Compose music in your sleep?

Has anyone ever composed music while half sleeping? I have, a few times. And I think I met Chopin once in my sleep :thumbsup: Anyway, I was able to control what I wanted to write but I was sleeping. And I might add, the music was amazing! I of course forgot everything when I woke up, but I believe that an unconscious mind can create better things, than a conscious mind.

An example, I created this piano composition......then it was accompanied by a beautiful bassoon melody, and before I knew it, strings were chiming in, indicating a piano concerto. And I was controlling it. I was half awake after all. If I had only remembered what it sounded like, I would have written it down. Does anyone have experiences to share?

Yes Chopin! I'm a fellow Lucid dreamer and I have experienced the same stuff you have... It's the most wonderful feeling in the world to be totally free from all material things when composing. The music instantly floats from your, from ones deepest self. I conducted the biggest choir EVER in my dream. I still cannot get over the feeling I got from hearing this music. It was as if I was hearing my true self. "Half sleep" do you mean sleep paralysis? when one is somewhere between sleep and dream but cannot move or an earlier stage?

I hope to one day be able to transfer my music from dreams onto paper... because I know that that is my ultimate potential. I wonder if any composers in the past have done this...

I know I composed this piece in dminor, a duet for violin and viola. That was an awesome piece. The only thing I can remember from that dream is a blurry end of the piece. That was about 2 years ago, maybe more.

"Half sleep" do you mean sleep paralysis? when one is somewhere between sleep and dream but cannot move or an earlier stage?

By half asleep, I mean, I wake up in the middle of the night and I am tired. Then I try to go back to sleep. I have a habit of thinking to myself alot, especially when trying to go to sleep, so this makes me half awake sometimes. It is at this point where I can control my dreams...sometimes I feel deep pain in my head and ears when I am at this point of being half awake. I can then do risky things and rewind the time if I make a mistake (hehe) and sometimes I can compose! When I compose, it's the best, until I wake up.

This is something that has always fascinated

me as well. I at times hear music right before

losing consciousness completely. The music

is far beyond anything I have done while

conscious. I find myself saying, "If I could

only capture this awake!", but as surely as

a shadow flees when you try to capture it

so these works flee when you awake.

I should attempt to just catch that fish like

theme before it swims off forever.

One asked, "I wonder if any composers in

the past have done this..."

Amazingly, yes.

Johannes Brahms spoke at a fair length on

this.

Quote,

"To realize that we are one with the Creator, as Beethoven did, is a wonderful and awe-inspiring experience. Very few human beings ever come into that realization and that is why there are so few great composers or creative geniuses in any line of human endeavor. I always contemplate all this before commencing to compose. This is the first step. When I feel the urge I begin by appealing directly to my Maker and I first ask Him the three most important questions pertaining to our life here in this world--whence, wherefore, whither? I immediately feel vibrations that thrill my whole being. These are the spirit illuminating the soul-power within, and in this exalted state, I see clearly what is obscure in my ordinary moods; then I feel capable of drawing inspiration from above, as Beethoven did. Above all, I realize at such moments the tremendous significance of Jesus' supreme revelation, 'I and my Father are One'. Those vibrations assume the forms of distinct mental images, after I have formulated my desire and resolve in regard to what I want--namely, to be inspired so that I can compose something that will uplift and benefit humanity--something of permanent value. Straightaway the ideas flow in upon me, directly from God, and not only do I see distinct themes in my mind's eye, but they are clothed in the right forms, harmonies ad orchestration. Measure by measure, the finished product is revealed to me when I am in those rare, inspired moods, as they were to Tartini when he composed his greatest work--the Devil's Trill Sonata. I have to be in a semi-trance condition to get such results--a condition when the conscious mind is in temporary abeyance and the subconscious is in control, for it is through the subconscious mind, which is a part of Omnipotence, that the inspiration comes. I have to be careful, however, not to lose consciousness, otherwise, the ideas fade away."

Later in the same book, Brahms describes these experiences further to Abell and Joseph Joachim who was also present:

"I always have had a definite purpose in view before invoking the Muse and entering into such a mood; and as I pointed out to you before, contemplating what Goethe, Milton and Tennyson said stimulated by fantasy to a powerful degree. Then when I felt those higher Cosmic vibrations, I knew that I was in touch with the same Power that inspired those great poets and also Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. Then the ideas which I was consciously seeking flowed in upon me with such force and speed, that I could only grasp and hold a few of them; I never was able to jot them all down; they came in instantaneous flashes and quickly faded away again, unless I fixed them on paper. The themes that will endure in my compositions all come to me in this way. It has always been such a wonderful experience that, I never before could induce myself to talk about it--even to you Joseph. I felt that I was, for the moment, in tune with the Infinite, and there is no thrill like it. I can understand why the great Nazarene attached so little importance to this life. He must have been in much closer rapport with the Infinite force of the Universe, than any poet or composer ever was, and He, no doubt had glimpses of that next plane, He called 'Heaven'." -- Johannes Brahms

Abell, Arthur M., Talks with Great Composers; G. E. Schroeder, Publisher; Garmisch-Partenkirchen; 1964.

Its all quite fascinating to me.

It reminds me of fishing.

So catch that theme before it

swims away forever!

Jeremy

Thank you Jeremy! :thumbsup: It was an extremily enlightening read! Brahms being one of my absolute favourite composer. And seeing his description fit my experiences so well is remarkable! There is so much beyond the surface of our reality. It's sad that so many people ignore to explore it. I will be trying to catch that fish tonight during my dream or hopefully OBE(out of body experience).

http://www.astralsociety.com/as/cms/Articl...ype=Show&AID=16

For you who are open minded enough, that site has some great knowledge about this matter. It IS possible to train oneself in these areas as if training oneself to play an instrument well.

/Bojan

I have actually done some pretty strange things in my sleep ;) Yes, I have written music in my sleep. It would be in a dream and actually wake me up, I write it down then go back to sleep. I have done the same thing with poetry and drawing/painting. Sometimes I would write a poem in my sleep and not even remember doing it! lol

- Jen

I find that as well - I usually take a theme, and just before you nod off, work on the theme and hum a whole movement to yourself! Just keep on repeating it or better still, work on it and then scribble it down as fast as you can (plan to put a pen and bit of paper next to where you sleep).

I did it a few days ago and have just cracked the start of the last movement of my first symphony. I'm so happy!!!

I once came up with a musical for the war of 1812 in a dream, though I forgot everything but the concept.

I do this all the time, it's pretty fun. My dreams also have soundtracks, although I can only remember the music if I wake up halfway through one.

Regarding what has been said about the conscious vs. subconsious mind, I would agree that the subconscious is more powerful. However, it is important to take into consideration the possibility that when you are half asleep, your senses are altered. You hear things differently. So the music is, quite possibly, no better than anything you would compose while completely awake. It is merely the setting in which you are hearing it which makes the difference.

I rarely compose music in my sleep. In fact it happens less as the years go on. I suspect this is because when I write music my brain is already in a sort of dream state. As I gain experience the inhibitor neurons are playing less and less of a role in the compositional process. Or something. I have no idea.

I had a dream about it. and actually the piece was amazing with backups and all. then I woke up immediatly to see if I could get it on paper, and slowly slowly the music left me and I forgot much of what it sounded like, but it was amazing.

What a cool thread.

I've composed many times in my dreams, and my dreams also have musical sound tracks.

Only once was I ever able to wake up and write down what I'd dreamt. I don't remember what I was dreaming about that this particular scene was a part of, but I was in some kind of bazaar or marketplace in an exotic locale, and I came upon two little children in a cage, ostensibly to be sold as slaves. They sang a sad, lovely little song in harmony - in F minor, a key I almost never use - that I've never forgotten. I woke up and wrote it down. I'm still looking for a way to use that melody.

J. Lee Graham, I am interested in hearing

the melody. Can you notate just the simple

melody and post it in Midi format? (Unless

you would rather wait until you do something

with it, which is understandable)

I had a dream once and I was in the place

of a Jewish man in Nazi Germany, and I

was in this line. I remember singing this

agonizing, yet beautiful melody, but...

I wasnt able to remember it. Although,

it does remind me of a work I have done

recently. I will post it in "Orchestral".

Jeremy

Sweet good thread idea!

Oftentimes when I'm most relaxed, I realize music accompanies me right into sleep. Sometimes I'll come to right before falling asleep and realize I've been "hearing" (in my mind's ear at least) beautiful orchestral melodies in the same manner that if you aren't listening to what someone is saying, you can still recall the last few words they said in your memory. There was a psychological term for this. Echoic memory perhaps. Strangely, the song is never any other smaller instrumentation or different type of music, it's always classical-romantic orchestral music.

And a few times the music has accompanied me into dreams, or I've been composing in my dreams. Usually that happens when I'm really relaxed that night, or if I've composed late into the night (which is usually early into the morning haha). It seems to be beautiful stuff and I've been really POed before to wake up and only remember hearing it but not remember what I heard. Ah what a shame. Now didn't Wagner or someone compose straight from a "dream-theme" and it ended up being a chamber piece for his wife's birthday or their anniversary or something? Now who was that?..

Now didn't Wagner or someone compose straight from a "dream-theme" and it ended up being a chamber piece for his wife's birthday or their anniversary or something? Now who was that?..

That was Alexander Borodin, and his second string quartet.

J. Lee Graham, I am interested in hearing

the melody. Can you notate just the simple

melody and post it in Midi format? [/b]

You know, a MIDI just doesn't do it justice. You'd have to have heard these two little slave children in my dreaming mind, singing their little hearts out, dirty and half-naked in a cage, softly accompanied by strings (which I've never been able to duplicate adequately, for some reason, and I usually don't have much trouble anymore reproducing what I hear in my mind). Here it is, though. I'm a classicist even in my dreams, so it doesn't seem very impassioned...but in my dream, it was heartrending.

J. Lee Graham, very moving.

I have a good imagination so I can

hear and see them and get a fair idea

of what you saw and heard, as I have

heard similiar things in my dreams.

Reminds me of a dream I had and in it

there was a man whose girlfriend had an

abortion and in the dream I sang the song

of the dead child to his father.

The song of the Slain Prophet.

Its amazing the music that comes so

perfect and instantly in dreams and the

freshness of those works.

Jeremy

Wow. You have some intense dreams.

Well, I'm glad you can imagine what I heard.

You guys should listen to some of the music from Cirque Du Soleil.

It's a nice idea to post our "dream music". Now for my turn.

A while ago I had a dream which, among other things, involved a sequence where a young girl killed herself. What happened was her mother came downstairs to discover the girl hanging in between a doorway. At that point in the (horrible, horrible) dream, I heard something like the MIDI I've attached to this message, although as seems to be the case for a lot of people, it's hard to reproduce accurately. It sounds too simple and too classical in my representation. Ah well.

By the way, Lee, that is a lovely melody. I can imagine it being quite heartrending in the context you described.

dream.mid

Ooh. I'll bet that woke you out of a sound sleep in a cold sweat. Somehow, I can imagine what you may have heard in that context, too. I daresay that sometimes what we "hear" in our dreams is more intense than what we "see."

And isn't that the damnedest thing that when we're conscious, many of us can notate what we're thinking accurately, but somehow it doesn't bridge from the subconscious? Dash it all.

I haven't been able to remember a dream with out some sort of music. Lately when I'm not focusing on something or listening to other music, all my rambling thoughts seem to even have back up music. Is that odd?

Anyway, I love just tring to figure out what my unconscious mind is doing or using my mind to twist and distort my vision so that I see what I want to see(once I've imagined a baseball flying at me it was real enough to me that I blinked). Since forever I been tring to recall what my dreams were but with little sucess. But, after I have fallen asleep I have became somewhat conscious (scary though because I felt paralized and I COULD NOT MOVE) yet still hearing and experince everything in my dream world. Even though this was only a few seconds each time, I think 17 years of work allowed me to experence and remember both my conscious and unconscious memory.(Yet I cant seem to remember the music I know that is there and I hear it but I can never pick out any details). The human mind is by far God's greatest creation.

You dont have to tell me I am strange. Trust me I know.

I remember dreaming music when I was a teenager. Very complex from an orchestrational standpoint, and much more complex than anything I was able to write at that age. I remember waking in amazement, thoroughly unable to transcribe what I had heard - though I'm sure that given the extent of my harmonic pallette at that time, it couldn't have been that impressive. Anyways, it doesn't happen anymore.

I dream music all the time. The best time for me is right before I go to sleep....so I will jump out of bed and write it down before I forget it.