How do I get inspiration from music?

Many times I find myself navigating through music streaming platforms in search of something to listen to while I do other stuff, such as playing around with Godot. As a musician myself, when I find a song I find particularly good, I save it for later listening sessions.

What are the factors I take into account when analyzing a song?

Melody and drums

One of the first thing I notice in a song is surely the drums and the lead melody. Those two are what really make a song get stuck in your head.

Something I really like is when the drums go hard, making the whole song instruments follow that rhythm.

One of the artists which music influenced me most regarding drums is Iron T Hawk, with their album ToT.

Harmony

Going further, I analyze the harmony of the song, trying to understand the chord progression and how each chord links to the others.
This is really useful for me, because I can make use of the knowledge I gathered to make my own music.
I listen to many genres of music, especially jazz, which comes with lots of complex chords compared to most of the music out there.
Sometime I also analyze traditional music, like traditional japanese music.

Lyrics

Music not only inspires me in composing, but also in writing stories.
I’m always looking through many lyrics of many different songs.
A song that really inspired me is GATE OF STEINER from Steins;Gate for its conception of time.

Some music I like

• Iron T Hawk’s albums for their energetic and mysterious sounds.
• PaperLily OST
• Genshin Impact OST, as an inspiration for making ambience music.