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Creativity is like a muscle: if you don't exercise it on a regular basis, it has a tendency to atrophy. Just as it's important to practice your sight-reading and playing techniques every day, it's also important to exercise your creative mind every day.

I can remember touring with a busy Top-40 band, and as my schedule became more frantic, I didn't take the time to write songs or to develop new ideas. As a result, my creativity began to dry up. Whenever I told another musician about my affliction, he would always say I was just in a rut and that it would pass. Wrong. Waiting for a creative rut to pass is like watching concrete grow. It's a waste of time.

As I've grown as a musician, I've found that most ruts can be prevented by going through some creative exercises on a regular basis. (Pumping creative iron, if you will.) One exercise I use for this is called "Spontaneous Soundtracking," which is designed to take the events around you and express them musically. Here's how it works: Set up your amp by your TV and VCR, and then rent a movie (or tape some television shows). Then turn off the sound on the TV and watch the videotape. As you are watching the images and scenes go by, improvise music to go with what you see. Don't try to work out a piece or think about theory or technique too much - just let it flow. If a particular scene goes by that really gives you some strong ideas, rewind the tape and see how many variations you can come up with. The important thing to remember is that this is not a songwriting or composing lesson; it's an exercise meant to improve your ability to spontaneously create music that will support what you see and feel.

This kind of practicing has many benefits. First of all, it's fun. Many of my students who have tried this tell me that it's turned a frustrating practice session into a pleasant and inspiring experience. Second, it improves the way you can communicate emotions on your instrument. If you try this exercise, there will be times when you'll be watching something that creates feelings you've never tried to express musically. That's the idea. Third, you will probably develop new sounds and techniques that could snowball into greater things. The possibilities are infinite.

If you want to give Spontaneous Soundtracking a shot, try playing along with:

• Martial Arts Movies
• Horror Films
• Anything on the Discovery Channel
• Sports (The Olympics are a gold mine of emotion!)
• The News
• Mysteries

Obviously, this list could go on and on.

I realize this exercise is not very traditional (and it's certainly a supplement to, not a substitute for, regular practicing), but it can be quite valuable. Sometimes when I find myself trying to write a new song, the only thing that comes out of my amp is a mocking silence - so I'll put on a video and go at it. Every time I do that, a new idea or emotion comes out. Try it.

One last note: Always practice Spontaneous Soundtracking with your tape recorder on. Nothing feels worse than getting up the morning after an incredibly inspiring session only to discover you've forgotten all the things you played. When that happened to me, I wanted to chew the frets off my bass. Don't let it happen to you!

Until next time…keep boldly going where no one has gone before.