How do you get over writers block?

[aytchster]

10/10 would read again.
Some really good stuff there, thanks man!

Thank you, sir! Glad it helped!

Hadi

 

[Carlcass]

Listen to music that is NOT whatever genre you are writing.

 

[electricred]

Listen to music that is NOT whatever genre you are writing.

This is counterproductive for me. It tend to right similar to whatever I'm listening to at the time. If I'm on a Gothenburg kick, that comes out. If I'm on a '90s indie rock kick, that comes out.

Lately, I've been needing to write for a deathcore band which is outside my normal playing and listening preferences, so I've been listening to loads of deathcore bands. Then, I force myself to write and record at least one riff every day, with bass and programmed drums. I record even if I don't think the riff is anything spectacular, because it might inspire some changes when I re-list in 1-2 weeks and try to pieces the recordings into song structures.

 

[aytchster]

This is counterproductive for me. It tend to right similar to whatever I'm listening to at the time. If I'm on a Gothenburg kick, that comes out. If I'm on a '90s indie rock kick, that comes out.

Lately, I've been needing to write for a deathcore band which is outside my normal playing and listening preferences, so I've been listening to loads of deathcore bands. Then, I force myself to write and record at least one riff every day, with bass and programmed drums. I record even if I don't think the riff is anything spectacular, because it might inspire some changes when I re-list in 1-2 weeks and try to pieces the recordings into song structures.

Sorry to keep plugging my blog in, but I've actually done a post on this specific thing. Link below:

Enjoyable Music & Inspirational Music: Are they the same?

Hadi

 

[IanM]

I find writing to midi drums gets the riffs going. With just a guitar I struggle to come up with stuff but with a beat I'll always come up with heaps of material....Also starting with a basic skeleton and building layers gradually seems to yield good results.

 

[bryan_kilco]

I find writing to midi drums gets the riffs going. With just a guitar I struggle to come up with stuff but with a beat I'll always come up with heaps of material....Also starting with a basic skeleton and building layers gradually seems to yield good results.

I do the same thing. I make drums first then freestyle to that and record every take until I come up with something I like. I just end up with lots of 1:30 mini songs.

 

[TravisW]

Just write. Put all your ideas on paper/midi/whatever. Writing is a process which consists of everything that might eventually lead you to the result. Write down even the shittiest idea you come up with. Writing can be in a way, a "collaborative process" even if you do it alone. The shitty riff might inspire you to write a second riff, which might be the awesomest riff ever. Maybe you'll come up with a weak melody idea, what will eventually inspire you to write a great chord progression. The end result can be magical and full of emotion even when the process of doing it isn't. You don't have to wait for the inspiration. Just do it. A great song is a result of determined work. Put aside your self-criticism and enjoy the process. Decide to come up with great ideas and write contigously and succeeding will become inevitable.

Work on your skill to translate the ideas in your head to music with your ideas. If you can come up with musical ideas in your head, but can't actualize them with an instrument, just slow things doing. Try to sing the melody, play it with a differen't instrument. You'll find it sooner or later.

You might also find this video helpful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijtQP9nwrQA

That video was well worth the time to watch. Seriously, a lot comes down to taking the time to mess around with ideas. I've found that for me, I have windows of time where I write riff after riff after riff, and times when it just doesn't seem to happen as easily. When it is easy, I record as many riffs as I can. When it's not as easy, I use unused riffs to give myself a "starting point", from which to work.

One thing that I'd like to offer as an option is to consider writing without a defined goal in your mind as to what you want the end result to be. With my own writing, I've noticed that I tend to do really lame work when I set out to make a song to fit a defined end result. My best work comes from either sheer accident (the "fingers do the walking" riff), or just asking the simple question "what if I try this?". There's a fine line between stupid and clever, and I've noticed that some of the ideas that I've had that I like the best even years later were the ones that started out the closest to pure musical suckage.