Copyright © 2007 Geoffrey Williams

http://www.genius-songwriting.com
We are going to do something very interesting in this report. We are
going to go inside the mind of one of the greatest musical geniuses of
all time. We are going to look at his internal methods of creating
music and then see how you can adopt his method and excel in your
music creation.

Those that fully grasp the process in this chapter could very well be
those who develop new and exciting brands of music, sending the
development of music hurtling into the future!

Who am I talking about here? None other than the great Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart.

Now, whether you like the works of this musical great or not, there is
a lot that can be learned from his music creation process. As you will
see, this man was a true musical genius.

With careful consideration of his process, and the flexibility to adapt

his methods, you can put yourself in a position of similar ability. Now,
some people will scoff at this remark, but there is growing evidence
that every genius the world has produced doesn’t have different
resources to the average human.

It’s a growing belief that “genius” grows out of developing uncommon

but highly effective thought patterns. It’s this that leverages the brain
in a way that gets rare results, not having any type of “extra
resources.”

By undertaking the procedures and strategies outlined in The

Songwriting Genius Within You, you are adopting the methods that
geniuses before you have used to create musical masterpieces. In fact,
in some cases the procedures outlined are even more efficient than the
methods used by geniuses.

Now in this report we are going to dissect a letter that Mozart wrote,
describing his music creation process in detail. From this letter you
will see many interesting strategies and methods, most of which align
themselves with what you have learned in The Songwriting Genius
Within You!

After close examination it appears that Mozart’s method of music

creation was a four-step process.

Let’s go through these four steps.

Copyright © 2007 Geoffrey Williams

http://www.genius-songwriting.com
Step 1

In the beginning of the letter Mozart writes:

“When I am, as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and of good

cheer-say, traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or
during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that my
ideas flow best and most abundantly. Whence and how they come, I
know not; nor can I force them. Those pleasures that please me I retain
in memory, and am accustomed, as I have been told to hum them to
myself.”

This seems to be the time what Mozart created the initial ideas that
would later become a full piece of music.

This is step one of his writing process. Let’s take a look by going
through the most important remarks and discussing what they mean.

“When I am, as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and of good

cheer-say, traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or
during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that my
ideas flow best and most abundantly.”

Mozart mentions a few interesting things here. Firstly he mentions

that he is alone when this first surge of ideas occurs. He also says
that he is of “good cheer.”

He is talking about being in a positive state of mind. Being in a

positive state often involves some sort of kinesthetic sensation or
“feeling.”

He also mentions that he is doing some sort of activity, such as

“traveling in a carriage,” “walking after a good meal,” or “during the
night when I cannot sleep.”

He then says, “It is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most
abundantly.”

It seems that this positive state, coupled with some type of activity,
feeds the creative spirit and allows ideas to bubble up in the form of
sounds in his head, or using his auditory thinking modality.

It also seems as though Mozart believes that the ideas come to him,
not the other way around. This indicates that his ideas were driven by
his unconscious mind, and not molded by his conscious mind.

He then says…

Copyright © 2007 Geoffrey Williams

http://www.genius-songwriting.com
“Whence and how they come, I know not; nor can I force them. Those
pleasures that please me I retain in memory, and am accustomed, as I
have been told to hum them to myself.”

“Whence and how they come, I know not; nor can I force them.” This
remark confirms that the ideas are indeed unconsciously driven.
There is also a very strong indication in this opening passage that
Mozart has a relaxed feeling, which is key to the creativity process.
When he says “nor can I force them” this implies that he knows the
importance of staying relaxed and having the ideas delivered to him,
and not to try and pressure them to happen.

In the next sentence: Those pleasures that please me I retain in

memory, and am accustomed, as I have been told to hum them to
myself.

The word “pleasures” seems to confirm that a “kinesthetic feeling” is a

very important part of his strategy in this initial step. It seems that it’s
this “pleasurable feeling” drives the musical ideas, in some form of
synesthetic relationship between his kinesthetic (pleasurable feeling)
and auditory (musical sounds in his head).

With his initial “positive state” (kinesthetic feeling) ideas emerge that
fit the mould of this state. This is then fed back and if the musical
idea enhances the kinesthetic feeling of pleasure, the idea is retained
in his memory.

The last line of thought in this sentence…

“…and am accustomed, as I have been told to hum them to myself.” The

way he says “as I have been told” almost sounds like he is unaware of
his humming of the idea. This suggest that this is something that is
occurring unconsciously also.

And that concludes the first step of Mozart’s method for creating his
music that touched and changed the world.

Isn’t it interesting so far?

There are already a number of things that you can incorporate into
your songwriting.

For example:

1. Discovering the state in which your best writing occurs, and

putting yourself into this state regularly.
2. Using the kinesthetic sensations you get to “drive the musical
ideas.” This idea is a little tougher to grasp, but just think of it
like this. When you are sitting at your instrument and feeling

Copyright © 2007 Geoffrey Williams

http://www.genius-songwriting.com
 some kind of emotion (happiness, sadness) craft your musical
ideas to fit in the realm of this emotion. If it satisfies this, you
will feel this emotion become enhanced. If it doesn’t fit into this
realm, it will decrease this feeling.
3. Never try and force your musical ideas. Just let them come to
you. Find the state and situation where your ideas flow
abundantly and let the ideas flow!

So far, in Mozart’s “idea generating” strategy, it’s not about

“forcing” ideas. His method involves using his unconscious
mind as a sort of “musical instrument” that plays and creates
ideas on it’s own. His job is not to consciously create the ideas,
but to simply set up the physical and psychological conditions
where the ideas effortlessly flow on their own.

Step 2

“If I continue in this way, it soon occurs to me how I may turn this or
that morsel to account, so as to make a good dish of it, that is to say
agreeably to the rules of counterpoint, to the peculiarities of the various
instruments, etc.”

Step 2 seems to be the point when Mozart realizes he has an idea or

group of ideas worthy to compose into a full piece of music. Or as he
delightfully puts it, “turn this or that morsel to account, so as to make
a good dish of it.”

The use of the word “morsel” and “dish” even gently hints at the
possibility of another sysesthetic relationship between auditory
(sounds) and gustatory (tastes).

It is very possible that these words were just used to colorfully

describe the method, but this new synesthetic relationship can’t be
completely ruled out—especially since synesthetic relationships seem
to be common or even mandatory to geniuses in any field.

The next remark is this:

“…that is to say agreeably to the rules of counterpoint, to the

peculiarities of the various instruments, etc.”

This seems to be the point in the process when Mozart invites the
“editor” or his “left brain” back into the process.

Now that Mozart has unconsciously generated the initial musical

ideas, he can consciously manipulate these ideas using the “rules of
counterpoint.”

Copyright © 2007 Geoffrey Williams

http://www.genius-songwriting.com
SIDEBAR
Counterpoint: the technique of writing or playing a melody or melodies
in conjunction with another, according to fixed rules.

In this step it seems that Mozart filters these musical ideas through
what he believes and values about music. He manipulates it in a way
that follows his “rules of counterpoint.”

It also seems that he separates parts out and allocates different parts
to suit “the peculiarities of the various instruments.”

This concludes Step 2 of Mozart’s music creation method.

This second step appears to be the “critical” stage in the “create-

critical-create” cycle.

He appears to have great intuition as to how the creative process

works at its very best.

So far in the process he has:

1. Allowed his unconscious to create the initial musical ideas

“Whence and how they come, I know not; nor can I force them.”
2. And once these ideas have been created “it soon occurs to me
how I may turn this or that morsel to account, so as to make a
good dish of it.” He invites “the editor” back to the fray to
manipulate these new ideas, “by rules of counterpoint,”
gradually building the initial “morsel” into “a good dish.”

What can you learn from this second step?

1. Once you have created the initial ideas for a piece (and ONLY
once they have been created) you can invite the critical side of
you back to evaluate the idea. You can then begin to manipulate
the idea to conform to what you believe music should sound
like.

Step 3

Step 3 in Mozart’s musical creation process is particularly magical:

“All this fires my soul, and, provided I am not disturbed, my subject

enlarges itself, becomes methodized and defined, and the whole,
though it be long, stands almost complete and finished in my mind, so
that I can survey it, like a fine picture or a beautiful statue, at a glance.
Nor do I hear in my imagination the parts successively, but I hear them
all at once. What a delight this is I cannot tell! All this inventing, this
producing, takes place in a lively dream. Still the actual hearing of the
tout ensemble is after all the best.”

Copyright © 2007 Geoffrey Williams

http://www.genius-songwriting.com
Marvelous!

Let’s piece this third step together.

This is the step where many of the ideas are nearing completion. And
it appears to be the part in the process where unconscious creativity
is invited back to complete the work.

Firstly…

“All this fires my soul.” This sentence once again seems to suggest
some kind of kinesthetic feeling, although it suggests a deeper
meaning than simply stating the word “pleasure.” This powerful
sentence seems to suggest some feeling of “deep pleasurable
inspiration” that runs at the very core of Mozart’s being.

Once again there seems to be a relationship between the musical

ideas flowing through his mind, and the intense pleasurable feeling
that “fires his soul.” This synesthetic relationship seems to be very
important in his music creation process.

The next remark is just as interesting…

“…provided I am not disturbed, my subject enlarges itself, becomes

methodized and defined, and the whole, though it be long, stands
almost complete and finished in my mind.”

Firstly Mozart discusses the importance of being alone, or at least, not

being disturbed. I strongly urge you to also find the perfect
environment where your best ideas flow easily.

He also says, “…my subject enlarges itself...” which gives us the

impression that he didn’t believe he was the creator. This highlights
that the unconscious is once again doing the creating.

Another interesting thing to note about this sentence is that Mozart

has composed the entire piece of music inside his head. He has done
it by using a “create-critical-create” cycle, and manages to remember
every last detail of the composition, with no need to record the ideas
on paper. In fact, there hasn’t even been a mention of getting on an
instrument and trialing these ideas!

This is a sign of true genius!

Now, fortunately with modern day technology we can use simple

recording techniques to replace the need to remember entire
compositions in our heads before even playing them.

Copyright © 2007 Geoffrey Williams

http://www.genius-songwriting.com
Although, this incredible ability that Mozart had to create, compose
and remember gives us an important hint as to how musical genius
occurs.

The way that world champions of memory operate their brain is to use
this “multi-sensory” method of association, or synesthesia. When you
are involving all your senses in an activity, like Mozart does with his
auditory/kinesthetic relationships, you are mobilizing more neurology
or involving more of your brain in the process.

When an idea is represented in this way, tied to other senses, they are
not easily forgotten. If an idea is represented just in the form of
auditory, it is much more likely to be forgotten than if it is represented
as auditory/visual.

Let’s keep going!

“Though it be long, stands almost complete and finished in my mind, so

that I can survey it, like a fine picture or a beautiful statue, at a glance.”

This sentence introduces yet another syesthetic relationship between

auditory and visual. This sentence dictates that Mozart would form
some sort of visual representation of the full piece in his mind, like a
“fine picture” or “beautiful statue.”

“Nor do I hear in my imagination the parts successively, but I hear them

all at once. What a delight this is I cannot tell!”

In this late stage of development you can see that Mozart has
committed a large amount of his resources to hold this completed
picture.

The last two sentences show that Mozart could hold a visual
representation of the completed piece in his mind, which was
generated by the separate “chunks” of music in auditory form.

“Nor do I hear in my imagination the parts successively, but I hear them

all at once.”

This complete picture seems to overlap back into the auditory realm,
providing some sort of “auditory gestalt” (gestalt meaning complete) of
the piece. And finally this reinforces the positive kinesthetic when he
cries, “What a delight this is I cannot tell!”

“All this inventing, this producing, takes place in a lively dream.”

This sentence once again displays that Mozart is in the “create” part of
the “create-critical-create” cycle. Saying that this “takes place in a
lively dream” shows that it is indeed an unconscious process that he

Copyright © 2007 Geoffrey Williams

http://www.genius-songwriting.com
goes through, as dreamlike states or dreams are unconsciously driven
and typically contain many synesthetic relationships.

Whether Mozart was actually asleep at the time when this process
took place is something open to debate.

What can you learn from this third step of Mozart’s method?

Well, this step is a little harder to break down and adopt, but there
are still clear steps that you can take in your songwriting to
incorporate this method.

As we discussed, this third step was the create part of the create-
critical-create cycle. And this step served as an advanced creative way
to take his ideas and arrange them into a complete piece.

This step is similar to a procedure later outlined in this manual,

where you will learn to arrange your music in your imagination, by
letting your ideas take you on a dreamlike journey.

The good news is that with technology we can actually replace some of
the advanced aspects of this third step. Mozart managed to remember
entire pieces of music by simply looking at some type of picture that
represented the piece.

I encourage you to experiment with this strategy. The more you can tie
your music in with your other senses, the easier you will find it to
remember your ideas and it will utilize more of your creative resources
as well.

How would your music look if it were a picture? What colors would it
be? Can you picture what would it look like?

Try sitting and listening to your music, and see what images pass
through your mind. This is known as “image streaming.”

This type of practice will help you become aware of synesthetic

relationships that you have “squelched” up until this point.

Once again, experiment with this, but it’s not absolutely crucial with
the simple and inexpensive recording devices that can act as your
“musical memory.”

The most important thing to grasp from this third step, is the way
Mozart relied on his creative unconscious mind to complete the piece
of music, in a sort of “dream.” You will learn a similar procedure a
little later.

Copyright © 2007 Geoffrey Williams

http://www.genius-songwriting.com
Step 4

“What has been thus produced I do not easily forget, and this is
perhaps the best gift I have my Divine Maker to thank for.”

“When I proceed to write down my ideas, I take out of the bag of my

memory, if I may use that phrase, what has previously been collected
into it in the way I have mentioned. For this reason the committing to
paper is done quickly enough, for everything is, as I have said before,
already finished; and it rarely differs on paper from what it was in my
imagination. At this occupation I can therefore suffer myself to be
disturbed; for whatever may be going on around me, I write, and even
talk, but only of fowls and geese, or of Gretel or Barbel, or some such
matters.”

In Step 4 Mozart seems to be taking what he has created in his mind

and putting it to paper. When you read the above paragraph you can
tell that all the creative-critical-creative cycle has completed and all
that’s left to do is take the creation and transcribe it for the musicians
to perform.

Let’s go through this last step in Mozart’s musical creation process.

“What has been thus produces I do not easily forget, and this is
perhaps the best gift I have my Divine Maker to thank for.”

Mozart was famous for his ability to retain large amounts of musical
information. As he remarks in the above sentence, he doesn’t forget
his creations easily and he’s obviously appreciative of this fact!

When you look at Mozart’s method of creating music though, it’s not
surprising that he retains music easily. In each step he hints at
possible synesthetic relationships where he is representing the music
to himself with more than just “sounds.”

In Step 1 there is a clear synesthetic relationship between auditory

(sounds) and kinesthetic (feeling or touch).

In Step 2 Mozart hints at the possibility of a relationship between

auditory (sounds) and gustatory (taste), although this relationship is
less clear and may have just been a colorful way to describe his
method.

In Step 3 there is an obvious relationship between auditory,

kinesthetic, and visual.

As you can see, Mozart has used many ways to tie his ideas in with
multiple senses. When you represent any type of information to
yourself, it’s not easily forgotten. The way that Mozart used multiple

Copyright © 2007 Geoffrey Williams

http://www.genius-songwriting.com
synesthetic relationships in his musical creation process could well
account for his amazing musical memory.

Fortunately, with recording technology you will not have to remember

entire pieces in this way! In The Songwriting Genius Within You, you
will discover how you can use simple recording techniques to
completely eliminate the need to remember every snippet of music.

“When I proceed to write down my ideas, I take out of the bag of my

memory, if I may use that phrase, what has previously been collected
into it in the way I have mentioned. For this reason the committing to
paper is done quickly enough, for everything is, as I have said before,
already finished; and it rarely differs on paper from what it was in my
imagination.”

In this part of Step 4 Mozart simply “looks in” to his memory to

transcribe what he has already created. As he mentions, at this late
point in his process most of the creating is already done. And it “rarely
differs on paper from what it was in my imagination.”

“At this occupation I can therefore suffer myself to be disturbed; for

whatever may be going on around me, I write, and even talk, but only of
fowls and geese, or of Gretel or Barbel, or some such matters.”

This final remark just solidifies that the creation process is already
complete. Mozart says that he can still work with a little distraction,
because he is simply copying the music from his mind onto paper.
Almost like reading a book and copying it word for word.

Conclusion

Interesting isn’t it?

In this description of Mozart’s method of music creation, there seemed

to be clear barriers between creating and being critical. This highlights
the importance of being either creative or critical, but not both at
once.

There were many clues that Mozart used his unconscious mind to
create his music for him. He simply set up the conditions so the ideas
could come forth on their own. Developing this type of intimate
relationship with your unconscious mind and being completely aware
and receptive to the ideas that are delivered from your richest
resources is the best way to create music better than you can
imagine. Mozart mastered this, and if you follow the idea generating
procedures described in The Songwriting Genius Within You, you can
too.

Copyright © 2007 Geoffrey Williams

http://www.genius-songwriting.com
There were also many synesthetic relationships described where
Mozart used more than just auditory to represent the music. This type
of “co-mingling of the senses” is very common in geniuses and there is
growing evidence that everybody is synesthetic at least at an
unconscious level. It’s just that the majority of people “squelch” these
relationships so they don’t experience them consciously.

You can experiment with this by listening to your music and paying
attention to the images that flash by, the feelings that occur, and
anything else you sense or notice at the time.

I have personally experimented with this and it has opened up a new

world of possibility for me. I have always noticed the relationship
between sounds and color, but learning about Mozart’s method has
caused me to experiment with allowing my emotional state and
kinesthetic sensations to drive the creative process. I urge you to
experiment with this too, it’s highly rewarding!

I’ve also managed to visualize my pieces as an internal picture,

although it is very subtle at this stage, but I’m still working on it!

Mozart’s description fits into the mold of the creative processes I’ve
already described to you in The Songwriting Genius Within You. In the
four ‘I’s, Mozart’s description mainly deals with the “inspiration”
aspect, although the other three steps were likely involved.

As Mozart was a musical artist who was always trying to create new
and interesting music, he was always on the lookout to create new
music.

Also, Mozart played music from a very young age. It was his life. For
this reason he was always taking in new “information” and creating a
mass of musical knowledge that he could use to create new ideas. It
seems clear that Mozart had a musical education, as in the letter he
talked about “rules of counterpoint” which highlights that he did
surround himself with music to learn from.

Finally, there was no mention of an incubation period. Despite this,

Mozart did mention that there were certain circumstances that his
ideas “flow best and most abundantly.”

If this was his creation time, then the time when he wasn’t in this
receptive mood would provide as the incubation period.

I highly encourage you to play with some of the ideas in this report.
I’ve personally spent much time playing with these ideas, especially
increasing my awareness for the synesthetic relationships that occur
in my songwriting. Doing these things have really improved my results
drastically, as well has increased my sensitivity as a creative artist.

Copyright © 2007 Geoffrey Williams

http://www.genius-songwriting.com
I suggest that you re-read this report multiple times. There is much to
learn from this musical genius, and learning his methods and
adopting them can only improve your ability to create inspirational
music!

Copyright © 2007 Geoffrey Williams

http://www.genius-songwriting.com