fertile spectrum of influences to draw from really, really helps you — both in that you'll have a unique perspective of what came before, and can shape something original and creative out of it.