Musical rut (writers block)

Jul 16, 2008
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So lately I've been really striking out when it comes to composing. I'm without a full band and I'm trying to write all on my own with midi drums, something I've never done before. Anybody have any tips or workflow suggestions for a guy used to jamming out a song with other people involved.
 
I would suggest the immersion music method, but you need one other person haha although not with you,

rules are simple, you have 12 hours to write 20 songs, you and someone do it separatly on the same day then meet and share your work, preferably this will be a good friend cause then you wont worry about what music you write and record, and what you think you should be doing etc.

here is a link to their site, where its all explained properly
http://www.ics-hub.org/
 
Cool idea, I'm sure i could do something like this on my own. It makes sense, cause i do think way too much about things and i need to just keep at it no matter what. Thanks man.
 
just mess around with different chord structures and stuff. That usually what gets me out of my rut. Or dont play for a few days, maybe listen to a different genre of music. Really the best remedy is to get away from it for a while then come back strong
 
Definitely listen to music completely outside of your normal listening comfort zone. Once you've immersed yourself in a few different styles, try and study the theory that went behind the writing of those songs by writing in that style. Each time I've done this I come away with new techniques and ideas that I could easily incorporate into your own ideas. It's also a good way to learn new production techniques.
 
When I run out of ideas, I just plainly STEAL ideas, chord progressions and rhythms from cool songs (I've taken stuff from Pantera, Nine Inch Nails, U2, Papa Roach, Def Leppard, Modjo, Korn etc), but then change the chording and add different stuff around it, so that it sounds more like me and not the original. Then it becomes more as an influence than plagiarism.
 
Definitely listen to music completely outside of your normal listening comfort zone. Once you've immersed yourself in a few different styles, try and study the theory that went behind the writing of those songs by writing in that style. Each time I've done this I come away with new techniques and ideas that I could easily incorporate into your own ideas. It's also a good way to learn new production techniques.

I agree with this. Go buy some new cd's by bands you do not already listen to.

Also I have been practicing down picking with a click lately for general jaming. Then I hit record every now and then. After a couple weeks of this I have built up a grab bag of riffs. I then play around with the order, tempo, key etc of the riffs and make songs.

Or you could play along with master of puppets and then change the words and you would have the Crusade part 2.
 
inspiration just happens, you can't force it.
having that said, i'm in a similar situation, meaning that i write all the music myself, except vocal melodies and lyrics, that's my singers job ;) so i can relate...
sometimes it's indeed hard....i feel that the less pressure you apply to yourself, the better things flow. don't overthink stuff, just write out of your gut. you can judge later if the song is actually worth ending up on a release or not, but at least finish it. perhaps you'll stumble upon an idea in the process that you can use in a different song, or that even spawns another set of new ideas that eventually turn into a much better song that you just wrote.

my best songs pretty much came out on the fly....i usually jam around until i stumble upon an idea, then build it from there. sometimes it just comes naturally, you just KNOW where you're going. sometimes it's hard work. if you're severly stuck, just leave it alone, focus on other material, and come back to it later with a fresh perspective. if you have trouble finishing a song, chances are the idea you just haven't found the proper context, or the idea is not good enough anyways. you'll know the difference when you listen back to these old riffs.

aside from that, don't limit yourself. i'm having a severly hard time trying to write in a certain, pre determined style. just let it happen.
also, +1 to what was said above. listen to different music, get out of your comfort zone, and just don't push yourself too hard. self critizism is a good thing, but overanalyzing doesn't work.
 
http://www.ics-hub.org/ This is an awesome story, I would love to participate in such a thing ! I love the way it is presented !

I also live in constand writer's block. I have writen a song a month (and 1 month for the type of songs I write for my project is actually a good thing when you have only a little spare time) and because of many things in my life it has stayed at 3 or 4 songs since 6 months ago. Not even a song in 6 months. Sucks.
 
As corny as it sounds I just needed to remind myself good music comes before a good production. I'm always thinking about unconventional techniques I can incorporate into a mix or some new piece of gear. What truly helped me was some of the songs some people around here have posted for mixing. I also got the chance to record a friends band I've been into, It got my mind off of the questions I had about how certain things will sound, like "I wonder what this mic will sound like in the hallway as a sort of a room mic for these drums." sorry for the rambling as I've had a few , but what I'm trying to say is separate yourself from either being a musician or an engineer for a period of time, it's what seems to be necessary for me to function as both.

Thanks for your insight guys it's good to know I'm not alone
 
I agree with the listen to other music idea. When I take a break from writing/listening to the music I'm trying to write and come back to it, it's fresh and that's when inspiration comes.
 
Here are the things that help me:

-Change tuning on your guitar. The different sound can help inspire. You can always transpose the riffs you write back to your normal tuning after you've come up with stuff.
-Pick up a different instrument and mess around with it. (Bass or keyboards, or whatever.)
-Grab some midi drum beats or drum loops and see if they inspire some wicked riffs.
-Listen to some new music - there's lots of good online streaming audio you can listen to and search by genre.
-Reconnect with some old music you used to love to listen to. Might inspire you...